The Parental Bereavement Act

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House Bill 515 and Senate Bill 226 have been introduced for Congressional consideration.  These bills are basically a reintroduction of House Bill 6673 and Senate Bill 1358 from the 112th legislative session.

If passed, they would expand the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide leave for the death of a son or daughter.  Intermittent or reduced schedule leave would not apply to leave taken under this proposed amendment,

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What if Money Were No Object?

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I saw this video tonight and thought of all the employment problems that could be solved if everyone learned this lesson early in life.

It’s Valentine’s Day.  Here’s to the LOVE of what you do “for a living.”

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State of the Union Identifies Administration’s Employment Law Focal Points

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In the State of the Union Address tonight, President Obama pronounced several areas of focus that may affect employers.

He urged the House to pass a bill that the Senate passed today: the Violence Against Women Act. He also asked Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that he said ensures “that woman [w]ould earn a living equal to their efforts.”

He asked for the minimum wage to be increased to $9.00 per hour and to tie future increases to the cost of living.

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2012 Union Strike Numbers Surpass 2011’s

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its “work stoppage” report today.  The report indicates that 19 major work stoppages (“strikes”) idled more workers than all of the strikes in 2011 combined–148,000 workers.

The Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teacher’s Union idled the most employees–26,500; and Lockheed Martin’s strike was the longest–48 workdays.  When multiplied by the 3600 Lockheed and International Association of Machinist workers who went out on strike, this equals 172,800 lost work days.

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DoL Issues Final Rule, Expanding the FMLA

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The rule implements congressional amendments to the FMLA permitting eligible workers to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a current service member with a serious injury or illness. Congress also created qualifying exigency leave, which permits eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of leave for qualifying exigencies arising out of active duty or call to active duty in support of a contingency operation of a family member serving in the National Guard or Reserve.

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Idaho House Bill 82 Reported out of Committee with a “Do Pass” Recommendation

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Today, House Bill 82 was filed for a second reading. This proposed legislation would align the workers compensation laws in the state so that postsecondary students receive the same workers compensation coverage that K-12 students receive while completing work experience credit hours. Under current Idaho law, postsecondary students receiving education credits for completing a work experience project are not covered under the university or college worker’s compensation policy with the State Insurance Fund.

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Idaho House Bill 57–Increasing Minimum Wage

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Idaho House Bill 57 was also referred to the Commerce and Human Resources Committee this week. This bill would raise Idaho’s minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour to $8.25 per hour and would tie annual increases to the Consumer price index in future years. It also proposes to uncouple the Idaho minimum wage from the Federal wage.

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