News & Commentary July 9, 2023 (heat waves have disproportionate impact on farmworkers)

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/july-9-2023/

By Will Ebeler

Will Ebeler is a student at Harvard Law School.

In this weekend’s news and commentary, a new report highlights sexual harassment faced by real estate agents; heat waves have disproportionate impact on farmworkers; and New York City’s new minimum wage for delivery drivers is temporarily stayed.

A new report in the New York Times highlights the sexual harassment that real estate agents experience. Surveys report that most real estate agents have either experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace, and the Times tells the story of several real estate agents who have experienced workplace harassment. Rachel DiSalvo, who has been a real estate agent for 12 years, said that buyers have attempted to grope her and told a story of a seller who, angry she hadn’t secured a higher price for his home, took out an ax in front of her and attacked the lawn sign with her picture. Ninety percent of real estate agents are independent contractors who are not protected under Title VII, and real estate agencies do not feel required to offer workplace protections or training. That means it is up to individual realtors to take personal precautions. However, as Ms. DiSalvo explains, realtors face a difficult choice: if they adopt certain safety measures, such as asking a potential client for identification or refusing to set meetings at night, the client may choose another agent. And where an agent’s income is based on commissions, “if someone does harass you, and you complain about it, you basically lose the opportunity to make that commission.” In the past, when Ms. DiSalvo was verbally harassed by a client, her real estate company suggested that a male colleague close the deal—which meant she paid her colleague a referral fee out of her own commission.

FULL story at link above.