This week, we’re breaking down three headlines that could reshape the American workplace:
- 📉 The job market cool-down continues, with new JOLTS data showing longer unemployment durations and more people dropping out of the job hunt altogether.
- ⚖️ The Modern Worker Employment Act could redefine what it means to be an “employee”—and put traditional full-time roles at risk.
- ✝️ A new Trump-era memo gives federal workers the green light to evangelize at work. Is this the start of a new wave of religious expression in corporate spaces?
From layoffs to labor laws to religion in the breakroom—we’ve got thoughts. If you care about where work is headed, this one's for you.
#JobMarket2025 #Layoffs #ModernWorkerAct #GigEconomy #WorkplaceReligion #EmploymentLaw #FutureOfWork #HRNews #LaborMarket #YourWorkFriends #WorkplaceTrends
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A whole shit ton of people are about to lose their
health insurance.
A whole shit ton of people areabout to lose their bonus
structures.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
It will happen, it 100% will happen.
Welcome to your work, friends,where we break down the now and
(00:28):
next of work so you stay ahead.
I'm Mel Platt.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
And I am Francesca Ranieri.
What's up over there?
Listen, you know what I didtoday.
I treated myself to a Diet Coke.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh my God.
I just saw a meme that said aDiet Coke is like a fridge
cigarette.
It made me crack up because Iwas like there is nothing like
an ice cold Diet Coke on a hotsummer day.
It's just delicious.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
It is delicious.
It was that or a cigarette, soI went for the Diet Coke.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
I've never smoked a cigarette.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
You've never smoked a cigarette in your life.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Ever no, not once.
I never even tried it.
I thought it was so gross.
I hate the smell, I just neverdid.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
But I still got the reference.
I am not mad about it.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Ah, I love it.
Listen, we are back with NewWeek New Headlines.
Friends, we took a little minihiatus.
Please forgive us.
New Week, new Headlines is oneof our favorite things to do
because, let's just face it,there's a lot of shit to talk
about and we like to talk aboutit.
So today we are covering a fewdifferent topics.
Francesca, what are you talkingabout?
Okay, I?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
am talking about the job market cool down that
continues to deepen.
I want to talk about what'scoming out of the latest Jolt's
report and the three big numbers.
I'm looking at that.
I hate to say it, folks, if youthink this job market is crazy,
town USA, it is, and I have thenumbers to prove it.
I also want to talk about thislatest Trump memo that came out
about.
Evangelizing at workplace isnow fair game if you're a
(01:56):
federal employee and what thiskind of Christian religion creep
might look like if it comes tocorporate America.
What are you talking about?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Mel and creep might look like if it comes to
corporate America.
What are you talking about, mel?
I am talking about the HouseBill, the Modern Worker
Employment Act, and what thatmight mean for folks and how
that might change how we definewhat it means to be an employee
in America.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yikes.
The Jolt Report was releasedthis week and it showcases that
the job market cooldown isdeepening, with more Americans
filing claims and longerunemployment durations.
Headlines are focusing onthings like falling job openings
, but the story underneath it,in terms of long-term
unemployment and also how longit's taking to find jobs, I
(02:43):
think is the real story here.
Mel, as you're talking topeople, what are you hearing
about the job market right now?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
One.
I do career coaching forindividuals and so I hear that
all the time by people who aretrying to pivot, people who've
been impacted by layoffs.
What I'm hearing is it istaking them incredibly long
amounts of time, not just to getthe interview, just to get the
job Six months, some folks up toa year or more and these are
(03:12):
folks who just based oncredentials they are hot talent
they would be picked up in asecond in normal job markets.
And, having worked in talentacquisition, I've seen every
market right.
I survived 2008,.
Folks, we talked about thefrozen job market last year.
In talent acquisition, I'veseen every market right.
I survived 2008,.
Folks, we talked about thefrozen job market last year in
the fall, but I think thatfrozen job market just getting
(03:33):
icier and icier.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, the data backs that up.
A couple of things to look at.
Which is initial and continuedclaims are climbing, which is a
sign of weakening momentum.
Weekly initial unemploymentclaims slipped to 217,000 in the
week ending July 19th, which ishealthy, but it's continuing to
get worse, rose slightly toabout 1.96 million, suggesting
(03:53):
consistent layoffs or difficultyin rehiring, largely reported
by the Wall Street Journal.
That's number one.
Number two people are unemployedfor longer than they were a
year ago.
The average duration ofunemployment in June was about
23 weeks, that's about 5.3months.
That's up from 21.8 weeks inMay.
Keep in mind that these arelagging indicators and I know
(04:17):
everyone has been saying, okay,the job market's still healthy,
unemployment's still relativelylow.
