BREAKING: Pentagon employees ordered to shelter-in-place

Trump’s EEOC goes after another company that required vaccines

NewsJeff Brumley | May 28, 2026

(Shutterstock)


An Oklahoma company has agreed to settle a federal religious and disability discrimination lawsuit stemming from its firing of unvaccinated employees during the pandemic, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced.

AG Equipment Co. in Broken Arrow will pay $4.2 million to more than 40 workers terminated due to its 2021 mandate that all employees, without exception, had to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, EEOC said May 18.

The situation dates back to 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was sowing divisions in the U.S. over issues such as sheltering in place and vaccines. Many white evangelical churches were openly defiant in resisting government-led public health measures.

EEOC has redoubled its focus on “religious liberty” cases since President Donald Trump returned to office, resulting in at least 16 religious discrimination cases — many of them COVID related — and the recovery of $67 million.

In fall 2021, AG Equipment Co. required all employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. In response, several workers requested exemptions based on religious reasons and one provided a doctor’s note asking for an accommodation because of a medical condition, EEOC said.

However, the company refused to consider the requests and on Oct. 21 that year fired all those who had requested the exemptions in addition to anyone else who didn’t show proof of vaccination.

“When these workers asked for a simple religious accommodation, the company didn’t pause to listen or even consider the impact,” said Patrick J. Holman, trial attorney for EEOC’s Oklahoma City area office. “It fired every one of them outright — without a conversation and without any real inquiry into whether granting an accommodation would have caused the business any hardship at all. This is unlawful as well as unfair.”

The lawsuit said the company’s conduct violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on faith and disability. In addition to the financial compensation in consent decree ending the litigation, the company must train managers in Title VII compliance and inform employees of their right to religious and disability accommodations.

“Where an accommodation can be provided without undue hardship, the law requires it — the pandemic did not exempt employers from their legal obligations under Title VII and the ADA,” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said. “The EEOC under my leadership will continue to hold employers accountable, deliver meaningful results, and restore dignity to American workers harmed by widespread COVID-19 vaccine-related civil rights violations.”

In March, the agency announced a $15 million conciliation agreement with an unnamed global technology company. “In its investigation, the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe that the company discriminated against a class of employees on the basis of religion and disability by denying their COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests and terminating employees who declined to receive vaccines.”

And Northwestern Medicine, a health care system in Chicago, agreed to pay $325,000 to employees who were denied vaccine exemptions based on religious beliefs dating back to November 2023, EEOC said May 26.

Source

Airport bottlenecks ease as TSA workers get paid, but shutdown continues

 

TSA employees at ‘breaking point’

Union representatives for TSA also blasted the Trump administration's deployment of ICE officers to airports, calling it a "straight-up distraction."

Justin Doubleday@jdoubledayWFED
March 24, 2026 6:47 pm

Transportation Security Administration employees say they are at a “breaking point” with TSA staff preparing to miss a third paycheck this week, as employee unions again push for legislation that would ensure federal workers get paid during a shutdown.

The ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown stretched to its 39th day on Tuesday. More than 400 TSA employees have left the agency during the shutdown, while thousands more have started calling out of work, leading to long security screening lines at some airports.

The Trump administration has now deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports to nominally help bolster TSA’s ranks. ICE agents are being paid during the shutdown due to funding the agency received in last year’s tax and reconciliation bill.

But union representatives for TSA’s transportation security officers say ICE has done little to help with the situation.

Elon Musk Offers to Pay TSA Workers During Shutdown – Airport Chaos Gets Worse

Christian Ministry Gets Major Win as Court Supports Right to Hire Like-Minded Employees

 

By Michael Austin January 17, 2026 at 7:00am


A Christian ministry in Washington state won its case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday with respect to a law threatening its ability to hire like-minded people.

Yakima Union Gospel Mission, a homeless shelter in the central portion of the state, only hires employees with shared beliefs on biblical marriage and sexuality, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the ministry in court.

The ministry serves people without respect to their beliefs, but in terms of their staff, they only hire like-minded Christians.

But that practice was challenged by a Washington state law threatening “significant penalties and liability for hiring only those who share its religious beliefs and convictions,” per the ADF.

