We thought that working for the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) meant that we would be free to question our employer. We were wrong. We, attorneys Richard Renner and Lindsey Williams, along with three of our co-workers, were fired after questioning our bosses about the NWC’s finances and trying to organize a union. It all started when the NWC announced the historic $104 million award granted to UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld. Shortly afterward, the NWC founders told us that despite our hard work and the influx of cash, they were unable to afford the raises they had repeatedly promised. This did not make any sense to us. After our questions were ignored, we attempted to organize a union as a way to force them to be more transparent with their finances. Retaliation was swift and harsh. We were all fired on November 5, 2012, one by voicemail. To add insult to injury, the severance agreements they offered included an appallingly broad gag clause. The proposed agreements said if we accepted the money we could “not, criticize, disparage, or say or do anything that casts [the employer] in a negative light” to “any other person.” There is huge financial pressure on employees to sign these types of gag clauses. In fact, The Whistleblower’s Handbook written by one of the NWC founders, Stephen M. Kohn, has an entire chapter encouraging employees not to sign gag clauses. Apparently, he did not mean that advice to apply to his own employees. Three of our co-workers signed the agreements. We refused because we believed that the gag clauses violated labor laws and NWC’s stated mission. We filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January 2013. The NLRB investigated the charges and found enough evidence to proceed with prosecution against NWC for wrongful termination. We were finally able to reach a settlement shortly before the trial would have begun. As part of the settlement, the NWC agreed to remove all mention of our terminations from their records and post a notice to all employees that they would not be retaliated against for exercising their legal rights to work collectively to improve their wages and working conditions. We want the NWC Board of Directors to publicly state that gag clauses in severance agreements (or other employment agreements) are against the core mission of the organization, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, and, therefore, will not be used by the NWC in the future. We also want NWC to commit that existing gag clauses will not be enforced. We don’t want what happened to us to happen again. Our case serves as a reminder that any worker can have his or her legal rights violated – even lawyers. It also reminds us that every employer should be held accountable when they break the law – even the National Whistleblowers Center. For more information visit: www.fearinghonesty.org.

It's 2015, and having a beard will not obstruct the way customers will view a rental car company.

It's important because if you are struggling to earn a living, two or more jobs may be required. These call-in shifts require you to be available for their business needs, yet if they do not need you that day, you missed out on possibly having a guaranteed shift elsewhere. It makes it difficult for those who have school, need childcare, use public transportation, or just having a life outside of work in general. Please let's stop this unpredictable scheduling! It does not give us any value as employees as everything else solely revolves around business needs!

Working as a Postmate, you get more jobs the better your acceptance rate percentage is and if you have to constantly reject jobs because you want to be done for the day after the one you are currently on, then you will get less deliveries, and thus less money.

In the Vermont dairy industry, forty percent of dairy workers receive less than the VT minimum wage and twenty percent have their first wages withheld--this is wage theft. Thirty percent have to work seven or more hours without a break to eat, and the same number have had mostly preventable workplace injuries or illnesses. Many workers work 12-14 hour days without a day of rest, and significant numbers live in deplorable housing conditions. This is an unacceptable state of affairs for any supply chain, but it is particularly appalling to see this level of abuse in Ben and Jerry’s supply chain given the company's long standing commitment to social justice and corporate responsibility. The good news is we already know there is a solution that works and there are some farms that are demonstrating that dignified working conditions are possible. Migrant Justice is calling on Ben & Jerry's to create a worker-driven social responsibility program -- the Milk with Dignity Program -- fashioned after the globally acclaimed and highly effective Fair Food Program in Immokalee Florida. Many dairy farmers are also facing serious economic challenges and are in need of economic relief. The Milk with Dignity Program rewards those farms that have it right by having corporate participants pay more down the supply chain to both the farmer and the farmworker. We anticipate many farms to enthusiastically support this initiative. The Milk with Dignity program is in line with the mission of social responsibility on which Ben & Jerry’s has built its legacy, image, and financial success. Your customer base wants, and is already demanding, products that support dignified livelihoods for both farmworkers and farmers. The company has done this before for cows, consumers and the environment in its impressive work to eliminate RGBH from its supply chain. The company has done this for chickens with its commitment to cage-free eggs. Ben and Jerry's can do this for the workers facing inhumane workplace conditions while supplying the cream its company depends on. We urge Ben and Jerry's to sit at the table with VT dairy farmworkers to build a vibrant and much needed Milk with Dignity Program that respects workers leadership and ensures human rights in its dairy supply chain.

To keep Publix workers happy and to have the best customer service ever.

