November 2 roundup

Headline stories of the week:

“Do you know? The DOL is encouraging employee covert ops in your business”

“The calendar [on a U.S. Department of Labor “We Can Help” website] encourages employees to track their arrival and leave times, start and stop times, meal breaks, and other breaks on a daily basis. The distinctions drawn between arrival versus start times and stop versus leave times suggests that the DOL is trolling for potential off-the-clock claims against employers.” [Jon Hyman, Ohio Employer’s Law]

Allegation: Debt collectors used fake “courtroom”

The Pennsylvania attorney general has sued a debt collection company in Erie, charging that it operated a bogus “courtroom” to mislead or confuse debtors. “Consumers also allegedly received dubious ‘hearing notices’ and letters – often hand-delivered by individuals who appear to be Sheriff Deputies – which implied they would be taken into custody by the Sheriff if they failed to appear at the phony court for ‘hearings’ or ‘depositions’,” claims AG Tom Corbett [Corbett press release; WTAE]

November 1 roundup

Election edition:

Gotham firefighters and racial hiring

At City Journal, Heather Mac Donald has an important article on the federal courts’ willingness to second-guess in great detail the hiring practices of the New York City fire department, in search of more hiring of black applicants. It is worth noting that fire departments are pressed to rely (and even perhaps over-rely) on written tests in assessing applicants’ suitability in part because traditional testing of physical skills such as the ability to wield a charged hose, get up a ladder quickly, and carry body-size weights has been extensively and successfully sued against by lawyers representing female applicants.