This company is paying workers to quit đŸ€”

Could you owe taxes on income you didn’t make?

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 1   McKinsey is paying employees up to nine months of salary to quit đŸ€”

Charnchai/iStock

Get paid to go away. McKinsey is offering UK employees thousands of dollars to resign, per Fortune. If employees accept, they’ll 1) stop working,  2) gain access to McKinsey’s career coaching and admin support (e.g. rĂ©sumĂ© workshops), and 3) stay on payroll for nine months as they look for a new job.

Um
why is McKinsey doing this? The firm went on a hiring spree during the pandemic. Its headcount ballooned from 28,000 employees in 2018 to about 45,000 today—a 60% increase. As demand for their services slows down, McKinsey is looking to cut costs in a “supportive way.”

Still, employees are anxious to see how this might play out—some even speculating that an employee’s refusal to resign might result in negative consequences:

“They wouldn’t be put on client engagements,” suggested a comment in the r/consulting forum. “They’d get the lowest ratings and then be forced out. This is why the majority take the voluntary package when they are being counseled out.” 

Would you accept 9 months pay to quit?

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 2   DoorDash and Uber are sending 1099s to people who never worked there 💾

Owing $10,000 in taxes? The worst. But owing $10,000 in taxes on income you never made? That’s next level—and exactly what’s happening to the numerous people receiving tax forms from DoorDash and Uber despite having never worked there. 

“I have a full-time job. I do not drive for Uber nor have I ever. Certainly not to the tune of $25,000” wrote one person

So
what’s going on? This is likely a case of identity theft—AKA, someone used their name, address, Social Security number, and other details to rake in money that could never be taxed. And it’s not entirely surprising that this is happening for DoorDash and Uber, two companies that have suffered major data breaches.

Our advice? If you’re hit with tax forms for income you never made, contact the employer, the IRS, and the Better Business Bureau, stat. And of course, remember to update those passwords (the password you’ve had since 6th grade doesn’t cut it anymore). 

 3   California introduces the right to disconnect bill 🙅

Washington Post illustration/ iStock

POV: It’s a Thursday night and you’re about to crawl into bed to watch ‘Love is Blind’ when you get a Slack message. It’s way past working hours, but your boss is expecting a response
and not answering could mean missing out on a promotion. 

Enter Assembly Bill 2751. Under this legislation, employees in California would have the right to ignore after-hours calls, emails, and texts from their employers. And if your boss contacts you anyway? They pay a fine of up to $100 per offense

The “right to disconnect” bill is long overdue: 

  • When Covid-19 shifted communication online, the “always on” culture exploded. In 2022, a poll of 4,225 workers found that 55% felt pressured to respond to calls or check emails after working hours. 

  • As Assemblyman Matt Haney puts it: “Workers shouldn’t be punished for not being available 24/7 if they’re not being paid for 24 hours of work.” 

If Bill 2751 passes, California would be the first US state to have a law of this kind. But the US is playing catch-up: Australia, France, Greece, and dozens of other countries already have this practice in place.

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Thanks for being here! Before parting ways, get this: An AI chatbot meant to help NYC business owners has been spewing misinformation

The chatbot suggested that it was perfectly legal to fire an employee who filed sexual harassment claims, had dreadlocks, or didn’t disclose a pregnancy (it’s not). 

It gets wilder: 

When asked if a restaurant should serve cheese nibbled on by rodents, it responded with, “Yes, you can still serve the cheese to customers” but to first assess “the extent of the damage caused by the rat.” 

Yeah
we’d say AI still has a long way to go. 

See you next week!

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