The 9th Circuit nevertheless recognized the right of Yakima Union Gospel Mission to continue their hiring practices under the First Amendment.

DOJ Worker CHARGED After Sandwich-Toss Assault on Border Agent in Washin...

Chaos erupts as ICE raids office of top Democrat and detains staff

By NOA HALFF FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 12:13 EDT, 1 June 2025 | Updated: 09:20 EDT, 2 June 2025

Chaotic scenes unfolded in lower Manhattan as federal agents stormed Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler's office and handcuffed a female staffer in dramatic video footage.

The 77-year-old longtime congressman erupted in fury after Department of Homeland Security officers burst into his office Wednesday before accusing his staff of 'harboring rioters' in scenes captured on video.

'President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security are sowing chaos in our communities, using intimidating tactics against both citizens and non-citizens in a reckless and dangerous manner,' Nadler said in statement to Politico.

'If this can happen in a Member of Congress's office, it can happen to anyone - and it is happening.'

The video footage, obtained by Gothamist, shows the moment agents restrained a weeping aide while a woman in the video says 'No she did not - that's not what happened.'

Another employee can be seen desperately demanding a warrant while asking the cop to back up.

The female staffer was seen blocking a second officer from entering private areas of the congressional office, which is located in the same Varick Street building as the federal immigration court.

Exclusive: USDA inspector general escorted out of her office after defying White House

By Rachael Levy

January 29, 20259:59 PM EST

Updated 6 hours ago

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seen in Washington, March 18, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo 

Summary

• Fong among 17 watchdogs fired, Trump defends dismissals
• USDA inspector general's office investigates bird flu, animal abuse, food safety
• USDA inspector general's office is investigating Elon Musk's Neuralink

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Security agents escorted the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the department, had earlier told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her Friday, saying that she didn’t believe the administration had followed proper protocols, the sources said.


In an email to colleagues on Saturday, reviewed by Reuters, she said the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency “has taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”

Fong declined to comment and the Office of the Inspector General did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

After this article was published, a USDA spokesperson said Fong left the office Monday on her own accord.

Meet the Working Class | Hard Earned | ENDEVR Documentary

BREAKING: Multiple Fatalities, Injuries In Shooting At Virginia Walmart,...

 

RELATED:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKBOlU_udH8

Meta Confirms Layoffs—11,000 Jobs Cut At Facebook’s Parent Company

EYES ON THE TIMES Employers Microchipping Employees: Prophesy Again TV.

Tech giant is rolling out new robots to replace workers in hotels, airports and supermarkets

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics said Thursday it will showcase three new "concept robots" at next week's consumer electronics show in Las Vegas

A McKinsey report released in November said that up to 800 million workers could be affected globally by automation and the rise of artificial intelligence

Tech companies are testing robots to carry out various tasks that could affect the services industry, which employs nearly 50 percent of the global workforce, according to the International Labour Organization

Saheli Roy Choudhury | @sahelirc

Published 9 Hours Ago Updated 1 Hour Ago CNBC.com

Source: LG
LG launches self driving robots to assist travelers at South Korean airport.


A Korean tech giant on Thursday announced new robots that take aim squarely at the jobs of many services industry workers around the globe.

There have long been predictions that advances in artificial intelligence and automation could end up eliminating millions of jobs over time, and tech companies have been testing robots to carry out a variety of tasks — from working in a pizza parlor to making deliveries that could greatly affect the services industry in the future.

For its part, South Korean giant LG Electronics is the latest company that is planning to sell robots to solve tasks currently completed by humans.

On Thursday, LG said it will showcase three new "concept robots" at the global consumer electronics show, CES, in Las Vegas next week. Those robots are designed for commercial use at hotels, airports and supermarkets, according to the company. An LG spokesman later told CNBC that the robots are still "concept" products and that they are "a long way from ready to go public."

Health worker firings spark debate on mandating flu vaccine

Filed Under:

Influenza Vaccines

Stephanie Soucheray | News Reporter | CIDRAP News |

Nov 30, 2017

College of DuPage Newsroom / Flickr cc


"Whenever you do something new it ruffles feathers." That's how Rajesh Prabhu, MD, an infectious disease specialist and the chief patient safety officer with Essentia Health of Duluth, Minn., explained the company's decision to mandate that all healthcare employees, staff, and volunteers get the seasonal flu vaccine this year, a decision that led to dozens being fired.

