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☆ Firefighters who risked their lives fighting wildfires were paid less than legal minimum by a federal contractor, investigators say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A federal contractor paid firefighters as little as $2.85/hour, according to the Department of Labor. Since 2010, the Oregon-based company KL Farms/Fire LLC has been awarded 72 federal contracts worth more than $2.6 million, according to government records. On average, per federal investigators, these workers put in an average of 70 hours a week fighting blazes in 2020 and 2021. In total, the Department of Labor said it recovered just over $152,000 in unpaid overtime and fringe benefits for 57 firefighters and truck drivers, with one worker receiving over $14,700. Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.comMay 25, 2023: This story was updated to include comment from KL Farms/Fire LLC.

☆ Popeyes shut down a store after teenage workers said they were asked to skip school and do late weeknight shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Teenage workers at a Popeyes in Oakland, California filed complaints with the state labor department. One former employee said she had to skip school after being asked to cover a weekday shift. Popeyes shut down the franchisee-operated store and opened an investigation into the claims Thursday. Following the claims, Popeyes closed the store and opened an investigation into the complaints filed with the California labor department. Other fast food chains have also fallen foul of child labor laws in recent months.

☆ A DoJ official said forced labor was 'heinous conduct' after a Louisiana man was jailed for making minors bake and sell brownies 7 days a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Louisiana man was jailed for forcing minors to work long hours baking and selling brownies. The Department of Justice said Friday that Darnell Fulton was sentenced to 35 years in prison. A DoJ official said forced labor was "heinous conduct" and would not be tolerated. He was jailed Friday for 35 years for crimes including conspiracy to commit forced labor. "This sentence demonstrates the Justice Department's commitment to standing up for the survivors of forced labor schemes.

☆ Premarket: Turkey's big economic gamble looks set to continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Mark Thompson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In an exclusive interview with CNN on Thursday, Erdogan promised to continue cutting interest rates to tackle soaring prices if he is re-elected on May 28, my colleague Olesya Dmitracova reports. “Please do follow me in the aftermath of the elections, and you will see that inflation will be going down along with interest rates,” Erdogan told CNN’s Becky Anderson. “I have a thesis that interest rates and inflation, they are directly correlated. As price hikes started to accelerate around the world in late 2021, Erdogan ordered Turkey’s central bank to slash interest rates. The weekly claims attributed to Massachusetts fell by 14,042 on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, representing three-quarters of the decline of 18,605 claims.

☆ From Kroger to Walmart, these are the top 10 most popular grocery chains in America
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Indeed, restaurant prices have risen faster than grocery prices over the last year, according to data from the Department of Labor. To rank the grocers, Placer.ai measured the "visit share" each retailer received in April. "Visit share" is the percentage of total visits that a retailer received during a given time frame compared to the other retailers also being analyzed. Kroger, with its more than 1200 locations in 16 states, was the top visited supermarket chain in the country, capturing 9.1% of the visit share in April. These are the 10 most popular supermarket chains in the country.

☆ How top execs get a bigger tax break on retirement savings than the rest of us
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It’s a very real possibility, thanks to some generous tax-advantaged retirement savings options available to them — but not to rank-and-file employees. At Disney, where median employee pay is $54,256, CFO Christine Mary McCarthy had amassed nearly $44 million in a nonqualified plan. If annuitized, that balance might generate $3 million a month in retirement, IPS estimated. Narrowing the retirement divideMany Americans face critical shortfalls in savings as they near retirement. By contrast, the median 401(k) balance at Vanguard, a major provider of such plans, was just $33,472,” the IPS report notes.

☆ Initial jobless claims increase for fourth consecutive week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Minneapolis CNN —The number of first-time claims for weekly jobless benefits fell last week to 242,000, down 22,000 from 264,000 the week before, according to data published Thursday by the Department of Labor. Continuing claims, which are filed by people who have received jobless benefits for more than one week, dipped to 1.799 million for the week ended May 6 from a revised 1.807 million the week prior. The outsized influence of Massachusetts’ claims was an anomaly, BofA economists wrote, noting that the state’s total employment accounts for under 3% of overall US employment, and its initial jobless claims are typically under 3% of all weekly US claims. When excluding and recalculating filings in Massachusetts, initial claims have instead moved “sideways,” pointing to limited layoffs, economists Stephen Juneau and Michael Gapen wrote. Weekly jobless claims remain below historical averages: In the decade before the pandemic, weekly claims averaged 311,000.

May 17 (Reuters) - A group of Republican-led U.S. states has asked a federal judge in Texas to strike down a Biden administration rule allowing socially conscious investing by retirement plans, saying it will imperil Americans' retirement savings. The rule, which took effect Jan. 30, sets guidelines for ESG investing including requiring that socially conscious investments are still financially sound. The states sued in January and in February had asked the judge to temporarily block the rule pending the outcome of the case. The judge has not yet ruled on that bid, and in Tuesday's filing, the states asked the judge to rule on the merits of their lawsuit. Kacsmaryk in March refused to transfer the challenge to the ESG investing rule to another court.

