The Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike: King's Last Cause For Economic Justice
by Debbie Elliott @
Wed Mar 28 02:00:00 PDT 2018
It was a call for help from activists that took the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis in March 1968. Days later he would be fatally shot by James Earl Ray on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. But before the motel, the shooting, the riots and the mourning, there was the Memphis sanitation workers' strike. King broke away from his work on the Poor People's Campaign to travel from Atlanta to Tennessee and help energize the strikers — his last cause for economic justice. Fifty years later, Elmore Nickelberry is one of the last strike participants still on the job with the Memphis Sanitation Department. He's 86 and his night shift starts at the "barn" — mostly a giant parking lot full of garbage trucks. Today he's a driver with a crew of two, and his truck is equipped to lift and dump trash bins. Back in the '50s and '60s, he did the lifting and dumping. "When I first started it was rough," he says. "I had to tote tubs on my head, on my shoulders, under my arms." He rode on the back
New FLSA overtime ruling for exempt employees
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Tue Oct 11 12:15:09 PDT 2016
If you have salaried employees earning less than $47,476 annually after Dec. 1st, those employees will be eligible for OT pay. Will you be affected? WATCH INTRO Are you aware? On May 18th, 2016, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule updating overtime regulations was announced. The ruling changed the minimum salary exemption threshold to $47,476, which Read More
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2018 California Minimum Wage Table
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Sat Jul 02 14:00:31 PDT 2016
On January 1st, 2018 the minimum wage in the state of California will increased from $10.50 to $11.00 an hour for employers with 26 or more employees. The minimum wage for employers with 25 or less employees will increase to $10.50. There are some employees who are exempt from the minimum wage law, such as outside Read More
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2018 California Minimum Wage Increases - California Payroll Services
California Payroll
In 2016, a bill was signed to gradually increase the minimum wage in California to $15 per hour. Here are the California minimum wage increases for 2018.
Wage Paydays and Pay Periods: The Law in California Explained
California Work Lawyers
California is often considered a progressive state, with a relatively high minimum wage, strong protections for employees, and a general embrace of unions and collective bargaining. In keeping with this reputation, California has fairly strict laws concerning when and how employers must pay employee
IRS warns of W-2 scam targeting HR and payroll departments
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Mon Feb 13 12:00:19 PST 2017
The IRS and state tax agencies have issued a warning for a W-2 email scam targeting employer HR and payroll departments. Overview – W-2 Email Scam The IRS and state tax agencies are warning employers about an email scam that is making its way across the nation for a second time. The scam uses a Read More
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California state payroll increased by $1 billion in 2017, twice as fast as previous year
sacbee
More than half of the state’s workforce voted on labor agreements early last year that included substantial pay raises. Money for the raises was included in the 2017-18 state budget.
July 1, 2017 – New minimum wages, including Emeryville, Los Angeles
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Sat Jul 01 10:06:16 PDT 2017
According to the city of Emeryville website, “The minimum wage rate will be $14.00 per hour for Small Businesses and $15.20 per hour for Large Businesses, effective July 1, 2017. These rates will increase annually with Large Business minimum wage rates adjusting annually for inflation every July 1 based on the annual increase in the local consumer Read More
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Trump “obsessed” with Amazon (and its USPS deal)
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Wed Mar 28 05:40:00 PDT 2018
Axios reports that Donald Trump has become “obsessed” with Amazon and the damage he thinks it’s doing to businesses owned by his billionaire buddies- and he thinks the USPS is part of the problem: Behind the president’s thinking: Trump’s wealthy friends tell him Amazon is destroying their businesses. His real estate buddies tell him — and […]
