Posts tagged disabled

    Op-ed / Commentary Research ● Labor Unionization Unions

    Testimony: Rachel Greszler: Labor Law Reform Part 1: Diagnosing the Issues, Exploring Current Proposals

    October 10, 2025 // SummaryToday’s challenges—from the rise of artificial intelligence to the expansion of independent work and the growing demand for flexibility, autonomy, and new skills—necessitate modernized labor laws that are pro-worker and pro-employer, regardless of the type of workplace. Heavy-handed government interventions and attempts to bring back the 1950s’ ways of work are not the answers. American labor laws should preserve the freedom, dignity, and opportunity that make American work exceptional.

    agency shop Alexander T. MacDonald arbitration panel Artificial Intelligence Association Health Plans Act automation autonomy BLS California Chattanooga collective bargaining agreement condition of employment Congress contract ratification DEI disabled discriminate DOL economic conditions Employee Rights Act entrepreneurship F. Vincent Vernuccio Fairness and Transparency Office Faster Labor Contracts Act federal labor law Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service flexibility forced arbitration freedom of association freedom of speech gig workers health and safety Heritage Foundation independent contracting Independent Retirement Fairness Act injury rates Janus v. AFSCME joint-employer standard Labor Law Reform NLRA older opt-out overweight paid family leave personal information political activities politicization pregnant presidential administrations private businesses pro-employer pro-worker productivity Public Sector Workers quotas Raise Act regulation remote work Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act right-to-work SALT Act Save Local Business Act secret ballot elections self-employment Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee Senate Hearing Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act Strikes Supreme Court Tennessee testimony U.S. citizens UAW unelected bureaucrats union dues union extortion union shop union violence union wage premium Unionization Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act Volkswagen Wage and Hour Division Warehouse Worker Protection Act warehouses Worker Enfranchisement Act workplace benefits

    News Article ● Labor

    Trump Just Saved Thousands of Disabled Americans’ Jobs

    August 5, 2025 // Disability-rights advocates have long insisted that, as a matter of public policy, disabled people’s lives should resemble those of nondisabled people to the greatest extent possible. They have argued, for example, that “segregated” environments, which primarily or exclusively serve disabled people, violate the principle of normalization and ought to be abolished. And for decades, they have called for the repeal of Section 14(c), a provision of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 that allows certified employers to pay disabled workers a subminimum wage commensurate with their productivity. Congress created the 14(c) program to enable people with severe disabilities to remain in the job market after the passage of the federal minimum wage. The Biden administration published a proposed rule in 2024 that would have phased out the program, claiming that it was “no longer necessary to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities.” But last month, the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing the proposal. In doing so, it preserved the jobs of thousands of severely disabled Americans who would have lost one of the staples of a “normal” life.

    14(c) American Association of People with Disabilities Biden administration Colorado Congress developmentally disabled disabled disabled veterans DOL Donald Trump employment opportunity Federal Labor Standards Act GAO Missouri National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities Oregon proposed rule subminimum wage Trump Administration U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Vermont workers Wyoming

    Op-ed / Commentary Research ● Labor Unionization Unions

    MICHIGAN: Unions licensed to deceive (editorial)

    December 28, 2024 // With the enactment of Senate bills 790 and 791 in October, Michigan homecare providers are classified as public employees. Those are individuals — many of whom care for elderly or disabled family members — who receive a stipend from government programs for their work and sacrifice. The state law sets up homecare workers to be pressured into union membership and made to pay dues to the Service Employees International Union. Those caregivers get no benefit from union membership, because the amount of the stipend is decided legislatively and is not subject to collective bargaining. Providers need every cent available to them as they minister care.

    agency fees collective bargaining condition of employment Democrats disabled dues skim First Amendment Gretchen Whitmer Harris v. Quinn homecare providers Janus v. AFSCME mandatory union dues Michigan organized labor Public Employees SEIU Senate Bill 790 Senate Bill 791 State Policy Network Supreme Court union membership

    Research ● Labor

    Minneapolis Is About To Kill Ride-Sharing

    April 18, 2024 // Just last month, Seattle's disastrous attempt to enact a minimum wage for app-based food delivery drivers was in the news. The result was $26 coffees, city residents deleting their delivery apps, and drivers themselves seeing their earnings drop by half. Now, the Minneapolis City Council has decided to join the fray in the multifront progressive war against the gig economy—and this time, the outcome could be even worse.

    app drivers California Department of Labor disabled drunk driving fast-food law food delivery gig economy independent contractors Lyft Minimum wage minimum wage law Minneapolis Minneapolis City Council Minnesota Minnesota Legislature New York City regulation ride-sharing Seattle senior citizens technology Tim Walz Twin Cities Uber

    Op-ed / Commentary ● Independent Contractor Rule Labor

    OPINION These new government contracting rules will put parents, caregivers, seniors out of work

    March 12, 2024 // Many independent contractors we have engaged quit full-time positions to become caregivers. They sought opportunities like what we offer to stay engaged in their fields, have an intellectual outlet, and enjoy camaraderie with colleagues, while contributing to the family finances. They don’t want the pressure of short-term deadlines and in-person meetings; they don’t want to have to track time and explain about sick kids or field trips. Can we continue to offer these work relationships? Maybe, although the guidance that contractors cannot "perform similar work of employees" makes it fraught.

    AB5 California Caregivers caregiving Department of Labor disabled flexible work gig economy health issues independent contracting rule independent contractors nontraditional work Parents Regulations Retirement seniors short-term contracts six factor traditional employees work opportunities

    Op-ed / Commentary ● Unionization

    Opinion: States should protect caregivers’ Medicaid funds from union skims

    June 27, 2022 // Yet, while a number of states including Michigan have taken action to prohibit the dues skim, a May rule by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reversed a Trump administration effort to stop the skim nationally. A separate 9th Circuit decision last week also continues to allow unions to trap home care providers into paying them. Robert and Patricia Haynes, cerebral palsy, Gov. Rick Snyder, Harris v. Quinn, Cindy Ochoa, most pro-union president ever,

    9th Circuit Court of Appeals AFSCME ballot measure Barack Obama Caregivers Department of Health and Human Services disabled dues skim federal government Forgery Freedom Foundation HHS rule home-care workers Illinois lawsuits legislative LINDSAY B. KILLEN Mackinac Center for Public Policy Medicaid Michigan negotiations opt-out Oregon Public Employees Service Employees International Union state governments Trump Administration U.S. Supreme Court Union Washington Workers for Opportunity