Tag: Congress

March: Women’s History Month

On March 8, 1857, women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. In 1981, 124 years after that historic protest, Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Here are some facts about American women from […]

House Panel Assails NLRB’s Recent ‘Union Favoritism’

Controversy surrounding actions coming out of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) intensified on September 22 when a congressional committee examined what the panel’s chairman called the agency’s “assault on American workers and job creators.” The House Education and the Workforce Committee, chaired by Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican, titled the hearing “Culture of […]

Senate Votes Down Health Care Reform Repeal Legislation

On Wednesday, February 2, the U.S. Senate voted 51-47 against a largely symbolic amendment that would repeal the health care reform legislation enacted last year. (The amendment was to an unrelated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding bill.) Senate Republicans unanimously backed the amendment, which would have repealed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), […]

2010 Elections — a Game Changer in Congress

by David S. Fortney and J. Robert Brame Editors, Federal Employment Law Insider The historic 2010 elections for the 112th Congress will significantly alter how Washington operates. The Republicans gained more seats than during any election since 1948, and we now move forward with a politically divided government following two years of Democratic control of […]

President Signs One-Month COBRA Subsidy Extension Legislation

Late Tuesday night, President Barack Obama signed the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4691) into law. The bill, which passed the U.S. Senate by a 78-19 vote Tuesday night and passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week, extends the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 […]

Women’s History Month: March 2010

National Women’s History Month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress […]

Will Congress Require Paid Sick Days for Flu?

Congress Members Introduce More Paid Sick Leave Legislation – November 18, 2009 A U.S. House committee is set to consider a bill during the week of November 16 that would temporarily require employers to provide paid sick days for employees sent home or told to stay home from work because of the flu. U.S. Representative […]

Employers Face Decisions for 2010 While Health Care Reform Is Debated

Employers’ HR and benefits teams are facing the question of what to do in response to pending health care reform. Competing health care proposals are being hotly debated by Congress and the White House in Washington, D.C., and by legislators and their constituents around the country. The debate presents the full range of options, from […]

May: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, […]

Democrats Introduce the Employee Free Choice Act

The Democrats blazed ahead into battle today (March 10) by introducing the much-anticipated Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in both houses of Congress. EFCA, which has been the subject of countless debates, is a controversial bill that would allow a majority of employees to form a union by signing card-check petitions. Under the Employee Free […]