2018 California State Minimum Wage Increases
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Thu Nov 02 09:54:30 PDT 2017
On January 1st, 2018, California’s state minimum wage increased for employers. Please note that several localities have also implemented minimum wage rates that differ the state minimum (above). In 2016, bill SB 3 was signed to gradually increase the minimum wage in California to $15 per hour by 2022. The action made California the first state Read More
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NALC “lauds bipartisan effort to advance postal reform legislation”
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Fri Mar 23 16:19:16 PDT 2018
Today, Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced S. 2629, “The Postal Reform Act of 2018,” a bill that incorporates elements of both the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Postal Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 756) and Sen. Carper’s “Improving Postal Operations, Service and Transparency Act (iPOST),” […]
Youth Farm In Hawaii Is Growing Food And Leaders
by Dakota Kim @
Wed Mar 28 05:00:00 PDT 2018
A tight circle of teenagers is deep in conversation — not about movies or apps, but about ... vegetables. It's 7 a.m. at MA'O Organic Farms , part of 24 acres nestled in an emerald mountain-ringed valley just two miles from Oahu's west shore. Under a hot sun that bathes this idyllic breadbasket, college-aged farmers harvest tons of mangoes, bananas, mizuna (mustard greens) and taro every month for the island of Oahu. The farm's atmosphere bubbles with enthusiastic lightheartedness, its college interns quipping across the rows that they can beat their neighbors' harvesting speed. But a calm falls over the group as they move from farming to talking. A circle forms under an open pavilion, and a young woman speaks. "We got 21 more orders for parsley because our stuff is great," Junell Fonokalafi, a student intern from Leeward Community College, says proudly. The organic bunches of parsley will go to top Honolulu restaurants like Chef Ed Kenney's Mahina and Suns, and also direct to
Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering: The Supreme Court's Play In 3 Acts
by Nina Totenberg @
Wed Mar 28 02:20:00 PDT 2018
The curtain rose Wednesday on Act II of Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering, a play in three acts currently playing at the U.S. Supreme Court. Act I opened the first week in October when the nine justices heard arguments in a case testing whether there is any constitutional limit to partisan gerrymandering — the practice of drawing legislative district lines to maximize and perpetuate the power of the incumbent party. At issue in the case is the Republican gerrymander of the Wisconsin Legislature — a design that delivered nearly two-thirds of the districts to the GOP even as Republicans lost the statewide vote. Act II is happening Wednesday, with the court hearing arguments in a second gerrymandering case. This one is from Maryland, and the justices decided to review it more than two months after the arguments in the Wisconsin case were completed. Just why the court added the second case, and so much later, is unclear. Speculation has centered on two theories — one legal and one political.
Walmart To Remove 'Cosmopolitan' From Checkout Aisle
by Scott Neuman @
Wed Mar 28 03:10:00 PDT 2018
The nation's largest retailer has bounced Cosmopolitan from the coveted checkout aisle following a years-long campaign targeting the women's magazine for its "hyper-sexualized" covers and content. Walmart said Tuesday that it was removing the magazine from checkout lines at its 5,000 stores across the country. "Walmart will continue to offer Cosmopolitan to customers that wish to purchase the magazine, but it will no longer be in the checkout aisles," the company said in a statement. "While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard." Those concerns were raised by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation , which compares Cosmo to porn and has waged a campaign for years to get it removed from store shelves. It had previously succeeded in getting Rite Aid stores and Delhaize America (which owns Food Lion) to put Cosmopolitan behind blinders, according to USA Today. "Cosmo sends the same messages about female sexuality as Playboy," NCOSE, which changed its
Newly Revised Form I-9. Deadline September 18th.
