Media

Sharon Lerner, a senior fellow at the public policy organization Demos, has spent the past year interviewing a diverse sample of New Jersey employers about the effect of paid leave. Those who admitted they’d feared being deluged by workers abusing the policy said they’d learned such fears were unfounded. None of the employers in the survey reported that paid leave had negatively affected their company’s productivity, profitability, or turnover, and some reported improved morale.

The stock market is banging out record highs this summer. So why isn't America celebrating?

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 17,000 for the first time Thursday, boosted by strong job gains. It's been a remarkable summer for stocks, but many people don't feel like they're seeing any benefit.

Unions are in the spotlight following the Supreme Court’s decision in Harris v Quinn that home healthcare workers are not "full-fledged" employees and therefore not required to pay agency fees. Jenn Borchetta has already written a legal analysis of the case, but it’s important to remember that unions are a key bulwark against rising inequality.

“Room to Grow” is the new GOP manifesto to win middle-class voters.  We’ll drill down on its content.

The Supreme Court took another whack at American workers today in Harris v. Quinn. The ideological conservatives on our high court would have you believe this decision advances workers’ rights. Instead, Harris undermines the rights of American workers: to decent jobs, fair pay and strong unions.

Another major retailer in the United States is giving a boost to its base salary, although the size of the increase will vary from state to state. On Thursday morning, the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA announced that it would be adopting a new wage structure which is expected to increase pay for about 50% of its American employees. The change in company policy will take effect on January 1, 2015.

A year ago today, in Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to voting rights. The Voting Rights Act Amendment is at the center of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today and Congress has the potential to reverse the damage rendered by the Shelby decision.

Nestled in Part H (section 499!) in the Democrats’ laundry list of ideas is an idea that has by far the most potential to solve one of the most vexing problems in higher ed: the rising cost of college.

Yesterday, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Charles E. Schumer, Michael Bennet, Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts re-introduced the DISCLOSE Act, a comprehensive disclosure legislation that came within one vote of overcoming a party line filibuster and adopting comprehensive disclosure legislation. This time, Congress should pass the DISCLOSE Act and require disclosure of contributions to organizations engaged in political spending.