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Showing 488 results

Katie Tracy | September 1, 2015

CPR Submits Comments on Labor Department Guidance for Ensuring Federal Contractors are Complying with Labor Laws

Every year, the federal government awards private firms billions of dollars in federal contracts. The contracts are supposed to go to “responsible” companies, but that isn’t always the case. According to the Government Accountability Office, between 2005 and 2009, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued 25 of its 50 largest fines against 20 […]

Katie Tracy | August 18, 2015

How Much Longer Will it take for OSHA to Protect Workers from Deadly Silica Dust?

Thousands of U.S. workers die every year because of on-the-job exposure to unsafe levels of crystalline silica, a toxic dust common in the construction, sandblasting, and mining industries. Even at the current legal limits, inhaling the tiny toxic particles poses a significant risk to workers of silicosis—an incurable and fatal disease that attacks the lungs—and […]

Katie Tracy | August 5, 2015

Criminally Negligent Construction Company Owner and Project Manager Sentenced Two Years in Prison for Fatal Trench Collapse

Raul Zapata Mercado, a husband and father of three, was killed on January 28, 2012 when a 12-foot trench collapsed on him while he was working at a U.S. Sino Investments Inc. construction site in Milpitas, California. More than three years after the fatal collapse, in May 2015, the construction company owner, Richard Liu, and […]

Katie Tracy | August 3, 2015

After 25 Years, Is the Americans with Disabilities Act Protecting Workers?

July 26 marked the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the federal civil rights legislation that protects the rights of people with disabilities to participate in and contribute to society, including the right to join the workforce. Over the past quarter-century, the law has undoubtedly improved the lives of many Americans, but challenges remain, […]

Katie Tracy | July 29, 2015

Adjusting Overtime Salary Threshold Would Ensure ‘A Fair Day’s Pay for a Fair Day’s Work’

A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” This is the premise on which the Federal Labor Standards (FLSA) Act was enacted 75 years ago. By 1938, the Great Depression had brought about high unemployment and had left workers with little leverage to negotiate over working conditions or hours, setting the stage for employers […]

Rena Steinzor | July 16, 2015

Kill a Worker? You’re Not a Criminal. Steal a Worker’s Pay? You Are One.

Labor Secretary Tom Perez came into office pledging to create good jobs and take on the economic injustice that oppresses blue-collar workers, from raising the minimum wage and restoring unpaid overtime to combatting wage theft. Luckily, the head of his Wage and Hour Division, David Weil, the author of a revelatory report on how to […]

Katie Tracy | July 7, 2015

With Right to Marry, Same-Sex Spouses Now Eligible for Hundreds of Employment Benefits

The Supreme Court’s decision on June 26 recognizing same-sex couples’ fundamental right to marry is a significant, albeit long overdue, civil rights victory for the LGBT community and for our nation.  You don’t have to look any further than the long list of benefits available only to married couples to see how denying same-sex couples […]

Rena Steinzor | June 30, 2015

The President’s Schizophrenia on the Working Class

President Obama’s approval rating is up to 50 percent for the first time in two years after a stellar period of national reconciliation and the safeguarding of Obamacare, his signature, and truly momentous, achievement.  The president, in fulfillment of his noble promises to help the middle class, is about to put his weight behind a […]

Katie Tracy | June 23, 2015

Walmart’s Cutthroat Business Model Fuels Labor Violations throughout Its Food Supply Chain

Every day, millions of consumers endure Walmart’s crowded parking lots and cramped aisles for the chance to buy retail goods and groceries at low prices.  Perhaps some visitors find value in the prospect of starring in the next caught-on-camera video like last week’s hit filmed at a store in Beech Grove, Indiana.  But the lower […]