Author: PoP Sponsor (a)

By employment law attorney Tom Spiggle, who is barred and practices in the state of Virginia, with The Spiggle Law Firm.

More than ever before, US businesses are reporting wrongdoing, with a corresponding increase in retaliation against the employee who reports it, according to the Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES), the 11th biannual survey given by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative’s (ECI) headquartered in Arlington, VA.

The GBES attempts to analyze business practices and track misconduct in the workplace and patterns in reporting misconduct and retaliation against employees.

A survey was taken in December analyzing 5,000 employees in the US and another was given to workers in other countries.

In March, ECI announced that over the last two years, this rate has doubled. Sixty-nine percent of American employees said that they have reported misconduct at their workplace. However, 44% of those employees who responded to the survey said that their employer has retaliated against them for reporting this information; this rate was only 22% five years ago.

Retaliation against an employee occurs when an employee reports an incidence of discrimination, unsafe environments or illegal activity and the employer then acts in a way that threatens, fires, demotes, discriminates or otherwise acts in a hostile way against that employee as a direct result of that reporting.

Although retaliation is prohibited in the US against employees, it is difficult to prove a causal connection between the employee’s action and the employer’s subsequent behavior.

“This survey shows that employers still need to be aware of workplace misconduct and strengthen ethical standards in their organizations. Unethical behavior is on the rise in workplaces around the globe,” said Tom Spiggle, Principal at The Spiggle Law Firm located in Washington, D.C. “Employees have the right to be compensated and bring employment claims against their employers when unethical behavior persists, and employers punish workers for reporting unethical and even illegal behavior.”

In addition, ECI surveyed 18,000 employees globally in 18 countries. They found that 40% of employees worldwide reported a weak ethical culture in their workplace, and 16% still felt pressure to compromise ethical standards. However, the rate of observed misconduct has decreased in the past five years to 15%.

Some findings include that India has both the highest rate of reporting of observed misconduct (82%) and the highest rate of retaliation against people who reported this misconduct (74%). 46% of employees in Brazil report pressure to compromise ethical standards (46%), the highest rate, while only 10% in Spain do, the lowest rate.

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You’ve never seen improv like this before: Washington Improv Theater’s Interplay series features dynamic artistic mash-ups between WIT’s own improvisers and artists from the worlds of music, dance, poetry, puppetry and more.

Each mash-up will take a different shape and every show will be completely different (it’s improv, after all). Interplay also features the debut of WIT’s original show In Lieu of Flowers.

What are these collaborations?

• All-female ensemble Hellcat mashes up with artists from Super Art Fight, a group that blends visual arts with the theatrics of professional wrestling.
• Long-running WIT team Commonwealth improvises off the tales of storytellers from Story District
• Eccentric ensemble Love Onion gets physical during an improv collaboration with a four-piece dance ensemble

Interplay will also feature collaborators like The Puppet Co., percussionist Tom Teasley, as well as poets like 13 of Nazareth and John MacDonald.

Improvised Funeral In Lieu of Flowers Makes World Premiere

Interplay also includes the debut of In Lieu of Flowers, an improvised funeral based on an audience member interview.

“Until Elon Musk defeats time itself, we’re going to experience the deaths of people we love and ultimately, our own deaths. I think comedy is the perfect way to have this conversation,” said co-director Lura Barber.

Check out our interview with directors Lura Barber and Zach Mason and get tickets for one of the show’s five performances.

Want to give improv a try? Summer classes are registering now! You can also bring improv to your office with a WIT@Work organizational training.

This weekly column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Kalorama resident Jeffrey Tanck. He can be reached at [email protected].

Now that you’re properly licensed and insured, its time to find a great tenant for your rental. Your mantra here should be, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Just like dating, most renters encounter their future home online — and you have about two seconds to compel your prospect to swipe right, so to speak. Like your Tinder profile, the listing for your rental should shine.

Invest in professional photography. Camera phone photos won’t cut it.

Have a floor plan made of your space and post it online and list the approximate square footage based on the measurements. The more information you can provide to potential tenants, the more invested they will be when they contact you to set up a tour.

Your listing should clearly articulate the amount of the rent, the security deposit, minimum lease term, your pet policy, which utilities are included and which ones are the responsibility of the tenant and what fees are involved with the application and move in.

There are many great places to find tenants: Craigslist, community listservs, housing offices of universities, human resource departments and online listing sites like Trulia, Zillow and Pad Mapper. These same sites are also great places to research what comparable properties are getting for rent.

When pricing your property, what you pay per month to carry it is irrelevant. Of course you would like to cover your costs and make money — but the market sets the price and you might not be able to cover all of your costs at this point.

Set a price for your rental that is in-line with available properties in the same general condition and location as your own.

When it comes to showing your property to potential tenants, consistency is key. You need to treat every prospect the same. Offering different terms, conditions or deal structures to different prospects could violate fair housing laws. DC has 19 protected classes and you need to be familiar with them.

Having an open house is a great way to show the property to the most number of people in the shortest amount of time. It can also help create a sense of urgency among the potential tenants if the open house is well attended. You can also schedule individual appointments as needed. (more…)

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For a Saturday afternoon gourmet delight head for Taste of 8th on Barracks Row, 8th Street this weekend — just half block south of Eastern Market Metro.

