Unions have successfully pushed counterintuitive carve-outs to minimum wage hikes in California permitting employers to pay union workers less than other workers. Union leaders say they are trying to make unionization more attractive to employers. But union members aren't pleased. The L.A. Times explains.
Author Archives: Scott Michelman
“If you rape a child, you get the benefit of tort reform." That comment, from the lawyer of a woman who was raped as a teenager by a youth pastor in Ohio, sums up the problem covered in a recent Slate article, which explains how damages caps can limit the recovery for victims of sexual […]
Last week, the National Consumer Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union sued to enforce a FOIA request to the U.S. Department of Education seeking information on the Department's policies concerning collections on student loan debt. As the press release explains, the groups are concerned about differential treatment of student borrowers of color and […]
We've mentioned before the case of Don Blankenship, the former head of Massey Energy whom a jury convicted of conspiracy to violate federal mine safety standards in connection with the Upper Big Branch disaster that killed 29 workers. Today a federal judge sentenced Blankenship to one year in prison. It's not as much as you might expect given […]
City supervisors approved a measure to grant six weeks' fully paid family leave for parents who bear or adopt a child — the most worker-friendly family leave policy in the nation. Only three states require paid family leave, none at full pay. The federal FMLA provides 12 weeks of family leave, unpaid. The Times has the […]
One of the doomsday scenarios about the ACA was that it would prompt employers to stop covering their workers' health insurance and force them to fend for themselves. That threat hasn't materialized, reports the New York Times. Instead, "health care remains an important recruitment and retention tool as the labor market has tightened in recent […]
Asset forfeiture is the controversial practice of taking people's stuff when they may be involved in criminal activity. Why is the program controversial? Because sometimes the government seizes the assets of people who are innocent and it's very difficult to get it back. Compounding the problem is a racial disparity in whose stuff gets taken. […]
Think California's proposed minimum wage is too high? Other states too low? Consider this calculator for what constitutes a living wage, by state, created by an MIT professor.
As UPI reports: Coast Professional and National Recoveries were among the five private collection agencies terminated in February 2015 after they made "materially inaccurate representations" to borrowers in default, the Education Department said. But in the final few months of 2015, Coast Professional was given an additional $863.5 million worth of student loans, and National […]
Back by Gov. Jerry Brown, California's proposal to raise the minimum wage holds out the possibility of a huge gain for workers. California's proposed $15 minimum would make it not just a leader in this country but also the world, catching up to global leaders France and Australia. But the opposing side is also on […]