Employment rate for young adults lowest in 60 years, study says
Are you young and looking for work? You’re in good company. Just 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 currently have jobs, according to a study released Thursday by the Pew Research Center. That’s the lowest employment rate for this age group since the government began keeping track in 1948. And it’s a sharp drop from the 62 percent who had jobs in 2007 — suggesting the recession is crippling career prospects for a broad swath of young people who were still in high school or college when the downturn began.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/employment-rate-young-adults_n_1264241.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
Franken proposes new safety regulations for courthouses
Minnesota Senator Al Franken had introduced the Local Courthouse Safety Act to improve security at smaller courthouses after a rash of incidents in 2011 raised concerns about security at local courthouses. The Local Courthouse Act would do three things: “Provide local courts with access to security training, give states authority to use existing grant money to improve courthouse security and give local courts access to excess federal security equipment, such as metal detectors and screening devices.”
http://ksax.com/article/stories/S2488712.shtml?cat=10269
New Hampshire Republicans propose bill to eliminate workers’ lunch breaks
Some of the Granite State’s GOP lawmakers have even proposed doing away with the law that requires employers to give their workers time off for lunch, under the rationale that all employers will simply grant lunch breaks out of the goodness of their hearts. The bill’s sponsor, state representative J.R. Hoell, argued that companies failing to provide lunch breaks would be shamed over social media, thus rendering the law unnecessary.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/08/421510/new-hampshire-gop-repeal-lunch/
US Labor Department sues Bethesda, Md., company and owner to restore nearly $800,000 in 401(k) plan funds invested in fraud scheme
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Bethesda-based Dynasty Construction Inc. and owner John J. Barrett III for breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the company’s 401(k) plan. According to the suit, more than $775,000 from the 401(k) plan was invested in a fraudulent scheme in 2006, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ebsa/EBSA20120114.htm
OSHA recommends fines for Wal-Mart over NY store
The U.S. Labor Department has recommended fining Wal-Mart Stores Inc. $365,500 after inspectors say they found 24 workplace safety violations at an upstate New York store. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration says it received a complaint about a Rochester store and that inspections revealed fall hazards, obstructed exit routes, an unguarded grinder and other alleged problems.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/02/08/2017452/osha-recommends-fines-for-wal.html
Suit raises questions about contractor safety
Romulo de Oliveira Santos’s first night on a demolition job at a Walmart in Walpole was also his last. Santos and a crew of Brazilian immigrant workers were sent to tear down store walls, unaware of live electrical wires in the room. As the men worked into the night, the lights suddenly went dark. Santos’s death is now the subject of a lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court that seeks to hold Walmart Stores Inc. accountable for actions of contractors and subcontractors that build and renovate the retail giant’s stores.
http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-05/business/31024755_1_unlicensed-contractors-safety-violations-subcontractors
US Center for Offshore Safety looks to extend audits to contractors: chairman
The industry-led Center for Offshore Safety is working to extend to contractors its safety audit function for US deepwater operators, center Chairman Charlie Williams said Tuesday at a Platts Energy Podium. The center, which has contractors such as Transocean, Halliburton and Noble on its 22-member board, is seeking to better coordinate the internal safety management programs of contractors with operators even as federal regulators place greater scrutiny on contractor performance.
http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/6931271
Want a promotion? Change your name
Parents wanting to give their children a leg up in the workforce can start early by giving them a simple name like Michael, Tom, Jane or Mary, new research suggests. A study by professors at the University of Melbourne and New York University revealed that people with simple, easy-to-pronounce names were more likely to be favored for a promotion at work.
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/want-promotion-change-name-213400665.html