☆ A Florida sushi restaurant has repaid staff $262,000 after it made servers share their tips with owners and managers, the Labor Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Fort Myers restaurant made its 75 servers share their tips with its chefs, owners, and managers, the DOL said. The sushi restaurant repaid staff $262,000 after the DOL uncovered a number of labor-law violations. The restaurant's manager told The Fort Myers News-Press that it was "all cleared up now." Ginza Japanese Restaurant in Fort Myers made its 75 servers share their tips with its chefs, owners, and managers, the US Department of Labor said in a press release. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are not allowed to require their staff to share their tips with supervisors, managers, and business owners.

☆ The manager of a Popeyes franchise 'screamed' obscenities at federal investigators and slammed the kitchen door so hard it shook the building, the Labor Department said
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Popeyes franchise manager "screamed" at federal investigators, the DOL says in a lawsuit. He cursed at the investigators and slammed a door so hard it shook the building, per the lawsuit. The complaint claims that the district manager "instantly started screaming 'what the f*** are you doing here,' using an aggressive tone and demeanor." The district manager also slammed the kitchen door "so hard that the entire establishment shook," per the complaint. RBI and lawyers for the district manager and the franchise company did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular US working hours.

☆ After Decades of Drinks and Laughs, Is It Last Call at the Friars Club?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Julia Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

(It’s always been mostly men; the first woman admitted was Liza Minnelli in 1988.) Its headquarters since the 1950s, the Monastery is a shrine to the club’s heyday, with framed black-and-white photos of smiling comedy legends. The club, a nonprofit corporation, lost its tax-exempt status in 2010. He was kept on for several months after his sentencing, before the club’s board fired him in 2020, an event for which he has brought legal action against the club. The lender said in court papers that the club also owes money to the restaurant and bartenders employee union, the city’s Environmental Control Board, and the New York State Department of Labor.

☆ Opinion: Mitch McConnell’s confidence is being put to the test
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. Not to worry, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a veteran of debt limit battles. McConnell’s reassurance that all will work out in the end is validated by history, but that doesn’t mean this time couldn’t be different. “If female voters are key to a Donald Trump victory in 2024, the former president should be in big trouble – but he doesn’t seem to care,” Jill Filipovic observed. “The town hall audience – selected on the basis of their intention to vote in the Republican primary in New Hampshire – appeared to be made up mostly of Trump fans.

☆ Pennsylvania battery maker ordered to pay $22 million in back wages after DOL rules it denied thousands of workers overtime
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Pennsylvania battery maker was ordered to pay 7,500 workers $22 million in unpaid overtime. The DOL said East Penn Manufacturing Company Inc. didn't pay employees for their time spent preparing to work in hazardous conditions. During its investigation, the DOL found that East Penn employees were only being paid for their contracted 8-hour shifts. In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for East Penn said the jury also found that East Penn did not act in a knowing or reckless disregard of the law. "East Penn appreciates the time and attention of the jurors over the course of this lengthy andcomplex trial.

☆ Gig work value is too great to rush a US overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Julie Su, the president’s choice for labor secretary, has a history of redefining gig work. And while health insurance and retirement savings are valuable perks, gig workers view flexibility in the same way. Half of surveyed gig workers, meanwhile, make less than a quarter of their income from freelancing. Gig work has also grown alongside traditional employment, not at its expense. With most gig workers happy as they are, a one-size-fits-all rethink threatens pointless harm to a growing corner of the economy.

☆ Dollar General's troubles have snowballed into cluttered aisles and stores forced to close by fire marshals. Employees tell us what went wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Current and former employees who spoke to Insider say clutter at Dollar General stores has gotten worse over the last few years. The clutter is one of the reasons that the Department of Labor labeled Dollar General a "severe violator" in March. In January, a Dollar General clerk was charged with manslaughter after police said he shot and killed an armed robber. Despite the problems on the ground, Dollar General continues to earn positive feedback from analysts on Wall Street. Do you work or shop at a Dollar General store or have a story to share?

☆ George Santos was accused of unemployment fraud. The House may vote this week on an unemployment fraud bill that he co-sponsored.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. George Santos is being accused of stealing COVID-19 unemployment aid, among other charges. In March, he co-sponsored a bill that incentivizes states to recoup money lost through unemployment fraud. The indictment contains 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. Two months before his indictment, Santos co-sponsored a bill, along with 34 Republican lawmakers, that incentivizes states to recoup money lost through COVID-19 unemployment fraud. Spokespersons for Santos and Rep. Jason Smith, the lead sponsor of the bill, did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ George Santos took unemployment for a year during the COVID pandemic despite having a $120K a year job at an investment firm, feds say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Chris Panella | Brent D. Griffiths | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

GOP Rep. George Santos took unemployment during COVID-19 while working a $120k investment job, prosecutors say. Federal prosecutors allege Santos illegally received unemployment benefits while working at an investment firm. According to court documents, Santos "applied to receive unemployment insurance benefits through the New York State Department of Labor" in June 2020. In his application, Santos "falsely claimed to have been unemployed since the week of March 22, 2020," prosecutors wrote. Santos "certified his continued eligibility for unemployment benefits on a weekly basis" from June 19, 2020, to April 15, 2021, prosecutors alleged.

