Workforce
State and local governments face a tight labor market and a competitive disadvantage with the private sector. But salaries aren’t the only issue, with cities, counties and states all grappling with training, retention, remote work and increased union activity.
DHS is using federal funds to reimburse local police who partner with ICE, a policy that could reshape law enforcement in rural communities with limited staffing and resources.
The online portal would be less prone to crashing and could be repaired without shutting down the entire website. It has received bipartisan legislative support, but many say more improvement is needed.
With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the state’s labor department is working to extend unemployment benefits to those who are eligible while verifying documents to prevent further fraud.
Beckley, W.Va., wants to welcome remote workers to the city as a part of the downtown redevelopment plans by leveraging collaborative work spaces, affordable cost of living and other lifestyle amenities.
The number of unemployed Americans skyrocketed due to COVID-19 and the surge hit state unemployment systems hard. We look at systems in Hawaii, Rhode Island, Indiana and Texas.
Federal and state regulations that required two weeks of paid leave to recover from COVID-19 expired on Jan. 1, leaving many state workers with the mandated minimum of just three days sick leave.
Some state residents waited for six hours to speak to someone regarding their unemployment payments, which hadn’t arrived months after filing. Hold time has since decreased, but many still await their payments.
California’s Future of Work Commission issued a report on how the state can eliminate work poverty through programs that guarantee work opportunities and a million new jobs in clean energy.
Millions of worn-out K-12 educators and workers are wondering if their compensation is enough to justify the risk they are taking to teach kids during the pandemic. Vaccines will help, but it may not be enough.
To bring remote tech workers to the city, officials created Tusla Remote, which builds a community through networking, group activities and civic engagement opportunities. Now there’s financial incentive as well.
New Jersey officials are urging claimants to visit a tip sheet to better understand the federally mandated questions before filing for unemployment, otherwise they may wait for weeks for their eligibility to be cleared.
Though COVID-19 has led to record unemployment numbers across the nation, a study found the cause was more dependent on the number of COVID-related deaths than it was the restrictions imposed on businesses.
There has been an exodus of nearly 1,600 unemployment department workers in California since the pandemic began, further impeding the state’s ability to quickly respond to the huge wave of jobless claims.
Washington state has been the victim of massive unemployment fraud and a data breach that exposed 1 million people’s personal data. Lawmakers want to improve cybersecurity and data sharing to prevent future cyberattacks.
As a way to keep money in the state’s economy, lawmakers have introduced several proposals that would allow those who mistakenly received unemployment benefit payments to keep the money, instead of returning it.
Fraud scammers from all over the world began targeting the states’ mostly antiquated employment insurance systems, moving swiftly to collect billions of dollars and using the money to fund other illegal activities.
Hackers continue to use the coronavirus pandemic as a multi-billion dollar opportunity, flooding the state with thousands of false claims. Many fraud victims are unable to receive any helpful response from the state.
The coronavirus has altered Oklahoma’s businesses permanently. While many were forced to close, some simply closed their buildings and shifted online. Others have increased their staff as demand changes.
The agency has been relying on self-reporting to determine the number of COVID cases that have been contracted in the workplace, resulting in severe undercounts that undermine the severity of workplace risk.
A survey of state and local government employees finds that the prolonged stresses of the pandemic are taking a toll. One in three have considered changing jobs.
More than $12.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program grants went to 31 businesses that were cited by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Division for violating the state’s coronavirus safety guidelines.
The state’s Employment Development Department is still flooded with unprocessed benefits claims, millions of dollars worth of fraudulent applications and decades-old problems that continue to slow the process.
Last year, 1,226 Erie County employees received $5.9 million in overtime related to the coronavirus pandemic. Of those employees, 54 were political appointees who received $1.3 million of the total.
63 percent of tech companies in San Francisco plan on reducing their office space even after the pandemic. A majority of those surveyed said the city’s regulations and taxes were influencing the decision.
California’s state auditor claims the Employment Development Department’s poor planning left workers unprepared for the influx of pandemic-related claims and had issues that were ignored for nearly a decade.
State officials worry possible labor shortages could occur if too many dock workers get sick, which would create a severe slowdown of the multibillion-dollar industry, and are urging workers to get vaccinated.
Due to its size and generosity, the state’s unemployment agency has been inundated with fraudulent COVID-19 benefits claims, which amount to $750 million in false filings each week. Some have come from as far as Russia.
The city’s office market in 2020 reached its lowest levels since 1990 as the pandemic forced companies to send workers home and some, like Twitter and Dropbox, downsized their office footprint.
The shipment of goods to suppliers has become technologically sophisticated. Delays in getting out the COVID-19 vaccine to people show that the breakdowns come down to something more basic.
A ruling by the Labor Department has made it easier for businesses to classify their gig workers as independent contractors, which don’t require standard employee protections such as minimum wage and benefits.
As companies shift to remote work to adhere to the pandemic, geographic constraints for workers are disappearing. Chattanooga, Tenn., hopes to capitalize on this shift.
