The International Lawyers Network (ILN) proudly announces the release of an updated version of its collaborative paper, further exploring the intricacies of employee entitlement to paid leave. With the addition of three new jurisdictions - Germany, India, and Scotland - this comprehensive guide equips businesses with essential insights for navigating diverse paid leave policies around the globe.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos addresses the problem of entitlement through the Gospel reading on the Healing of the Ten Lepers.

We examine when and why creative role identity causes entitlement and unethical behaviors and how this relationship can be reduced. We found that the relationships among the creative identity, entitlement, and dishonesty are contingent on the perception of creativity being rare. Four experiments showed that individuals with a creative identity reported higher psychological entitlement and engaged in more unethical behaviors. Additionally, when participants believed that their creativity was rare compared to common, they were more likely to lie for money. Moreover, manipulation of rarity of creative identity, but not practical identity, increased psychological entitlement and unethical acts. We tested for the mediating effect of psychological entitlement on dishonesty using both measurement of mediation and experimental causal chain approaches. We further provide evidence from organizations. Responses from a sample of supervisor-subordinate dyads demonstrated that employees reporting strong creative identities who perceived creativity as rare in their work-group rather than common were rated as engaging in more unethical behaviors by their supervisors. This paper extends prior theory on negative moral consequences of creativity by shedding new light on assumption regarding the prevalence of creativity and the role psychological entitlement plays.

Alright friends . . . we’re about to get real personal here. It’s not something I am proud of, but it’s also something that I’m confident I’m not alone in. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that most of you who have been serving God faithfully for a long time, regardless of platform and capacity, have also had to battle this on a regular basis. I lovingly, and a little embarrassingly, refer to it as “humble entitlement.” It’s that thought or feeling that rises up from time to time where we question an apparent lack of blessing despite the fact that we have given of ourselves willingly for years. Look me in the eye (you know what I mean) and tell me these thoughts, or something like them, haven’t crossed your mind. 

“But God, I’ve sacrificed my life, my family’s life, everything to serve You, and yet I still can barely make ends meet.”

“How is it that I work so hard at living a holy life and am still in the same place I was 5 years ago, and yet this other person is getting to do amazing things even though I know that Godliness is the furthest thing from their mind?”

In our finite humanity, we get it into our minds that the “reward” for our service is somehow measurable and earthly. Then before we know it, the enemy has a foothold and bitterness begins to set in. I’m sure that every facet of ministry - be it pastoring, writing, student ministry, whatever - has their particular achievements to strive for or that unknowingly serve as their North Star. Maybe it’s the pastor of a mega-church that other pastors model their approaches after. Perhaps student ministers get a specific number in their minds that would mean they’ve “made it”. For us as worship leaders, it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing our accomplishments to those of others (the skill level of our team members, how many streams our latest singles have gotten, how many “outside” events we’ve been invited to). Who knows what it is that sits tucked away in the recesses of our ministry brains that serves as our measuring stick for success? But we all have them, whether we want to admit it or not. I’m not so sure that it’s bad or wrong for us to have goals to strive for, so long as these goals don’t take precedence over the heart of ministry itself - to love God and His people. 

Romans 11:33-36 says . . .

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. 

In other words, He owes us nothing! Just recently I was in a co-write with a close friend and we wound up settling in on the idea that we as believers often try to stand on promises that the Lord never made. We put words in His mouth that He never spoke. We claim things that He never put forth for us. Sometimes it’s healthy to take a step back every now and then and remind ourselves of the promises that He has made . . . that He will never leave or forsake us, that He wants to give us a full life, that He will always provide a way out when tempted, etc . . . and prune out the ones we (or the enemy) have somehow convinced ourselves of . . . that if we strive hard enough we will reach that coveted platform, that the number of people in front of us somehow reflects our effectiveness, that our talents and skills determine our reach, etc . . .

Paul reminds us in Romans 9:15 of God’s words to Moses.

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

We have no say over who He chooses to use, in what capacities He places them, and to what level He raises them. It is not our job to worry about that. Our job is to fix our eyes on the task set before us, the ministries placed under our care, and the hearts entrusted to us. If we get the pouty lip every time someone else who may seem less qualified gets elevated, our attention is diverted at the expense of those we were called to serve. Imagine if the commander of a troop of soldiers found out that the leader of another troop got promoted ahead of him even though he’d been serving 10 years less than himself; and instead of staying focused on his assignment, he decided to take his toys and go home, leaving his entire troop leaderless and visionless.