But as we keep going from Aprilto May to june and now july,
these numbers keep getting worse.
They're lagging indicators andmy gut is they're going to
continue to keep getting pulleddown because, to your very good
point, it's harder and harder toland a job.
That amount of time is justgetting longer.
(04:41):
And the other last thing I'mlooking at too is long-term
unemployment is rising.
In June, the number of peoplejobless for 27 weeks or more
rose to 1.6 million, accountingfor 23.3 of all unemployed.
Meanwhile, the marginallyattached population those who
(05:02):
want to work but haven't lookedin the past year increased to
1.8 million.
So what this is telling you ismore people are getting laid off
.
It's taking longer to find ajob.
People that are consideredlong-term unemployed and or have
just given up on finding a jobbecause they've been out of work
so long is getting larger.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
If you've been impacted by a RIFF.
You can get burnt out reallyquickly and it becomes defeating
.
It's a full-time job itself tofind a job.
You and I talk about this allthe time.
That's what we hear from ourfriend people who reach out to
us from the pod.
It's a lot of work.
I think this trend is going tocontinue as organizations
(05:38):
continue to evaluate what thefuture of their business looks
like and how their org isstructured to support it, and
with technology like AI, I thinkwe're going to see a lot of
this going forward.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I think we're going to see a lot of it.
Listen, we're in an environmentwhere, for instance, Wall
Street Journal just published anarticle with CEOs celebrating
the amount of layoffs they'redoing right now.
The name of the game isefficiency and when you're in
this type of market, if you'regainfully employed, what I would
try to do if I were you isdon't have just six months of
cushion, have 12 months ofcushion if you can, just to give
(06:11):
yourself that float.
The other thing I wouldconsider to your very good point
about organizations makingdifferent decisions, we're
seeing a pretty significantuptick in contracted gig work.
If you have been unemployed fora long time, if you haven't
considered fractional or gig orcontract, I would look into that
and I think gig work's here tostay.
I know we'll talk about that alittle bit later on, but this is
(06:34):
something where I think we'reat the doors of.
Gig work is the main work.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
We've been talking about that for over a year now.
You said it multiple times thatwe're going to get down to
these skeleton crews and I thinkthat's what we're starting to
see, and if you haven't startedto think about your brand, what
that might look like, now's thetime to start thinking about
that.
And it's not impossible.
Phone a friend, phone us ifyou're in that position, like
we'd be happy to talk with you.
(06:59):
So reach out to us if that'ssomething you're struggling with
right now.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
It's not only possible, it's actually fun.
It's fun, it is fun.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, and listen.
The current market doesn'tdetermine your value.
So for anyone who's in thatposition, please know we've been
there, we get it, but itdoesn't reflect your capability
or your value.
These are things outside ofyour control.
So, when you think about thatsphere of control, what's
happening right now in themarket is so unique and we've
(07:27):
seen it all, but we are in aunique time, so don't let what's
outside of your controldetermine your self-worth in
this moment.
That's my soapbox.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
What's happening with the employee?
Okay, four, five, six, seven,eight, nine.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So this is Bill HR 1319, the Modern Worker
Employment Act.
This was proposed back inFebruary.
We touched on it lightly whenit first got proposed, but not
enough had come out yet.
So what is this bill discussing?
Are you an employee or are youa gig worker?
Are you independent?
So this bill could redefinewhat an employee means.
In America as we know it, thisis a fight over freedom,
(08:07):
benefits and the fine printthat's going to decide who gets
protected at work and what youget from work.
This is a Republican-sponsoredbill.
It aims to reshape how thefederal government is defining
employee versus an independentcontractor.
That line determines whetheryou get benefits, overtime pay,
labor protections and the legalright to unionize today.
(08:28):
Here's why this matters.
Under current federal law,whether someone counts as an
employee is based on a verybroad economic realities test
that includes things likewhether you wear a uniform or
not, whether you follow companyrules, whether you use company
tools like a laptop, whether youwork full time for just one
company.
This bill is going to throw outmost of what we use today for
(08:51):
those realities tests andinstead it's proposing a
narrower standard that focuseson just two things.
One, whether the companycontrols how you do the work,
not just what the final resultis.
And two, whether you operateyour own business and take on
economic risk.
Okay, under this definition, ifyou're working full-time but you
(09:12):
have flexibility in how you getthe work done, you could
potentially be classified as anindependent contractor, not an
employee.
What this means in practice?
Just to give you an example,let's say you're a salaried
employee today.
You work for a big org.
You're salaried, you're amanager, you're fine, but you
work remotely.
You use your own equipment.
