The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Hyundai, accusing the auto manufacturer of “oppressive child labor” in its Alabama supply chain. The complaint alleges that a 13-year-old worked up to 50-60 hours a week on the assembly line of a Hyundai supplier in the city of Luverne. The factory there produces parts, … Read more
As global warming raises temperatures, Cal/OSHA has approved standards that would require companies to protect employees from excessive indoor heat, particularly in warehouses. The rules still need to overcome opposition by another state agency. They were approved Thursday by the board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, despite a late objection from … Read more
WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting that job growth remained strong in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended March 16, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 … Read more
As the winter sun rises behind him, Carlos Esteban Rios sits in a Costa Mesa parking lot, waiting for a ride from a boss he’s never met and looking over some chemistry homework he might never turn in. It’s a school day, Wednesday, Feb. 28, and Rios’ plan for the next few hours is this: … Read more
More Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but layoffs remain historically low even as more high-profile companies have announced job cuts this year.Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 215,000 for the week ending Feb. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Last week’s number was revised up by 1,000 to 202,000.In total, 1.9 … Read more
Julie Su’s nomination to become the nation’s secretary of labor once again advanced out of a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday, Feb. 27, amid a year of congressional gridlock that has stalled President Joe Biden’s appointment of the former California labor secretary. The party-line vote out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and … Read more
WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting that job growth likely remained solid in February. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 201,000 for the week ended February 17, the labor department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast … Read more
By ROBIN McDOWELL and MARGIE MASON | Associated Press ANGOLA, La. — A hidden path to America’s dinner tables begins here, at an unlikely source – a former Southern slave plantation that is now the country’s largest maximum-security prison. Unmarked trucks packed with prison-raised cattle roll out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where men are … Read more
The Biden administration is releasing a new labor regulation that would make it harder for employers to skirt minimum wage and overtime obligations by labeling workers as “independent contractors.” The final rule, announced Tuesday and slated to go into effect March 11, seeks to crack down on employee misclassification. Administration officials say that, though many … Read more
Millions of Americans could start to see overtime pay thanks to a new reform by the Biden administration. The Labor Department announced Wednesday that it’s proposing a long-awaited federal rule that would expand overtime protections to more salaried workers. If implemented, the rule would entitle another 3.6 million workers to time-and-a-half pay when they work … Read more