As we get further into the fall months, there tends to be fewer public hearings on new legislative proposals as lawmakers look to get back to their districts and wind down their formal work. That lull, such as it is, gives us valuable time to capture and summarize the broad array of state legislative changes…
Read More »Notwithstanding difficulties within the SEIU offices as outlined above, their push for increased minimum wages seems to be growing new appendages in some locales around the country. Earlier this month, the Common Council of South Bend Indiana expanded its current minimum wage requirement when it voted to tie tax abatements for private businesses to minimum…
Read More »The Cook County soda tax is going the way of 1917 national predecessor, repealed! The effort first got its real momentum a few weeks ago and then a budget deal was reached last week that cut the tax from the county budget. Tuesday, the County Finance Committee endorsed the repeal effort by a vote of…
Read More »Speaking of the US Supreme Court, SCOTUS has announced that it will take up the case of Janus v AFSCME, dealing with right to work laws, and hear arguments in the case this term (likely next calendar year). At issue is whether or not public-sector workers can be forced to join the representing union or…
Read More »Speaking of right to work, the Badger State became the 25th state in the Union to adopt right-to-work back in 2015, but implementing the law has been a non-stop battle in Wisconsin ever since. The law has been challenged in both the federal and state courts and at this point, has prevailed in both. In…
Read More »The state level push to add, and in some cases expand existing, paid sick and family leave benefits for workers continued over the past few weeks with California expanding its already-generous family leave law and Rhode Island legislators approving up to 5 sick days leave on an annual basis. California lawmakers sent Governor Jerry Brown…
Read More »The seemingly endless increases in minimum wages continued over the past few weeks with the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor announcing the federal contractor minimum will increase to $10.35 per hour beginning on January 1, 2018. In addition, the minimum for tipped employees will increase to $7.25 an hour, also…
Read More »No matter which state one is talking about, the question of minimum wages is either at the political forefront or soon to be. As a case in point, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Fight for $15 (but I repeat myself) will announce on Labor Day, a campaign to target elected officials who…
Read More »It is one of 28 states that have adopted right to work laws, but the Missouri right to work statute is now in suspension until voters have their say on the issue in November. The law, which prohibits the payment of union dues as a condition of employment, was set to take effect in the…
Read More »There are two new developments on minimum wage this week that are rare enough to come under the Man Bites Dog headline. First, a lawsuit challenging the current effort to put the Flagstaff $15 minimum wage on the ballot was dismissed by an Arizona court last week, seemingly clearing the way for the repeal effort…
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