- Amazon Employees to Return to the Office Five Days a Week
- Sam’s Club Increases Its Minimum Wage to $16 Per Hour
- New York Enacts Retail Worker Safety Law
- China Is Raising Its Retirement Age
Amazon Employees to Return to the Office Five Days a Week
Amazon will be transitioning corporate staffers to work in the office five days a week, according to a memo company CEO Andy Jassy made available to employees on Sept. 16.
The decision marks a significant shift from Amazon’s earlier return-to-work stance, which required corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week. The company is giving employees until Jan. 2 to start adhering to the new policy.
Corporate employees will be expected to be in the office five days a week “outside of extenuating circumstances” or unless they have been granted an exception by their organization’s S-team leader, Jassy said in the memo, referring to the group of executives that report to Amazon’s CEO.
Amazon also plans to simplify its corporate structure by having fewer managers to “remove layers and flatten organizations,” Jassy wrote. Amazon said each team will review their structure as part of the process, and that it’s possible they’ll identify roles that are no longer required. Any changes or adjustments will be announced at the team level.
Sam’s Club Increases Its Minimum Wage to $16 Per Hour
Sam’s Club, the membership club arm of Walmart, will increase its minimum wage to $16 per hour starting in November, up from $15 an hour, CNN reported. The business will also raise wages for its nearly 100,000 employees, with increases ranging from 3% to 6% depending on tenure.
According to CNN, the move is meant to help Sam’s Club better compete for talent with Costco — which pays $19.50 per hour (among the highest pay in retail) — and other chains that have raised wages.
Previously, Sam’s Club hourly employees got annual raises of 3% a year until they reached their maximum pay. Under the new plan, employees may receive raises of up to 6% a year until they hit the maximum rate. After they hit their maximum, they can get an additional lump-sum payment of 6% of their annual salary.
New York Enacts Retail Worker Safety Law
On Sept. 5, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law the Retail Worker Safety Act. The Act requires retail employers to provide training and information to employees to prevent workplace violence, based on a model program produced by the state’s Department of Labor. Additionally, retailers with 500 or more employees statewide must provide access to a silent alarm for workers in need of emergency assistance.
Covered employers must also develop a workplace violence prevention training program to comply with the law, which takes effect March 1, 2025. The training must meet several requirements, including providing examples of actions retail employees can take to protect themselves if they face violence from customers or coworkers, as well as generating a list of emergency exits and meeting locations employees can utilize in the event of an emergency.
Earlier this year, California became the first state to require certain employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan.
China Is Raising Its Retirement Age
As reported by the Associated Press, China will raise its retirement age for workers starting next year in an effort to address its shrinking population and aging workforce.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, passed the new policy Sept. 13 after a sudden announcement earlier in the week that it was reviewing the measure, state broadcaster CCTV announced.
The policy change will be carried out over 15 years, with the retirement age for men raised to 63 years and for women to 55 or 58 years, depending on their jobs. The current retirement age is 60 for men and 50 for women in blue-collar jobs and 55 for women doing white-collar work.
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