Employees with any patient contact were required to get vaccinated by Nov 10 or risk termination, which has happened to 50 Essentia employees so far. Now, the union that represents Essentia's nurses, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), is planning to file a formal grievance against the company.

"In no way are nurses against the flu vaccine," said Rick Fuentes, MNA spokesman. "But mandating vaccination is not as effective as voluntary programs."

"We have 13,900 employees," said Maureen Talarico, a media relations specialist with Essentia Health. "Only 50 were let go." Essential manages 15 hospitals and 75 clinics in Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.

For Prabhu and Talarico, the decision to mandate the flu vaccine as an employment requirement is a crucial step in patient care. People in hospitals, including the elderly, young babies, and the immunocompromised have the most to lose from an influenza infection. Thus, a healthcare worker must do everything in his or her power to not spread the flu.

"The CDC recommends that healthcare workers get vaccinated, and over 640 institutions in the United States have the same policy we do," said Prabhu. He explained that Essentia allows medical and religious exemptions for employees.
Data appear lacking

But Gaston De Serres, MD an epidemiologist at the Institute National de Sante Publique du Quebec, said that mandates like Essentia's are at best misguided attempts at patient protection, and at worst, a rule that's based more on ideology than science.

GOP talks $15

By BRIAN MAHONEY

11/11/15 10:02 AM EST

With help from Marianne LeVine and Timothy Noah.

DEBATE RECAP: GOP TALKS $15, INEQUALITY: Fight for $15 got the first question in the GOP debate Tuesday night. “Just outside and across the country picketers are … demanding an immediate hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour,” Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto said before asking frontrunner Donald Trump whether he supported a minimum wage hike. Trump, predictably, said no. "I would not raise it specifically because I'm interested in making sure that people are able to enter the job market and take advantage of opportunities.”

Notably, Ben Carson changed his position on the minimum wage. Previously he favored legislating an unspecified increase and then indexing it to inflation in the future. Now, apparently, he opposes a raise. He also said minimum wage hikes always increase unemployment. That is not true. Multiple studies have observed instances in which the minimum wage rose and unemployment did not rise. The best-known was a 1994 study by economists David Card and Alan Krueger, both then at Princeton.

We didn’t hear anything about paid family leave or on union rights. The candidates did spend some time on inequality, with Sen. Rand Paul saying Democratic-led states are usually more unequal. It’s actually quite mixed. Today, the District of Columbia is more unequal than all 50 states—and, yes, D.C. is governed by Democrats. But second place (and the most unequal actual state) belongs to Louisiana, whose governor, Bobby Jindal is seeking the GOP nomination for president. Third and fourth place belong to Democratic New York and Massachusetts, but Republican Mississippi and Alabama rank fifth and sixth.

GOOD MORNING! It's Wednesday, Nov. 11, and this is Morning Shift, POLITICO's daily tipsheet on labor and employment policy. Send tips, corrections and exclusives to bmahoney@politico.com, tnoah@politico.com andmlevine@politico.com. Follow us on Twitter at @politicomahoney, @TimothyNoah1 and @marianne_levine.

FIGHT FOR $15 AND THE VOTE: Amid the nationwide Fight for $15 protests Tuesday SEIU posted online a voter pledge card promoting a $15 minimum wage, expanded union rights, affordable child care, decent long-term care, activism against racism, and immigration reform. SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said that low-wage workers have “huge” potential to become a significant voting bloc. “I think it’s quite possible to inspire the 64 million workers earning under $15,” she told the Wall Street Journal. But the real target audience may have been lawmakers. “Come get our vote,” McDonald’s worker Laquita Jackson said in statement provided by Fight for $15.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, took executive action mandating that as of 2021 all state workers be paid at least $15 an hour. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto did the same for city workers. And in Berkeley, Calif., the city council debated an even bigger measure: a $19 hourly minimum by 2020, according to CNN.

McDonald’s workers in Los Angeles said that they weren’t striking for union recognition. “We are striking,” said a letter the Los Angeles Organizing Committee sent a McDonald’s franchisee, “to protest unfair labor practices at numerous locations for which joint employer McDonald’s USA is responsible. We are also striking to demand a $15 an hour wage and the right to join a union without interference. We are not making a present demand for recognition at this time.”

