The Labor & Employment Blog is a forum for practitioners and Bloomberg BNA editors to share ideas, raise issues, and network with colleagues.
May 23, 2013
by Louis C. LaBrecque
Legislation (H.R. 568) that would require the Office of Personnel Management to provide annual reports to Congress on the use of "official time" by federal employees who also serve as union officers was approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by voice vote.
May 10, 2013
by Michael Rose
While the Senate has been busy focusing on comprehensive immigration legislation, the House on Wednesday passed an employment-related bill that garnered a bit less attention.
April 29, 2013
by Laura D. Francis
The immigration world has been all aflutter since the wee hours of April 17 when the Senate’s “gang of eight” introduced its long-awaited comprehensive immigration overhaul bill. But House Republicans wanted to make sure that they weren’t forgotten amidst all the hubbub in the Senate. And they have a different approach to immigration legislation--a "step by step approach."
March 29, 2013
Federal government employees with "seriously delinquent tax debt" could be fired by their agencies and federal job applicants forced to withdraw their applications under legislation (H.R. 249) approved by voice vote March 20 by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
March 4, 2013
Even with all the talk of sequestration and other fiscal matters, there are still lots of other issues getting attention on Capitol Hill. Foremost among them: immigration. Last week saw not one but two House subcommittee hearings on immigration matters, and a third is slated for this week. And there were signs of agreement among various witnesses and members of Congress.
February 22, 2013
by Patrick Dorrian
Over the past two weeks, momentum has begun to build toward a long-sought expansion of federal employment rights law: protections from workplace discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers.
February 14, 2013
The House is preparing to vote as early as Feb. 15 on legislation (H.R. 273) that would freeze federal pay for the remainder of calendar year 2013.
February 8, 2013
Momentum may be building toward further federal legislation on the issue of equal pay, if activity at the state level is any indication.
February 4, 2013
Last week saw a flurry of immigration-related activity on the Hill and in the White House as President Obama and a bipartisan group of senators practically tripped over each other to release their frameworks for what a comprehensive bill should contain--although comprehensive legislation has not actually been introduced.
January 4, 2013
It was, of course, a busy week in Congress this week, between final passage of a deal averting the so-called fiscal cliff--which included a one-year extension of emergency unemployment insurance benefits--and the beginning of the 113th Congress. But what comes next?
December 28, 2012
While Congress is focusing mostly on the so-called fiscal cliff, lawmakers have also recently taken notice of labor issues. House Democrats, for example, sent a letter to Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative, about labor conditions in Bangladesh.
November 9, 2012
Immigrant advocates and practitioners agree following President Obama’s re-election that a large measure of his success—if not the deciding factor—was the fact that Latinos, a growing segment of the voting population, overwhelmingly supported him. But the million-dollar question is whether the election results will translate to congressional action overhauling the country’s immigration system.
July 4, 2012
Mind readers and bicycle building exercises likely will never again be featured at a federal training conference in the wake of the scandal involving the General Services Administration's 2010 Western Regional Conference, where a Las Vegas conference for approximately 300 GSA employees cost more than $822,000.
January 4, 2012
by Victoria Roberts
This week, we published our 2012 Economic Outlook, which finds an economy inching toward recovery. The forecast of the 26 economists at 21 leading financial, consulting, and academic organizations across the United States calls for a small uptick in the jobless rate, as more Americans re-enter the job market to look for work. Wage gains, meanwhile, will remain small.Meanwhile President Obama today announced his intent to recess appoint Sharon Block (D), Terence F. Flynn (R), and Richard Griffin (D) as members of the National Labor Relations Board. As of yesterday, the board had dropped to two members following the expiration of Member Craig Becker's recess appointment. Obama's move tests his authority to bypass the Senate, as Senate Republicans have been holding pro forma sessions during the congressional break in order to head off any recess appointments. Following the president's announcement, Republicans jeered and Democrats cheered, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce denounced the action, and AFL-CIO commended it.
Public Sector Roundup: Will Sequestration Continue Into Fiscal Year 2014?
Congressional Roundup: Republican Comp Time Bill Gets a Vote
Labor Stats and Facts: Decertifications Are Down, but Unions Shouldn't Celebrate
EEO Roundup: Valuing Employment Discrimination Claims
Public Sector Roundup: Legislation to Require OPM to Track Union 'Official Time' Approved by House Panel