Who is working in the workforce?  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) came out with a report as to the race and gender make-up of the U.S. workforce as of 2020.  By race, Whites made up the majority of the labor force (77%). Blacks and Asians constituted an additional 13%nt and 6%, respectively. American Indians and Alaska Natives made up 1% of the labor force, while Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders accounted for less than half a percent. People of Two or More Races made up 2% of the labor force. People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, who may be of any race, made up 18% of the total labor force. Almost 9 in 10 Hispanics in the labor force were White (89%). Another 5% were Black, and 1% were Asian. Among the race and ethnicity groups, the percentage of the population either employed or unemployed—the labor force participation rate—was highest for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (66.7% in 2020), Hispanics (65.6%), and people of two or more races (64.4%). The participation rate for Asians was 62.7%; Whites, 61.8%; Blacks, 60.5%; and American Indians and Alaska Natives, 59.3%.  Source: BLS 11/17/21

Need a job, become a nurse: The average annual salary for registered nurses, not including bonus pay such as overtime, grew about 4% in the first nine months of the year to $81,376, according to healthcare consultants Premier Inc., which analyzed salaries of about 60,000 nurses for The Wall Street Journal.  That is up from the 3.3% increase in average annual nurse wages in all of 2020 and 2.6% growth the year before the pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Nurses have played a critical role during the pandemic, tending to Covid-19 patients flooding emergency rooms and filling hospital beds, in addition to their work with more typical patients. The need for nurses has risen so high that many have been able to make even better livings by leaving hospital payrolls and instead hopping between temporary jobs seeking emergency staffing, hospital recruiters, and executives say. For many hospitals, higher labor costs threaten to crimp already tight margins. As a result, some may curb services to tighten expenses, or seek higher prices from health insurers to help cover the additional labor costs.  Although the pandemic has placed greater strains on nurses, it is still a top profession in the U.S.  Source:  Wall Street Journal 11/17/21

New benefit to assist menopause management in the workplace: Supporting the health and wellness of employees means supporting them through every phase of their life and accommodating them accordingly.  For the 20% of the workforce that experiences menopause each year, more resources, support, and awareness are needed to lessen the physical and psychological impact. Financial services company Standard Charter has created a menopause guidance program to advocate for and educate the bank’s 85,000 employees across 59 global markets.  The added support includes educational resources, flexible working options to accommodate those suffering from symptoms, additional access to uniforms for front-line staff, and access to private, cool, and well-ventilated areas. Menopause typically lasts eight to 10 years, and 5% will experience menopause before they turn 45, according to Unmind data. Women report increased feelings of stress, irritability, and an overall inability to concentrate, on top of routine heat flashes. Despite the impact it has on an employee’s day-to-day life, the stigma remains: one third of people experiencing menopause still hide it at work, according to an international Opinium survey commissioned by Vodafone.  Employers can use Standard Charter’s approach to create a more inclusive workplace.  Source:  EBN 11/24/21

EEOC to focus on AI:  On Thursday, October 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the launch of an initiative aimed at ensuring that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology-driven tools utilized in hiring and other employment decisions complies with anti-discrimination laws. While acknowledging that AI and algorithmic tools have potential to improve our lives and employment, EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows noted, “the EEOC is keenly aware that these tools may mask and perpetuate bias or create new discriminatory barriers to jobs. We must work to ensure that these new technologies do not become a high-tech pathway to discrimination.”  At this point, the initiative is focused on, “how technology is fundamentally changing the way employment decisions are made.” In this regard, the initiative seeks to guide stakeholders, including employers and vendors, in making sure emerging decision-making tools are being employed fairly and consistent with anti-discrimination laws.  As Commissioner Keith Sonderling, who has presented on this topic many times while sitting on the Commission, has stated: “While AI is becoming mainstream technology in the workplace, discrimination-by-algorithm must not.”  Source:  Littler 11/15/21

Don’t forget about horizontal employment when determining if overtime is owed:  Horizontal joint employment is when a person holds two jobs, but the businesses are under common control. They may have the same owners or officers, they may coordinate schedules among workers, or they may share a common pool of employees. When horizontal joint employment exists, the hours from both jobs are aggregated, and 30 hours at one job plus 20 hours at the other equals 50 total hours, 10 of which require overtime pay.  This situation comes up more often than not at family-owned businesses and commonly owned businesses that share employees.  Source: Baker Hostetler LLP  11/29/21

Rail unions fighting vaccine mandate:  Two rail worker unions hit Amtrak with separate suits in Illinois federal court accusing the company of violating federal labor law by unilaterally implementing a vaccine policy, saying the company failed to negotiate with the unions over its COVID-19 inoculation mandate. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen filed separate suits Tuesday against National Railroad Passenger Corp., which runs Amtrak, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Amtrak told the unions Oct. 20 that employees requesting religious or medical accommodations would be placed on a 90-day unpaid leave of absence.  Although filed under the Railroad Act, this situation could be precedent for other union employers.  Source:  Law360 11/24/21