skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Displaced Worker Protection Act Stirs Up Debate

play audio
Play

Monday, September 17, 2012   

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A new service contractor walks in the door and, suddenly, workers for the previous contractor lose their jobs. It happens frequently in the property management industry, and the Montgomery County Council has taken notice. The Council is set to vote Tuesday on the Displaced Worker Protection Act (County Bill 19-12), which would give those employees notice of layoffs and allow them to stay on with the new contractor for up to 90 days.

County Council member Valerie Ervin explains why she is carrying the legislation.

"This offers a very modest measure of protection for one of the lowest-paid groups of service workers in our community - people who are janitors or people who are security guards."

To her surprise, the bill has sparked some controversy, Ervin says, with the Chamber of Commerce lobbying against it - even though some contractors support it because they would have more time to hire new employees.

Similar laws are on the books around the country. Ervin says the Montgomery County Council version is based on one in Washington, D.C. She says the experience with the law there counters opponents' claims that the bill will hurt contractors.

"We have seen no evidence of that. As a matter of fact, in the 18 years the bill has been on the books in the District, there might have been three complaints, which is negligible."

Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 32-BJ have lobbied in favor of the bill. The union has nearly 5,000 members working in Maryland.

Bill details are available at www6.montgomerycountymd.gov.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

The Amesbury School Committee will hear from educators and parents tonight as they rally to prevent more than $2 million in proposed cuts to their sch…

Out-of-state money is pouring into Texas as the contentious issue of "school choice" looms large ahead of November's election. (Dzmitry/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

Social Issues

play sound

Women are treated much differently than men by the criminal justice system, according to a new report detailing how and why mass incarceration is …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021