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Archive : March 2012

March 30, 2012

Labor Roundup: NLRB Inspector General Alleges Wrongdoing by Board Member

There was more partisan wrangling over the National Labor Relations Board this week, when a report emerged from the agency's inspector general alleging that Board Member Terence F. Flynn (R), who was recess appointed by President Obama in January, had improperly shared internal NLRB information with former board members now working in private practice. 

March 27, 2012

Q&A: It Pays to Read the Fine Print

Cara Yates Crotty, a partner at the law firm Constangy Brooks and Smith, LLP., explains why some companies that are awarded federal contractors may fail to realize they have to comply with nondiscrimination and affirmative action regulations enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

March 21, 2012

Labor Stats and Facts: A Not-So-Warm Welcome for New Hires

In an analysis of manufacturing industry contracts over the past decade, I found a decisive trend away from new hire friendly pay practices and toward practices that stagger the compensation structure and limit new employees’ ability to earn as much as their co-workers.

March 19, 2012

Immigration Roundup: What's New for H-2B Certification

The Labor Department is holding webinars and one in-person briefing to educate the public about the new H-2B regulations. Tune in online March 20 or March 27 at 1:30 p.m. EDT or come to DOL headquarters April 17 at 10:00 a.m. EDT to learn more about the new requirements, which go into effect for H-2B labor certification applications postmarked 12:01 a.m. April 23, 2012, and later.

March 16, 2012

Labor Roundup: AFL-CIO Endorses Obama

With primary election season well underway and the general election campaign rapidly approaching, labor unions are figuring out what role they'll take during the race. This week, the AFL-CIO officially endorsed the re-election of President Obama, and individual union endorsements of the president are starting to trickle in. 

March 12, 2012

Q&A: Reading OFCCP's Tea Leaves

Chris Lindholm, a consultant on affirmative action policies for federal contractors, discusses the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' budget justification for fiscal year 2013 that was recently submitted to Congress. The document outlines the agency's funding proposals and enforcement priorities.

March 8, 2012

Labor Stats and Facts: Explaining the Spike in Lump-Sum Payments

When Bloomberg BNA published its annual report on negotiated first-year wage increases earlier this year, I received several calls from subscribers questioning our high figures for lump-sum payments. One even suggested that we had made a mistake. There’s no way, she said, that manufacturers in 2011 were paying out so much money up front. I assured her that the numbers were indeed accurate, but added that they didn’t tell the entire story.

March 5, 2012

Immigration Roundup: A Win for Day Laborers

A federal district court judge issues a preliminary injunction against the portions of Arizona's S.B. 1070 banning day labor solicitation, closely following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling barring enforcement of a similar law in Redondo Beach, Calif.  Advocates are considering both developments a victory for day laborers' free speech rights.

March 2, 2012

Labor Roundup: Obama Addresses UAW

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how union issues were brought to the national spotlight by two televised events: the SAG Awards and the Super Bowl. This week, Americans got a look at the interplay between organized labor and national politics, when President Obama addressed a United Auto Workers conference.