‘Fair Chance Act’ may require federal government to ‘ban the box’

Fair Chance Act,” would prevent all three branches of the federal government from asking job applicants questions about their criminal records on a government job application. The Fair Chance Act would prevent background checks from being conducted until the government is ready to offer a position to the applicant. The bill would “ban the box”…

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Food chains under fire for wage theft, illegal background checking

Restaurant and food-delivery chains have been under fire lately, as Chipotle, Waffle House and Papa John’s Pizza have all been slapped with lawsuits recently. Four current and former Papa John’s franchises reached a settlement with New York employees and former employees after admitting that they had not paid fair wages to 250 workers in the…

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California Gov. signs medical marijuana regulation laws

Gov. Brown signed the Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act on Oct. 9. The Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act would require that individuals and businesses that participate in the industry maintain a license for indoor or outdoor cultivation, distribution, transportation and more, and set up guidelines for individuals who want to grow their own medicinal plants.…

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New children’s ride-sharing services target busy parents

HopSkipDrive website: “With HopSkipDrive, you have a reliable way to get your kids to any activity. You can schedule rides weeks in advance or with at least eight hours’ notice. Unlike carpool drivers, HopSkipDrivers are vetted for both childcare experience and driving safety.” Similarly to their ride-sharing predecessors, HopSkipDrive and Shuddle both say they conduct…

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September 2015: mining job market continues plummet, health care sees gains

with August’s numbers, according to a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. September also saw 142,000 new jobs created, primarily in the health care and professional services sectors. Health care saw 34,000 new jobs in September, with 16,000 of those positions being related to hospital work and 13,000 positions related to ambulatory health services.…

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New study indicates false positives possible for hair drug tests

new study from Scientific Reports may have an effect on what kind of drug tests employers choose to use when screening potential employees for marijuana. The study, entitled “Finding cannabinoids in hair does not prove cannabis consumption,” shows that three cannabinoids — tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THC-COOH) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (THCA-A) — can be found…

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Amazon violates Federal Law with employee background checks

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). When he applied for a job with Amazon as a “puller” at one of the online retailer’s distribution centers in November 2013, Williams also filled out a form giving SMX the authority “to obtain his consumer report for employment purposes.” That form stated that if anything is found in the…

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Federal agencies renew commitment to employment opportunities for disabled workers

began working to more actively promote competitive employment options for people with disabilities. The two agencies, alongside other advocates and resource providers, have recently re-committed to this partnership, and will be creating new opportunities for those with significant disabilities to find integrated employment options and share community resources. “Integrated, competitive employment is central to community…

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Californians start state petition to legalize marijuana in 2016

petition to legalize marijuana has been approved by the state and advocates are now seeking hundreds of thousands of registered voters’ signatures in order for the controversial measure to appear on the November 2016 ballot. The petition’s language was approved by Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State. If the measure passes, it would legalize marijuana…

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Sweetheart scams: late-in-life marriages becoming common form of elder abuse

a growing trend of scammers marrying much older in order to gain access to finances, property and other assets. Elderly women and men are targeted fairly equally in the “sweetheart scam.” Typically, after a retiree’s spouse has died, a much younger friend enters the picture, and becomes very close to the vulnerable older person. Eventually,…

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