One ticket buys a tapas sized portion. With 5 tickets (our famous 5 Pack) you’ll enjoy a lovely 5 Course lunch that you create yourself by choosing just what you want from the event menu distributed at the ticket booth. Tickets are available at barracksrow.org.

Souk begins Saturday’s ’round the world flavor trip. Owner/Chef Winnette Macintosh Ambrose won Chopped in January, wowing judges with a Trinidad inspired baked supper. At Taste of 8th Ambrose will be serving up traditional Roti from her homeland. You can have dessert at the Souk booth, too! Sister restaurant, Sweet Lobby will be serving another Ambrose specialty, French macaron.

Another double course stop is Trattoria Alberto where your love for Italian will be greeted by Agnoletti (pasta stuffed with spinach, ricotta and meats) in Pink Sauce as a main dish or House Specialty Cannoli as dessert.

A finalist in City Paper’s Best New Restaurant in DC, ChiKo will fuse Chinese cuisine with Korean via Garlic Shrimp Dumpling with Chili Oil.

Then there’s Betsy, that exotic gem of a gin garden tucked up above Belga Café. They are pointing to summer rooftop fun with Grilled Pineapple and Avocado with Naan.

Farm to table flavors are the essence of the Eat Bar experience: pull in for Pulled Chicken Sliders featuring Orange Chicken, sour cream, pickle, beet relish.

If you want to keep score here are the dishes being served at some of the 24 participating Row restaurants on Saturday: (more…)

Due South Dockside is now open on the Capitol Riverfront Boardwalk behind the flagship restaurant.  Along with incredible waterfront views, the venue offers an extensive bar along with a wide variety of classic Due South dishes.

Dockside’s grand opening on Thursday, April 5 was a huge success, attracting dozens of Nationals fans before, during and after the game. Fans without tickets were thrilled to find an oasis in Dockside, serving as a relaxing place to watch the game on the venue’s outdoor television and sound system. Navy Yard locals also stopped by, eager to try their neighborhood’s newest outdoor bar and grill.

On Opening Day, Chef Rusty Holman crafted a delicious menu featuring dishes such as Pulled Pork Nachos, Smokehouse Chili, BBQ Sliders, Hot Dogs, Chili Dogs and the Summer House Sandwich. The restaurant plans to expand upon the menu as the warmer weather approaches this spring and summer.

Dockside’s bar features beers on tap, including Pacifico, Due South Lager and Devil’s Backbone Earned Run Ale. In addition to beer, wine and spirits, Dockside also offers Frosé, the perfect accompaniment to a warm summer day in Navy Yard.

The growing number of fur-parents in Navy Yard will be pleased to know that Dockside is dog-friendly. It will be the perfect spot for two- and four-legged friends to stop and grab drinks after long strolls down the boardwalk this summer.

Dockside will be open at least two hours before and after each Nationals home game throughout April. Beginning May 1, Dockside plans to be open at 11 a.m. daily, weather permitting. Until then, guests can visit https://duesouthdc.com/events/ or follow @duesouthdc on Instagram for the latest hours of operation.

Located less than a quarter-mile from Nats Park, Due South Dockside is the perfect locale for upcoming Nationals pre- and post-game celebrations, along with MLB All Star gatherings, up to 100 people. To learn more or to book, call the Georgetown Events catering team at 202-660-2165 or email [email protected].

Film Credits: Ben Carver and Tass Mimikos

By criminal defense attorney Thomas Soldan, who is barred and practices in the state of Virginia, with Price Benowitz LLP. Soldan has focused his practice on reckless driving, DUI/DWI, traffic, and personal injury litigation.

Insurance companies are now tracking how their insured are using their cell phones and will either penalize them or reward them based on their findings.

Using technology based on the phone’s accelerometer, which measures its forward motion, and gyroscope, which tracks its navigation, companies such as Allstate can discover whether the driver is moving, whether the phone is unlocked, and whether they were using an app. This information can be tracked only if the driver downloads the app and keeps the phone off airplane mode.

Allstate is considering whether this information on a driver’s phone usage should determine what their insurance rates should be. Arity, a subsidiary of Allstate, determined, based on an analysis of data of hundreds of thousands of Allstate customers and 160 million trips, that drivers who drive while using their phones are indeed more dangerous.

Using this research, they found that distracted drivers get in more accidents and those accidents are more severe. In addition, these drivers cost insurance companies up to 160 percent more than those drivers who are not distracted. Before this technology goes into effect it will need approval from state insurance offices.

Technology already exists to help prevent distracted driving. For instance, the Cellcontrol app begins working as soon as the driver sits in the driver’s seat. It uses a black box a person puts in the center of the car’s windshield and using Bluetooth, blocks the driver’s cell phone from working.

It splits the car’s seats into different areas and recognizes the driver’s area, while allowing phones to work in all other spaces, where passengers sit. In addition, it sends an immediate response if the blocked phone gets a call or a text, explaining why the call or text is not being answered.

“This new technology could be a great tool for insurance companies to promote safe driving,” said Thomas Soldan, a personal injury lawyer. “It could really help promote safe driving and help determine fault after an accident. Working with lawyer who is experienced with dealing with insurance companies is invaluable to protecting the rights of drivers.”