Right now, hourly "associates" are scheduled from week-to-week on an inconsistent schedule and a lot of the times the following week's schedules are published on the previous Friday. But sales managers are able to get their schedules a month in advance. Since we get our schedules with such little advance notice, it’s really difficult to plan everything we need to do in our lives outside of work. If I want to schedule a doctor appointment or any trips with the family, instead of being able to plan ahead around my work schedule, I have to request days off in advance. That means I often lose hours which means a lower paycheck that week because I didn't know ahead of time when I was going to work. In addition to not getting our schedules far enough in advance, the communication around schedules and any changes to them needs to be improved. The only way to see an up-to-date schedule is to come in to the store. If you are working part-time or if you are not working during the weekend when schedules are posted, there is no way to know your schedule unless you call. Even worse, when changes are made to the schedules posted in the store, it isn’t properly communicated to employees. People have been fired because the schedule has changed without notice so they didn’t know they were expected to work a shift. The manager who changed the schedule almost never calls and there is nothing automated (like an email) that tells anyone of any changes -- you are expected to call everyday to find out. I’ve worked in other stores that have schedules posted online or send you an email alert when your schedule has changed. Dick’s Sporting Goods already pays us way below poverty level -- since that isn't changing anytime soon, at least improve your scheduling and communication practices. Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/fanofretail/

To have the employee feel like they're not being over worked, concentration work camp(quiktrip) or an equal rights work place ? If you're going to have us standing running around for 8 hours or more at least make up for it in pay .

I am a believer of you will get more work done, faster, if you're comfortable. And to add, Walmart expects associates to have good hygiene. Being drenched in your own sweat because you're working a heavy department being forced to wear long pants, doesn't feel all that great.

Publix already allows beards at its new GreenWise markets and it has been successful, so why not implement this new dress code policy in the overwhelming majority of its business?

KEEN Footwear’s rugged and comfortable shoes are iconic among those who love the outdoors. The company’s shoes are now sold in more than 1,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and abroad, and buzz around the Portland-based brand continues to build. There's no question that KEEN’s talented employees are a big factor in the company’s success. But we recently learned that KEEN does not provide its U.S. employees with fully-paid parental leave. Instead, KEEN requires that new moms rely on six weeks of short-term disability at 60% of their paycheck after giving birth. Fathers and second parents have to use any paid vacation or sick leave they have stored up, depriving them of time to care for and bond with their children. The current policy isn’t competitive, and many feel it’s not enough time for new parents to recover from childbirth and bond with their children. Paid family leave isn't just the right thing to do -- it makes business sense, too. In 2007, data-driven Google realized that its paid parental leave program actually saved the company money by reducing costly turnover of mid-level and senior employees. Some of KEEN’s competitors offer paid family leave, too. Patagonia already offers eight weeks of maternity and paternity leave, as well as on-site childcare. The CEO of Toms Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, recently wrote in a blog post, “It's nuts that more companies haven't figured out what a win-win paid family leave is.” His company provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave to all parents, and Mycoskie claims it's made their workforce more productive and creative. There are so many reasons why paid parental leave just makes sense. Several members of Democracy for America work for KEEN in Portland, Oregon, and each hope to see a change in the company’s leave policy. DFA is championing paid family leave legislation at the state and national level, but we're also fighting on behalf of our members who work for employers that don't yet offer paid family leave. That’s why we're leading this campaign for change at KEEN. The United States is the only developed nation that doesn’t require paid parental leave, but many companies and local governments are taking steps to offer this important benefit to their staff. KEEN should be a leader on this issue. Not only will it lead to happier and healthier employees and families -- it’s something consumers want to see, too. Do the right thing, KEEN, and offer all employees at least eight weeks of paid parental leave.

Thousands of people have worked for years for Microsoft via contractors-vendors, without having any paid time off. We think Microsoft's new policy should be fully implemented as soon as possible and Memorial Day seems a perfect and very symbolic date to start providing paid leave. Considering the present compensation rate of the 37 or so Tier1 tester/reviewers working for Microsoft and paid via Lionbridge Technologies we estimate the cost for one paid leave day is $5204. In comparison, Lionbridge CEO, Rory Cowan made last year between $1.522.275 and $2.89 million (that's including part of his stock options). Taking into account his $1.5 million compensation, one paid leave day for the 37 employees represents less than one day of Cowan's income and less than 4 hours when choosing his $2.9 million income. For the first quarter of 2015, Lionbridge posted record earnings and bought back 254.000 shares of its common stock for $1.4 million. We don't see any technical or financial obstacle to providing Memorial Day as a holiday for all contract employees and it would be a tangible sign that Microsoft takes its commitment seriously and will implement it promptly.