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Daily Archives: April 2, 2010

Not-So-Equal Protection – Reforming the Regulation of Student Internships

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Not-So-Equal Protection – Reforming the Regulation of Student Internships, Kathryn Anne Edwards, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez – Economic Policy Institute Memorandum #160, April 2, 2010

  • “Internships—the vast majority of which are unpaid—have become a staple of the college experience. In 1992, only 9% of graduating college students had participated in internships; by 2006 that figure increased nine-fold to 83% (Ortner 1997/1998; NACE 2008), representing at least 2.5 million student workers each year. Internships are often beneficial for both the student and the employer. Students can gain valuable insights into the nature of a certain occupation or industry, specific skill development, exposure to a network of contacts in a field of interest, and experience in the professional world. In turn, employers can engage in low-cost workforce training and vetting for future employment,…Despite internships’ importance to the labor market as a crucial form of vocational training and pre-employment vetting, they are only loosely regulated through vague and outdated employment law. Moreover, these regulations go essentially unenforced. As this paper demonstrates, a lack of clear regulation and enforcement of internship-related laws:
    • Leaves the majority of interns unprotected by workplace discrimination and harassment statues such as the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disability Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act;
    • Fosters the growth of unpaid internships, which in turn limits participation to only the students who can afford to forego wages and pay for living expenses, effectively institutionalizing socioeconomic disparities; and
    • Permits (and even incentivizes) the replacement of regular workers with unpaid college students and recent graduates…”

    • HUD and CPSC Issue Guidance on Repairing Homes With Problem Drywall

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    Follow up to previous postings on problems with Chinese drywall, this news release today: “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today issued interim remediation guidance to help homeowners struggling to rid their properties of problem drywall linked to corrosion of metal in their homes… Continue Reading

    DHS Announces New Measures to Strengthen Aviation Security

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    News release: “Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will begin implementing new enhanced security measures for all air carriers with international flights to the United States to strengthen the safety and security of all passengers—superseding the emergency measures put in place immediately following the attempted… Continue Reading

    BLS: Employment Situation – March 2010

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    News release: “Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in March, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month. Employment in federal government also rose, reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. Employment… Continue Reading