5 things / employee benefits
This week I was impressed by the expansion of employee benefits by a couple of different companies. Shake Shack shifted managers in about a third of locations to a four day work week (keeping pay the same). And Levi's is now offering its hourly employees paid family leave for 8 weeks to care for a sick family member. This is in addition to their existing parental leave benefit for hourly workers. Customer-facing workers are typically under-appreciated, and I'm thrilled to see these companies rewarding their value.
This week I also learned:
Greyhound announced that it will no longer allow Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to search its buses. Previously, Greyhound buses were subject to frequent, racial profiling stops within 100 miles of a border. The company was under a lot of pressure to change its policy.
Scotland became the first country in the world to provide its citizens with free menstrual products. These will widely available, even at pharmacies.
And finally, I wish this wasn't newsworthy, but FedEx recently appointed a new CEO, and she's a black woman. Ramona Hood becomes only the second black woman in history to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company - and there aren't very many black men, either. She's been with the company since she started as a receptionist in 1991.