(09:33):
Maybe you make your ownschedule how the work gets done.
Under this new bill, youremployer could argue that you're
not truly an employee anymoreand you get reclassified.
You lose employer-providedhealth insurance, you lose paid
sick or family leave, you loseunemployment insurance, you lose
protection under federal wageand hour laws and you lose the
(09:56):
right to organize under theNational Labor Relations Act.
What do you think about that,francesca?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Let me tell you what my reaction to this is.
It is very expensive fororganizations to carry employees
because they have to pay forthings like yes, your insurance,
yes your bonuses, yes, anylitigation.
That happens because you areunionizing, plus all the people
they need to employ to make surethat all of your protections
(10:23):
are there as well and all ofthat gets operationalized.
It is very expensive fororganizations to carry employees
, and if you think organizationswill not take advantage of
being able to reclassify humanworkers so they don't have to
bear that expense, I'm tellingyou right now, in this ecosystem
(10:47):
, in this world of efficiencyI'm not trying to be dramatic
You're wrong.
You're wrong.
We have seen this over and overagain with offshoring, with
layoffs, with AI.
Where there is money to besaved, organizations will say it
is their fiduciaryresponsibility to their
(11:08):
shareholders and to the companyto do that, which basically
means a whole shit ton of peopleare about to lose their health
insurance.
A whole shit ton of people areabout to lose their bonus
structures.
It will happen.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It 100% will happen.
We just we just talked about itand just covered I, we, this is
where things are headed, folks,which is we're not saying this
to scare you, we're saying thisso you're prepared, and so these
are things that you need tolook out for.
So I just want to give a littlebit of information if you're
curious.
This bill, as I mentioned, wasproposed back in February.
However, it just passed out ofthe committee, the House
(11:48):
Education and WorkforceCommittee, july 23rd, so last
week.
Right now it's waiting for avote on the House floor.
So it's not law yet, but with aRepublican it's a Republican
sponsored bill and withRepublican control of both the
House and the Senate, it'slikely going to gain real
momentum and it could advancequicker than you think.
(12:09):
Okay, what happens if thispasses?
Things you need to be aware offriend to friend National impact
it's going to apply to allstates changing how federal
labor laws are enforced underthe Fair Labor Standards Act and
the National Labor RelationsAct.
As I mentioned, it could alsooverride state rules.
California we love California.
(12:31):
There are huge workers.
Right State love them.
New Jersey, california's AB5test, new Jersey's ABC test
those are more protective ofworkers today.
This could actually overridethat and typically when you see
federal law passed, usuallystates will make up for it,
right?
That's why you hear peoplesaying, oh, that state does this
(12:51):
.
You always hear aboutCalifornia.
But this could override thatand then the worker
classifications coulddrastically shift.
Businesses may review theirentire workforce structure and
they will.
As you just said, francesca,they will, they're going to take
a look and they're going tolegally see who they can
reclassify.
Some of the industries thatthey anticipate could be
(13:12):
impacted immediately media,healthcare, tech, trucking,
education, contractor versusemployees already contested in
these industries pretty heavily.
So these are likely industriesthat are going to be impacted
first.
If you work in them, you mightwant to start thinking about
what's next, what happens ifthis passes?
(13:32):
Gig workers you're going to beokay.
It's not really doing much.
It's redefining full-time jobs.
It's more freelance at scale.
We've been talking about thisfor over two years now.
That's what's going to happenhere.
One of the positives and youand I we've talked about this a
million times this starts theconversation of what needs to
(13:53):
get out of being tied to yourworkplace package, things like
healthcare.
That conversation needs tohappen.
This is why people care aboutthings like universal health
care, because you shouldn't losehealth care.
Health care should be a humanright.
I'm sorry, that's my stance.
I'm going to share my POV.
(14:13):
You want to disagree with me?
Totally fine.
But this health care, this iswhere health care as a human
right comes into play, because alot of people here might lose
health care as a result of thisFriend to friend.
This might sound like, oh,nothing might change with your
job or how your job iscategorized, but nobody is
immune from recategorizationhere.
(14:35):
If this passes, if you're fulltime, working remotely, making
your own schedule, you could beimpacted, so pay attention to
that.
I don't know the shift work'sgoing to be restructured in a
few years, maybe sooner.
Our jobs are posted, whatcompanies expect, what
protections come with yourpaycheck?
That's worth paying attentionto, so keep your eyes open and
(15:00):
your ears open, all right.
Stage Stage advice hey, call usif you want to chat about it.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Okay, so this week the Trump administration
released a memo saying thatevangelizing at work is now fair
game.
If you were a federal employee,have you heard this?
No, I have not.
