Do you feel like you are always on? Join the crowd: The ability to disconnect from work remains elusive for many professionals, according to survey data published this week by Fishbowl, a Glassdoor-owned social platform. The survey found that 54% of respondents said they were unable to, or did not believe they could, fully unplug from work while using paid time off. Older workers were more likely to say that they could not unplug, with 65% of respondents ages 45 and older and 61% of those between the ages of 41 and 44 stating that this was the case. By comparison, 47% of workers ages 21 to 25 said they did not believe they could fully unplug. Among professions in the survey, teaching and law had the greatest share of workers who said that they could not fully unplug. Reasons for the sentiment varied, according to Fishbowl, from “always on” workplace cultures to insufficient paid time off to fears that taking time off would impact career advancement. Others expressed feeling a need to perform tasks, such as checking emails, to avoid becoming overwhelmed upon their return to work.  Source:  HR Dive 7/13/22

Recruiters feel the brunt of it: Nearly a third of recruiters said they experience extreme stress on a weekly basis because of their work, according to a December survey by human-resources analytics firm Veris Insights. The research found that 77% of high-ranking recruiters are open to changing jobs, along with 65% of HR professionals — a figure that rose 17% from September to November last year.   “Our job has never been harder,” says Angie Bergner, vice president at Veris. “We’re seeing so much turnover in recruiting, and recruiters leaving the industry. I’ve aged a solid 10 years in the past three years.”  What is especially frustrating is that candidates in their 20s or early 30s apply for a position and requests compensation and benefits incommensurate with experience.  “It’s a recent college graduate asking for $90,000 to start, who doesn’t want to go into an office and is asking for unlimited paid time off,” Bergner said.  It’s not just that their requirements are bold. Recruiters are finding younger millennials and Generation Z candidates to be prone to backpedaling.  They accept a job offer and then disappear.  Source:  EBN 7/13/22

Union petitions up 56% from 2021 numbers: Union representation petitions filed at the NLRB have increased 56%—up to 1,935 from 1,240 during the first three quarters of FY2021. By May 25, FY2022 petitions exceeded the total number of petitions filed in all of FY2021. At the same time, unfair labor practice charges have increased 14.5%—from 11,451 to 13,106.  A representation petition is filed by employees, unions, or employers with an NLRB Field Office to have the NLRB conduct an election to determine if employees wish to be represented by a union. The Field Office investigates the petitions and, if meritorious, conducts an election to allow employees to decide whether or not they wish to be represented by a union. An unfair labor practice charge is filed by any member of the public with an NLRB Field Office if they believe an employer or union has violated the National Labor Relations Act. The Field Office will then investigate the charge and issue a complaint, absent settlement, if the Regional Director determines the charge has merit.    Source:  NLRB 7/13/22

IT hiring slowing down: First it was the Meta now Google.  Google has told employees that it will be “slowing down the pace of hiring for the rest of the year,” according to an internal memo by CEO Sundar Pichai obtained by The Verge.  Pichai says the company will have to “be more entrepreneurial” and work with “greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than we’ve shown on sunnier days.” According to the memo, the company isn’t freezing hiring entirely; it’ll still hiring for “engineering, technical and other critical roles.” But Pichai says that the pullback will mean “pausing development and re-deploying resources to higher priority areas.” Other companies, like Twitter, Netflix, and GameStop, have recently decided to lay off employees.  Therefore, if your organization has IT needs and can afford remote workers, opportunity awaits.  Source:  The Verge 7/12/22

Illinois bans hair discrimination: On July 1, 2022, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 3616, also known as the CROWN Act. The CROWN ("Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair") Act (Public Act 102-1102) amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to expand the definition of "race" for the purposes of combatting unlawful discrimination in Illinois. The CROWN Act will take effect on January 1, 2023.  The CROWN Act expands the IHRA's definition of "race" to include "traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists." This new definition means that "[u]nlawful discrimination ... against a person because of his or her actual or perceived race" pursuant to the IHRA now includes discrimination based on hair texture or hairstyle. Illinois now joins sixteen other states with CROWN Act laws, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.  Alaska and Massachusetts will likely be next.  Source:  Ogletree 7/8/22

Michigan’s Youth Employment Act amended:  Michigan's Youth Employment Standards Act is amended relating to issuance of work permits for employment of minors in establishments where alcoholic beverages are manufactured or sold, deleting language relating to distribution.  Under the Act, work permits may not be issued to permit a minor 16 years of age or older in, about, or in connection with that part of the business establishment where alcoholic beverages are distilled, rectified, compounded, brewed, manufactured, bottled, consumed, sold at retail, or sold for consumption on the premises unless the sale of food or other goods constitutes at least 50% of the total gross receipts. Section 409.115 is amended by P.A. 123 (H.B. 5726), L. 2022, effective June 29, 2022.