I saw this video tonight and thought of all the employment problems that could be solved if everyone learned this lesson early in life.
It’s Valentine’s Day. Here’s to the LOVE of what you do “for a living.”
State of the Union Identifies Administration’s Employment Law Focal Points
In the State of the Union Address tonight, President Obama pronounced several areas of focus that may affect employers.
He urged the House to pass a bill that the Senate passed today: the Violence Against Women Act. He also asked Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that he said ensures “that woman [w]ould earn a living equal to their efforts.”
He asked for the minimum wage to be increased to $9.00 per hour and to tie future increases to the cost of living.
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2012 Union Strike Numbers Surpass 2011’s
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its “work stoppage” report today. The report indicates that 19 major work stoppages (“strikes”) idled more workers than all of the strikes in 2011 combined–148,000 workers.
The Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teacher’s Union idled the most employees–26,500; and Lockheed Martin’s strike was the longest–48 workdays. When multiplied by the 3600 Lockheed and International Association of Machinist workers who went out on strike, this equals 172,800 lost work days.
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DoL Issues Final Rule, Expanding the FMLA
The rule implements congressional amendments to the FMLA permitting eligible workers to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a current service member with a serious injury or illness. Congress also created qualifying exigency leave, which permits eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of leave for qualifying exigencies arising out of active duty or call to active duty in support of a contingency operation of a family member serving in the National Guard or Reserve.
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Idaho House Bill 82 Reported out of Committee with a “Do Pass” Recommendation
Today, House Bill 82 was filed for a second reading. This proposed legislation would align the workers compensation laws in the state so that postsecondary students receive the same workers compensation coverage that K-12 students receive while completing work experience credit hours. Under current Idaho law, postsecondary students receiving education credits for completing a work experience project are not covered under the university or college worker’s compensation policy with the State Insurance Fund.
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Wyoming Senator Introduces NLRB Freeze Act of 2013
On January 28, 2013, I posted an article regarding the D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling that held three of President Obama’s NLRB appointments unconstitutional, bringing into question all cases decided by the Board in 2012. Two days later, Senator Barrasso (R-Wy) introduced the “NLRB Freeze Act of 2013.”
Under the proposed legislation, hundreds of NLRB decisions that were decided by the unconstitutional panel from January 2012 to the present would be frozen or invalidated.
Read Senator Barrasso’s
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DoL Releases 2012 FMLA Survey Results on the Act’s 20th Anniversary
The following is excerpted from the survey results. The full reports can be found here, here, and here.
In 2012, Abt Associates surveyed 1,812 worksites and 2,852 employees about experiences with family and medical leave. The worksite survey includes both sites that are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and those that are not covered. The employee survey includes employees that took leave,
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Idaho House Bill 57–Increasing Minimum Wage
Idaho House Bill 57 was also referred to the Commerce and Human Resources Committee this week. This bill would raise Idaho’s minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour to $8.25 per hour and would tie annual increases to the Consumer price index in future years. It also proposes to uncouple the Idaho minimum wage from the Federal wage.
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Idaho House Bill 56–Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees
Idaho House Bill 56 was referred to the Commerce and Human Resources Committee this week. This bill proposes to raise the minimum wage for tipped employees from the current $3.35 per hour to $4.35 per hour in 2014 and an additional $1.00 per hour each fiscal year after until it conforms to the Federal minimum wage law.
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