It's basically signaling apretty seismic shift in how
personal beliefs, especiallyreligion and I want everyone to
key on this, especially religionshow up at work, even if you're
(15:34):
not in the government.
This could really easily rippleacross corporate norms and
spark some pretty fresh tensionsaround what's appropriate in
the workplace.
And there are three thingsabout this memo again, even
though it's just targetingfederal employees that really
struck me, if you will.
One is the memo loosens therules.
A new memo, the memo from theOffice of Special Counsel, says
(15:55):
federal employees can nowencourage co-workers to rethink
their religious beliefs at work,even in shared spaces like
break rooms or team meetings, solong as they're off the clock
and not being disruptive Actions.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
I'm a fan of religious freedom.
What our country was founded onright.
I am all for people havingreligious freedom, but work is
so stressful as it is.
I just think there are thingsthat are personal that you don't
need to bring into theworkplace.
What is the purpose of thisexactly?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Yeah To your point.
The second piece for me, whichis it's drawing a line between
sharing your faith andpressuring others.
But many legal experts say thatline is murky and there's a
real concern that it could openthe door to coercive or even
exclusionary behavior.
Here's my question with this.
Here's an example.
(16:54):
I was born and raised Catholic.
I don't go to church anymore.
I don't really talk aboutreligion anymore.
I've gone a little woo and Ibelieve in the universe.
That's my thing, right.
But what happens when my bossis a born-again Christian and,
in the break room, as I'mgetting coffee, wants to talk to
me about family values?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, is this open for all religions?
And, like you, I think it getsreally murky.
Just last week there was anarticle that came out about a
woman who shared that her doctorrefused to give her prenatal
care because she was a singlemother and he didn't agree as
(17:35):
part of his religion to which,by the way, doctors take an oath
that they're supposed to helpeverybody.
So how, I don't know.
I just think where's the line?
And that can get really trickyreally fast, because what if
you're super religious and yourreligion, again, doesn't agree
with single mothers?
So does that impact someone'sperformance?
(17:58):
Does that impact the way theyget promoted?
Does that impact, like, where'sthe line?
And you can't tell me?
It's just oh, you know they'regoing to turn it off after they
leave lunch in the break room.
No, that carries through toeverything.
I just think it should remainseparate.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Yeah, it doesn't feel like this is just about free
speech or this is about openingup for all religion.
It really feels like it's abroader push for bringing
honestly Christian values intopublic institutions.
We're seeing it in K-12education, we're seeing it now
in the federal workforce and ifthis gets upheld, it could
really embolden similar shiftsin corporate and nonprofit
(18:37):
workspaces as well.
And again, I think it's justsomething to consider.
Especially if you're in anorganization, I would expect
layoffs, especially around whatcounts as evangelizing versus
harassment.
That is going to be a reallyhard thing to draw a line about,
much like pornography.
It's going to be one of those.
You know it when you see it.
I also think there are somepower dynamics here that can
(18:59):
absolutely be in the mix.
And then I think corporateAmerica is really going to need
to clarify their own policiesaround religious expression to
avoid some pretty major PRbacklash.
There's one thing about whatthis administration is pushing
through.
There's another thing aroundwhat most Americans really are
looking for, which is freedom ofreligion.
(19:20):
So it's interesting Witheverything we've talked about
today.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
It's going to come down to organizations, private
businesses, etc.
Making decisions like what isyour social responsibility here,
just in terms of caring forpeople as well as your business?
I don't know.
I think we're gonna.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
It's gonna come back on the organizations to make
their decisions here and howthey run their business yeah,
one of the things I know in ourprediction show at the top of
january one of the things thatwe asked what do you think this
is going to be?
And one of the things I know inour prediction show at the top
of January, one of the thingsthat we asked what do you think
this is going to be?
And one of the things I saidabout this year was it is going
(20:02):
to become very clear whatorganizations do and don't stand
for.
Or you can evangelize your onereligion that you want in your
organization.
If you really want to.
You can lay off your employees,no problem.
In fact, it's going to beglorified Now.
It is going to become very clearwhat your organization stands
for and what it doesn't.
It really behoovesorganizations to get very clear
(20:24):
about who they are, what theystand for and how.
That lens is going to guide alot of these decisions, because
it's going to be way too easy tojust say, cut it and we're just
following governmental rules.
It's going to be way too easyto do that.
Stand up, who are you?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Yeah, who are you and have the guts to show who you
are, who you are.
This episode was produced,edited and all things by us
myself, mel Plett and FrancescaRanieri.
Our music is by Pink Zebra, andif you loved this conversation
(21:05):
and you want to contribute yourthoughts with us, please do.
