Unemployment claims fell slightly to 1M last week
By Rebecca Rainey for POLITICO 08/27/2020 08:41 AM EDT New unemployment applications dropped slightly to 1 million last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The labor market has now weathered more than five consecutive months of historic layoffs. An additional 608,000 laid-off workers sought jobless aid through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, created for those […]
Trump calls out FDA chief, suggests agency is slow-walking Covid clinical trials
By Dan Goldberg for POLITICO 08/22/2020 10:01 AM EDT Updated: 08/22/2020 01:10 PM EDT President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested that his own FDA is making it difficult for drug companies to enroll people in clinical trials for vaccines and therapies to treat Covid-19, part of a “deep state” plot to hinder his re-election prospects. […]
Newsom: Counties must be off watch list for 2 weeks before opening more sectors
By Victoria Colliver 08/24/2020 05:42 PM EDT Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that counties must be off California’s Covid-19 watch list for two weeks before they can reopen any new business sectors — offering the first glimpse into guidelines he plans to release later this week. “There has to be a 14-day period between the […]
DOJ: Not all railroad communications exempt from antitrust scrutiny
By Leah Nylen for POLITICO08/26/2020 04:56 PM EDT Congress only gave railroads a “limited and narrow” protection against antitrust suits to protect their ability to offer cross-country traffic, the Justice Department told a D.C. federal court Wednesday as part of a suit brought by shippers against the four major U.S. freight railroads. That exemption doesn’t […]
California regulators approve rules to cut pollution from ships, trucks
By Debra Kahn for POLITICO 08/27/2020 09:31 PM EDT California officials approved two major new rules Thursday to reduce emissions from trucks and ships, billing them as essential steps toward complying with federal air pollution standards. The rules address both conventional and greenhouse gas emissions but are particularly aimed at reducing diesel pollution at ports […]
California lawmakers will delay tax-voucher stimulus package
By Katy Murphy for POLITICO 08/24/2020 09:03 PM EDT California lawmakers for now will delay an economic stimulus package that would have raised billions of dollars through tax vouchers. The news: CA SB815 (19R), which surfaced over the weekend, turns the tax voucher proposal into a study, with an implementation plan from the Franchise Tax Board due March […]
California creates limited path for on-campus instruction — even in hard-hit counties
By Mackenzie Mays for POLITICO 08/25/2020 07:05 PM EDT SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Schools are not allowed to operate in the vast majority of the state, but California issued guidelines Tuesday that would enable some programs in any county to open — including special education and learning hubs — with small cohorts in person. The California […]
Airlines planning tens of thousands of layoffs as CARES Act deadline approaches
By Sam Mintz for POLITICO08/25/2020 02:39 PM EDT American Airlines on Tuesday said it will have to cut 19,000 employees after the end of September, pointing to the stark extent of the human fallout for the aviation sector if Congress doesn’t extend federal payroll support before it expires. Airlines and their unions have been warning […]
‘Not just a low-wage recession’: White-collar workers feel coronavirus squeeze
By Megan Cassella 08/21/2020 07:41 PM EDT The coronavirus recession that began as a short-term shutdown devastating low-wage workers is now bearing down on white-collar America, where employers have been slower to rehire and job losses are more likely to be permanent. Lower-paid workers are losing their jobs at about three times the rate of […]
