When it dismissed a federal lawsuit last week, the U.S. District Court for Maryland made it even harder for workers with poor credit histories and past criminal convictions to find a job. Civil rights advocates hope the decision is not a bellwether for similar cases pending around the country. The lawsuit, brought by the federal Equal Employment …
EEOC loses battle (but not war) on discriminatory background checks Read More »
What started out last fall as a one-day walkout at fast-food restaurants to protest poverty-level wages and stand up for basic human dignity has transformed into a movement that has captured the public interest. I’ve been privileged, especially in recent weeks, to talk to institutional partners, policymakers and media about why low-wage workers across the …
We Cannot Build a Strong, Equitable Economy on Low-Paying Jobs Read More »
Imagine the pilot episode of a revival of the 1970’s situation comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” It is July 2013. After a painful break-up with her fiancé, 30-year-old Mary Richards relocates to Des Moines, Iowa, to start a new life. Mary interviews for a secretarial position at a local television station with Executive Producer …
As House Republicans mull maiming the Senate’s immigration bill, a thousand pundits are asking what their moves will mean for future elections. Meanwhile, far from the spotlight, some courageous immigrant workers are asking whether Congress will finally disarm employers who use immigration status to silence employees. If Congress punts on immigration reform, or merely passes …
For workers in America, it can be hard to know where to turn when a boss pays you late or not at all, doesn’t provide benefits, or just yells at you for no good reason. That’s why a Working America, a “community affiliate” of the AFL-CIO that focuses specifically on nonunion workers, launched a website …
Why the Revival of US Labor Might Start with Nonunion Workers Read More »
Based on what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was saying on the Senate floor Wednesday morning, it sounds like he’s a no on President Obama’s nomination of Thomas Perez for labor secretary, and like we’re going to see yet another filibuster: “He is a committed ideologue who appears willing, quite frankly, to say or do anything to …
McConnell blasts labor nominee Perez as a ‘crusading ideologue’ Read More »
Anyone with common sense would agree that healthy families are essential to a robust economy. That’s why it’s worth celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Family Medical Leave Act on February 5; one of the most significant advances for working families in our nation’s history. In 1993, FMLA transformed the workplace and strengthened the American …
FMLA Anniversary: Celebrating 20 Years of Strengthening Families Read More »
Three Take-Aways from the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan By Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enters the New Year with the wind at its back. Following the enactment in February 2012 of a four-year Strategic Plan that addressed all aspects of the agency’s work, the Commission met the plan’s first performance …
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) urged lawmakers to embrace a package that could avert the so-called fiscal cliff, noting that 2.1 million Americans have already lost federal unemployment benefits as a result of Congressional inaction. “From this point on, it is lose-lose,” Feinstein explained, during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. “My big worry, is, a …
Federal Unemployment Benefits Expire Due To Congressional Inaction Read More »
This morning Meteor Blades reported that Jobless benefits claims drop again, but numbers could be skewed by holiday closures of state offices, including this sad news for those whose base unemployment payments have been used up: Come Saturday, if the president and congressional leaders do not come to agreement on fiscal matters, some 2.1 million people will …
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