You can visit us atyourworkfriendscom, but you can
also join us over on LinkedIn.
We have a LinkedIn communitypage and we have the TikToks and
Instagrams, so please join usin the socials.
And if you like this and you'vebenefited from this episode and
you think someone else canbenefit from this episode,
(21:27):
please rate and subscribe.
We'd really appreciate it.
That helps keep us going.
Take care, friends.
Bye, friends.
A whole shit ton of people are about to lose their
health insurance.
A whole shit ton of people areabout to lose their bonus
structures.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
It will happen, it 100% will happen.
Welcome to your work, friends,where we break down the now and
(00:28):
next of work so you stay ahead.
I'm Mel Platt.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
And I am Francesca Ranieri.
What's up over there?
Listen, you know what I didtoday.
I treated myself to a Diet Coke.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh my God.
I just saw a meme that said aDiet Coke is like a fridge
cigarette.
It made me crack up because Iwas like there is nothing like
an ice cold Diet Coke on a hotsummer day.
It's just delicious.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
It is delicious.
It was that or a cigarette, soI went for the Diet Coke.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
I've never smoked a cigarette.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
You've never smoked a cigarette in your life.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Ever no, not once.
I never even tried it.
I thought it was so gross.
I hate the smell, I just neverdid.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
But I still got the reference.
I am not mad about it.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Ah, I love it.
Listen, we are back with NewWeek New Headlines.
Friends, we took a little minihiatus.
Please forgive us.
New Week, new Headlines is oneof our favorite things to do
because, let's just face it,there's a lot of shit to talk
about and we like to talk aboutit.
So today we are covering a fewdifferent topics.
Francesca, what are you talkingabout?
Okay, I?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
am talking about the job market cool down that
continues to deepen.
I want to talk about what'scoming out of the latest Jolt's
report and the three big numbers.
I'm looking at that.
I hate to say it, folks, if youthink this job market is crazy,
town USA, it is, and I have thenumbers to prove it.
I also want to talk about thislatest Trump memo that came out
about.
Evangelizing at workplace isnow fair game if you're a
(01:56):
federal employee and what thiskind of Christian religion creep
might look like if it comes tocorporate America.
What are you talking about?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Mel and creep might look like if it comes to
corporate America.
What are you talking about, mel?
I am talking about the HouseBill, the Modern Worker
Employment Act, and what thatmight mean for folks and how
that might change how we definewhat it means to be an employee
in America.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yikes.
The Jolt Report was releasedthis week and it showcases that
the job market cooldown isdeepening, with more Americans
filing claims and longerunemployment durations.
Headlines are focusing onthings like falling job openings
, but the story underneath it,in terms of long-term
unemployment and also how longit's taking to find jobs, I
(02:43):
think is the real story here.
Mel, as you're talking topeople, what are you hearing
about the job market right now?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
One.
I do career coaching forindividuals and so I hear that
all the time by people who aretrying to pivot, people who've
been impacted by layoffs.
What I'm hearing is it istaking them incredibly long
amounts of time, not just to getthe interview, just to get the
job Six months, some folks up toa year or more and these are
(03:12):
folks who just based oncredentials they are hot talent
they would be picked up in asecond in normal job markets.
And, having worked in talentacquisition, I've seen every
market right.
I survived 2008,.
Folks, we talked about thefrozen job market last year.
In talent acquisition, I'veseen every market right.
I survived 2008,.
Folks, we talked about thefrozen job market last year in
the fall, but I think thatfrozen job market just getting
(03:33):
icier and icier.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, the data backs that up.
A couple of things to look at.
Which is initial and continuedclaims are climbing, which is a
sign of weakening momentum.
Weekly initial unemploymentclaims slipped to 217,000 in the
week ending July 19th, which ishealthy, but it's continuing to
get worse, rose slightly toabout 1.96 million, suggesting
(03:53):
consistent layoffs or difficultyin rehiring, largely reported
by the Wall Street Journal.
That's number one.
Number two people are unemployedfor longer than they were a
year ago.
The average duration ofunemployment in June was about
23 weeks, that's about 5.3months.
That's up from 21.8 weeks inMay.
Keep in mind that these arelagging indicators and I know
(04:17):
everyone has been saying, okay,the job market's still healthy,
unemployment's still relativelylow.
But as we keep going from Aprilto May to june and now july,
these numbers keep getting worse.
They're lagging indicators andmy gut is they're going to
continue to keep getting pulleddown because, to your very good
point, it's harder and harder toland a job.
That amount of time is justgetting longer.
(04:41):
And the other last thing I'mlooking at too is long-term
unemployment is rising.
