Job Cuts Soar as Employers Look for Ways to Lower Costs

Frustrated Worker

The number of job cuts by American employers surged in January as companies looked to lower operating costs to adjust to harsh economic conditions, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc.

The number of positions cut by employers in January jumped 136%, with 82,307 positions cut compared to the 34,817 cut in December, according to a report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The job cuts come amid a wider U.S. layoff trend due to broader economic struggles, like inflation and adjustments from automation.

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Biden Admin Releases New Labor Rule Cracking Down on Independent Contractors

Remote Worker

The Department of Labor announced Tuesday the final version of a rule that will force companies to recognize some workers as employees instead of independent contractors.

The new rule goes into effect on March 11 and rescinds a previous rule establishing independent contractors as a separate class of workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act that was put in place in January 2021 under the Trump administration, according to the DOL release. The rule could raise labor costs by up to 30% for employers who utilize independent contractors, such as app-based services like Uber or Lyft, which offer a freelancing model, as employers would have to adhere to minimum wage and overtime laws, according to Reuters.

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Proposed Federal Regulation Could Force Employers to Pay for Time Off for Abortions

A new proposal from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) could require paid time off for women to get abortions and may even require employers to pay for travel related to the procedure, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The EEOC proposed new guidelines in August to enforce the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) that was signed into law in December 2022, with the new guidelines classifying abortion as a related medical condition, according to the proposal from the EEOC. While the rule can’t require employers to pay directly for an abortion, the classification could open the door for employers to be required to give paid time off for an abortion and possibly even for employers to pay for travel expenses if the woman’s state does not permit an abortion, experts told the DCNF.

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Pennsylvania’s ‘Extraordinarily Tight’ Labor Market Continues as Jobs Go Unfilled

A tight job market in Pennsylvania is good news for workers, but employers still struggle to find enough people to fill the available jobs.

That struggle remains a stubborn one for business owners, as shown in the latest economic update from the Independent Fiscal Office.

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Economist: 30 Percent Chance That U.S. Enters a Recession Within a Year’s Time

A Goldman Sachs economist says there is a 30% probability of the U.S. entering a recession within one year and 48% within two years. 

Goldman Sachs Chief U.S. economist David Mericle outlined the probability of a recession at an event Tuesday and said that the likelihood of a recession would decrease if the U.S. had not entered one within two years.

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Supreme Court’s Conservative Justices Seem Skeptical of Biden Admin’s Workplace COVID Vaccine Rules

The Supreme Court on Friday hearing oral arguments on two major Biden administration efforts to increase the country’s vaccination rate against COVID-19 — starting with the mandate requiring large-scale employers to require workers to be vaccinated or tested.

In the first case, the National Federation of Independent Business, et al., Applicants v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, et al.

OSHA is more specifically requiring businesses with 100 or more workers either require them to be vaccinated or et tested weekly and wear masks while working, with exceptions for those who work outdoors.

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Commentary: Financial Stability Is Key to Being Able to Leave Job for Refusing Vaccine Mandate

Joshua Mawhorter

Until recently, I was a California teacher working in two charter schools, one as a full-time classroom teacher of Government/Economics and sometimes U.S. History, and the other as a part-time independent study teacher who assists families with a program primarily based around homeschooling. I have taught for about five years and love teaching.

Last week, I was fired from one school and put on unpaid administrative leave at the other because of my refusal either to take and demonstrate proof of the COVID-19 vaccine or test weekly. I even filed a religious exemption stating the following that was rejected:

“As a committed follower of Christ, I religiously and philosophically cannot submit to either a government vaccine mandate or weekly testing.

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