Recently in Labor Laws/Legislation Category

Source: By James Pilcher, Enquirer (OH), July 20, 2010

Backed by the nation's largest transit unions, a fired bus driver from Oakland, Calif. Tuesday filed a class action lawsuit against downtown Cincinnati-based First Transit, saying the transit company's policy barring individuals with felony convictions is discriminatory against blacks and Hispanics and violates long-standing civil rights laws.

Experts say that the case could change hiring practices for all companies nationally whoever prevails, and could set major labor law precedent.

..... First Transit is a subsidiary of downtown-based First Group America, the nation's largest private provider of transit services for public city bus systems as well as public and private school districts, and also owns Greyhound Bus Lines.

...... The Amalgamated Transit Union says that the policy violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which states that employers can't base hiring on a past felony conviction if it would disproportionately impact minority groups.

Source: Adam Wilson's blog at the Olympian (WA), April 23, 2009

Rep. Ruth Kagi just flagged me down and chastised me for not covering quite a significant bill on child welfare, HB2106. I thought it had been pretty watered down as a pilot project, but she set me straight.  There are two pilot areas in the bill, which will allow private child welfare agencies to handle all cases in certain regions, to be compared to the performance of state social workers. A final report on the test isn't due until 2015.

..... The Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents state social workers, fought the bill, and is still considering asking the governor for a veto.  The last time I asked union lobbyist Dennis Eagle about it, he said the final version was better than earlier drafts, but it still didn't promise any savings to the state or give state social workers a chance to show how they compare to the private agencies.

Source: By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Saturday, April 18, 2009

Lawyers, financial advisers, entertainers and other professionals will have to compete if they want contracts with the city of Pittsburgh, under new procedures released by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration yesterday.  The new rules are a fulfillment of a pledge the mayor made in January to eliminate -- with few exceptions -- no-bid contracting in the city and its authorities.