Department Of Labor Announces New Regs Protecting Transgender Employees

Newly issued Department of Labor regulations have added gender identity to the class of employment protections. Via press release:

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its full commitment to implementing equal employment opportunity policies for all department employees and applicants. The policies ensure equal protections for all employees and applicants regardless of race; color; religion; national origin; sex, including pregnancy and gender identity; age; disability, whether physical or mental; genetic information; status as a parent; sexual orientation; or other non-merit factor. New, robust statements signed by Secretary Solis include updated policies on prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, including gender identity and pregnancy. Secretary Solis strongly supports fair equal employment opportunity policies, and creating diversity and fairness in the workplace. “I am expressing my personal commitment to ensure that the U.S. Department of Labor is a model workplace, free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, which fosters a work environment that fully utilizes the capabilities of every employee,” said Secretary Solis. “It is my goal that we achieve and maintain a high-quality, diverse workforce at all organizational levels throughout the department.”

Pregnancy is also new to the above list.

WISCONSIN: Andrew Breitbart Tells Pro-Union Protesters To "Go To Hell"

As he prepared to introduce Sarah Palin over the boos of Wisconsin's pro-union protesters, wingnut blogger and GOProud backer Andrew Breitbart told labor supporters, "Go to hell!" Because "class warfare" (which, hello, is what the Tea Party stands for) is "un-American." Raw Story has a much better clip (non-embeddable) taken from the rear of the crowd.

Mandated Paid Holidays By Nation

The above chart depicts the number of paid holidays and vacation days legally mandated by the world's 21 richest nations. The labor movement is completely out of control in America!

Socialists March In Washington DC

The teabaggers are going crazy with glee because actual open socialists joined in at this weekend's "One Nation Working Together" labor rally in Washington, DC.

Lesbian To Lead SEIU

Open lesbian Mary Kay Henry has been chosen to lead the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents over two million workers in the health care, public service, and food service industries. Henry will replace retiring president Andy Stern, a longtime and vocal ally of the Democrats.

Key locals in New York, Los Angeles, Oregon, and Washington State committed crucial votes to Henry, choosing her over Stern's protege, Anna Burger, who had promises continuity with Stern's leadership. "It's done," an SEIU insider emailed moments ago. Henry benefitted from a sentiment in the union's constituents across the country that Stern had become a divisive, and even exhausting, figure. Final negotiations included ensuring peace between Henry's California nurses' union and a long-term care workers local in the state led by Laphonza Butler. Butler and building workers leader Mike Fishman met in New York today with the leaders of other large undeclared locals, including the largest Chicago SEIU chapter. One person familiar with the deliberations said the swing voters decided that Henry was closer to a consensus choice, as opposition to Burger had already begun to divide the union. If Burger was to win, they decided, she would have had to win cleanly, and it was already too late for that.

Teabaggers and Freepers frequently cite the SEIU as a socialist/communist group due to the union's strong support of President Obama and advocacy for undocumented immigrants. Today's news should fuel that nonsense even more.

Feds Crack Down On Unpaid Internships

The terrible economy has resulted in huge rise in the number of unpaid internships offered by employers. The Department of Labor says many of these jobs are illegal and has begun a campaign to enforce the regulations that define these positions.

“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division. Ms. Leppink said many employers failed to pay even though their internships did not comply with the six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied for internships to be unpaid. Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern. No one keeps official count of how many paid and unpaid internships there are, but Lance Choy, director of the Career Development Center at Stanford University, sees definitive evidence that the number of unpaid internships is mushrooming — fueled by employers’ desire to hold down costs and students’ eagerness to gain experience for their résumés. Employers posted 643 unpaid internships on Stanford’s job board this academic year, more than triple the 174 posted two years ago.

Oregon, California and several other states have also launched investigations.