One more way the Trump Labor Department can help businesses at the expense of workers:
High-powered attorneys expect the Labor Department to revive opinion letters for their clients, a practice that critics say amounts to “get out of jail free” cards for employers facing minimum wage or overtime claims in court. The letters, a common compliance tool in the previous Republican administration, enable companies to present the documents before a judge or investigator as a “good faith” defense.
“It’s no secret that the opinion letter process largely serves the interest of employers; it gives them a legal defense if their practices comport with what the opinion letter says, even if the Department of Labor was wrong in what the opinion states,” Michael Hancock, who managed the Wage and Hour Division process for the final four years of George W. Bush’s term, told Bloomberg BNA. “It offers a serious and real significant defense to employers.”
Yippee.
● Florida Republicans target public sector unions.
● Modern-day braceros: The United States has 450,000 guestworkers in low-wage jobs.
● The wrong way to debunk Trump's pipeline jobs claims.
● From pink collars to pink hats: Working-class feminism and the resistance.
● The New Jersey Education Association is done with state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and wants him gone:
The newspaper reported Monday that the New Jersey Education Association is weighing many options to oust Sweeney, a south Jersey Democrat whom the union is criticizing as someone who has frequently collaborated with Christie, a Republican, over the last seven years.
"We're looking for a new governor and a new Senate president," NJEA president Wendell Steinhauer told the Inquirer.
The union has even launched a website called Change NJ Politics that says by "working with Chris Christie, Sen. Sweeney betrayed our trust and broke his promises."
Sweeney doesn’t look vulnerable, but Christie is awfully unpopular—and the fact that Sweeney worked so closely with him now looks like craven cooperation with a bully because said bully was popular right at that moment.
● Don't count on workers comp if you get hurt on the job, Iowa workers. In their ongoing crusade against workers, Iowa Republicans have passed a bill cutting workers comp benefits.
● Baltimore's Democratic mayor breaks promise, vetoes $15 minimum wage. And she’s made sure the veto won’t be overturned. We don’t need Democrats like this ...
● Are you ready for our jobless future?