The Wall Street Journal reports that Americans are less likely to be laid off than at any point in at least 50 years. In July, only 66 of every 10,000 people in the workforce claimed new unemployment benefits, trending at the lowest point on record going back to 1967. While these figures mean that Americans have more job security than they realize, it also reveals a number of other factors that have mixed implications: elevated levels of long-term unemployment, an aging workforce, a decline in manufacturing work, and more risk-averse businesses.
In Tennessee, local leaders worry about the Trump Administration’s anti-trade rhetoric, as they rely on foreign companies that bring jobs to their region. The New York Times reports that more than two dozen companies from 20 countries have built factories in Chattanooga and the surrounding region, which has generated billions of dollars in investment and employed thousands of workers. The foreign investment has helped drive Tennessee’s jobless rate to 3.6 percent in June, which is a record low for the state. Even though Tennessee is a conservative stronghold, political and business leaders are concerned that attacks on trading partners could lead to protectionist tariffs and import restrictions that hurt consumers and workers.
Today, the city of Chicago plans to sue the U.S. Department of Justice over new stipulations placed on federal law enforcement grant money requiring local police departments to assist in federal immigration actions. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, “Chicago will not be blackmailed into changing our values, and we are and will remain a welcoming city. The federal government should be working with cities to provide necessary resources to improve public safety, not concocting new schemes to reduce our crime fighting resources.” Chicago is standing by its Welcoming City ordinance, which “prioritizes effective local law enforcement and crime prevention over federal civil immigration issues.”
A transgender CIA officer published a story in The Atlantic about the transgender men and women who serve alongside her in the U.S. military. “We represent America to governments that imprison LGBT people, and we cannot defend freedom abroad if we abandon it at home,” she wrote.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]