Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: The push-pull over labor protections; new Uber and Lyft driver cost calculations; University of Minnesota workers to get clearer path to unionize; labor blocks cut to paid family and medical leave; Minneapolis teachers reach tentative agreement, […] The post Biden admin and courts in tug of war over labor law — and other labor news appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

A state audit found the Minnesota Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Division did not comply with certain grants management policies, matching similar findings of a 2021 audit. The post State audit finds problems in DHS grant management — again   appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

Minnesotans, with their long-valued sense of fairness and decency, would never suggest that Fortune 500 corporations should boost their already-healthy revenues at the expense of our fellow citizens who are economically hurting and who have serious health care needs. And, yet, there is a bill pending in the Legislature that would enable the prosperous to […] The post Drug discount program is exploiting poor patients while corporate giants profit appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Environmental and clean energy groups celebrated the announcement as long overdue, particularly for coal-burning power plants, which have saddled hundreds of communities across the country with dirty air and […] The post New EPA rules will force fossil fuel power plants to cut pollution appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of former President Donald Trump’s argument he is immune from criminal charges that he tried to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. But conservatives who dominate the court appeared open to returning key questions to a trial court, possibly delaying Trump’s prosecution beyond the November […] The post U.S. Supreme Court floats return to trial court for Trump in presidential immunity case appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

House Democrats on Wednesday evening walked back a proposal that would have made the first week of Minnesota’s new paid family and medical leave program unpaid unless the worker could show that they had less than 80 hours of paid time off from their employer. Minnesota’s new paid leave program was a key Democratic victory […] The post After union pushback, House DFL cuts proposal to change first week of new leave program to unpaid appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday over former President Donald Trump’s pursuit of absolute immunity from criminal charges alleging that he schemed and knowingly fed lies to subvert the 2020 presidential election, eventually leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In the final argument of this term, the justices […] The post Trump’s claims of presidential immunity to be probed at U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

Before we get to the matter of state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, who’s been charged with burglarizing her stepmother’s home, let’s talk about the public’s perception of politicians.  Americans generally don’t like or trust them. In Gallup’s poll asking the public about the “honesty and ethical standards” of various professions, members of Congress are near […] The post To resign or not to resign appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

Republican senators filed an ethics complaint Wednesday against state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from Woodbury, after she was charged Tuesday with burglarizing her stepmother’s home.  The post Republicans press for ethics investigation into senator charged with burglary appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday new rules that will put refunds quickly back into air travelers’ pockets for canceled or delayed flights. The agency estimated that the new regulations will save consumers over a half billion dollars every year in airline fees. Under the new rules, which will go into effect beginning […] The post Feds require airlines to automatically refund passengers for canceled or delayed flights appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

More than 23,000 University of Minnesota employees — including adjunct lecturers, medical residents and student workers — will have a clearer path to unionize under a bill moving through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. While most workers form unions based on shared workplaces or similar job duties, state law explicitly circumscribes 13 possible bargaining units for University of Minnesota […] The post Bill would pave the way for more than 23,000 U of M staff and students to unionize appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

Minnesota senators are expected to adhere to “the highest standard of ethical conduct,” according to the legislative body’s rulebook. House members, similarly, must show “good citizenship and high personal integrity,” according to the House code of conduct. But living up to those standards has proven to be a challenge for at least six current lawmakers […] The post At least six current state lawmakers have been arrested while in office. None have resigned. appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

The Minneapolis city government’s research department released a new range of estimates of Uber and Lyft drivers’ expenses on Friday evening, although it may not resolve differences between city leaders and state lawmakers over minimum pay rates. One estimate perfectly matches those in a state report, while the other matches the significantly higher minimum pay […] The post Minneapolis research staff calculate new estimates of Uber and Lyft driver costs appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday over former President Donald Trump’s pursuit of absolute immunity from criminal charges alleging that he schemed and knowingly fed lies to subvert the 2020 presidential election, eventually leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In the final argument of this term, the justices […] The post Trump’s claims of presidential immunity to be probed at U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

The Biden administration has introduced a controversial set of new regulations intended to increase staffing levels and improve patient care in nursing homes. The new staffing rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has faced fierce opposition from the industry and Republicans in Congress. It establishes for the first time national minimum staffing […] The post Biden administration unveils new rule on nursing home staffing levels appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday announced a final rule that means millions of salaried workers who are employed in the executive, administrative or professional industries will become eligible for overtime pay. The rule will affect roughly 4 million workers in the first year of implementation and will be broken into two checkpoints. […] The post Millions of salaried workers to become eligible for overtime under new Biden rule appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York appeared to strongly disagree Tuesday with the former president’s lawyers’ explanation for why he should be considered in compliance with a gag order in the case. In a Tuesday morning hearing to determine whether to fine Trump for violating the order, Judge Juan Merchan warned […] The post NY judge spars with Trump lawyers over gag order in criminal trial appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

WASHINGTON — An additional $95 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan cleared the U.S. Senate after a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voted Tuesday to send it to President Joe Biden. The 79-18 vote wrapped up months of debate within Congress about whether the United States should approve the aid or […] The post U.S. Senate sends foreign aid bill to Biden as McConnell chides GOP ‘isolationist movement’ appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.

Rep. Hodan Hassan, DFL-Minneapolis, withdrew two bills that would’ve given nonprofit Somali Community Resettlement Services $6.5 million in grants after evidence prepared for a federal trial this week linked the nonprofit to a massive child nutrition fraud.  The post DFL lawmaker withdraws bills giving millions to nonprofit mentioned in Feeding Our Future case appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.