DEMS FIDDLING WITH CADILLAC TAX: Democrats on Capitol Hill are discussing ways to modify the Affordable Care Act’s 40 percent excise tax on expensive (“Cadillac”) health care plans. Unions hate the tax and are trying hard to repeal it before it goes into effect in 2018. "I'm not proposing eliminating it at this point, I’m open to suggestions for changing it," Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters yesterday, according to Reuters. "I don't know if it'll be done this year or next year," Durbin added. "But we're trying to figure out a way to change it or remove it and the impact it would have." http://reut.rs/20LjiZh

Tom Leibfried, legislative representative for government affairs at the AFL-CIO, told POLITICO yesterday that he counted 160 Democrats in the House and 120 Republicans who support repealing the Cadillac tax.

GO WEST, TEENAGER: Is a decades-long decline in job-related migration within the U.S. impeding upward mobility? Much academic and journalistic research suggests it is, including a recent paper by Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and Peter Orszag, former White House budget director. Morning Shift’s Timothy Noah wrote about this two years ago in the Washington Monthly, and Eli Lehrer and Lori Sanders wrote about it last year in National Affairs. Now Scott Winship of the conservative Manhattan Institute weighs in.

Winship concludes “we should be less concerned than we are about declining migration” because the only type clearly associated with upward mobility is that of young people between adolescence and adulthood--and that hasn’t declined at all. Less happily, Winship finds that “African-Americans, are less willing, or able, to move to economic opportunity,” and notes housing costs may play a role. More here: http://bit.ly/1SGOTWG

GIG COMPANIES BEGIN LOBBYING OVER ‘PORTABLE BENEFITS:’ Representatives of “sharing economy” companies like Lyft, Handy and Airbnb have been journeying to Capitol Hill to discuss employment law with a group of bipartisan lawmakers, Bloomberg BNA reports. The companies are likely feeling heat from the Labor Department’s ongoing scrutiny of misclassification in the U.S. workplace and from scores of private class action lawsuits targeting tech companies. Now these companies are urging lawmakers to adopt a “regulatory ‘timeout’ in which employers can tinker with worker classification without running afoul of federal laws,” BNA writes.

“Company representatives told caucus members that they’d be interested in expanding their relationship with workers, but are concerned about the increased cost and potential liability that comes with having full-blown employees.” http://bit.ly/1M4LPkP

Meanwhile, earlier this week an eclectic group of workplace advocates, local union leaders and tech CEOs released a statement calling for a “portable benefits” system to help independent contractors and freelance workers gain the benefits normally confined to full time employees.

Will union leaders in Washington get on board? We’re not so sure. Unions may feel reluctant to create a portable benefits system while they negotiate those same benefits for their members. We also wonder whether we’ll soon see a turf war between non-union worker advocacy groups like the Freelancers Union — whose president Sara Horowitz is a signatory to the “portable benefits” letter — and more traditional unions over the future of the law and the workplace.

ENQUIRE WITHIN: One of the most powerful SEIU locals is looking for a new top lobbyist. Kevin Finnegan, who’s been the political director of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, is returning to his law practice after seven years, according to Crain’s Barbara Benson. http://bit.ly/1kKJtyg

UNIONS SPENDING BIG TO KILL RIGHT TO WORK IN MISSOURI: About two months ago a cohort of Democrats and Republicans teamed up to oppose right-to-work legislation in Missouri. The bill passed the legislature, but Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed it. Unions aren’t resting easy after that victory; they’re already spending heavily to head off right to work in 2016.

The Carpenters’ District Council of St. Louis & Vicinity plans to spend $400,000 by years end on candidates, both Democratic and Republican, who oppose right-to-work legislation that frees non-union members from paying fees to unions that bargain collectively on their behalf.

Labor leaders caution that “unions won’t be able to compete dollar for dollar with the individual megadonors who support right to work,” writes the Kansas City Star’s Jason Hancock. “For example, a recent analysis of campaign finance data by the Star showed conservative businessman Rex Sinquefield has donated more than $22 million since 2010 — three times as much as the next biggest donor.”

