Posts by Allie
Oregon: drug-testing policies won’t change for state jobs
went into effect at the beginning of July, many state employers have begun releasing memos re-stating their drug policies and reminding employees that nothing is likely to change in those policies. Employers are still allowed to conduct drug tests, and ensure their employees show up for work sober, though some acknowledge that what an employee…
Read MoreOPM breach affected far more individuals than previously reported
Office of Personnel Management’s security breach had affected up to 14 million citizens. Now, it looks like those numbers were vastly underestimated; allegedly up to a whopping 32 million former, current and prospective federal employees may have been affected, according to the latest numbers. Those numbers may also include those who enlisted — or attempted…
Read MorePennsylvania Governor approves clarifications to background checks
child-protective background checking law. Despite the original law’s intention to protect children from sexual predators by requiring volunteers to undergo criminal history and state police background checks, there was much confusion regarding who the law should apply to, and which types of jobs required mandatory screening. “We thought we’d been specific … giving kind of…
Read MoreStates’, federal protection laws the next battlefield for LGBT community
that same-sex couples have the right to marry was one hard-fought battle won for the LGBT community. However, the U.S. still has a ways to go in protecting the rights of every one of its citizens, especially when it comes to employment discrimination. “We have a crazy quilt of laws in this country when it…
Read MoreJune 2015: unemployment rate down to 5.3 percent for first time in years
release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has dropped 0.2 points down to 5.3 percent, the lowest the unemployment rate has been since April 2008. Last month, 223,000 new non-farming jobs were created, dropping the number of unemployed people down to 8.3 million. The majority of the new positions were available…
Read MoreGovernment agencies to send aid to drought-stricken states on west coast
Seven states on the west coast — including California, Oregon and Washington — are set to receive aid from various federal agencies due to extreme drought conditions. The Obama administration has already earmarked $110 million for the relief efforts, to be distributed through various federal agencies with varying goals for the funds. The U.S. Department…
Read MoreOregon aims to ‘ban the box’
passed a statewide “ban the box” law, which would prevent employers from asking job applicants if they have a criminal record prior to an interview or — sans interview — a conditional offer of employment. Most employers in the state would be required to remove any questions about a candidate’s criminal history from its job…
Read MoreColo. Supreme Court: Employment policies trump medical marijuana laws
Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that employers may lawfully terminate employees that fail drug tests due to marijuana usage, even if the drug is only used outside of working hours. The Court determined that zero-tolerance policies trump the legal usage of medical marijuana within the state. The case was brought before the Court by Brandon…
Read MoreEnergy Dept.: contractors fined after nuclear materials misplaced
recently conducted an audit of two nuclear weapons facilities in New Mexico — Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories — and has brought down stiff fines on government contractors at those labs for failing to secure nuclear information and materials, and putting national security at risk. The audit found that, in 2007, Los Alamos National…
Read MoreNCDOT approves 10-year transportation improvement plan
more than 1,000 state-funded transportation projects between 2016 and 2025. The projects included in STIP cover all modes of transportation, with just fewer than half being related to highway work (418 projects) and interstate maintenance (138 projects). NCDOT will also work on railroad, aviation and public transit projects over the next decade. The NCDOT board…
Read More