Civil & Human Rights

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Red State lawmakers have been systematically stripping away labor and wage standards, according to a new research report. Report:
There’s a movement to unwind state wage and labor standards:

Rules have been enacted to prevent minimum wage hikes and
mandated paid sick leave, while others have made it harder to recover
unpaid wages or collect unemployment benefits.

“This is coordinated and national,” the report’s author,
University of Oregon professor Gordon Lafer, said during a Thursday
morning panel unveiling the report.
It was produced for the Economic Policy Institute, which focused on
the needs of low- and middle-income workers, and where Lafer is a
research associate.

The paper explores a series of free-market policies pursued
or enacted in 2011 and 2012. Four states limited the minimum wage or at
least to whom it applied, another four made it easier for children to
work and 16 imposed new limits on unemployment benefits.

Some states pursued legislation that would make it harder
for employees to collect overtime or recover wages that hadn’t been
paid. And others also passed or pursued laws that restricted the rights
of local governments to set their own standards. In Florida, for
example, an Orange County movement to require paid sick leave was
quashed when the state passed a law prohibiting counties and cities from
enacting such measures.

The report represents a shift from EPI’s typically wonky
fare. It ascribes a narrative, supported by research, to a recent policy
trend: wage and labor deregulation, driven by the agenda of a set of
national pro-business groups.

“The most powerful corporate lobbies in the country are
working across the country in every state legislature and on almost
every dimension of the labor market to lower wages and benefits,” Lafer
said on Thursday.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Public testimony continued in the Hawaii House until 11:00 p.m. Saturday night. The hearing will resume on Monday, November 4, at 11:00 a.m. in the Capitol Auditorium. Monday’s hearing will continue to be broadcast live by Capitol TV and on Olelo Channel 53.

Religious groups opposed to marriage equality are attempting a "citizens filibuster," similar to what pro-choice advocates attempted in the state of Texas earlier this year: thousands have signed up to testify in an attempt to run out the clock by talking the bill to death in the time scheduled for the Special Session.

In an attempt to appease religious groups, the House is looking at amending the bill passed by the Senate chamber, House looks to Connecticut law as model for Hawaii (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription required):

Twisted in knots about how to balance same-sex marriage with religious freedom, state House lawmakers are looking to Connecticut as a potential model.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the state's marriage and civil unions laws violated equal protection because gay couples were denied the ability to marry, becoming the third state, after Massachusetts and California, to legalize gay marriage. Connecticut approved a law in 2009 implementing the court's ruling while adding a broad exemption to deal with religious liberty.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a vote on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) for Monday. Employment Nondiscrimination Act Set For Monday NightVote: Reid [filed] a procedural motion on Thursday evening to begin debate on the bill, setting up a Monday evening vote. The bill needs to get 60 votes to … Read more

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Illinois Lawmakers return to Springfield on Tuesday, November 5 for the final week of the annual fall "veto session." This past week there were dueling rallies in Springfield for those in favor of marriage equality for gays, and those who are opposed. Illinois Gay Marriage Bill's Fate Uncertain As Veto Session Begins.

SB 10, The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, passed the Illinois Senate chamber on Valentine's Day earlier this year, but stalled in the Illinois House. There is a push for SB 10 to be called up for consideration in the Illinois House during this final week of the veto session.

With the Illinois General Assembly returning to Springfield next week, several mayors from cities and towns across Illinois signed onto a letter urging the Illinois House of Representatives to pass marriage equality during veto session. Illinois Mayors Join Together to Urge Legislators to Pass Freedom to Marry During Veto Session:

“As the chief executive officers or our respective communities, our
responsibility and guiding principal is to work with citizens and
businesses to encourage, create, strengthen, and sustain an environment
where everyone is provided an opportunity to succeed,” the letter reads.
 “Each day, we see same sex couples and their families who suffer
because they are denied the full protections of law, protections that
strengthen families.  These families cannot wait any longer for the
State of Illinois to respect their freedom to marry.”

* * *

The letter also comes at a time where every major newspaper
serving Illinois has endorsed the marriage equality bill, most recently
including the Daily Herald, the Rockford Register-Star, the Belleville
News-Democrat, the Springfield Journal-Register, the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch and the Quad City Times.

“Mayors for Marriage Equality is proud to lend their voice
to the growing chorus of citizens, faith based leaders, business
leaders, organized labor and others to provide same-sex couples with
equal access to status, benefits, protections, rights and
responsibilities of civil marriage,” the letter concludes. “We encourage
you to help add Illinois to the growing list of states that recognize
the freedom to marry, and unleash the economic promise and power of
inclusion and assimilation of all people by supporting the Religious
Freedom and Marriage Equality Fairness Act.”

Information about the legislation is available at www.illinoisunites.org, along with information about how citizens can make their voices heard.