The stepped-up hiring is a signal to employers that attempts to dodge full payment of wages will be met with new focus, and the latest sign of the increasingly vigorous approach to workplace regulation President Barack Obama vowed his Labor Department would take.

In addition to the 150 investigators being hired to help enforce wage and child labor laws, the department is hiring another 100 investigators in Wage and Hour as part of the government stimulus plan to ensure contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance with applicable laws. The total of 250 will increase staff in the division by more than a third."

By Melanie Trottman, The Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123801442734541143.html

The Detroit-based automaker will announce the participation today, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the tally is unofficial. The buyouts, about 10 percent of GM’s UAW workforce, may open slots for GM to hire workers for half the current union rate. Terms on $13.4 billion in U.S. loans require GM labor costs to match Japanese automakers in the U.S.

“I would have expected 4 or 5 percent of the workers,” said Richard Block, a labor professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing. “Ten percent suggests a lot of people were pushed out by the uncertainty.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSyD1Z8dpimk&refer=home
By Jeff Green, Bloomberg, March 26, 2009

11/18/2008 Domestic Automobile Industry, Panel 1
Includes testimony from Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow.

11/18/2008 Domestic Automobile Industry, Panel 2
Includes testimony from the CEOs of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors as well as Ron Gettelfinger, UAW President.

What activities do you have planned for this Thanksgiving? Perhaps cooking and enjoying a meal with family or friends, playing sports or watching sports on television, doing volunteer work, or shopping? Here’s a look at some BLS data behind those Thanksgiving scenes.

by Todd Spangler
Detroit Free Press Washington Staff
November 17, 2008

Excerpt: "Even some Democrats in the U.S. Senate have harsh words for Detroit’s automakers as a bailout bill for the industry is bandied about. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said a $25 billion bailout of the industry may be necessary given the state of the economy but it must be conditioned on the loans being paid back and the senior management of General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC being removed."

"Foxwoods Union Agrees To Negotiate Under Tribal Law"
by Eric Gershon
Chicago Tribune
November 1, 2008

Excerpt:

"The union representing about 2,600 table game dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino has agreed to negotiate a labor contract under tribal law, despite a string of victories in the union's yearlong legal fight to negotiate under U.S. law. In a joint statement Friday, the United Auto Workers and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which owns Foxwoods, said they have suspended their battle in the U.S. courts in favor of attempting a deal under the tribe's own laws. Dealers at Foxwoods voted to form a UAW-affiliated bargaining unit a year ago. Casino management has refused to bargain under federal guidelines, arguing that the Pequots are a sovereign nation that is not subject to those rules."

UAW Press Release: http://www.uaw.org/news/newsarticle.cfm?ArtId=513

BNA's Human Resources Library is now available online to all MSU faculty, staff and students on and off-campus.The HR Library provides regularly updated information, including expert analysis and guidance, on human resources issues. Some of the topics covered include benefits, compensation, diversity, international human resources, organizational development, labor relations, safety & health and training.

Online access to the BNA's weekly newsletter, the Bulletin to Management, is also available through the HR Library.

If you have any questions about this resource, contact the LIR Librarian, Laura Leavitt (leavitt9 at msu dot edu).

Stacy A. Hickox, JD, Assistant Professor
Michigan State University, School of Labor and Industrial Relations
Human Resources Education & Training Center

Excerpt: "The number of claims by employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is on the rise. To determine whether the FLSA requires payment of overtime compensation, an employer must understand what time is considered to be 'compensable.' The FLSA does not require payment for specific hours spent at work, so long as the employee receives the minimum wage, but employees must receive overtime pay for any compensable hours worked beyond 40 hours in a work week.

Although the hours of work are often obvious, recent litigation shows that this issue is not always so clear. Some employees seek compensation for time spent commuting to and from work, or time spent getting to one’s work station. Another common topic of recent litigation is whether employees should be compensated for the time spent 'donning' and 'doffing' uniforms, protective gear or equipment. On June 9, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed and let stand three different appellate court decisions on the donning and doffing issue."