A new bill introduced by House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) in November will be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as the current session, which ends at the end of this month. The legislation, which has been termed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (HR […]

Staffing agencies and the American Staffing Association (ASA) are attempting to meet with Illinois Department of Labor officials in an effort to modify the enforcement of Illinois day labor regulations. The ASA has argued that the regulations can not practically be applied to industrial assignments that are not, in effect, “day labor.” Various amendments to […]

The U.S. Department of Labor has recently determined that employees filling the role of “staffing managers”, and who possess and exercise significant decision-making power at staffing agencies, are exempt from overtime pay. The determination was noted in a DOL opinion paper in October and indicated that the “significant decision-making power” designation applied to those managers […]

The Iowa Policy Project has issued a report calling for expanded health insurance coverage for employees it defines as “nonstandard”, a broad range of employees that includes part-time workers, contractors, direct-hire temporary employees, on-call employees and temporary and contract workers.
The group’s report was issued on December 1 and was funded primarily by a U.S. Department […]

Economic activity and hiring continued to expand over the past 4 weeks, according to the Federal Reserve Banks and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, November’s average hourly earnings increased $.03 to $16.32, and unemployment remained steady at 5.0%.
Employment data for selected sectors are noted below (information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics […]

A concerted effort by employers nationwide has helped to defeat a proposed appropriations bill amendment that would have diverted $125 million in funds from the Federal Unemployment System. The amendment was introduced by Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer during debate on the Senate floor. The funds would have been transferred to the New York […]