Current Employment

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If you missed it, the Government Accountability Office issued a report of its investigation into the Department of Labor’s enforcement of wage and hour laws (that’s overtime and minimum wage stuff, mostly). It was not complimentary.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has responded. Full text of the press release inside.

Yesterday, the House voted 250-177 to send the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to the President’s desk. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill tomorrow, making it the first major legislation approved under his tenure.

But debate still rages over whether the change in limitations on discrimination claims will help or hurt the future of HR law. Either way, passage of a controversial employment bill this early on is a clear harbinger of things to come…

Eleven states will raise their minimum wages with the start of 2009. They are listed in the full story, along with each state’s new minimum wage.

This week, Wal Mart agreed to settle 63 suits alleging the company refused to pay overtime and forced employees to work through their breaks. A spokesman said the total payout will be somewhere between $350 Million and $640 Million, depending on class action specifics. This is the latest (and largest) payout in a string of settlements and lost employment lawsuits the company has faced this year.

The Federal minimum wage lurches up 70 cents today, from $5.85 to $6.55. As the title mentioned, that’s about 1/5 a gallon of gas at $4/gallon. By next year, the minimum wage will be at a respectable $7.25 an hour. But given the rapid deterioration of the dollar and consumer confidence in a tailspin, the idea of the MW going “up” may be a little misleading.