URBAN
CHATTANOOGA EDITION
Friday 26 August 2012 | Issue 320
“Tennessee Insider” changes formats When “Tennessee Insider” returns to its familiar Friday night slot on WTCI next year, regular viewers of the roundtable show will notice a change in format. 04
Published by Sound Financial Company Inc
RLJ letter of support Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies has urged all U.S. companies to voluntarily adopt a version of the NFL Rooney Rule, which afforded minority candidates to be considered for head-coaching or general manager positions. 02
– Barack Obama
President Obama:
We Can’t Wait By John Doe
The White House recently announced new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor that would provide minimum wage and overtime protections for nearly two million workers who provide in-home care services for the elderly and infirmed. Many of these workers provide critical in-home health care services such as tube feeding, wound care, or assistance with physical therapy, and deserve the protections provided under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of executive actions the Obama Administration is taking to strengthen the economy and move the country forward because we can’t wait for Congress to act. “The nearly 2 million in-home care workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage. They work hard and play by the rules and they should see that work and responsibility rewarded. Today’s action will ensure that these men and women get paid fairly for a service that a growing number of older Americans couldn’t live without,” said President Obama. “The care provided by in-home workers is crucial to the quality of life for many families,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The vast majority of these workers are women, many of whom serve as the primary breadwinner for their families. This proposed regulation would ensure that their work is properly classified so they receive appropriate compensation and that employers who have been treating these workers fairly are no longer at a competitive disadvantage. “ Currently, workers classified as ‘companions’ are exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
Hundreds of young American minority college students in their final year of college are in immediate danger of not graduating. 08
Trial Set May 22 for slaying of Rev. Strong
The nearly 2 million in-home care workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage.
We Can’t Wait: President Obama Will Announce Administrative Action to Provide Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Nearly 2 Million In-Home Care Workers.
UNCF Help Minority College Students Graduate This Year
When established in 1974, such exemptions were meant to apply to casual babysitters and companions for the elderly and infirm, not workers whose vocation was inhome care service, and who were responsible for their families’ support. With an aging American population, there has been increased demand for long-term in-home care, and as a result the in-home care industry has grown substantially. Today’s 1.79 million home care workers are professional caregivers, not mere companions. In view of this changed landscape, the proposed regulation reconsiders whether the current exemption is now too broad. Of the 1.79 million home care workers, 1.59 million are employed by staffing agencies of which over 92% are women, nearly 30% are African American, 12% are Hispanic and close to 40% rely on public benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps. Today’s proposed rule would expand minimum wage and overtime protections by ensuring that all home care workers employed by third parties, like staffing agencies, will receive protections. It would also ensure that those employed by families and performing skilled in-home care work, such as medically related tasks for which training is typically a prerequisite, are covered. However, those employed by families and truly engaged in tasks related to fellowship and protection- such as visiting with friends and neighbors or engaging in hobbies- would still be considered ‘companions’ and will not be subject to wage protections. This issue gained national attention when, in 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Evelyn Coke, a home care worker who worked as much as 70 hours a week, was not entitled to overtime pay under existing regulations. Thus, any change to these rules requires action by Congress or the Department of Labor. There have been bills introduced in numerous Congresses to address this issue (including legislation that then-Senator Obama co-sponsored in the 110th Congress) but these bills have not moved forward. The Department of Labor is therefore now proposing regulations to change these rules and ensure that home care workers like Evelyn Coke will have basic wage protections.
States’ regulations currently vary in whether they extend minimum wage and overtime provisions to home health care workers. Twenty nine states currently do not include home health care workers in their minimum wage and overtime provisions: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Nearly half of the nation’s home care workers work in these states. Today’s proposed regulation would provide home care workers in these states with new protections. Sixteen states extend both minimum wage and overtime coverage to most home health care workers: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. Five states and the District of Columbia extend minimum wage, but not overtime coverage to home care workers: Arizona, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota and the District of Columbia. Even in those states that have some existing minimum wage or overtime protection for home care workers, this proposed rule would extend the additional protections of federal education and enforcement by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act that was passed in 1938 to provide minimum wage and overtime protections for workers, to prevent unfair competition among businesses based on subminimum wages, and to spread employment by requiring employers whose employees work excessive hours to pay employees at one-andone-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week. Upon publication of the proposed rule, interested parties will be invited to submit comments at www.regulations.gov. More information, including the proposed rule and fact sheet is available on the Department’s Companionship Webpage at www.dol.gov/ whd/flsa/companionNPRM.htm.
A May 22 trial date has been set in the case in which Antonio Henry, 25, and Brendan Barnes, 16, are charged in the slaying of Rev. David Strong at his Glenwood home Oct. 10 of 2010. Criminal Court Judge Don Poole tentatively overruled defense motions to try the defendants separately. Defense attorney Karla Gothard said she opposes any of the redactions, saying it “totally miscontrues” what is being said. Attorney Gothard also said she has filed a motion to suppress the statement made by Barnes. A hearing on that motion will be Jan. 30. Steve Brown of the public defender’s office will be co-counsel for Barnes since Ms. Gothard has been ill at times recently. Ms. Gothard also said she will submit a list soon of experts she needs to help in the case. A detective had testified earlier that the two defendants gave different versions on why they went to the home of Rev. Strong. Officer Clayton Holmes said he stopped a silver HHR at 2:30 a.m. on
Oct. 10. He said the tag was expired and it matched the description of a vehicle that had been BOLOed (be on the lookout) earlier. He said Henry was driving, but he did not give his correct name despite numerous requests. He claimed he was Antonio Freeman, but no such person came up in the system. Officer Holmes said it was discovered that the car belonged to Rev. Strong. He said officers were sent to the Strong home, where the pastor’s body was found. Detective Michael Wenger said he was notified at 3:25 that morning that the body had been found. He said one officer had gone to the residence at 404 Glenwood Dr. and had not found anything. Several other officers returned and discovered the body. He said it had begun to decompose, but it was still evident that he had been beaten in the head. According to the autopsy, he suffered 29 stab wounds and multiple blunt trauma injuries. Detective Wenger said a broken off walking stick was found by the body. Rev. Strong was the pastor of the historic St. Paul AME Church.
labour
TN jobless rate hits lowest point in nearly three years
An estimated 9.1% of working-age Tennesseans were jobless last month, down from October’s 9.6%, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said
Holiday hiring helped Tennessee’s unemployment rate fall to its lowest level in almost two years in November, according to state figures released today. An estimated 9.1 percent of working-age Tennesseans were jobless last month, down from October’s 9.6 percent, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said. The November rate was the state’s lowest since January 2009, when it stood at 9 percent. Tennessee employers added nearly 10,000 jobs in November, primarily retail and temporary positions, said Karla Davis, the state’s labor commissioner.
Still, Tennessee’s jobs picture remains dimmer than the nation. The national unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in November, a 0.4 percentage point drop from October and the lowest rate in 2 1/2 years. However, much of the decrease was driven by long-term unemployed people no longer being counted because they have given up on their job searches.