New Report Finds Lack of Diversity in College Football Coaches

Football_player The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) of the University of Central Florida has put up this press release entitled: The Buck Stops Here: Assessing Diversity among Campus and Conference Leaders for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Schools in the 2008-09 Academic Year.

Here’s a taste:

With the firing of Ty Willingham at the University of Washington and the resignation of Ron Prince at Kansas State, the 2008 regular season of college football will conclude with the controversy over the poor record of hiring African-American Division IA (Football Bowl Subdivision – FBS) head football coaches still continuing to make headlines. Their departure will leave only four African-American and two other head coaches of color. College football is still far behind other college and professional sports.

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Milwaukee Third Municipality to Pass Paid Sick Leave Ordinance

Medicalcare This past Tuesday, the voters of the City of Milwaukee overwhelmingly (68%) approved the sick pay ordinance. Under this ordinance, private employers in Milwaukee must provide paid sick leave to workers, who earn the benefit at the rate of one hour of sick pay for every thirty hours of work.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports:

Employers would have to grant 72 hours of sick leave per calendar year or 40 hours if they have fewer than 10 employees.

Although the ordinance is due to take effect in about 100 days, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce has filed notice that it intends to legally challenge the law on the grounds that (1) it is inconsistent with federal and state laws for family and medical leave; and (2) oversteps the city’s authority to require sick pay from employers outside the city that have employees living in Milwaukee.

I am no expert on the second issue, but the first ground of challenge seems utterly without merit.  The federal FMLA and state leave law provide a floor under which no law may go, but states and municipalities have always been free to be more generous, and, in this case, provide some paid leave to workers.  The fact that the business group believes the ordinance will cause them economic harm is not grounds for setting the ordinance aside.

I am hopeful that the court deals quickly with this matter so that the ordinance can go into effect when scheduled and start providing much-needed relief for the workers of Milwaukee when they become sick.

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Facebook and Work Do Not Mix, Part Deux

Facebook We were just discussing this issue on on the Marquette Faculty Law Blog last week and I gave my two cents in the comments section to that post.

Now, another example from the real world of how Facebook and work are interacting more and more (via Sky News):

Virgin Atlantic has fired 13 cabin crew after they posted comments on Facebook, calling passengers “chavs” and suggesting the planes were full of cockroaches.The airline said the employees’ behaviour was “totally inappropriate” and “brought the company into disrepute”.

It launched disciplinary action last week amid a row over a group created on Facebook, which has now been removed, about planes flying from Gatwick.

Claims that the airline’s jet engines were replaced four times in one year were made on the group’s discussion board.

Continue ReadingFacebook and Work Do Not Mix, Part Deux