☆ CEO who manages $1.5 billion in assets shares her No. 1 investment tip for women: ‘Just do it’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sallie Krawcheck's biggest piece of advice for women investors is simple: Invest some money. After Wall Street CEO and CFO jobs at places like Citibank and Smith Barney, Krawcheck co-founded Ellevest, a digital investment and wealth management platform, in 2014. One in 10 women say they don't fully understand investing, and only about 28% feel confident investing, the BNY Mellon report noted. "Women will not invest if they don't understand, [but] men will invest anyway." That trend is good news for a platform like Ellevest, which has raised $144 million in funding since launching and manages more than $1.5 billion in assets from women investors.

☆ 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald’s until 2 a.m.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Michelle Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant — sometimes until 2 a.m. — the US Department of Labor said Tuesday. The revelation was part of an investigation into the child labor law violations in the Southeast. “Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the release said. “Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed – but not paid – and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”The three franchisees face a combined $212,754 in civil money penalties for the child labor violations, the release said. “Under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers.”

☆ Amazon Labor Union's vice president faces criminal charges over allegations he choked his girlfriend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jack Newsham | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Police bodycam video shows Derrick Palmer, the vice president of the Amazon Labor Union, admitting to strangling his girlfriend. The second-highest-ranking official in the Amazon Labor Union is facing felony charges over claims that he strangled his girlfriend last year, according to police records and body-cam video obtained by Insider. The charges against Palmer are the latest potentially damaging revelation about the leadership of the Amazon Labor Union, the only union to successfully organize an Amazon facility. Palmer, left, and Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls arrive at an Ebony magazine gala in October 2022. Historically, union officers removed under the law have been convicted of fraud, embezzlement, or extortion, Logan said.

☆ What is ESG investing? A beginner's guide to choosing a sustainable fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

So-called ESG investing is a big deal. In other words, 1 in every 8 U.S. investor dollars is in a sustainable fund. The growing prominence of and demand for ESG investments has attracted the attention of politicians and regulators. ESG has become a catch-all acronym for what asset management industry pros would call sustainable investing — strategies that seek to deliver a financial return while providing for societal good. ESG funds This is where conflating ESG funds and "boycotting" the energy industry gets a little spurious.

☆ Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +50 min

Ensuring Employee Safety and Systems SecurityEmployers may use electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance to protect their:Worksites. Potential Liability for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceEmployers that engage in electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance must comply with various federal and state laws, including:The Wiretap Act. Best Practices for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceTo avoid violating relevant state and federal laws, before conducting workplace monitoring and surveillance, employers should:Consider the purpose and appropriate scope of their monitoring and surveillance activities and what methods will help them achieve their objectives. Determine the Purpose of Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceBefore conducting any workplace monitoring or surveillance, best practice is for employers to identify the purpose and goals of these activities to:Ensure that there is a legitimate business purpose for the planned monitoring and surveillance activities. Determine the scope of monitoring and surveillance necessary to accomplish the business purpose, and conduct only the minimum monitoring and surveillance necessary to meet that business need.

☆ Senator Patty Murray says it's impossible to keep the economy growing without affordable, well-paid childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Senator Patty Murray is once again pushing legislation to make childcare affordable and accessible. She told Insider the growth of the US economy relies on workers having access to childcare. Under the Child Care for Working Families Act, families' childcare costs would be capped at 7% of their income, and families that earn under 85% of their state's median would pay nothing at all. "Childcare was a crisis long ago, but it was a silent crisis," Murray told Insider. "Women are in the workforce to provide for their families," Murray said.

None of the agencies disputed the allegation, and each paid penalties of $5,050, the maximum state levy for a child labor violation. The U.S. and Alabama investigations began after a Reuters report last July first exposed the use of child labor at Hyundai parts makers in the state. The U.S. Department of Labor said in February the number of child labor violations in 2022 had soared by nearly 70% compared with the tally recorded in 2018. They said false documentation, even shoddy credentials like those filed by the boy's employers, makes child labor laws difficult to enforce. An Alabama labor department spokesperson told Reuters the agency is still working to determine who exactly hired the child to work at Hyundai Glovis.

The Democrat-led Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 11-10 to approve Su, a civil rights lawyer and former California labor commissioner who has served as a deputy labor secretary since 2021. If Su is confirmed, she will replace Marty Walsh, who stepped down as labor secretary last month to become executive director of the National Hockey League players' union. Using contractors can be up to 30% cheaper for companies than employees. Industry groups representing companies in the ride-hailing, delivery and other sectors using contractors have launched an aggressive campaign to oppose Su's nomination. “The next Labor Secretary must embrace the flexible earning opportunities that app-based platforms have unleashed for millions of Americans," Sharp said.

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