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Health Coverage Premium Subsidies Need Boost, Says White House

Premium subsidies for health insurance coverage under the Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC) program may get a boost due to an agreement being negotiated between the White House and Congress. The HCTC program was enacted as part of the Trade Act of 2002. As originally enacted, it provided a 65-percent tax credit for qualifying health […]

Right-to-work bill on the march in Wisconsin

by Tammy Binford Wisconsin is on its way to becoming a right-to-work state. A right-to-work bill passed the state senate on February 25 and is expected to pass the assembly after that body takes it up on March 5. Governor Scott Walker is expected to sign the bill as soon as it passes. The bill […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Bestseller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for June 2009 and  gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]

Financially stressed employees pulling down productivity

By Tammy Binford A new employee group has begun showing up vividly on employer radar screens. It’s not defined by race, religion, gender, or any of the other familiar legally protected classes. The new group commanding the attention of employers is made up of workers suffering extreme stress brought on by extreme debt. It’s always […]

State-to-State Conflicts in Employment Law

by Mark I. Schickman The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) lists as one of its purposes the creation of a uniform national labor policy. That might have been the thought nearly 80 years ago when the NLRA was enacted, but it is the furthest thing from the truth today — as state-to-state conflicts in employment […]

Family and Medical Leave: Accompanying Ill Spouse to Funeral Doesn’t Qualify for Protected Leave, Court Rules

Arnulfo Gradilla worked as a sheet metal assembler at Riverside County-based Ruskin Manufacturing. When his father-in-law died, he received permission to take two or three days off work to accompany his invalid wife to the funeral in Mexico. Gradilla’s wife had a serious heart condition that was exacerbated by stress.

Oakland Police Officer Wins $2 Million for Pregnancy Bias

A federal jury in San Francisco has awarded $2 million to former Oakland police officer Janeith Glenn-Davis, who claimed she was passed over for promotion because she was pregnant. The damages included $150,000 in lost earnings plus $1.85 million for emotional distress and other damages.

Judge halts EEOC lawsuit, citing ‘obstinate’ refusal to cooperate

by Amanda Jones Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has investigated a charge of discrimination and determined there’s reasonable cause to believe the claim is true, it must try to negotiate a settlement with the employer through a conciliation process before filing a […]