Global Employment Law - Global News & Commentary on Labor and Employment Issues Worldwide

Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Proposed Rule Would Require Employers to Keep Track of Musculoskeletal Disorders
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule that revises its current Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting (Recordkeeping) requirements to restore a column to the OSHA 300 Log that employers would use to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Read the full post here. (January 28)

House and Senate Introduce Bills to Promote Job Growth
Senate Bill 2952 would take $10 billion in existing funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and re-allocate it to creating jobs in the private and public sectors, and Senate Bill 2955 would create a two-year temporary jobs tax credit for businesses that hire new employees, expand work hours for their current workforce, or raise worker pay. House Resolution 4513 contains a five-point plan calling for tax relief for small business investments and capital gains, eliminating taxes on unemployment benefits for one year, and using repaid TARP funds to help pay down the national debt. Read the full post here. (January 28)

State of the Union Address Emphasizes Job Creation, But Not Organized Labor
President Obama's State of the Union Address may be more notable for its omissions than its content. Not once in the 70-minute speech did Obama mention organized labor, even though a large portion of his speech was dedicated to job creation efforts. Read the full post here. (January 28)

Massachusetts Union Members' Support for Brown Helped Dim Prospects for the Employee Free Choice Act
According to an article in Politico, 49% of union members backed the Republican state senator in his election to the U.S. Senate. By electing Brown as the 41st Republican U.S. senator, organized labor dramatically diminished the chances that its number one legislative priority - the Employee Free Choice Act - will pass Congress this year. Read the full post here. (January 27)

Department of Labor Argues State Wage and Hour Class Actions are Compatible with the Fair Labor Standards Act
The amicus brief filed by the U.S. Department of Labor in Parker v. NutriSystem Inc. (3d Cir, No. 09-3545) argues in favor of allowing both state and federal wage and hour claims to proceed in one class action, and takes the position that flat-fee compensation payments that bear no relationship to the cost of the goods sold do not fall under the FLSA's Section 7(i) retail or service sales exemption. Read the full post here. (January 26)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Withdraws Proposed Rule Over Fit-Testing Protocols for the Respiratory Protection Standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to withdraw its proposed rule outlining revised PortaCount quantitative fit-testing protocols, which it had intended to include in Part II of Appendix A of the agency's Respiratory Protection Standard. Read the full post here. (January 26)