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Women still struggle to bridge the gender pay gap
Though women are now increasingly surpassing men in higher education and have managed to penetrate traditionally male-dominated occupations, an obvious pay gap still exists between the two sexes. Several factors contribute to this continuing trend in the U.S. and other countries, but gender and racial discrimination have been identified as the biggest culprits. In 2012, […]
New air conditioning technology promises to reduce impact
Air conditioning is one of the coolest benefits of living in modern times. Yet the amount of energy it takes to cool a building is staggering — in the U.S., for example, 15 percent of the electricity used by buildings is dedicated to cooling them. A new, super-thin, mirror-like material developed by a Stanford University team […]
MA workers win the right for paid sick leave, but employers still need to loosen up
In Massachusetts, workers calling in sick will no longer feel the pinch as voters have approved a state-wide paid sick leave mandate last week. The law applies to public as well as private employers who have a staff of at least 11 people. Seen as a measure to help workers recover from illness or attend to […]
Pregnancy discrimination in the Bronx made right
One pregnant woman who says she was forced out of her job earlier this year is back to work, and her case offers some teachable lessons for others facing similar challenges in the workplace. As the New York Times reports, 39-year-old Angelica Valencia was told by her doctor that she should work at most eight […]
A Colorado town insists on customer service training for everyone
What does a concerned top executive of a tourist association do when unhappy with visitor survey results? Train the entire town in customer service. Incredible as it may seem, this was exactly what Tom Kern, CEO of Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association, did when a survey revealed that while visitors liked Steamboat Springs, a resort […]
Offices plants make employees happier, study discovers
A few office plants can work wonders for workers, according to a new study on “green versus lean office space.” As Time reports, the study — the first of its kind — found a noticeable long-term impact of office plants: Researchers from Cardiff University, the University of Exeter and the University of Groningen measured a 15 percent […]
Hilton hotel rooms will soon open by smartphone
Smartphones have cut out the middleman in any number of transactions: ordering food delivery (try Seamless, and GrubHub); grocery shopping (check out FreshDirect’s app); and even booking doctor appointments (see ZocDoc). And now, Hilton will let its hotel guests check in and out, upgrade their rooms, and, eventually, unlock their rooms via their smartphones. Hilton, […]
California’s paid sick leave bill up for hearing next month
A bill that will allow California workers a minimum of three paid sick days annually has already been approved by two Assembly committees, and will now undergo another hearing — as well as potential revisions and new provisions. The bill, AB 1522, would affect over 170,000 workers in inland southern California, and has already passed the […]
Cloud computing promises retail stores a high-tech upgrade
It’s every shopper’s dilemma: finally finding the perfect dress, lipstick, pair of sneakers, or other fill-in-the-blank item in their local shop, only to learn that said store is sold out. Innovations in cloud computing — a network of servers located online used to process information — are now aiming to address that problem, reports Entrepreneur.com, as “cloud-hosted […]
Should companies mandate certain vaccinations?
Infectious diseases are the second most common cause of death in the United States. Influenza alone kills more than 36,000 people a year. Infectious diseases can spread in a variety of ways including, direct contact, indirect contact, through the air, and droplets. Measles is an example of one highly contagious disease that spreads quickly through […]
