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Roanoke ER doc seeks $20M in landmark whistleblower lawsuit
A Roanoke Valley emergency room doctor’s $20 million lawsuit goes to jury trial this week, with Dr. Thomas Bolton alleging that he was fired for complaining that HCA Healthcare‘s emphasis on shorter ER wait times at LewisGale Medical Center and its Cave Spring ER had a negative impact on patient safety. The case is believed […]
Applications for jobless benefits inch up, but layoffs remain low, labor market healthy
Slightly more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain historically low. U.S. jobless claims filings rose by 2,000 to 223,000 for the week ending March 15, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s just less than the 224,000 new applications analysts forecast. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, […]
While Youngkin celebrates Virginia’s labor force gains, economists warn of future unemployment
Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he feels good about the state’s employment landscape. In an announcement Tuesday, the governor celebrated that Virginia added 7,100 more jobs in January 2025, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). “More Virginians are working than ever in the commonwealth as jobs and opportunity continue to expand […]
Pentagon is cutting up to 60,000 civilian jobs. About a third of those took voluntary resignations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday. To reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut in a civilian workforce of more […]
Perdue Farms agrees to $4M settlement in child labor probe
Perdue Farms has agreed to pay $4 million in restitution to settle a federal investigation into alleged child labor violations at the company‘s poultry processing plant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced it had launched a probe into alleged child labor violations at the […]
Providers, nonprofits, colleges battle health care labor crisis
Many people may be aware by now that the United States is battling a shortage of nurses and physicians, but what’s received significantly less attention is that numerous other health care occupations — from home health aides to medical laboratory technicians to physical therapists — also are facing a short supply of workers. “People think […]
Glen Allen’s Snagajob is acquired by Boston’s JobGet
JobGet, a Boston-based hourly jobs listings platform, last week announced that it has acquired rival Snagajob in Glen Allen. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to Tony Liu, cofounder and CEO of JobGet. Snagajob will operate as a standalone entity within JobGet, creating the United States’ largest hourly workforce job platform. […]
Smithfield Foods to pay $2M to settle child labor claims
A subsidiary of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods has agreed to pay $2 million to settle allegations it hired children to work at a meat packaging plant in Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Smithfield’s operation in Minnesota allegedly employed at least 11 children between the ages of 14 and 17 during the […]
If Trump cuts federal workforce, Warner predicts ‘disaster’ for Va.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said Thursday he hopes President-elect Donald Trump won’t pursue massive cuts and relocations in the federal workforce — because if he does, it would be a “disaster for Virginia’s economy,” particularly in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. “We would get hit worse than any other state,” Virginia’s senior senator said. Warner, [&he[...]
Vibe check
No studies have found a higher prevalence of clairvoyance among labor market experts than in the average population. Since they can’t see the future, these professionals sift through data and surveys to figure out what the coming months may hold. Some reading these tea leaves have predicted employers may soon be suffering through another wave […]
Mind the gap
Margaret Abrams was studying engineering at Liberty University when she came across an online job advertisement from Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries. HII, Virginia’s largest industrial employer, was offering a $2,500 signing bonus to job candidates who successfully completed a 16-week computer numerical control training at the Navy’s Advanced Training in Defense Manufa[...]
Top Five November 2024
1 | U.S. port strike stops cargo operations at Port of Va. About 45,000 union dockworkers walked off the job at every major port along the East and Gulf coasts until they ended the strike after reaching a tentative deal three days later. (Oct. 1) 2 | Three Va. universities have […]
