Employment

Biden Admin Lifts Federal Minimum Wage To $15/HR

Axios reports: Federal agencies are being directed to raise the minimum wages for government employees to $15 an hour, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management shared first with Axios. Why it matters: The guidance will impact almost 70,000 federal employees, most of which work at the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Veterans Affairs. OPM is directing …

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Labor Dept: 199K New Jobs In December, 3.9% Jobless

ABC News reports: Employers added a lackluster 199,000 jobs last month — significantly lower than economists’ expectations — and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, the Department of Labor said Friday. Hiring in December was even less than the revised figure for the previous month, when 249,000 jobs were added to the economy in November. The stalled job growth comes …

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Labor Dept: Jobless Claims Continue Historic Decline

ABC News reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell to just above 199,000, lowest level since October 1969. …

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Labor Dept: Slight Rise In Jobless Claims This Week

The Associated Press reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims rose by 18,000 to a 206,000, still low by historical standards. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell by 16,000 to less than 204,000, the lowest level …

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First Corporate Starbucks Location Votes To Unionize

The Buffalo News reports: Workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo voted to join a union, making it the first company-owned store in the United States to organize. The 19-8 vote to join a union by workers at the Starbucks store on Elmwood Avenue was a major victory for union organizers after an organizing campaign that was staunchly opposed by …

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November Report: 210K Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment

CNBC reports: The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, before a new Covid threat created a scare that growth could slow into the winter, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 for the month, though the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2% from 4.6%, even though the labor force participation rate increased …

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Labor Dept: New Jobless Claims Fall To 52-Year Low

CNBC reports: The ranks of those submitting jobless claims tumbled to their lowest level in more than 52 years last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. New filings totaled 199,000, a number not seen since Nov. 15, 1969, when claims totaled 197,000. The report easily beat Dow Jones estimates of 260,000 and was well below the previous week’s 270,000. Along …

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Jobless Claims Down For 7th Week, New Pandemic Low

The Associated Press reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low of 268,000. U.S. jobless claims dipped by 1,000 last week from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and their steady decline this year — after topping …

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Apple Settles Lawsuit Over Staff Bag Checks For $30M

Gizmodo reports: After years of fighting it out in court, Apple Store employees in California will finally get paid for the time the company spent checking their bags for possible stolen products while they were off the clock. The payout: roughly $30 million. The class action lawsuit covers the company’s 52 stores in California was filed in 2013 by two …

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Labor Dept Reports 531,000 New Jobs In October

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. labor market got back on track last month with a larger-than-forecast payrolls gain, indicating greater progress filling millions of vacancies as the effects of the delta variant faded. Nonfarm payrolls increased 531,000 last month after an upwardly revised 312,000 gain in September, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% while …

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NYC Cuts Vaccine Mandate Deal With Some Unions

The Washington Post reports: New York City said Thursday that it had reached an agreement with at least four unions representing some 75,000 city employees to establish rules about how workers can apply for medical or religious exemptions to the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. As part of the deal, the unions will withdraw litigation against the mandate. In return, employees …

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Anti-Mask Man Shitcanned After Harassing School Kids

The Daily Mail reports: A New York realtor was fired a day after he posted video of himself chasing young children down the street as they left school and telling them they had been abused because they were being forced to wear masks by teachers and parents. Curtis Goldstein, who also goes by the name Curtis Orwell, worked for R …

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Labor Dept: Wages See Highest Increase In 20 Years

ABC News reports: Wages jumped in the three months ending in September by the most on records dating back 20 years, a stark illustration of the growing ability of workers to demand higher pay from companies that are desperate to fill a near-record number of available jobs. Pay increased 1.5% in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s …

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Iowa: Fired Vaccine Refusers Can Get Unemployment

The Washington Post reports: The Iowa state legislature passed a bill Thursday that allows residents fired for noncompliance with vaccine mandates to receive unemployment benefits, while also broadening religious and medical exemptions from immunization. The bill was passed with overwhelming support in both chambers, which Republicans control. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said she plans to sign the legislation into law, …

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Labor Dept: New Jobless Claims Fall To Pandemic Low

Bloomberg News reports: Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest since March 2020, showing employers are hanging onto their workers in a tight labor market. Initial unemployment claims in regular state programs totaled 293,000 in the week ended Oct. 9, a decrease of 36,000 from the prior week, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median …

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Kaiser Permanente Suspends 2200 Unvaxxed Staffers

The Associated Press reports: Health care giant Kaiser Permanente has put more than 2,200 employees nationwide on unpaid leave who have chosen not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus — a little over 1% of its workforce. The employees have until Dec. 1 to get vaccinated to be able to return to work and those who choose not to will …

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Amazon To Cover College Costs For Hourly Workers

CNBC reports: Amazon said Thursday it will offer to pay 100% of college tuition for its 750,000 U.S. hourly employees. The e-commerce giant is following the lead of other large U.S. companies that are dangling perks such as education benefits or more pay to woo workers in a tight job market. Starting in January, Amazon said, it will cover the …

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Labor Dept: Economy Added 235,000 Jobs In August

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. economy added just 235,000 jobs in August, a disappointing month of hiring as the delta variant caused coronavirus caseloads around the country to spike. The unemployment rate stayed mostly level at 5.4 percent. The stubbornness of the coronavirus, fueled by the transmissibility of the new variant and the country’s large pockets of unvaccinated people, …

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Walgreens To Join CVS In $15/Hour Starting Wage

From Walgreens’ corporate blog: Walgreens is further investing in its hourly team members who provide trusted care and services in communities across the U.S. Walgreens will increase the starting hourly wage for all team members to $15.00 an hour, taking effect in phases beginning in October of this year and are expected to be fully implemented by November 1, 2022. …

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Labor Dept: Jobless Claims Lowest Since March 2020

Yahoo News reports: Initial unemployment claims fell further last week to the lowest level since March 2020, bringing the level of weekly new filings closer to pre-virus levels. New weekly jobless claims posted a fourth straight weekly decline, coming in yet again below the psychologically important 400,000 level. But even with the drop, new weekly claims are still elevated compared …

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