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Mon Jul 17 14:02:19 PDT 2017
The USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) released a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification on July 17. Download instructions are available on the Form I-9 page. Employers can use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through Sept. 17. September 18th is the Deadline On Sept. 18, employers must Read More
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Four Suspects Arrested in Connection to Sacramento Postal Carrier Robbery
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Sat Mar 24 06:19:02 PDT 2018
The U.S. Postal Service mail carrier was robbed at gunpoint on March 9 on Calle Royal Way near the corner of Franklin Boulevard in South Sacramento. Authorities announced federal charges against all four suspects 29-year-old Anthony Deleal, 29-year-old Brandon Lee Moses, 20-year-old Loren Shawn Patrick and 19-year-old Alexandro Powell. Their charges include possession of stolen […]
Federal Overtime Rule’s Effect on the Hospitality Industry
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Thu Jun 30 10:49:16 PDT 2016
The Fair Labor Standard Act’s new overtime rules will go into effect at the December 1st, 2016. Managing and comparing overtime costs and employee time cards can be particularly difficult when many employees work non-traditional hours such as early morning, late night and graveyard shifts, typical in the hospitality industry. This federal law will affect Read More
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Federal Salary Minimum Threshold Placed on Hold
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Mon Nov 28 07:48:19 PST 2016
Federal Salary Minimum Threshold Placed on Hold. On November 22nd, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules, which were scheduled to take effect December 1, 2016. The judge ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) likely overstepped Read More
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Immigration Is (And Isn't) Black And White In 'Yellow Negroes'
by Etelka Lehoczky @
Wed Mar 28 04:00:00 PDT 2018
When people talk about immigration, they talk in numbers. Take the migration policy proposals France's President Emmanuel Macron introduced last month: 90 days was the proposed amount of time a person without papers could be detained (up from the current 45). 12 months in jail, plus fines, would be the penalty for illegally crossing borders. Six months would be the new period for considering asylum applications (down from one year). Numbers also provided an essential context for reporting on the proposals, with news outlets noting that the 100,000-strong mass of people applying for asylum in France last year was 17% more than in 2016. Paris-born artist Yvan Alagbé strikes out against numbers in Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures. The stories in this graphic novel are about the truths — subtle, sad and surreal — that statistics can never capture. In the title story, an emotionally disturbed police officer uses the unvoiced threat of deportation to force an immigrant family to
New Form I-9 – Deadline January 22nd
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Sun Jan 22 08:08:37 PST 2017
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a newly revised Employment Verification Form in an effort to reduce errors and enhance form completion using a computer. Form I-9 is used for verifying employment authorization in the US, and is required by federal immigration law for each new employee hired. As part of Read More
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Uber will halt autonomous vehicle testing in California after fatal Arizona crash
The Independent
Uber does not plan to continue testing autonomous cars in California as it faces fallout from one of its self-driving vehicles killing a pedestrian in Arizona. While Uber announced shortly after the accident that it would suspend its autonomous vehicle testing nationwide, a letter from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) relayed the raid-hailing giant’s plans to discontinue testing in California for the foreseeable future.
A Needle In A Legal Haystack Could Sink A Major Supreme Court Privacy Case
by Nina Totenberg @
Wed Mar 28 02:00:00 PDT 2018
It looks like one of the marquee cases before the U.S. Supreme Court is about to go bust — sabotaged by a needle in a legislative haystack. The question in the case is whether a U.S. technology company can refuse to honor a court-ordered U.S. search warrant seeking information that is stored at a facility outside the United States. Oral arguments took place at the Supreme Court last month, and they did not go well for Microsoft, the tech giant that is challenging a warrant for information stored at its facility in Ireland. By most counts, there were not more than two or three justices, if that, who were clearly prepared to side with Microsoft and the rest of the technology industry. The only caveat was that several justices suggested it would be better for Congress to deal with the problem instead of the court. After all, as the case came to the justices, they were going to have to apply current advanced technology to the Stored Communications Act, a law enacted in 1986, several years
An English City Grapples With The Slave-Trading Past Of Its Most Celebrated Figure
by @
Wed Mar 28 06:49:00 PDT 2018
A statue of a merchant from the 17th century towers over the main square in Bristol, in southwest England. It's a tribute to Edward Colston, described on a small plaque as "one of the most virtuous and wise sons" of this city. Around town, there are numerous reminders of Colston, Bristol's most famous philanthropist: Streets, schools, a concert hall and an office tower are all named after him. A big stained glass window in Bristol Cathedral is dedicated to him. Even a local delicacy bears his name — the Colston bun, a sort of fruit strudel. But there's also a dark side to Colston, one that's been long known but less prominently acknowledged: He made his fortune trading African slaves. "I remember finding out how he made his money. That turned my world upside down," says Katie Finnegan-Clarke, 30, who attended Colston's Girls' School, a prestigious private school. When she was 14, one of her parents' friends told her about Colston's role in the slave trade. "Having partaken so actively
Do Women Candidates Have An Advantage In 2018?
