Tag: Congress

Employers Face Decisions for 2010 While Health Care Reform Is Debated

Employers’ HR and benefits teams are facing the question of what to do in response to pending health care reform. Competing health care proposals are being hotly debated by Congress and the White House in Washington, D.C., and by legislators and their constituents around the country. The debate presents the full range of options, from […]

May: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, […]

Democrats Introduce the Employee Free Choice Act

The Democrats blazed ahead into battle today (March 10) by introducing the much-anticipated Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in both houses of Congress. EFCA, which has been the subject of countless debates, is a controversial bill that would allow a majority of employees to form a union by signing card-check petitions. Under the Employee Free […]

March: Women’s History Month

National Women’s History Month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress […]

Mother’s Day: May 11, 2008: Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau

The driving force behind Mother’s Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized observances in Grafton, West Virginia, and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, she asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She finally succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday […]