Dear Secretary Solis: On December 19, 2011, the Carolina Journal reported what appears to be a potential unauthorized release of unemployment numbers gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The accusation was based on a review of emails between the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina and North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue's office . The emails contain BLS statewide unem... Read more »
Dear Governor Perdue: On December 19, 2011, the Carolina Journal reported a potential unauthorized release of unemployment numbers gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The accusation was based on emails between the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina (ESCNC) and your office. The emails contain BLS statewide unemployment data for the private sector and state and municipal ... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: I am informed that Mr. Jack Kuzar, who was leading the internal review of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) actions related to the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster, is no longer serving on te internal review team. Mr. Kuzar's appointment to lead the internal review was publicly announced on May 4, 2010, and it has been the public's understanding that he was co... Read more »
Dear Acting General Counsel Solomon: We write to renew and expand our request for documents and communications relating to your complaint against The Boeing Company (Boeing). While the case has been closed, immediate congressional oversight is necessary to settle a number of unresolved issues regarding the theory and disposition of the case. Thousands of jobs in South Carolina and many more acros... Read more »
Dear Secretary Main: Recently, an investigative report uncovered an incident in which the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) failed to transmit a critical technical support document to the affected mine operator. Unfortunately, this is not the first time such a lapse in communication has occurred. MSHA has acknowledged that a 2003 report addressing methane outbursts at Massey Energy’s U... Read more »
Dear Assistant Secretary Borzi: On July 26, 2011, you testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions ("HELP Subcommittee") at a hearing entitled: Redefining "Fiduciary": Assessing the Impact of the Labor Department's Proposal on Workers and Retirees. At this hearing, a bipartisan group of lawmakers called on the U.S. Depa... Read more »
Dear Chairman Pearce: On June 22, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a proposed regulation that could substatntially shorten the time between the filing of the petition for an election and the election and limit the opportunity for a full evidentiary hearing or Board review of contested issues, including the composition of the bargaining unit. At the close of the comment per... Read more »
Dear Secretary Duncan: On October 26, the president announced his intention to unilaterally alteral federal policies governing federal student loans. I share the administration's concern with the high cost of higher education and the burden of debt it places on students and their families. However, numerous questions surround the president's latest proposal, including its impact on taxpayers. To ... Read more »
The Honorable Mark G. Pearce Chairman National Labor Relations Board 1099 14th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20570 Dear Chairman Pearce: In its 2007 Dana Corp. decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provided workers and rival unions 45-days in which to demand a secret-ballot election when their employer voluntarily recognized a union. According to the most recent statistics, the NLRB... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: On April 26, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its Spring 2010 Semiannual Regulatory Agenda in the Federal Register. This agenda noted DOL’s intention to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service (the “anticipated rulemaking”). It is our understanding that the anticipated rulemaking ... Read more »
