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Measures to raise the federal minimum wage to $6.25 per hour, up from the current $5.15 per hour, failed in the Senate last week. One measure, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) as an amendment to a spending bill, was rejected in a 51-47 vote, and a similar GOP-introduced bill went down in a 57-42 […]
By a vote of 315 to 116, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to approve legislation that would boost the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three steps over a period of 26 months. The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration. Under the legislation, the federal […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has awarded $112 million to 50 state and territorial workforce agencies, including those in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia, to operate reemployment services and eligibility assessments programs for those receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is offering a “Cold Stress Card” that recommends ways to avoid health problems caused by prolonged exposure to freezing or cold temperatures on the job. According to OSHA, workers in construction, commercial fishing, maritime, and agriculture are at highest risk for these problems, which can include trench foot, […]
Along with newly issued health reform rules finalizing essential health benefits provisions comes a new series of FAQs from the U.S. departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury. This guidance addresses specific questions raised about the scope of reform’s cost-sharing and preventive services provisions, and provides some transition relief for large group and self-insured […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its budget request for the federal fiscal year (FY) 2013 on Feb. 13, as part of the budget proposal President Obama sent to Congress. The DOL budget request for FY 2013 is $12.0 billion, down from $12.6 billion for FY 2012. The department’s press release emphasized this reduction, […]
The California Supreme Court has handed down an important new decision, answering a wage and hour question that recently has plagued the state’s appeals courts: Is the required payment of “one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation” for each day that an employer fails to provide mandatory meal or rest […]
*Editor’s Note: At the time of this interview, Amazon had yet to announce its new HQ2 location. However, on November 13, Amazon announced that New York City and Arlington, Virginia, will be the locations of its second headquarters. Rumors are flying about Amazon’s likely next location (or locations) for its second headquarters (HQ2). James Davis, the editor of […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has unveiled a new interactive website to assist employers operating group health plans with their compliance responsibilities under the various federal health benefits laws. The new Health Benefits Advisor provides information on these laws: