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The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a federal law barring retaliation against a worker for complaints about on-the-job discrimination also protected the employee’s relative from unlawful dismissal.
The high court unanimously ruled for Eric Thompson, who was fired from his job at a stainless steel manufacturing plant in Kentucky after his fiancee, who also worked there, filed a discrimination complaint. Get the full story »
Industry economists say the U.S. economic recovery is gaining strength, with more firms expressing positive hiring plans than in over a decade.
A new survey from the National Association for Business Economics finds that economists are more hopeful about overall economic growth, the job market and demand for companies’ products and services by many measures than they have been since the start of the Great Recession. Get the full story »
From the Chicago Sun-Times | The unemployment rate in Illinois fell to 9.3 percent in December from 9.6 percent in November, the ninth straight decline. But the state lost 9,400 jobs over the month, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Friday.
The rate is down from 11 percent in December 2009. Over the year, the state added 46,300 jobs. Get the full story>>
U.S. initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week and showed their biggest decline since February, in a hopeful sign for the U.S. labor market. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped sharply to 404,000 from a downwardly revised reading of 441,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Get the full story »
From the New York Times | Few American cities have suffered as acutely as Rockford, where unemployment reached nearly 16 percent last summer, says the New York Times in a photographic tour, with audio interviews, through its stores, factories and offices. Get the full story>>
Career Education Corp. said Wednesday that it will cut its U.S. work force by 7 percent, or 600 positions, as the for-profit educator looks to reduce costs in the face of slowing enrollment growth.
The company, whose schools include Le Cordon Bleu North America and American InterContinental University, said the reductions will roll out over the next few months. Career Education will book a charge of up to $8 million in its fiscal fourth quarter on severance and related costs. Get the full story »
American Express Co. said Wednesday that it will cut about 550 jobs as part of restructuring efforts. At the same time, the company also projected fourth-quarter earnings that slightly missed Wall Street estimates.
Shares recently fell 2.5 percent, to $45.21. Get the full story »
President Obama says he wants to get rid of government regulations that stifle job creation. He’s ordered federal agencies to review regulations and look for unreasonable ones that hurt economic growth.
Obama says he will sign an executive order Monday making it clear that his administration wants to strike the right balance between protecting the public and promoting economic growth.
Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation providing a $2,500 tax credit to employers hiring trainees from the Put Illinois to Work temporary jobs program. The measure signed Monday takes effect immediately. Quinn says the new law gives employers an incentive to continue providing jobs to those who need them. Get the full story »
AM General plans to lay off 300 workers from the northern Indiana factory that makes Humvees for the military. Get the full story »
Tower Ticker | Sun-Times Media’s Pioneer Press group of weekly suburban newspapers has continued to reduce its workforce, including elimination of nine editorial positions in recent days.
Eight newsroom staff members were let go, while another retired and will not be replaced, sources said. Five were reporters and the retiree was an editorial assistant. The others were said to include page designers and a Web content manager.
Jeremy Halbreich, chief executive and vice chairman of Sun-Times Media, was unavailable for immediate comment.
A manufacturer of fully electric vehicles has increased production sooner than expected and will add 70 more jobs this year, welcome news in a region battered by layoffs at recreational vehicle plants.
Think North America, with 27 workers currently, will add the new jobs in hopes of producing 2,500 cars this year at its Elkhart operations in a former RV plant, WNDU-TV reported Thursday. The company began production in October. Get the full story »
The U.S. economy should grow around 3 percent to 4 percent this year, a healthier clip than in 2010 but not enough to bring down unemployment as much as policymakers would like, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.
“We see the economy strengthening. It has looked better in the last few months. We think a 3 to 4 percent-type of growth number for 2011 seems reasonable,” Bernanke said at an event sponsored by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Get the full story »
British employers will no longer be allowed to force people to retire at 65 years old, unless they can justify the dismissal, the government said Thursday in a bid to lessen pension payouts as Britons live for longer.
The move was welcomed by nonprofit organizations campaigning against age discrimination. Others, however, complained that the move will make it expensive for employers to continue to provide benefits such as health or life insurance to employees older than 65. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | The agency that runs McCormick Place and Navy Pier will cut more than half of its corporate staff as it splits off management operations of Navy Pier and turns over management of McCormick Place to a private operator.
