Pretext for termination ≠ cause for termination

Shortly after Elon Musk closed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, he cleaned out its C-suite. He fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, CLO Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett. 

This is not all that unusual. A new owner of a company should feel 100 percent comfortable with his executive team, and if Musk wasn't totally comfortable with that quartet running Twitter, then it's his prerogative to replace them. 

Employees who hold positions of authority such as CEO and CFO usually have employment agreements, and those agreements typically contain severance payouts if the agreements are terminated "without cause" prior to their natural expiration. This group of Twitter execs appear to be no different, and reports suggest that their agreements called for severance payouts totaling $122 million.

Are unions cool (again)?

Are unions cool again? Were they ever cool? 

On the most recent episode of Good Morning, HR, I sat down with host Mike Coffey to discuss the current wave of unionization that is sweeping the nation.

• The main factors causing a renewed focus on unionization.
• How Gen-Z has been energized to pursue safe and fair workplace environments.
• The signs that employees are ready to unionize.
• The best way that employers can avoid unionization.
• Actions employers should take when faced with an organization effort.
• The limits of employers and organizers during a union campaign.

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, on the Good Morning, HR website, and everywhere else you get your podcasts. You can even watch on YouTube.

To whet your appetite, here's a quick tease. I answer the question, "What should the employer do when they first get wind that there's card collection activity going on?"

WIRTW #648: the “Red October” edition

All of my earliest sports memories involve the 1980 Phillies. 

Mike Schmidt's towering home runs. 

Steve Carlton's unhittable sliders. 

Bake McBride's hair. Pete Rose taking out Bruce Bochy at home plate. 

Tug McGraw leaping off the mound after striking out Willie Wilson and sealing the Game 6 victory against the Royals. (It was the first World Series win for one of baseball's oldest franchises, ending its 97-year title drought, and is the defining sports moment of my childhood).

I'll be the first to admit that I've fallen off the Phillies train since their last playoff run ended in 2011. It's a combination of living in Cleveland for nearly 30 years combined with a decade of mediocrity. 

Well, I'm back, baby! I've had an eye on the Phillies all season long, but with this month's dominant playoff run, capped off by Bryce's Bedlam at the Bank, I am all in for the Fightin' Phils!!!

If you're still on the fence of who to root for in the World Series, here are 8 reasons the Phillies should (must) be your pick over the Astros (one for each of the Phillies' 8 NL pennants).

1. Philly is the underdog. 87 wins and the last team in vs. 106 wins and the best team in the American League. We're Rocky against Houston's Apollo Creed. Who roots for Creed to win?!


2. No Philly = no baseball. Philadelphia is the cradle of our nation. Without Philly, there's no America. And if there's no America there's no need for America's pastime. 


3. The Philly Phanatic is the best mascot in all of sports. No debate. Case closed. (Sorry, Gritty.)


4. The Astros win too much. This is their 4th World Series in the past 6 years. It's time for someone (anyone) new. Why not us?


5. The Astros are a bunch of stinkin' cheaters. They cheated their way into winning the 2017 World Series and suffered no real consequences. Their bill is way past due, and the Phillies have come to collect.


6. This Phillies team is what sports is all about. No prima donnas, just blue-collar attitudes and hard work until the last out. This team never quits and is crazy fun to watch.


7. Cheesesteaks > tamales.


8. Ted Cruz is an Astros fan. 'Nuff said.

Go Phillies!!!

Here's what I read this past week that you should read, too.

Must an employer pay employees for time spent waiting for computers to boot up?

It's a tale as old as time … or at least as old as employees have been working on computers. You start your work day by turning on your computer, and you wait. Wait for the computer to boot up so that you can then start actually working. That process (which repeats at the end of the work day when you shut the computer down) can take 30 seconds or it can take a few minutes or longer, depending on the age and speed of the machine, the operating system it runs, and the number of apps that need to load during the process. 

Here's the question — Is the time an employee spends waiting for their work computer to boot up compensable working time for which an employer must pay?

According to Cadena v. Connexx LLC (which the 9th Circuit just decided), the answer is an unequivocal yes.

The Surgeon General correctly wants you to focus on employee mental health

According to two recent surveys:

• 76% of U.S. workers report at least one symptom of a mental health condition.
• 84% of those reporting mental health symptoms believe their workplace is a contributing factor. 
• 81% of employees will be looking for workplaces that support mental health in the future.

For these and many other reasons, including Covid-19 bringing the relationship between work and well-being into clearer focus,  Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, has released a comprehensive report on workplace mental health and well-being.

This is what buyers’ remorse looks like

On May 9, 2022, the baristas working at the Starbucks store located at 1123 NW 63rd St., Nichols Hills, OK 73116 voted 10-9 to unionize. It was the first unionized Starbucks in the State of Oklahoma.

On the heels of the "victory," Collin Pollitt, the barista that led the unionization movement in that region, said this: "Today, we have become true partners in our organizing for a more just labor structure, where workers have a say in their workplace and earn a baseline living wage. We have reined in corporate power, and we carry on the banner of Martin Luther King Jr. with the idea that all labor has dignity."

A mere 163 days later, however, it appears that the store's employees have caught a case of buyer's remorse, as they have filed a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board. Unfortunately for them, however, whether they still want to be unionized or not, their petition and decertification effort is doomed to fail, and they will be stuck with their union, at least until May 9, 2023.

WIRTW #647: the “paying my debts” edition

You'd think I'd know better. 

• A payroll $182 million higher.
• 7 more regular season wins with run differential 176 points higher. 
• An MLB-leading 254 home runs vs. a near worst 127.
• Home field advantage in short five-game series.
• Aaron Judge.

Yet, I couldn't resist the allure of an ALDS bet with my friend (and dyed in the wool Yankees fan) Dan Schwartz on the outcome of the Guardians/Yankees ALDS series. The stakes? The loser must write a blog post heaping praise upon on the other team.

I lost, so here it goes.

Experience matters. This holds true in sports as it does in litigation. 

The average age of the Yankees rosters is 30.12 years, the oldest in the American League. The Guardians? 26.42 years, the youngest in all of baseball. This is the Yankees sixth consecutive year in the playoffs. The last time the Guardians made the playoffs they were called the Indians. They haven't won a playoff series since 2016, and the only person on their current roster to play in that World Series was Jose Ramirez. The Guardians young nucleus will continue to win for a few more years until such time as they cannot afford to resign their very young and exciting nucleus of Steven Kwan (25), Andres Gimenez (24), Oscar Gonzalez (24), Triston McKenzie (25), or Emmanuel Clase (24). Heck, even former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber is only 27.

Litigation is no different. Yes, the lawyers with less experience can win a case. In fact, they often do. They can work harder and smarter. Facts are facts and law is law, and no matter how seasoned you are, it's hard to escape bad facts and contrary law. Heck, in the first case I ever tried (and won) to a jury I was a fifth-year lawyer who never had done an opening or closing in a courtroom, and my opposing counsel was a member of the 50-year club. Having more experience doesn't equate to win rate. But it also doesn't hurt. And sometimes, the side with "more" wins. Experience matters. In a close enough case, it can be the difference. 

So, congrats to the Yankees (and, by extension, Dan). We'll see you again next season, where a healthy Jose Ramirez and a team with a year of postseason experience under its belt will bring about a very different result.

Here's what I read and listened to this past week that I think you should also be reading and listening to.