Labor’s biggest priority will be keeping Missouri’s governorship. They can’t bet on Nixon sticking around: he’s term-limited. http://bit.ly/1MJBKXM

NLRB KNOCKS AMEX ARBITRATION POLICY: American Express violated federal labor law by requiring its employees to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement, the NLRB ruled on Tuesday. No surprises here. The NLRB has consistently ruled against such agreements despite having been reversed by federal appeals courts. The Supreme Court may one day step in to resolve that impasse. Decision here: http://bit.ly/1NIvmVW

OUTSOURCING COMPANIES ‘GAMING’ H1-B SYSTEM: “Congress set up the H-1B program to help American companies hire foreigners with exceptional skills, to fill open jobs and to help their businesses grow,” the New York Times’ Julia Preston writes. “But the program has been failing many American employers who cannot get visas for foreigners with the special skills they need.”

“Instead, the outsourcing firms are increasingly dominating the program, federal records show. In recent years, they have obtained many thousands of the visas — which are limited to 85,000 a year — by learning to game the H-1B system without breaking the rules, researchers and lawyers said.” http://nyti.ms/1MyT85P

COFFEE BREAK

— “The Decline of Labor, the Increase of Inequality,” from Talking Points Memo: http://bit.ly/1L96tfW

— "Why a $15-an-Hour National Minimum Wage Won’t Happen Anytime Soon," from Money: http://ti.me/1WLFT8z

— Tech company memo says workers should be working 10 hours a day, from Pando: http://bit.ly/1O2rTjc

— Lufthansa crew rejects latest offer, from ABC: http://abcn.ws/1Nq52vh

THAT’S ALL FOR MORNING SHIFT.


Source: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift/2015/11/gop-talks-15-dems-fiddling-with-cadillac-tax-gig-companies-lobbying-on-portable-benefits-211214#ixzz3rCom8JrY

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Pope Seeks End to Worker Exploitation

NEWS

Nov 10 2015 - 11:01am | Carol Glatz - Catholic News Service



Birds fly as Pope Francis leaves the Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence, Italy, Nov. 10. Pope Francis attended a meeting of Italy's bishops and cardinals in the Duomo during a one-day visit to Florence Nov. 10. The pope also met young people and was to celebrate Mass at a soccer stadium. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)


Meeting workers and addressing a major gathering of the Catholic Church in Italy, Pope Francis demanded an end to economic exploitation, to clerics "obsessed" with power, to apathy among youth and to a cold, fearful church that forgets Christ is always by its side.

"These times of ours demand that we experience problems as challenges and not like obstacles: The Lord is active and at work in the world," he said Nov. 10 inside Florence's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore -- the third-largest church in Europe.

In a trip that covered a normal 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. workday, the pope rallied workers, young people and hundreds of church leaders representing the entire Italian peninsula; he met with the sick, kissed babies, admired Renaissance artwork and venerated an ancient relic. He ate lunch with the poor and homeless and celebrated Mass in a city soccer stadium.

Much of the city seemed empty of residents, yet filled with people who came to see the pope and tourists curious about the beefed-up security and roadblocks.

Speaking to hundreds of Italian cardinals, bishops and laypeople attending a national congress held only every 10 years, the pope gave a lengthy, yet clear indication of where their discussions and pastoral mission should be heading.

"We must not tame the power of the face of Jesus," who takes on the face of the humiliated, the enslaved and "the emptied," he said.

A divine Christ reflects a very human gaze of humility and selflessness, and he insists his disciples follow the beatitudes like he did, the pope said.

"We must not be obsessed with power," the pope said, even if it is a useful or seemingly innocuous way of getting things done. Otherwise the church "loses its way, loses its meaning."
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Standing at a lectern beneath a stunning painted dome ceiling representing the Last Judgment, the pope said the beatitudes indicate whether the church is following its mission or is only thinking of protecting its own interests. Measuring oneself against the beatitudes "is a mirror that never lies," he said.

Reading animatedly from his written remarks, the pope also found moments to offer a bit of humor, like when warning church leaders against various temptations.

"I'll present at least two" temptations, but not a huge list of 15 like he spelled out in a memorable pre-Christmas address to the Roman Curia in 2014, he said to applause and laughter in the pews.

