David Lidsky's Blog, page 216

DoorDash to pay New York delivery workers nearly $17 million for using tips to cover wages

The company will pay $16.75 million in restitution that will be distributed to DoorDash workers who made deliveries between May 2017 and September 2019 in New York.

The ubiquitous food delivery app DoorDash will pay almost $17 million to settle claims that it unfairly used customer tips to subsidize the wages of its delivery workers in New York City, rather than letting drivers keep the tips on top of their guaranteed pay, Attorney General Letitia James said Monday.

Trump proposes big port fees on Chinese cargo ships. Here’s how that could affect you

A new proposal to increase port fees for shipping companies with Chinese fleets could significantly raise costs on all kinds of imported goods from around the world.

Donald Trump could be about to escalate the trade war with China. A proposal, unveiled Friday, would slap fees on any Chinese-built vessels, as well as Chinese shipping companies, that enter U.S. ports.

The best apps to find new books

From Libby to BookBub, these tools will get you thumbing through your next great read in no time.

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

It’s time to check on your middle managers

Middle managers are struggling. Here’s how employers can better support them—and help prepare the young employees who might take their place in the future.

Middle managers have had a hard go of it over the past five years. There was the upheaval of the pandemic, followed by ongoing changes in the workplace as companies adjusted to remote work and then, in many cases, eventually brought employees back into the office. Amid all these fluctuations, managers have been tasked with mitigating low morale, parrying employee discontent, and juggling their mounting responsibilities, especially as recurring layoffs thin their ranks.

How to level-up your freelancing career in 2025

From how to find more clients to how to prevent AI from taking your gigs, here are tips from a longtime freelancer on improving your freelance business.

Longevity with freelancing is entirely possible if you’re intentional, adaptable, and development-oriented. Freelancers should think of themselves as a business of one as opposed to an outsourced employee for other companies. And it’s import to always be improving that business. As E-Myth Revisited author Michael Gerber once wrote, “Most entrepreneurs fail because they are working in their business rather than on their business.”

SAG Awards 2025: How and when to watch Hollywood’s most heartfelt tribute to actors

The Screen Actors Guild Awards will stream on Netflix once again this year. Here’s everything to know about the celebration of on-screen talent.

It’s almost time for the most heartfelt accolades of Hollywood’s award season. The Screen Actors Guild Awards, hosted by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), is set to take place tonight (Sunday, February 23) at 8 p.m. ET. This tribute to actors gets its emotion from the fact that it is put on by actors.

Housing market outlook: What forecasters see mortgage rates doing through 2026

A roundup of quarterly mortgage rate forecasts shows that most forecasters still expect mortgage rates to gradually decrease over the next 18 months.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

Here’s how to figure out how much insurance you need

You don’t need a degree in advanced mathematics to determine how much insurance you need, when you need it, and how long to carry it.

Your insurance needs change over time. The policies that work for a single, 20-something professional renting an apartment with three roommates may be completely wrong for the same person after marriage, babies, and a cozy mortgage in a good school district.

Munich police investigate 1,000 mysterious stickers with QR codes on gravestones

The QR codes show the name of the person buried in the grave and its location in the cemetery.

Police in Munich are investigating a mystery: More than 1,000 stickers were put on gravestones and wooden crosses at three cemeteries in the German city, without any indication of where they came from or why.

Trustworthy leaders drive organizational success in the face of rapid change

Fortunately for managers and workers, there’s a lot of research into how to be a more trustworthy leader.

National Leadership Day, which takes place every Feb. 20, offers a chance to reflect on what truly defines leadership – not just strategy or decision-making, but the ability to build trust. In an era of rapid change, when teams look to leaders for stability and direction, trust is the invisible currency that fuels organizational success.