We may never know the magnitude of our ministries this side of heaven, but one thing is for sure. The trajectory of the lives of the people we have been called to serve can and will be affected by our obedience or lack thereof. If we lead them out of an attitude of humble entitlement, we are leading out of a divided mind and heart. But if we can manage to keep our eyes focused on the race set before us, only God knows just how vast and limitless the reach of our ministries will stretch. 

As the gap in life expectancy between the highest and lowest earners in the U.S. has widened over time, high earners have disproportionately received larger lifetime benefits from government programs such as Social Security and Medicare, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A federal appellate court scolded an insured for its frivolous defense during arbitration with its carrier and threatened to sanction the insured for its frivolous challenge to the arbitration award. Case: American…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld an employer’s entitlement to terminate its payment of benefits to an injured worker. Case: Carter-Zimmitt v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1597 C.D. 2022, 09/10/2024,…

California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals published its July decision finding that the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund is required to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to additional treatment for a foot injury, as well as the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s calculation of her…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a man with a rapid-repetitive-motion injury and that he did not forfeit his entitlement to benefits by lying about his medical…

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld benefit awards of closed periods for an injured paramedic, finding that she failed to prove her entitlement to additional compensation. Case: Martinka v. PHI Group Inc.,…

An Ohio appellate court issued a limited writ of mandamus directing the Industrial Commission to determine a worker’s entitlement to temporary total disability benefits for a period of unemployment. Case: State…

The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the denial of total disability benefits to an injured electrician. Case: Blaker v. The Kroger Co., No. 2024-CA-0553-WC, 07/26/2024, unpublished. Facts: Robert Blaker Jr. worked for…

An Arizona appellate court upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to additional treatment as he had not reached a medically stationary state. Case: Tenet Health System Medical v. Industrial…

The South Carolina Court of Appeals upheld an award of permanent partial disability benefits to an injured deputy sheriff. Case: Crowley v. Darlington County, No. 2022-000282, 06/26/2024, unpublished. Facts: Michael Crowley worked…

As the gap in life expectancy between the highest and lowest earners in the U.S. has widened over time, high earners have disproportionately received larger lifetime benefits from government programs such as Social Security and Medicare, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Use all your entitlement; tax saved is money earned, says Dhirendra Kumar

A group of Barwon-Darling farmers have offered to sell their water entitlements at a value which would encourage new owners "not to grow cotton".

On the Young Turks, Cenk Uygur quotes passages from Bob Woodward's book, "The Price of Politics", quoting statements made by President Obama proving that he intends to cut entitlements like social security, medicare, and medicaid. Continue reading →

Louise Hoyle considers the Court’s current approach to interest on costs and how parties can maximise and mitigate interest payments. At a time when interest rates continue to be low, receiving interest on unpaid legal costs at 8%, the rate se...

In a somewhat timely judgment, bearing in mind the May bank holidays, the Court of Session (the Scottish Court of Appeal) has clarified that it is not necessarily unlawful for an employer to not provide alternative leave days for part-time workers w...

They come from some of the most prominent hockey families in Manitoba, a group of young men blessed with athletic gifts that allow them to be better than most at ...

Responses are invited to the questions included in a consultation document on issues and suggestions related to the impact of the Report on BEPS Action 6 on the tax treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds.

On 24 March 2016, comments were invited to the questions included in a consultation document on issues and suggestions on the tax treaty entitlement of non-CIV (Collective Investment Vehicle) funds.

Comments are invited on draft examples included in a discussion draft on the follow-up work on the ineraction between the treaty provisions of the report on BEPS Action 6 and the treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds.

On 6 January 2017, public comments were invited on draft examples prepared as part of the follow-up work on the interaction between the treaty provisions of the report on BEPS Action 6 and the treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds. The OECD is grateful for the input and now publishes a compilation of the comments received.

It's Hot or Not time again as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's been leaving him cold this week. 

We can fight the scrouge of corruption not by legislation nor by moral pressures but by an awakened community which refuses to settle for anything less that what is its legitimate due, writes R Balasubramaniam.

Why does the government not allocate funds to meet all the rights that are protected under the law? Partly, this is because allocations in the Budget each year are made mechanically, without any thought the need for funds, or the rights that ought to be protected, says Videh Upadhyay.

With the Central government lobbing the ball into the states' court, the right to education bill has practically lost its very essence. Without a central legislation to support it, a constitutional guarantee will have little meaning, say most experts. Deepa A concludes the 'Lens on Education' series.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is to be implemented in 200 districts around the country in the first phase. One of the main challenges will be to ward off corruption. Surekha Sule was recently involved in conducting a training programme, and notes how some villages in Andhra Pradesh are gearing up.

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Online Resource

Johnson, Gaye Theresa