Last Tuesday was Equal Pay Day, which highlights the gender pay gap.  It marks how far into the new year women must work to earn what men made in the previous year.  In other developments focused on pay practices, the U.S. Department of Labor accused Google of systemic pay discrimination against women, and the New York City Council  passed a bill intended to combat gender pay inequity by banning employer inquiries into salary.  In Philadelphia, the Chamber of Commerce sued to challenge Philadelphia’s similar law, which was the first municipal law in the country to prevent employers from asking about  job candidates’ salary history.

• The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Title VII protects employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• The Washington Post Editorial Board advocated breaking the silence around workplace sexual harassment in the wake of recent allegations of serial sexual harassment by Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
• New Jersey’s Kean University agreed to pay $375,000 to settle an age discrimination suit brought by a former administrator.  

• Wired wrote about the implications of an employer owning the rights to the social media accounts of employees who are public figures.
• Phys.org suggested that the increased use of artificial intelligence will reshape how we think about consciousness and human identity.
• Uber remained in the hot seat, this time for its use of software that allegedly manipulates its drivers to work longer hours.

• Fast Company examined how companies can strengthen the value and efficacy of their HR departments.
• Quartz reported on a leaked document from UK-based delivery service Deliveroo that revealed the lengths to which gig economy startups go to avoid calling their workers “employees.”
• The Department of Labor delayed implementation of the fiduciary rule to June 9, apparently in order to comply with the administration’s directive that the agency examine the rule to ensure it doesn’t adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial advice.
• A Yale professor wrote for the New York Times about his research demonstrating that job interviews are counterproductive.
• With enough votes to override an anticipated gubernatorial veto, the Maryland legislature passed a paid sick leave bill that requires employees with at least 15 workers to offer five days of paid sick leave.
• An unpublished study suggested that two-thirds of millennial employees would give up social media for a week if all of their coworkers recycled.