In June, the number of peoplejobless for 27 weeks or more
rose to 1.6 million, accountingfor 23.3 of all unemployed.
Meanwhile, the marginallyattached population those who
(05:02):
want to work but haven't lookedin the past year increased to
1.8 million.
So what this is telling you ismore people are getting laid off
.
It's taking longer to find ajob.
People that are consideredlong-term unemployed and or have
just given up on finding a jobbecause they've been out of work
so long is getting larger.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
If you've been impacted by a RIFF.
You can get burnt out reallyquickly and it becomes defeating
.
It's a full-time job itself tofind a job.
You and I talk about this allthe time.
That's what we hear from ourfriend people who reach out to
us from the pod.
It's a lot of work.
I think this trend is going tocontinue as organizations
(05:38):
continue to evaluate what thefuture of their business looks
like and how their org isstructured to support it, and
with technology like AI, I thinkwe're going to see a lot of
this going forward.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I think we're going to see a lot of it.
Listen, we're in an environmentwhere, for instance, Wall
Street Journal just published anarticle with CEOs celebrating
the amount of layoffs they'redoing right now.
The name of the game isefficiency and when you're in
this type of market, if you'regainfully employed, what I would
try to do if I were you isdon't have just six months of
cushion, have 12 months ofcushion if you can, just to give
(06:11):
yourself that float.
The other thing I wouldconsider to your very good point
about organizations makingdifferent decisions, we're
seeing a pretty significantuptick in contracted gig work.
If you have been unemployed fora long time, if you haven't
considered fractional or gig orcontract, I would look into that
and I think gig work's here tostay.
I know we'll talk about that alittle bit later on, but this is
(06:34):
something where I think we'reat the doors of.
Gig work is the main work.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
We've been talking about that for over a year now.
You said it multiple times thatwe're going to get down to
these skeleton crews and I thinkthat's what we're starting to
see, and if you haven't startedto think about your brand, what
that might look like, now's thetime to start thinking about
that.
And it's not impossible.
Phone a friend, phone us ifyou're in that position, like
we'd be happy to talk with you.
(06:59):
So reach out to us if that'ssomething you're struggling with
right now.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
It's not only possible, it's actually fun.
It's fun, it is fun.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, and listen.
The current market doesn'tdetermine your value.
So for anyone who's in thatposition, please know we've been
there, we get it, but itdoesn't reflect your capability
or your value.
These are things outside ofyour control.
So, when you think about thatsphere of control, what's
happening right now in themarket is so unique and we've
(07:27):
seen it all, but we are in aunique time, so don't let what's
outside of your controldetermine your self-worth in
this moment.
That's my soapbox.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
What's happening with the employee?
Okay, four, five, six, seven,eight, nine.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So this is Bill HR 1319, the Modern Worker
Employment Act.
This was proposed back inFebruary.
We touched on it lightly whenit first got proposed, but not
enough had come out yet.
So what is this bill discussing?
Are you an employee or are youa gig worker?
Are you independent?
So this bill could redefinewhat an employee means.
In America as we know it, thisis a fight over freedom,
(08:07):
benefits and the fine printthat's going to decide who gets
protected at work and what youget from work.
This is a Republican-sponsoredbill.
It aims to reshape how thefederal government is defining
employee versus an independentcontractor.
That line determines whetheryou get benefits, overtime pay,
labor protections and the legalright to unionize today.
(08:28):
Here's why this matters.
Under current federal law,whether someone counts as an
employee is based on a verybroad economic realities test
that includes things likewhether you wear a uniform or
not, whether you follow companyrules, whether you use company
tools like a laptop, whether youwork full time for just one
company.
This bill is going to throw outmost of what we use today for
(08:51):
those realities tests andinstead it's proposing a
narrower standard that focuseson just two things.
One, whether the companycontrols how you do the work,
not just what the final resultis.
And two, whether you operateyour own business and take on
economic risk.
Okay, under this definition, ifyou're working full-time but you
(09:12):
have flexibility in how you getthe work done, you could
potentially be classified as anindependent contractor, not an
employee.
What this means in practice?
Just to give you an example,let's say you're a salaried
employee today.
You work for a big org.
You're salaried, you're amanager, you're fine, but you
work remotely.
You use your own equipment.
(09:33):
Maybe you make your ownschedule how the work gets done.
Under this new bill, youremployer could argue that you're
not truly an employee anymoreand you get reclassified.
You lose employer-providedhealth insurance, you lose paid
sick or family leave, you loseunemployment insurance, you lose
protection under federal wageand hour laws and you lose the
(09:56):
right to organize under theNational Labor Relations Act.
What do you think about that,francesca?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Let me tell you what my reaction to this is.
