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Workplace Culture

Stories about life at work: what you love about it, what you’d change about it and how it affects your life.

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Parenting in a Pandemic

Teachers push back against school reopening plans

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jul 2, 2020
School closures have made work almost impossible for many parents, but classrooms present health risks.
An elementary school teacher reads to her class online as she sits in her empty classroom.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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COVID-19

As OSHA takes limited role in the pandemic, Virginia sets workplace safety rules

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 25, 2020
The state will make standards legally binding, where federal guidelines are mere recommendations.
An employee wearing gloves and a face mask cleans a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia. The state is finalizing safety mandates to protect employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

Limits on work visas could send more jobs overseas

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 23, 2020
Trump's executive order restricting foreign workers could have unintended economic effects.
A medical scientist runs a test at a University of Washington lab. The H-1B visa freeze affects jobs in science-related as well as other fields.
Karen Ducey/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Do employers need to keep track of sick workers?

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 22, 2020
Like so many things about the coronavirus, it depends.
A server wearing protective gear at work in a Maryland restaurant.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Stop talking and face the corner: the new rules of elevators during COVID-19

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 19, 2020
Elevators have always been awkward. Now they're a social distancing nightmare.
People stand in designated areas of an elevator to ensure social distancing, but there's only so much distancing one can do in such a confined space.
Juni Kriswanto/AFP via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

Supreme Court ruling prohibits workplace discrimination against LGBTQ people

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 15, 2020
It had been legal to fire someone for being gay or transgender, deepening economic disparities.
An activist holds a Pride Flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday after the Court ruled LGBTQ people cannot be fired for their sexual orientation.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Race and Economy

Why diversity and inclusion programs often fall short

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 12, 2020
They often lack resources and can even cause a backlash that makes things worse.
Sephora closed its stores in 2019 to hold diversity and inclusion training for its employees. Following weeks of protests against police brutality, companies have made a renewed commitment to tackling systemic racism.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Economies are reopening, but the child care question persists

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 8, 2020
An industry stretched thin before the pandemic is now at a breaking point.
A mother helps her daughters with schoolwork in March. As the economy opens back up, school programs remain shut down.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Cities that rely heavily on tourism hit hardest by COVID-19 job losses

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 5, 2020
April figures show communities that rely on manufacturing are also hurt by job losses, but they may see improvement more quickly.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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COVID-19

COVID-19 has caused more public school job losses than the entire Great Recession

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 4, 2020
Almost 469,000 workers in K-12 public education lost a job in just the month of April.
Some jobs involve school building maintenance with facilities closed, but about half were positions that deal directly with students.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
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