Do not feel superior and place complete trust in structures and perfect plans, he said. This focus on the abstract and on security "often leads us to take on a style of control, harshness, regulation."

When "facing evils or problems in the church," he said, "it is useless to seek solutions in conservatism and fundamentalism, in the restoration of outdated conduct and forms" that are no longer culturally relevant or meaningful.

Christian doctrine, in fact, isn't a closed system void of questions or doubts, but is alive, restless, animated. Its face "isn't rigid, its body moves and develops, it has tender flesh. Its name is Jesus Christ."

The same spirit that drove Italian explorers to seek new worlds, unafraid of storms and open seas, can drive the church in Italy, Pope Francis said, if it lets itself be driven by the breath of the Holy Spirit, "free and open to challenges of the present, never in defense out of fear of losing something."

He also told priests and bishops to be shepherds, "nothing more. Shepherds." To illustrate what that looked like, the pope told a story of a bishop who was riding the subway during rush hour.

It was so packed, there was nothing to hold onto, and "pushed right and left" by the swaying car, the bishop leaned on the people around him so as not to fall. A bishop will find support, he said, by leaning on his people and through prayer, he said.

Underlining the importance of caring for the poor -- who know well the suffering and face of Christ, the pope asked God to protect the church in Italy from all forms of power, facades and money.

He recalled an old practice in Italy when mothers, who were unable to care for their newborns, left behind a small medallion, snapped in half, with the babies they gave up for adoption at a Catholic hospital. The birth mothers would keep the other half, he said, in the hopes that one day, when times had improved, they would be able to find their children.

"We have that other half. The mother church has the other half of everyone's medallion and it recognizes all of its abandoned, oppressed and tired children," he said. "The Lord shed his blood for everyone, not a select few."

"I like a restless church in Italy, ever close to the abandoned, the forgotten, the imperfect," the pope said.

"I want a happy church with the face of a mother, who understands, accompanies, caresses. Dream for this church, too, believe in this, innovate with freedom," he told the bishops, pastors and lay leaders.

The pope flew by helicopter from Rome early in the morning to land first in the industrial town of Prato on the outskirts of Florence. He apologized for his brief 90-minute visit there, saying he had come as "a pilgrim, a pilgrim in passing."

In the town's cathedral, he venerated the Holy Belt of Our Lady -- an ancient band of wool traditionally believed to have belonged to Mary and used to wrap her flowing robes around her waist.

From the cathedral balcony, he greeted thousands of people who had woken very early for the 8 a.m. encounter or slept there overnight in sleeping bags.

Addressing young people and workers, especially foreign workers, the pope criticized the "cancer" of corruption and exploitation, calling it the "venom" of a culture built on operating outside the law.

He recalled the seven Chinese textile workers who were killed two years ago when the pre-fab warehouse they worked and slept in caught fire and caused the roof to collapse.

The pope said the deaths of those men and women, who slept in a tiny alcove jerry-rigged out of cardboard and drywall, "is a tragedy of exploitation and inhumane living conditions."

To people's cheers and applause, he urged young people and workers to fight to the very roots of the problem of "the cancer of corruption" and "the cancer of human and worker exploitation."

Source

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Pope: 'Grave Sin' When Employers Underpay Workers, Avoid Taxes

Related Stories:

Newsmax Vatican Reporter: The 'Francis Effect' Has Limits

Pope Francis Clarifies His Vision for Church, Synod

Friday, 20 Feb 2015 09:04 PM

By Cathy Burke



Employers who hire workers off the books to avoid paying taxes, Social Security, and a fair wage are committing a "very grave sin," Pope Francis says.

In a homily Friday at the Saint Martha residence in the Vatican where he lives, the Argentine pontiff harshly castigated bosses who attend church but treat their workers poorly, the Gazzetta del Sud reports.

"You cannot make donations to the Church on the back of the injustice that you commit with your employees," the Pope said, the online news site reports.

"Using God to cover injustice is a very grave sin," he said, adding: "If you go to Mass on Sunday and take communion, you should ask: What is the relationship with your employees? Do you pay them off the books? Do you pay them a fair salary? Do you pay the pension contributions?"

Though the Pope has been praised by some for his remarks on homosexuality, abortion, and divorce that appears to signal a more tolerant tone in the Catholic Church, it's a position that has rattled conservatives.