It is very expensive fororganizations to carry employees
because they have to pay forthings like yes, your insurance,
yes your bonuses, yes, anylitigation.
That happens because you areunionizing, plus all the people
they need to employ to make surethat all of your protections
(10:23):
are there as well and all ofthat gets operationalized.
It is very expensive fororganizations to carry employees
, and if you think organizationswill not take advantage of
being able to reclassify humanworkers so they don't have to
bear that expense, I'm tellingyou right now, in this ecosystem
(10:47):
, in this world of efficiencyI'm not trying to be dramatic
You're wrong.
You're wrong.
We have seen this over and overagain with offshoring, with
layoffs, with AI.
Where there is money to besaved, organizations will say it
is their fiduciaryresponsibility to their
(11:08):
shareholders and to the companyto do that, which basically
means a whole shit ton of peopleare about to lose their health
insurance.
A whole shit ton of people areabout to lose their bonus
structures.
It will happen.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It 100% will happen.
We just we just talked about itand just covered I, we, this is
where things are headed, folks,which is we're not saying this
to scare you, we're saying thisso you're prepared, and so these
are things that you need tolook out for.
So I just want to give a littlebit of information if you're
curious.
This bill, as I mentioned, wasproposed back in February.
However, it just passed out ofthe committee, the House
(11:48):
Education and WorkforceCommittee, july 23rd, so last
week.
Right now it's waiting for avote on the House floor.
So it's not law yet, but with aRepublican it's a Republican
sponsored bill and withRepublican control of both the
House and the Senate, it'slikely going to gain real
momentum and it could advancequicker than you think.
(12:09):
Okay, what happens if thispasses?
Things you need to be aware offriend to friend National impact
it's going to apply to allstates changing how federal
labor laws are enforced underthe Fair Labor Standards Act and
the National Labor RelationsAct.
As I mentioned, it could alsooverride state rules.
California we love California.
(12:31):
There are huge workers.
Right State love them.
New Jersey, california's AB5test, new Jersey's ABC test
those are more protective ofworkers today.
This could actually overridethat and typically when you see
federal law passed, usuallystates will make up for it,
right?
That's why you hear peoplesaying, oh, that state does this
(12:51):
.
You always hear aboutCalifornia.
But this could override thatand then the worker
classifications coulddrastically shift.
Businesses may review theirentire workforce structure and
they will.
As you just said, francesca,they will, they're going to take
a look and they're going tolegally see who they can
reclassify.
Some of the industries thatthey anticipate could be
(13:12):
impacted immediately media,healthcare, tech, trucking,
education, contractor versusemployees already contested in
these industries pretty heavily.
So these are likely industriesthat are going to be impacted
first.
If you work in them, you mightwant to start thinking about
what's next, what happens ifthis passes?
(13:32):
Gig workers you're going to beokay.
It's not really doing much.
It's redefining full-time jobs.
It's more freelance at scale.
We've been talking about thisfor over two years now.
That's what's going to happenhere.
One of the positives and youand I we've talked about this a
million times this starts theconversation of what needs to
(13:53):
get out of being tied to yourworkplace package, things like
healthcare.
That conversation needs tohappen.
This is why people care aboutthings like universal health
care, because you shouldn't losehealth care.
Health care should be a humanright.
I'm sorry, that's my stance.
I'm going to share my POV.
(14:13):
You want to disagree with me?
Totally fine.
But this health care, this iswhere health care as a human
right comes into play, because alot of people here might lose
health care as a result of thisFriend to friend.
This might sound like, oh,nothing might change with your
job or how your job iscategorized, but nobody is
immune from recategorizationhere.
(14:35):
If this passes, if you're fulltime, working remotely, making
your own schedule, you could beimpacted, so pay attention to
that.
I don't know the shift work'sgoing to be restructured in a
few years, maybe sooner.
Our jobs are posted, whatcompanies expect, what
protections come with yourpaycheck?
That's worth paying attentionto, so keep your eyes open and
(15:00):
your ears open, all right.
Stage Stage advice hey, call usif you want to chat about it.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Okay, so this week the Trump administration
released a memo saying thatevangelizing at work is now fair
game.
If you were a federal employee,have you heard this?
No, I have not.
It's basically signaling apretty seismic shift in how
personal beliefs, especiallyreligion and I want everyone to
key on this, especially religionshow up at work, even if you're
(15:34):
not in the government.
This could really easily rippleacross corporate norms and
spark some pretty fresh tensionsaround what's appropriate in
the workplace.
And there are three thingsabout this memo again, even
though it's just targetingfederal employees that really
struck me, if you will.
