The 16th nominee for the “worst employer of 2018” is … the sexist, racist, xenophobic, oh my!

"Jon, your first 15 nominees this year were so awful. How are we supposed to decide which is the worst, and please stop adding nominees. You're only making our job harder."

Well, dear readers, sorry. Sometimes, I pick the nominees, and sometimes they leap off the screen begging to be nominated.

WIRTW #524 (the “total disaster” edition)

Any week Rhett Miller releases new music into the world is a week worth celebrating. Earlier this week Rhett released "Total Disaster," the first song of his upcoming album, The Messenger, due out November 9.


It's a brilliantly sad song about the mess one can make of one's life and how it impacts those around you. In fact, the entire album promises to be a bit on the darker side. A few months ago, on Chris Shiflett's "Walking the Floor" podcast, Rhett talked about some of the album's themes:

[The album's title] comes from a bridge in a song called "Human Condition." There were some of these songs where I kind of went back to my 14-year-old self. When I was 14, I had a real serous suicide attempt, and that's when I started addressing my issues of depression and mental health. It's not something I've talked about until recently, but now that I've got kids around that age, I was like, "Oh shit, I've gotta talk about this, because it's become over-stigmatized." I started thinking abut the 14 year-old that was in that space, and I started thinking, "If I was to go back and write a letter to myself…" I wish I could go back to my 14-year-old self and be like, "Dude, chill out. It’s going to be ok."

As if this isn't news enough, one week later, on November 16, Old 97's will release their very first Christmas album, Love the Holidays—nine original holiday tunes plus a cover of "Auld Lang Syne."


You can read all about these projects at Old97s.com, and both albums are available for pre-order from ATO Records. 

Here's what I else I read this week:

What employment sins are you atoning for this year?

Yesterday was Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

For the uninitiated, it is the day on which we make peace with God for all of the sins we've committed over the past year. On Rosh Hashanah God writes each person's name in Book of Life. Over the next 10 days, Jews seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and our fellow humans. During Yom Kippur, each individual makes their personal petitions to God, and hopes for forgiveness for the upcoming year. If all goes well, when God closes the Book of Life at the end of Yom Kippur, your name remains and your soul is safe for another year.

I explain it to my Catholic children like this. Catholics (are supposed to) confess their sins each week. Jews save them up one shot on Yom Kippur. We've yet to try the chicken swinging; they're not ready for it. (I'm not sure I am, or ever will be, either).

There's a new sheriff in town at the NLRB

Last week was a big one at the National Labor Relations Board.

First, the Board announced its intent to modify its joint employer standard. This move, while not unexpected, is nevertheless significant. You can read all of the backstory on this issue here.

Sexual harassment allegations unjustifiably ruin people's lives only if they are false

Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2018

Yesterday, The Washington Post published Christine Blasey Ford's decades old allegations of sexual abuse she claims to have suffered at the hand of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Supreme Court nominee. You can read the full letter here.

WIRTW #523 (the “radio radio” edition)

Earlier this week, I guested on AirTalk®, 89.3 KPCC in Los Angeles. I discussed the rights of employers to access information on employees' personal devices. It's an interesting and timely topic, in light of a lawsuit recently filed by an ex-managing director of an investment firm, accusing his former employer of hacking into his home computer to read his personal emails and obtain other stored data.

Where is the line between a personal device and a work device, and does the law make a distinction if the device is used for work?

Click here to listen to our discussion. And a huge thank you to Larry Mantle and his staff for having me on.

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In other news, if you find yourself in Cleveland's southwestern suburbs this Saturday at 2:30 pm or next Sunday at 3:30 pm, stop in at Slim & Chubby's, in Strongsville, to experience Norah and Donovan getting their School of Rock punk on. Green Day, Bad Religion, Rancid, The Interrupters, The Distillers, Frank Turner, and more Green Day.

Here's what I read this week:

Do you have employee-theft insurance?

The Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion, a science museum showcasing one of the largest living arthropod collections in the United States, recently suffered a catastrophic loss. Crooks heisted over 80% of its collection — 7,000 of its rare insects, lizards, and snakes, valued at over $40,000.

According to The New York Times, police believe this to have been an inside job. Three current or former museum employees are the suspects. The evidence? Security-camera footage, plus staff uniforms hung from knives that had been stabbed into a wall.