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via Ryan J. Foley, Chicago Sun-Times A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an “irresistible … Continue reading
via Vicki Needham, The Hill The economy added 146,000 jobs in November while the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent. It’s the lowest the jobless rate has been since December 2008, and the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was higher than estimates that had predicted Hurricane Sandy would hold total job growth down. … Continue reading
via The Economist Not since 1933 had an American president taken the oath of office in an economic climate as grim as it was when Barack Obama put his left hand on the Bible in January 2009. The banking system was near collapse, two big car manufacturers were sliding towards bankruptcy; and employment, the housing … Continue reading
via David Lawder, Reuters Massive U.S. government spending cuts and tax hikes due next year will cause even worse economic damage than previously thought if Washington fails to come up with a solution, the Congressional Budget Office warned on Wednesday. Without action by Congress to avoid a “fiscal cliff,” Americans should expect a “significant recession” … Continue reading
via Josh Mitchell, The Wall Street Journal Student debt is rising sharply among all age groups, but middle-aged Americans appear to be struggling the most with payments, according to new data released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The delinquency rate—or the percentage of debt on which no payment has been made … Continue reading
via Jess Bravin and Miriam Jordan, The Wall Street Journal The Supreme Court upheld a key part of Arizona’s tough-immigration law but struck down others as intrusions on federal sovereignty, in a ruling that gave both sides something to cheer in advance of November elections where immigration is a major issue. The court backed a … Continue reading
via Jennifer Bendery, The Huffington Post President Barack Obama on Monday dropped in on a White House press call to urge the Senate to pass legislation that ensures women are paid the same amount as their male counterparts. “Tomorrow, Congress is going to have a chance to vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act,” Obama said … Continue reading
via David Brooks, The New York Times As a young man, Peter Thiel competed to get into Stanford. Then he competed to get into Stanford Law School. Then he competed to become a clerk for a federal judge. Thiel won all those competitions. But then he competed to get a Supreme Court clerkship. Thiel lost … Continue reading
via Dave Jamieson, The Huffington Post In a victory for privacy hawks and worker advocates, Maryland legislators passed a bill Wednesday that would ban employers from asking job candidates or current employees for their passwords to social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter. If the bill is signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and becomes law, … Continue reading
via Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune When the U.S. was in recession three decades ago, middle-aged industrial workers were the biggest losers. The most recent recession and hesitant recovery, though, has hammered the young, as the government’s disappointing monthly employment report showed again last week. For many of America’s younger workers, opportunity is scarce and financial … Continue reading
via Jessica Pieklo, Care2 Causes Last week Missouri picked up where Arizona left off, tackling two abortion bills, including one that would allow employers to deny coverage for birth control pills unless employees provide proof the pills are used for a “medical need”. Missouri Republicans strongly believe that employers should be the ones left in … Continue reading
via Erin Gloria Ryan, Jezebel A proposed new law in Arizona would give employers the power to request that women being prescribed birth control pills provide proof that they’re using it for non-sexual reasons. And because Arizona’s an at-will employment state, that means that bosses critical of their female employees’ sex lives could fire them … Continue reading
Four states have announced that they will be raising their minimum wage rates for 2012, led by Washington state, which will become the first in the country with a minimum wage over $9 per hour. The 37-cent bump in Washington will hike the wage to $9.04, or $1.79 per hour more than the federal minimum … Continue reading
The U.S. Postal Service appears to be the latest casualty in digital technology’s slow but steady replacement of working humans. Unless an external source of funding comes in, the post office will have to scale back its operations drastically, or simply shut down altogether. That’s 600,000 people who would be out of work, and another … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 