But he has also come under fire from the gay community for criticizing theories that consider people's gender identities to exist along a spectrum, comparing transgender people to "Herods"who "destroy, that plot designs of death, that disfigure the face of man and woman, destroying creation."



Source

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Post Bank SDAs may skip work on Sabbath

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014 - 00:00 -- BY CAROLE MAINA

LOST BATTLE: Kenya Post Bank building in Nairobi CBD.Photo/File


THREE Seventh Day Adventist Church members employed by a bank have won a battle after the High Court ruled that their rights were violated by the employer compelling them to work on Saturdays.

Prisca Kemboi, Grace Osoro and Kennedy Tai, who work for the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank, had been accused and each surcharged more than Sh20,000 for absconding duty on Saturday.

Yesterday, Justice Linet Ndolo of the Industrial Court ruled that the bank's action was in violation of their right to observe their day of worship.

The judge directed Post Bank to review its policy on hours of work to accommodate all SDAs' rights to observe their day of worship on Saturday.

Ndolo further banned the bank from taking disciplinary action against any SDA for skipping work on Saturday.

“Matters of conscience and religion are uniquely personal and for an employer to simply insist that its employees must report to work on Saturday and ignore their day of worship is to miss the point,” she ruled.

Among the fundamental tenets of the SDA faith is the observance of the hours between sunset on Friday and sunset on Saturday as a day of worship.

Before, the three had not been required to work on Saturdays.

The court heard that the bank had generally allowed arrangements such as working through the lunch break, working extra hours in the evenings and on Sundays to compensate for the half day work hours that they did not serve on Saturdays.

However, the bank recently cancelled the arrangements and compelled the three to work on Saturdays.

When they failed to do so, the bank instituted disciplinary proceedings and warned that failure to observe official working hours would lead to more severe disciplinary action.

Their appeal against the decision was rejected.

It was the petitioner’s argument that the bank's actions was in contravention of the constitution, which guarantees them freedom of conscience, religion and belief and equality and freedom from discrimination.

The three accused the bank of favouring the Islamic faith, whose worshipers are allowed to be absent from work on Fridays to observe their day of worship.

In response, bank’s company secretary Mercy Mbijiwe said the three had accepted their responsibilities with full knowledge and understanding of the duties and especially the requirement to work six days a week.

She maintained that Saturday is an official working day for all its employees and what the three were seeking is to be given preferential treatment at the expense of others.

The bank said granting orders in favour of the three would open a pandora's box where employees of diverse religions will insist on taking time off to observe their various days of worship.

In the judgment, Justice Ndolo said an employee who is denied the opportunity to observe their day of worship will not be productive.

"A human resource policy that does not accommodate the unique spiritual needs of employees is unreasonable," she ruled.

Source

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Almost 8,000 Navy chiefs face ax

Navy Times12:05 p.m. EDT August 18, 2014



(Photo: Navy Times)

WASHINGTON — Almost 8,000 senior enlisted personnel must go before a continuation board later this year to determine whether they can continue to serve or must retire.

The board — the first since early 2013 — will convene Oct. 27, according to a Navy document released Aug. 14.

At risk are between 7,500 and 8,000 retirement-eligible active and reserve E-7s, E-8s and E-9s with at least at least three years' time in rate.

But there is a big upside to the process: Clearing out senior enlisted who have engaged in misconduct or whose performance has slipped noticeably makes way for hot running sailors to move up.

The board has no exceptions; even the most senior sailors — up to and including Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Mike Stevens — will have their records reviewed.

"It's an opportunity for us, as chief petty officers, to police ourselves," said Fleet Master Chief April Beldo, senior enlisted adviser to the chief of naval personnel, in a July 30 interview.

"Expectations for continued service depend on maintaining performance," she said. "As chief petty officers, we're accountable to the Navy, our sailors and ourselves for our actions — and that is really what this is all about."

The board has no quotas, meaning no mandatory cuts to make. It's the board members' job simply to review records and decide who gets to stay in and who must retire — what officials call a "pure quality cut."

The Navy has held such boards — every year but one since fiscal 2010, the last in February of 2013. To date, 30,850 records have been reviewed, with a total of 1,381 chiefs being told to retire — an overall 4.48 percent chance of being sent home.