One is the memo loosens therules.
A new memo, the memo from theOffice of Special Counsel, says
(15:55):
federal employees can nowencourage co-workers to rethink
their religious beliefs at work,even in shared spaces like
break rooms or team meetings, solong as they're off the clock
and not being disruptive Actions.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
I'm a fan of religious freedom.
What our country was founded onright.
I am all for people havingreligious freedom, but work is
so stressful as it is.
I just think there are thingsthat are personal that you don't
need to bring into theworkplace.
What is the purpose of thisexactly?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Yeah To your point.
The second piece for me, whichis it's drawing a line between
sharing your faith andpressuring others.
But many legal experts say thatline is murky and there's a
real concern that it could openthe door to coercive or even
exclusionary behavior.
Here's my question with this.
Here's an example.
(16:54):
I was born and raised Catholic.
I don't go to church anymore.
I don't really talk aboutreligion anymore.
I've gone a little woo and Ibelieve in the universe.
That's my thing, right.
But what happens when my bossis a born-again Christian and,
in the break room, as I'mgetting coffee, wants to talk to
me about family values?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, is this open for all religions?
And, like you, I think it getsreally murky.
Just last week there was anarticle that came out about a
woman who shared that her doctorrefused to give her prenatal
care because she was a singlemother and he didn't agree as
(17:35):
part of his religion to which,by the way, doctors take an oath
that they're supposed to helpeverybody.
So how, I don't know.
I just think where's the line?
And that can get really trickyreally fast, because what if
you're super religious and yourreligion, again, doesn't agree
with single mothers?
So does that impact someone'sperformance?
(17:58):
Does that impact the way theyget promoted?
Does that impact, like, where'sthe line?
And you can't tell me?
It's just oh, you know they'regoing to turn it off after they
leave lunch in the break room.
No, that carries through toeverything.
I just think it should remainseparate.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Yeah, it doesn't feel like this is just about free
speech or this is about openingup for all religion.
It really feels like it's abroader push for bringing
honestly Christian values intopublic institutions.
We're seeing it in K-12education, we're seeing it now
in the federal workforce and ifthis gets upheld, it could
really embolden similar shiftsin corporate and nonprofit
(18:37):
workspaces as well.
And again, I think it's justsomething to consider.
Especially if you're in anorganization, I would expect
layoffs, especially around whatcounts as evangelizing versus
harassment.
That is going to be a reallyhard thing to draw a line about,
much like pornography.
It's going to be one of those.
You know it when you see it.
I also think there are somepower dynamics here that can
(18:59):
absolutely be in the mix.
And then I think corporateAmerica is really going to need
to clarify their own policiesaround religious expression to
avoid some pretty major PRbacklash.
There's one thing about whatthis administration is pushing
through.
There's another thing aroundwhat most Americans really are
looking for, which is freedom ofreligion.
(19:20):
So it's interesting Witheverything we've talked about
today.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
It's going to come down to organizations, private
businesses, etc.
Making decisions like what isyour social responsibility here,
just in terms of caring forpeople as well as your business?
I don't know.
I think we're gonna.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
It's gonna come back on the organizations to make
their decisions here and howthey run their business yeah,
one of the things I know in ourprediction show at the top of
january one of the things thatwe asked what do you think this
is going to be?
And one of the things I know inour prediction show at the top
of January, one of the thingsthat we asked what do you think
this is going to be?
And one of the things I saidabout this year was it is going
(20:02):
to become very clear whatorganizations do and don't stand
for.
Or you can evangelize your onereligion that you want in your
organization.
If you really want to.
You can lay off your employees,no problem.
In fact, it's going to beglorified Now.
It is going to become very clearwhat your organization stands
for and what it doesn't.
It really behoovesorganizations to get very clear
(20:24):
about who they are, what theystand for and how.
That lens is going to guide alot of these decisions, because
it's going to be way too easy tojust say, cut it and we're just
following governmental rules.
It's going to be way too easyto do that.
Stand up, who are you?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Yeah, who are you and have the guts to show who you
are, who you are.
This episode was produced,edited and all things by us
myself, mel Plett and FrancescaRanieri.
Our music is by Pink Zebra, andif you loved this conversation
(21:05):
and you want to contribute yourthoughts with us, please do.
You can visit us atyourworkfriendscom, but you can
also join us over on LinkedIn.
We have a LinkedIn communitypage and we have the TikToks and
Instagrams, so please join usin the socials.
And if you like this and you'vebenefited from this episode and
you think someone else canbenefit from this episode,
(21:27):
please rate and subscribe.
We'd really appreciate it.
That helps keep us going.
Take care, friends.
Bye, friends.
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