Employment

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Lawmakers on a Louisiana House committee voted Thursday to repeal a law requiring employers to give child workers lunch breaks and to slash unemployment benefits — part of a Republican-backed push to roll back regulations on companies and reduce aid for injured and unemployed workers. The House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations advanced the …

Courthouse News reports: An Iowa man told an Eighth Circuit panel Tuesday that he was wrongly fired because he expressed his religious belief that his employer’s use of a rainbow flag as symbol of LGBTQ pride is an “abomination to God.” Daniel Snyder was fired after he posted a comment on his employer’s intranet site opposing the company’s use of …

Florida Politics reports: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is among the 15 signatories to a U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo letter seeking a “freeze” to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). This rate applies to “temporary nonimmigrant workers under the H-2A visa classification,” according to the federal Department of Labor. While Florida’s $14.77 compensation rate for these field workers is among the …

CNBC reports: Job creation topped expectations in February and pointed to a still-vibrant U.S. labor market, even though the unemployment rate moved higher Nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 for the month while the jobless rate moved higher to 3.9%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for payroll growth of 198,000, a step slower from the downwardly revised gain …

NBC News reports: Florida’s Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would ban cities and counties from adopting requirements for mandatory water breaks and other workplace protections against extreme heat. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 28-11, along party lines, to pass Senate Bill 1492, which would prohibit local governments from determining workplace heat standards that go beyond those required by federal …

Bloomberg News reports: “I can’t have a conversation with any business owner that doesn’t revolve around the fact that they simply cannot find the skilled workforce they need,” says Jay Timmons, chief executive officer of the National Association of Manufacturers. Some 9 million positions are open across the economy, equal to 1.4 vacancies for every unemployed worker. The worst-affected industries …

Reuters reports: Rocket maker SpaceX on Tuesday will appear before a U.S. labor board judge to face claims that it fired eight engineers for criticizing CEO Elon Musk and accusing him of sexist conduct in a letter to company executives. The NLRB’s general counsel, which acts as a prosecutor, claims SpaceX violated U.S. labor law by firing the engineers in …

Louisville Public Media reports: legislation to erode worker’s protections in Kentucky have begun moving through the legislative process this year, including a bill to allow teenagers to work longer and later hours. Another measure in that surge of legislation would strip Kentucky’s meal and rest break protections as well as seventh-day overtime. Both bills would weaken Kentucky labor laws. They …

The Texas Tribune reports: A federal court in Lubbock ruled Tuesday that proxy voting in Congress doesn’t count toward a quorum, weakening a law to protect pregnant workers that was passed with proxy votes. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration last year over a massive government funding package that passed largely by proxy votes because of the …

USA Today reports: Hiring picked up sharply in January as employers added a booming 353,000 jobs, highlighting a labor market that continues to defy high interest rates and household financial strains. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that 185,000 jobs were added last month. The January totals were …

The Washington Post reports: The United Auto Workers endorsed President Biden at its annual legislative conference Wednesday in Washington, signaling union support in auto-making swing states, where former president Trump is also popular. The endorsement is a political victory for the self-proclaimed “most pro-union president” who has gone to great lengths to appeal to union members, including auto workers. The …

CNBC reports: The U.S. labor market closed out 2023 in strong shape as the pace of hiring was even more powerful than expected, the Labor Department reported Friday. December’s jobs report showed employers added 216,000 jobs for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Payroll growth showed a sizeable gain from November’s downwardly revised 173,000. Economists surveyed by …

The Messenger reports: Target’s new self-checkout policy has been met with criticism online, as customers complain that the 10-items-or-less limit is creating problems due to the store’s lack of staff. When this new policy was introduced in late November, John Mulligan, chief operations officer at Target, said it was meant to create shorter wait times for customers. However, for some, …

Yahoo Finance reports: The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in November, reflecting signs that the labor market may not be cooling as quickly as many had initially thought. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday the unemployment rate was 3.7% down from 3.9% in October, while US economy added 199,000 jobs. The largest jobs increases in Friday’s report were …

Reuters reports: Some employees at CVS Health Corp and Walgreens Boots Alliance’s U.S. pharmacies launched a three-day walkout starting Monday to get the companies to improve working conditions and recruit more people, among other issues. The walkout, which the organizers have dubbed “Pharmageddon”, is the third strike by pharmacists in a little over one month. Shane Jerominski, one of the …

CNBC reports: The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor have reached a tentative agreement that will end a nearly six-week strike at the automaker, the union announced Wednesday night. The tentative agreement, which was first reported earlier by CNBC, includes 25% pay increases over the terms of the agreement and will cumulatively raise the top wage to more than …

CNBC reports: Job growth was stronger than expected in September, a sign that the U.S. economy is hanging tough despite higher interest rates, labor strife and dysfunction in Washington. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 336,000 for the month, better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 170,000, the Labor Department said Friday in a much-anticipated report. The unemployment rate was 3.8%, …

CNBC reports: More than 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente — the nation’s largest health-care nonprofit organization — went on strike Wednesday at hospitals and medical offices in five states after the company and labor negotiators failed to resolve a dispute over staffing levels. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions has described the work stoppage as the largest strike of health-care …

The Guardian reports: Joe Biden will make a rare presidential appearance on a picket line in Michigan on Tuesday to show solidarity with striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union locked in an escalating dispute with America’s three biggest carmakers. Biden will offer his backing to strikers at a plant in the Detroit area as part of an …

The Associated Press reports: The president of the United Auto Workers said Friday the union will expand its strike against major automakers by walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis plants in 20 states. Ford was spared additional strikes because the company has met some of the union’s demands during negotiations over the past week, said UAW President Shawn …