The Kansas Supreme Court found that FedEx drivers were illegally misclassified as independent contractors from the late 1990s through 2011, despite being treated as employees. According to Alan Pyke, FedEx set contract agreements with delivery and pickup drivers in order to avoid the higher costs associated with making the drivers full employees. Questions: 1. What… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Costs
Dutch Treat?
According to the New York Times, “Dutch pensions are scrupulously funded, unlike many United States plans, and are required to tally their liabilities with brutal honesty, using a method that is common in the financial-services industry but rejected by American public pension funds.” This article discusses the Dutch belief that each generation should pay its… Read more »
The Justice System and The Costs of Being Poor
According to Mr. Edsall, the new growth industry, on the backs of the poor, seems to be private probation, correctional, and detention companies. In fact, Corrections Corporation of America, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and reported revenues of $1.69 billion in 2013. Questions: 1. This collection of private probation companies and the… Read more »
An expensive proposition
Currently, it is estimated that an average middle-income family in the United States can expect to spend about $245,000 over 18 years to raise a child. This is from the Department of Agriculture’s annual “Cost of Raising a Child” report. Questions: 1. If you adjust for inflation, how much more will an average middle-income family… Read more »
Bad Blood
Questions: 1. Explain why this is such an unusual labor action. 2. Based on John A. Davis’ blog, what could the board chairman do to help rebuild family unity and commitment to Market Basket? 3. At this point, Market Basket as a continuing entity is hemorrhaging financially. From a corporate governance standpoint, do you think… Read more »
Where in the world are all the vinyl records going?
Hoarding goes beyond compulsive collecting, affecting finances and other areas of the hoarder’s life. Unable to stop buying records, Zero Freitas, a wealthy Brazilian businessman, follows a therapeutical quest to acquire precious and neglected records that haven’t been preserved or transferred to digital files. This post examines what is going on with the world’s vinyl… Read more »
The Dirty Little Secret of “Cramming!”
On July 1, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused wireless carrier T-Mobile of adding bogus charges to customers’ accounts without their consent, in U.S. District Court. Questions: 1. How long did T-Mobile use the practice of “cramming” on customer mobile phone bills and what is the estimated amount of the total fraudulent charges? 2…. Read more »
Making An Embarrassing Case Disappear?
According to Michael Devine, a freelance programmer who is one of the four plaintiffs named in the suit against tech giants Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe, the companies are getting off far too lightly. With cash hoards of over $230 billion collectively, the settlement amount of this class action suit was about one-tenth of the… Read more »
Here’s a Warning for Dog Lovers!
Over approximately the last seven years (or 2,643 days), at least 600 dogs have died and thousands of others have been sickened by jerky treats. However, while the FDA has warned against this apparent link, the culprit has remained largely a mystery. Questions: 1. Have the illnesses only affected dogs? Why is the FDA limited… Read more »
When will paper records be a thing of the past at Iron Mountain?
There are 600 employees of the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management processing retirement papers of the government’s own workers deep down in a limestone mine in Boyer, PA. No, this is not a joke or prank. The operative word here is “paper.” The old mine’s tunnels have room for more than 28,000 file cabinets… Read more »