Employee Rights Blog

Hiring Outlook

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:51 +0000

According to the results of the most recent, often-cited survey by Manpower, “U.S. employers have modest hiring plans for Quarter 2 2010.” Manpower conducted over 18,000 interviews with U.S. employers in 201 metropolitan statistical areas and across 13 industry sectors, regarding their hiring intentions in Quarter 2 (Q2) compared to Quarter 1 (Q1). Of those employers: 16% [...]

COBRA Subsidy Extension

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:16:04 +0000

President Obama has authorized a second COBRA subsidy extension, by signing the Temporary Extension Act of 2010. The Act extends the subsidy eligibility deadline from February 28, 2010 to March 31, 2010. The president first authorized the COBRA subsidy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also referred to as the Stimulus Act, [...]

Unemployment Rate - Updated Monthly

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:41:27 +0000

The national unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent from January into February, according to monthly data that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released today. The BLS also reported that the economy shed 36,000 nonfarm jobs in February, an increase of 16,000 from January as initially reported. That’s not great news but it’s not terrible [...]

Job Hiring Trends

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:31:59 +0000

According to the job bank CareerCast.com, job hiring in February 2010 showed the most promise since July 2009, while improving considerably from a year ago. Each month CareerCast measures current hiring trends against the base year of 2007, using online job listings at select major job banks and job aggregators (job search engines) to calculate index [...]

Disaster Unemployment Assistance - Winter Storm, Flood

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:05:22 +0000

Disaster Unemployment Assistance might be or soon might be available for eligible employees and self-employed individuals who’ve recently lost their jobs or income, because of damage caused by a severe winter storm, snowstorm or related flooding. Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is a special program funded by the federal government that becomes active, if required, after the [...]

Mass Layoffs Report - Updated Monthly

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:56:48 +0000

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers initiated 1,761 mass layoffs in January 2010, causing at least 182,261 workers to file new claims for unemployment benefits. Mass layoffs and related new filings for unemployment benefits increased in January, after decreasing for four consecutive months. More specifically, January mass layoffs increased by 35 from [...]

Mass Layoffs Report - Updated Quarterly

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:23:01 +0000

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today that employers initiated 2,043 mass layoffs in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2009, causing 321,569 workers to lose their jobs for at least 31 days. Each layoff measured involved at least 50 workers per employer. Worker separations (job losses) were measured by initial claims for unemployment benefits. Did [...]

Must I Write a Resignation Letter?

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:25:04 +0000

There is no federal “resignation law” that requires you to write a resignation letter to “legally” resign from your job; but, there’s more to it. Under the Doctrine of Employment at Will, you may quit your job at anytime and for any reason without giving advanced notice of resignation to your employer. However, if you signed an [...]

What is Wrongful Termination?

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:18:03 +0000

Some employees who have yet to go through the unpleasant experience of involuntary employment termination, falsely assume that every unfair employment discharge amounts to wrongful termination. Wrongful termination is an unfair employment discharge; but, unfortunately for employees, not every unfair employment discharge amounts to wrongful termination, at least not that of the actionable kind. That’s because employment [...]

Minimum Wage in 2010

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:47:58 +0000

Three states have already implemented a minimum wage increase in 2010 and a fourth has planned to do so in July. Meanwhile, Colorado is the only state to have decreased its 2010 minimum wage. Each of the three states listed below increased the minimum wage rate on the effective date of January 1, 2010, to the [...]

Is a Severance Agreement Legal?

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:30:33 +0000

There was a time when conscientious employers provided severance pay to help employees survive layoffs. But, these days, employers who provide severance pay at all are more likely to do so as a “bribe” of sorts, to encourage departing employees to sign severance agreements that waive their rights to sue the employers. For layoffs, the most [...]

Disaster Unemployment Assistance - Storm, Tornado, Flood…

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:33:11 +0000

Disaster Unemployment Assistance might be or soon might be available for eligible employees and self-employed individuals who’ve recently lost their jobs or income, because of damage caused by a severe storm, tornado or flood. Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is a special program funded by the federal government that becomes active, if required, after the President of [...]

Genetic Discrimination Law to Take Effect

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:32:02 +0000

A relatively new genetic discrimination law will soon make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of genetic information in any aspect of employment, including hiring, termination, pay and benefits. Former President George W. Bush signed the genetic discrimination law, officially referred to as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), [...]

Can I Take Family or Medical Leave for Flu?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:19:24 +0000

Generally, eligible employees may take job-protected leave from work under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for their own illnesses or those of sick family members; but, whether or not the swine flu (H1N1 virus) is covered under the FMLA depends on its seriousness, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. [...]

Employment Help for Wounded & Injured Veterans

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:56:49 +0000

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Labor introduced two new programs to help wounded and injured service members returning from the War on Terrorism, prepare for civilian careers and land gainful employment as veterans. REALifelines REALifelines, short for Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines, helps wounded and injured veterans and transitioning service members prepare for civilian careers [...]

Extended Unemployment Benefits Authorized

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:55:44 +0000

President Obama authorized yet another round of extended unemployment benefits, by signing the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (Worker Assistance Act for short). Update: President Obama has extended the eligibility date for this round of extended unemployment benefits to April 5, 2010. Meanwhile, the Senate has approved Bill H.R. 4213 to further extend [...]

Senate Passes Extended Unemployment Benefits Bill

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:57:02 +0000

The Senate has finally authorized extended unemployment benefits (Emergency Unemployment Compensation), by unanimously passing the underlying bill for the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009. The House of Representatives passed their version of the extended unemployment benefits bill (H.R.3548, Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009), which covered only states with high unemployment rates, and sent it [...]

Holiday Hiring Myth - Holiday Job Search Myth

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:35:41 +0000

It’s a myth that employers bring job hiring to a screeching halt, solely because the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays are approaching. Sadly, job seekers who are desperate for jobs, but believe the myth, stop job searching as the holiday season approaches, a time when they typically need money the most. It’s true that job hiring [...]

Must my employer give me time off to vote?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:35:59 +0000

If you’re wondering whether or not your employer must give you time off from work to vote in elections, it depends on whether or not the state in which you work has enacted a law with employee “time off to vote” provisions. There is no Federal law that requires employers to give employees work time off [...]

Employer Labor Law Violations Abound

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:12:17 +0000

Study results recently released by a group of research organizations generally concluded that employer labor law violations against America’s low-wage workers are systematic, routine, severe and widespread. Employers of low-wage workers most often violate labor laws that are generally referred to as wage and hour laws, according to the study results. The researchers surveyed 4,387 low-wage workers [...]