Texas must ease rules on unemployment benefits to get stimulus money

The Austin American Statesman is reporting today that the lure of $555 million in federal stimulus money for additional unemployment insurance has Texas legislators mulling whether to expand unemployment benefits to more workers.

To get the stimulus money, Texas would have to implement some key changes to state law — including modifying some eligibility requirements to include tens of thousands of low-wage workers. Such changes have been considered but not enacted in previous...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Report Finds US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division is Utterly Failing

The New York Times has an important story out this week reporting that an audit of the federal agency charged with enforcing minimum wage, overtime and many other labor laws is failing in that role, leaving millions of workers vulnerable.

In a report scheduled to be released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office found that the agency, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, had mishandled 9 of the 10 cases brought by a team of undercover agents posing as aggrieved...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Is due process what looks bad?

Those of you who are following news of judicial elections in other states may be interested to know that the U.S. Supreme Court last Friday accepted certiorari in the case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company, which I discussed here. The plaintiffs, who argue that campaign donations to the justices created the appearance of impropriety amounting to a due process violation, are represented by former Solicitor General Theodore Olson. According to the New York Times, Olson said in his pleadings, �The issue raised by massive campaign contributions to judges from litigants and their attorneys go to the very heart of what it means to be given a fair trial.� The defendants argued that �looks bad� is not a test of due process.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Fifth Circuit: ADA Protects Employee with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

A really interesting case out of the Fifth Circuit this past week: EEOC v. Chevron Phillips, No. 07-20661 (5th Cir. June 5, 2009).  The case is of interest for a couple of reasons.

First, any Fifth Circuit case that allows an ADA plaintiff to have a jury trial is to a degree notable for that fact alone.  In this case, the Court held that the plaintiff -- suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome ("CFS") -- presented a genuine issue of material fact about whether she was...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Jay Shepherd: Employers' Rx for swine flu? Eliminate sick days

One of my favorite employer-side HR bloggers has another great piece out this week that I recommend you check out.  As you may have read, the World Health Organization declared an influenza pandemic on Thursday and advised governments to prepare for a long-term battle against an unstoppable new flu virus.

Jay picks up the issue from the employer's perspective. 


[T]he current swine-flu pandemic has employers concerned. Many employment lawyers have added to the hysteria by flacking...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Do Federal Judges Discriminate Against Discrimination Claims?

The Wall Street Journal Blog and Paper has a story this week analyzing whether job discrimination plaintiffs get a raw deal in federal court

The WSJ piece examines that question, citing recent studies that show discrimination plaintiffs lose at a higher rate in federal court than other plaintiffs and more often get tossed out of court on summary judgments.


"From 1979 through 2006, federal plaintiffs won 15% of job-discrimination cases. By comparison, plaintiffs in other cases not...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Employers: Are you Prepared for a Flu Pandemic?

In the event of pandemic influenza, employers will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society. Planning for pandemic influenza is critical. To assist you in your efforts, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed the following checklist for large businesses. It identifies important, specific activities large businesses can do now to...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]