Ensuring student safety in the classroom is paramount. Inappropriate uses of seclusion and restraint against students are never acceptable, but a one-size-fits-all mandate handed down from Washington is the wrong way to ensure students’ safety. “When an authority figure in the classroom has to take measures to keep order and safety, several things are happening at once . . . In the best of situati... Read more »
Workers in the health care and social service industries operate in unique circumstances that can put their safety in jeopardy. These workers, like all workers, deserve protections from workplace violence, and the Trump administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently working to create a standard to further protect these workers. While the rulemaking process is un... Read more »
I wish we could outlaw stupidity. I really do. Discrimination on the basis of sex is wrong, and it is illegal. Paying women less than men for equal work performed is wrong, and it is illegal. Bad managers who try to get away with it anyway are wrong. They’re breaking the law. They’re also stupid. They are stupid for not recognizing the value of every employee, especially working women. They are st... Read more »
Promises are a funny thing. Promises have the unique power to inspire hope – immense hope – in millions of people dreaming of something better than the status quo. The federal government’s history tells a story of big promises. But making promises is easy. Making good on those promises is the hard part, and nobody in this room should be willing to make a promise that won’t be kept. Philosophically... Read more »
Today, Committee Democrats held markups on two tired, empty, and utterly unworkable bills. H.R. 865, the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, will result in $70 billion in costs to taxpayers, increased costs to states and school districts, and considerable bureaucracy and red tape in exchange for little grants to a few school districts. H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, offers no new protections agains... Read more »
Today, Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (NC-05) announced plans to hold five bipartisan hearings on higher education, marking the formal start of an effort the reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) in the 116th Congress. The joint announcement reflects the Committee’s shared intention to host a thoughtful and open exchange of ideas for improving America’s higher education system. Read more »
ICYMI:Terry L. Stoops: Addressing school facilities needs requires fresh ideas By Terry L. Stoops—Wednesday February 20, 2019 On Feb. 12, Sharon Contreras, superintendent of Guilford County Schools, appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor to discuss teacher compensation and school facilities. She offered sobering statistics on the age and condition of school buildings and ... Read more »
Women deserve equal pay for equal work. Congress affirmed this value with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal to pay different wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work. Everyone in this room must continue to uphold and defend this important principle, but the legislation under discussion today, the so-called Paycheck Fairness Act, is the wrong approach to ensure that current equal pay protections are fortified. Read more »
Women deserve equal pay for equal work. In 1963, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act with the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal to pay different wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work. The following year, Congress approved the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made it illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sex. Read more »
In 1963 and 1964, Congress passed a series of acts making it illegal to pay employees different wages on the basis of sex and for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex. These important laws laid the foundation for the modern-day workplace and stated unequivocally that discrimination will not be tolerated. Read more »
