Working & The Economy
Pa.’s unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent in April
Department of Labor & Industry data confirmed that the commonwealth’s April 2022 unemployment rate is 2.1 percentage points below its April 2021 unemployment rate.
What Americans are saying about their financial health | The Numbers Racket
Forty-nine percent of respondents said they are prepared for a financial emergency, compared to 30 percent who said they were not prepared. Another 21 percent of respondents said they didn’t know if they were prepared for a financial emergency or not.
Starbucks’ caffeinated anti-union efforts may leave a bitter taste. But are they legal? | Opinion
Labor organizers will be hoping that the recent complaint against Starbucks will portend a decisiveness and desire to move more quickly at the NLRB.
With costs rising, Pa. residents still need help from Washington and Harrisburg | Opinion
We came together during COVID-19 to take care of each other. Now's not the time to stop doing it.
U.S. House vote to expand federal firefighters benefits seen as step toward parity
The bill has the support of U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District.
Pa. awards $2M in clean energy grants to boost workforce development | Friday Morning Coffee
The grants are intended to help individuals from underserved communities, the administration said.
What’s behind the U.S. infant formula shortage? Your questions answered | Opinion
And how to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
U.S. House panel weighs labor law amendment to protect workers from wage theft
House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro introduced the bill, H.R. 3712, known as the “Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act of 2022.” It would require employers to provide pay stubs to workers, establish new minimum and maximum civil penalties for employers who engage in wage theft and provide grants to organizations and institutions to enhance the enforcement of wage and hour laws.
Changes to Pa. Minimum Wage Act, modernizing rules for tipped workers, to take effect in August
The final-form regulations, unanimously approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission in late March and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on May 7, make several key changes to the 1968 Minimum Wage Act regarding tipped workers, including aligning state law with federal regulations on tip credits and tip pooling.
Pennsylvania oil lobby keeps abandoned wells unplugged
The oil and gas industry could jeopardize federal funding to clean up the state’s thousands of abandoned and leaking wells.
State, local officials highlight addiction prevention efforts across Pa.
One of those leaders is Kristen Varner, administrator of Dauphin County Drug and Alcohol Services. Varner said that her own success in long-term recovery from substance use disorder is largely due to “protective factors,” such as a continuous support from a “loving environment.”
Consumers could see a 6 to 45 percent increase in electricity costs this summer, PUC warns
Consumers who stick with their default provider “will see sharp increases in energy costs as summer approaches ranging between 6% and 45% depending on their electric utility,” the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission warned in a recent statement.