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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Deloitte is to pay $21.5m to settle U.S. Department of Justice claims that it discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of race or sex. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the settlement was another example of how the DOJ was “eliminating woke, unconstitutional practices from American workplaces,” adding: “Merit drives opportunity and promotion. Not someone’s sex or race.” The department said that business units within the audit giant received monthly summaries tracking "demographic goals" and alleged that Deloitte's Partners, Principals and Managing Directors were evaluated, in part, based on their contributions to helping the firm achieve its workforce composition goals. In a statement, Deloitte said it was pleased to have resolved the matter “to avoid the cost and distraction of protracted litigation.”
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Human Times
UK
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has defended proposed reforms to zero-hours contracts. "The policy is about the person on zero hours getting the right to a contract that reflects what they regularly work," he said. "So, if you're regularly working a number of hours . . . presumably the contract that reflects those hours is not higher cost to the business." However, he acknowledged potential "monitoring costs" for employers. The reforms would require companies to guarantee a minimum number of hours and provide notice for shift changes. An official impact statement has estimated costs could reach £3bn annually, with the retail and hospitality sectors being most affected. Reynolds said of the reforms: "This is a well-known part of the [government's] business plan. It's a manifesto commitment and governments should fulfil their manifesto promises. It meets the balance between the flexibility employers will need [and] the discretion of the employees if they want a contract that reflects those regular hours."
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Human Times
Europe
Sophie Lainault, a former flight attendant for Air France, has successfully had her breast cancer recognised as an occupational disease, marking a first for France's aviation sector. The ruling, made by a court in Bayonne, acknowledged her exposure to night work and passive smoking during her 30-year career. Some studies have suggested that women who regularly work night shifts may face a higher risk of developing cancer; smoking was permitted on Air France flights until 2000. Lainault, who is now in remission, expressed hope that her victory would inspire other women facing similar challenges. Breast cancer is not officially listed as an occupational disease in France.
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Human Times
Middle East
In a 6,000 word essay on the impact of artificial intelligence, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has proposed the notion of "human reserved" jobs: occupations or tasks that society would deliberately keep for people even where AI could do them. “I like the phrase human reserved because it makes me think of nature reserves - places where we could put buildings and roads but we choose not to because the loss would be too great,” Gates wrote. “In health, for example, imagine a robot giving you the awful news that you have an incurable disease. There’s no technical reason why it couldn’t. Yet it shouldn’t.” He warned that “many jobs will disappear forever” but policymakers could “set aside certain things for only people to do.”
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