When questions of civil rights, or inequality, or discrimination arise, we are often reminded that we are supposed to be striving for an ideal: the ideal of meritocracy, where everyone rises and falls on their own merits. Take a moment to consider the problems with our ideal.

With 1.3 million American employees, Walmart has the ability to influence retail wages in a way that no other company does. A new report says Walmart is still stealing from the public treasury.

If you read any of our "Unemployment Stories" series a few years ago, you heard dozens of tales of older Americans who lost their jobs and were unable to get back on their feet. New survey data shows just how bad unemployment in later life can be.

Since 2000, the number of jobs within commuting distance of an average American resident has fallen by 7%. Despite the fact that long commutes are one of the biggest barriers to human happiness, our commutes are getting longer. We are smart.

"Now, to put it in basic terms: Lowe's strongly opposes unions in our company." This is true!

Retail monster Target has more than 360,000 employees. Some of them are oldies; some of them are Gen Xers; and some of them are the dreaded millennials. Fortunately, the company has a neatly stereotyped training guide for managers to navigate this generational minefield.

The small staff of Boston.com, the breaking-news site associated with The Boston Globe, is still reeling from weeks of internal unrest stemming from a series a viral posts about a Harvard professor and a Chinese restaurant published in early December, which resulted in a retraction, some disciplinary actions, and a suspension for one staffer. The turmoil’s latest casualty, however, involves a previously unrelated party: a young journalist who was about to start a fellowship at BuzzFeed.

Shortly before the 2012 presidential election, Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel told his thousands of employees that he might have to lay them off if Barack Obama was elected. How has that turned out?

What is it like to work at an Amazon warehouse during the annual holiday rush? One Amazon warehouse employee kindly narrated the "nonstop chaos" for us over the past month.

Noted media thinker Jay Rosen offers this advice to to working journalists: if you don't thoroughly understand your company's business model, then "you should quit." Allow us to offer this counterpoint: whatever you do, do not listen to this man.

Many of you have jobs in which you are required to regularly attend "meetings." Meetings about budgets, or staffing, or strategy, or one million other arcane workplace topics. I would like to point out, to your boss: "meetings," as a practice, are an enormous waste of time.

Whole Foods has just launched its first national advertising campaign, featuring the slogan "Values Matter." It emphasizes not just quality food, but also the company's "fair labor practices." How do Whole Foods employees feel on that point?

Whole Foods, a company that has lately been beloved by yuppies, the middle class, and Wall Street alike, is facing demands for a union. But Whole Foods hates unions! How much? An insider tells us more.

Amazon's status as Wall Street's darling may have come to an end. A disappointing earnings report last week sent the stock sliding and caused loud grumbling about the choices of brilliant(?) prick CEO Jeff Bezos. To add to those doubts, here's a story from an Amazon warehouse employee.

Walmart, America's largest employer, announced that it will stop providing health insurance for around 30,000 part time workers, in order to cut costs.

Amazon CEO and brilliant prick Jeff Bezos seems to have lost his magic touch lately. Investors, employees, and authors are all lashing out against different elements of Bezos' business practices. Don't worry, Jeff: Amazon has just the thing to improve you.

The Newspaper Guild, a union that represents hundreds of editorial employees at Time Inc., says that contract negotiations with the company have broken down after the company stood firm on its demands for the right to outsource union jobs.

In addition to low wages and nonexistent benefit, millions of American workers have to deal with unpredictable scheduling that fluctuates week by week. A new survey shows just how pervasive the problem is in New York City.

Yesterday was Labor Day, a holiday that most Americans celebrate by going to work at their low-paid jobs. But—as unlikely as it seems—the president actually said something meaningful in his mandatory Labor Day speech yesterday.

Over the course of under three weeks, the casino resort town of Atlantic City, N.J. will see its city lose three iconic casinos and over 8,000 jobs, leaving a quarter of the town's casino workforce unemployed.