The fiscal 2014 board was skipped because of a decision made in 2013 by Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, then chief of naval personnel. Scheduling conflicts had caused the fiscal 2013 board to slip into early calendar year 2013. Officials realized that a fiscal 2014 board would have to be come almost immediately after the 2013 non-selects were required to retire.

"We decided (that) to do another one right on the heels of the last one wasn't a good idea," Beldo said. "Based on everything that was going on — sequestration, manning at sea issues — CNP made the decision, supported by the CNO and MCPON, not to do one for fiscal year 2014."

Who's eligible

Retirement-eligible active and reserve chief petty officers — E-7 through E-9 — will be reviewed by the board.

More specifically, active-duty chiefs will be looked at only if they had at least 19 years of active service as of Feb. 28, and three years' time in their current paygrade on June 30.

For drilling reservists, the only difference is that they won't get looked at unless they had 20 qualifying years of service as of Feb. 28. The time-in-paygrade cutoff is the same.

"The board will look at those who are not only retirement-eligible, but also retirement-eligible in their current pay grade," Beldo said.

For example, if a chief is selected for and pins on senior chief, but decides to retire a year later, Beldo said, he or she would retire as an E-7 unless there were extenuating circumstances.

"This guarantees that anyone selected not to continue can retire in their current grade," she said. "We don't want this in any way to be punitive or even to be perceived as punitive."

There are two exceptions to eligibility for consideration by the board: Anyone with an approved retirement request or who has been selected for warrant officer by the most recent selection board won't get a look.

Aside from that, not even the most senior fleet and force master chiefs will escape review. Enlisted board members, too, will be reviewed before being cleared to sit the board.

This wasn't always the case; the first board exempted those in special warfare, nuclear power and the command master chief programs. But the scope of the review has gradually expanded each year, and the fiscal 2013 board included everyone for the first time.

Although personnel officials estimate the review will include 7,500 to 8,000 chiefs, the the exact number won't be known until the end of August.

Naval Personnel Command will post the initial list of eligible chiefs to the Bupers Online Portal. Fleet commands will have until Aug. 29 to add someone or to make the case that a particular chief should not be considered.

The watch list

The 2015 board will be looking at the same types of issues as previous boards, according to the NavAdmin.

"This board's purpose is to evaluate the performance of our chief petty officers and determine whether they should continue on in active service," Beldo said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with force-shaping, or downsizing, if you will — it's simply a performance check."

Every record gets an initial look, as with promotion boards. If the board finds nothing adverse, the sailor is selected for continuation.

If certain negative indicators are found, the board is required to deliberate further on whether that chief stays or goes.

Even those chiefs with one or more black marks on their record won't necessarily be asked to retire; that will only happen if a majority of the board members gives them a thumbs-down.

That's why, officials say, this is a board and not simply a scrub to bounce those with hiccups in their records.

"We're not a zero-defect outfit," then-Capt. Leo Falardeau, who is now retired, told Navy Times after the 2011 board. As head of enlisted progression, Falardeau was in charge of overseeing the board and reviewing its findings.

"There were people who had performance indicators in their record, and their futures were debated in the tank, but they were ultimately retained," he said.

Creating room to advance

Because the Navy's advancements are based on vacancy at the next level, no openings means no advancements.

The solution was to create an enlisted continuation board — similar to the early retirement boards held for officers.

The chief of naval personnel at the time, now Adm. Mark Ferguson, wanted to set a quota of 2,500 chiefs to be cut, but his senior enlisted advisers recommended a pure quality cut instead.

Though it might take longer, the advisers said, the quality cut would serve the same purpose: creating opportunities for advancement in ensuing years.

"This is at the heart of why we've started the continuation board process," said then-Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West, who has since retired. "Yes, it's about performance, but if we do it right, it will also create opportunity for our best young sailors to move up."

Now, nearly six years and almost five boards later, the chance to make chief has again risen.

"This is an opportunity for leadership to show junior sailors coming up — who want to be chief petty officers and who might have the perception that chiefs get away with anything — that we police ourselves," Beldo said. But she re-emphasized that the board's decisions aren't punitive in nature and won't impact any retirements, other than to speed them up for those not continued.

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