In recent news, employees of Premium Protein in Nebraska have filed a class action lawsuit that claims that the company violated their rights under the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act which is also known as WARN.

What is the WARN Act?

The WARN Act is a federal statute that has been enacted in order to protect workers and their families from mass layoffs or plant closings.

What Does It Require?

It requires that employers with more than 100 employees or more (not counting new employees, temporary ones, and part time employees) be subject to the Act.

A former editor for the New York Post, Sandra Guzman, has filed a harassment and workplace discrimination lawsuit against the paper for what she feels is an unfair termination over her feelings about a NY Post cartoon. New York Magazine reports that the NY Post cartoon was considered to be racist by many news outlets. 

Guzman's complaint has been posted by the Huffington Post. While the lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, it did detail how Ms. Guzman felt that her voiced outrage over a political cartoon that depicted President Barack Obama as a rabid chimp shot by police was the reason that she was fired. The lawsuit also detailed some pretty shocking allegations of a racist and sexually charged workplace.

An organization of African American firefighters have filed a federal lawsuit against their union for being abusive and harassing them.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the firefighters allege that leaders of the firefighters union were predominantly white and were hell bent on eliminating many practices that were in place to ensure that black firefighters were hired in the first place. In fact, the union had submitted a proposal with the city back in December that requested that hiring quotas be eradicated.

The black firefighters are naturally upset that their membership dues are being put towards union activites not dedicated to their own advancement. Mr. Kenneth Green of the Club Valiants (President of the African American firefighter group) told The Philadelphia Inquirer: "They're using my union dues to do it. It's a slap in the face."

The $80 million dollar lawsuit alleging harassment at the German toymaker Steiff, long famous for its teddy bears, has been settled this week. The WSJ  reports that the lawsuit was settled on Tuesday Nov. 10. The attorney for Steiff told the WSJ that the settlement was "to the satisfaction all the participants" Details of the settlement are not known at this time.

The lawsuit was filed by Steiff marketing executive Jane Collins back in June 2009. In the sexual harassment lawsuit, she claimed that the CEO of Steiff of harassing her with unwanted sexual advances for years and culiminated in a rape. The lawsuit details how the CEO Mr. Martin Frechen also continued to harass her during trade shows after the rape had occurred.

In the down economy, job seekers are doing whatever they can to get a foot in the door.

For some, that means trying to clear their criminal records to boost their chances of getting a job in a tough market.

Right on the heels of news that U.S. unemployment has reached 10.2%, Obama has signed off on the bill that would grant an extension of time on unemployment benefits.

CNN  reported that Obama called the unemployment rate "sobering." He released a statement that said that he hoped that the bill he signed "will help grow our economy, help create and save jobs, and help provide necessary relief to small businesses."

The House of Representatives approved the measure shortly after it passed in the Senate.

The Senate voted to give unemployed Americans some relief with an extension of time for unemployment benefits as well as an $8,000 homebuyer tax credit.

This was after weeks of debating over the issue. The legislation passed with a vote of 98 to 0.

According to CNN, "[t]he closely watched legislation would extend jobless benefits in all states by 14 weeks. Those that live in states with unemployment greater than 8.5% would receive an additional six weeks. The proposal would be funded by extending a longstanding federal unemployment tax on employers through June 30, 2011.

The measure would apply to those whose benefits will run out by Dec. 31, which is nearly two million people, according to Senate estimates. Those whose checks have already stopped would be able to reapply for another round."

There are 15 million unemployed Americans. Millions of these Americans depend on unemployment benefits.

The wellness incentives offered by your employer will be restricted by the government pretty soon. Starting Nov. 21, 2009, employer offered wellness programs will have to comply with new regulations under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. This Act is commonly known as GINA.

What is GINA?

GINA is the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act passed in Congress in 2008. It is intended to prohibit using genetic information in health insurance and employment improperly. Some improper uses are: denying health coverage, charging higher premiums based on genetic information, and using such information while hiring/firing/promoting.

Two waitresses from New York have filed a class action lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court against the risqué restaurant establishment for forcing them to buy and dry clean their skimpy uniforms without reimbursement.

The outfits which consist of orange hotpants, a tanktop, pantyhose and thick white socks costs less than $20 but under New York State labor law, an employer must supply its workers with uniforms if they are not regular street clothes.

Well the Hooters outfits are definitely not regular street clothes that's for sure!

There is another example today of why you should "think before you tweet". Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs is the latest casualty of Twitter backlash. He is in hot water over a series of tweets on his Twitter account where he bashes his head coach Todd Haley and also lashes out at a fellow Twitter user that goes by the user name of @jaredlaunius.