by Danielle Kurtzleben @
Wed Mar 28 02:20:00 PDT 2018
Mary Wilson raised just under $40,000 for her Texas congressional campaign. One of her opponents, Joseph Kopser, raised $774,000, but she came in first in the Democratic primary for the 21st Congressional District near Austin and San Antonio. Not only did she outdo Kopser, whom she will face in a May runoff, but Wilson also defeated two other men who had much larger campaign war chests than she did. It just so happens that Wilson did all this in a year when female candidates have energized Democratic voters. So did being a woman help Wilson? She says yes. "If I would have thought about doing this 10 years ago, I don't think I would have been as successful as I was on Election Day this year," she said. "There's something about this time and this wave of emotion and resistance and frustration that have prompted women to get into the political arena in ways we haven't in the past." Wilson stresses that she did well in the primary for a variety of reasons. Voters like how she talks about
Social Security Payroll Tax Deduction Rate Increase for 2018
by Taylor @ California Payroll
Wed Nov 01 13:54:56 PDT 2017
Maximum Table Earnings Increase According to the Social Security Administration, for 2018 the Social Security taxable wage base will increase from $127,200 to $128,700 maximum taxable earnings, an increase of $1,500. FICA and Social Security Rates to Remain the Same However, The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax rate of 7.65% will remain the same Read More
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Top postalnews.com stories of the week March 18-24
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Sun Mar 25 05:26:35 PDT 2018
Senators Carper, Moran, Heitkamp, and McCaskill Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Stabilize & Improve Postal Service Mystery after massive 24,000 mile USPS mix-up APWU Doesn’t Support USPS “Safety Ambassador” Program Feds: Ohio postal worker on disability was in 35 motorcycle races NALC “lauds bipartisan effort to advance postal reform legislation” Dashcam video shows Connecticut mail truck […]
Kansas postal worker charged with embezzlement
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Wed Mar 28 06:06:42 PDT 2018
Donya Swayden, 34, Medicine Lodge, Kan., is charged with three counts of embezzlement from the U.S. Postal Service and three counts of making false entries in postal records. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in 2017 in Pratt County, Kan. The indictment alleges she issued three postal orders to customers who did not pay […]
Dept. Of Education Fail: Teachers Lose Grants, Forced To Repay Thousands In Loans
by Chris Arnold @
Wed Mar 28 02:20:00 PDT 2018
America needs teachers committed to working with children who have the fewest advantages in life. So for a decade the federal government has offered grants — worth up to $4,000 a year — to standout college students who agree to teach subjects like math or science at lower-income schools. But a new government study, obtained by NPR and later posted by the Department of Education, suggests that thousands of teachers had their grants taken away and converted to loans, sometimes for minor errors in paperwork. That's despite the fact they were meeting the program's teaching requirements. "Without any notice, [my grant] was suddenly a loan, and interest was already accruing on it," says Maggie Webb, who teaches eighth-grade math in Chelsea, Mass. "So, my $4,000 grant was now costing me $5,000." Since 2008, the Education Department has offered these so-called TEACH grants to people studying to get a college or master's degree. The deal is, they get to keep the grant money if they spend four
New Mexico Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Tue Mar 27 14:48:20 PDT 2018
ALBUQUERQUE – Adrianne D. Marquez, 42, of Socorro, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M, to a misdemeanor charge of theft of government property. Marquez was charged in a misdemeanor information filed on Jan. 23, 2018, with theft of government funds from Jan. 1, 2017 through July 12, 2017, in Socorro County, […]
Thief targets mailboxes in change-of-address scam
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Tue Mar 27 05:43:00 PDT 2018
NAPLES, Fla. -A few days of an empty mailbox sent off warning bells for a Naples woman in what turns out to be an elaborate scam. Scammers only need your name and your address, and the thief can have your mail forwarded to them. When Ruth Baldwin stopped getting mail for a couple of days, […]
Arrest made in connection with suspicious packages sent to military bases in D.C. area
by Brian Sheehan @ postalnews.com
Tue Mar 27 09:38:42 PDT 2018
WASHINGTON — A law enforcement official says an arrest has been made in Washington state in connection with a series of suspicious packages that were found at military bases and government sites in the Washington, D.C. area, CBS News justice correspondent Paula Reid reports. The male suspect will likely appear in court Tuesday. According to CBS […]