By Tim Henderson
Stateline.org/TNS
Even as average personal incomes rose during the pandemic largely because of government aid, millions of people who didn’t receive such help have fallen into poverty, struggling to pay for food and other basic expenses.
That group, trying to get by with the help of local charities, may have been excluded from the federal payments because of immigration status, lack of time in the labor force needed to claim unemployment benefits, or just red tape in states that have been slow to pay jobless claims.
The situation in the Houston area is particularly desperate, with almost half of residents struggling to pay basic expenses in the week ending Dec. 7, according to a Census Bureau survey. That share has grown 10 points since October to 48.4 percent, the highest of the 15 metro areas included. In Miami and Riverside, Ca., more than 45 percent of people said they had trouble paying for routine expenses such as food, rent and car payments.
Firing Workers on the Bossâs Whim? New York Puts a Stop to That.
American workers have no recourse if theyâre fired for no reason. NYCâs new âjust causeâ law for fast-food workers might begin to end this absurdity.
McDonaldâs french fries over Times Square, September 2, 2020, in New York
New York City just became the first major American city to enact a law that gives a large swath of workersâNew Yorkâs 67,000 fast-food workersââjust causeâ protections, meaning that these workers can only be fired for a legitimate reason, that their employers can no longer fire them âat will.â
Press release content from Globe Newswire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.
Advocates Urge Legislature to Help Half Million New Yorkers by Fixing Broken Unemployment System
Robin Hood FoundationDecember 18, 2020 GMT
New York’s Flawed Partial Unemployment Insurance Program Disproportionately Harms Women and Persons of Color and Threatens Economic Recovery
Coalition Calls of Passage of Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Stirpe & State Senator Ramos (A446/S5754) to fix the system and strengthen the economy.
NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) With COVID-19 infections on the rise, a sluggish economic rebound, and critical provisions in the CARES Act set to expire in just two weeks, a coalition of leading advocacy groups and nonprofits including Robin Hood, the National Employment Law Project, and the Empire Justice Center today called on the New York State Legislature to avert stifling the state’s economic recovery and mitigate rising hardship for