David Lidsky's Blog, page 225

Fertility benefits are getting more expensive, but 69% of employers are still investing in them

According to a new survey by Maven Clinic, 70% of employers have seen the cost of family-building benefits go up—but most companies are continuing to expand coverage for their workers.

Workplaces have started offering more customized benefits over the past decade, even including niche offerings that help employees navigate major life changes like divorce. As demand has increased for fertility coverage and mental health support, for example, many employers have actually doubled down on these benefits in recent years, despite economic headwinds.

Missouri sues Starbucks over its diversity programs

A new lawsuit from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey accuses Starbucks of using diversity programs to discriminate based on race and gender.

The fight over businesses’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs is heading to the courtroom. This week, a lawsuit was filed against coffee giant Starbucks over DEI practices which the suit claims break the law.

That lawsuit, filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a republican, says the chain is allowing race discrimination. “Starbucks ties compensation to racial and sexbased quotas, discriminates on the basis of race and sex in training and advancement opportunities, and discriminates on the basis of race and sex with respect to its board membership,” the suit reads. “All of this is unlawful.” 

She helped create the U.S. Digital Service. Now it’s become the U.S. DOGE Service

Former U.S. deputy chief technology officer Jen Pahlka reflects on USDS’s transformation into the U.S. DOGE Service.

As former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Jen Pahlka helped to create the U.S. Digital Service (USDS). Today, the USDS houses Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hell-bent on quick, disruptive change. Pahlka shares why the motivation behind Musk’s disruption of the status quo isn’t necessarily wrong, arguing that we must clear the “sludge” out of government processes to finally create the conditions for substantive change. 

Where’s my tax refund? This online IRS tool shows your refund’s status

The IRS offers a quick and easy online tool to check your tax refund status in seconds

The 2025 tax season is in full swing, and the number one question most people have on their minds after filing their return is, “Where’s my tax refund?” Thankfully, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a quick and easy online tool to help you check the status of your tax refund. Here’s what you need to know about the tool as well as how long it may take to receive your refund.

‘The New Yorker’ turns 100: Here’s how it started with a poker game

To start The New Yorker, Ross’ poker partner Fleischmann was willing to stake him US$25,000—roughly $450,000 in today’s dollars.

Literate in tone, far-reaching in scope, and witty to its bones, The New Yorker brought a new—and much-needed—sophistication to American journalism when it launched 100 years ago this month.

A partnership between Jigsaw and this Kentucky city could be the future of civic engagement

Bowling Green is teaming up with the Google team and the statistical analysis company Polis to reimagine its future.

Bowling Green, Kentucky, is known for being the city from which Corvettes roll off the production lines, and for Fruit of the Loom underwear, which is headquartered there.

January was a terrible month for retail sales thanks. Blame the cold

The average temperature in January was the lowest since 1988. U.S. retail sales dropped sharply.

U.S. retail sales dropped sharply last month, in part because cold weather kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car dealers and most other stores.

Treasury watchdog office is auditing DOGE’s access to federal government’s payment system

The audit marks part of the broader effort led by Democratic lawmakers and federal employee unions to provide transparency about DOGE’s activities.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General on Friday said it was launching an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system, after Democratic senators raised red flags about the access provided to Trump aide Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team.

National Park Service erases transgender references from Stonewall National Monument website

The monument, which honors the birth of LGBTQ civil rights, has denounced the move to comply with Trump’s executive order on gender.

In a move on the petty-but-harmful bar of shutting down the White House Spanish-language page and the removal of words such as “diversity” and “fairness” from the FBI core values, the National Park Service (NPS) has erased references to transgender and queer people from the official website for the Stonewall National Monument due to a executive order issued by President Donald Trump. 

Recovery urbanism: Build Los Angeles’s resilient future

The fires give a chance to reimagine our communities’ future.

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