Sam Hananel

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  GOP seeks alternative to overtime pay

  By Sam Hananel  |  May 6, 2013

  It seems like a simple proposition: give employees who work more than 40 hours a week the option of taking paid time off instead of overtime pay.

• Puerto Rico to pay more than $35 million in back wages

  By Sam Hananel  |  April 12, 2013

  The commonwealth of Puerto Rico has agreed to pay more than $35 million in back wages to nearly 4,500 workers in a settlement reached with the Labor Department.

• Employers eager for new foreign worker program

  By Sam Hananel  |  April 10, 2013

  As desperate as unemployed Americans are to find work, there are still some jobs that many would never consider applying for because they are seen as too dirty, too demanding or just plain unappealing.

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  Justice official to be nominated to top Labor slot

  By Jim Kuhnhenn, Sam Hananel  |  March 18, 2013

  Seeking to fill yet another second-term Cabinet vacancy, President Barack Obama is set to nominate Thomas Perez, an assistant attorney general, to be the next secretary of labor, the White House says.

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  Obama poised to pick Perez for Labor

  By Jim Kuhnhenn, Sam Hananel  |  March 11, 2013

  President Barack Obama is close to naming Thomas Perez, a civil rights official in the Justice Department, as his choice to head the Department of Labor, two people familiar with the process say.

• Unions aim to soften impact of cuts on workers

  By Sam Hananel  |  February 27, 2013

  Federal employee labor unions are trying to soften the blow for more than 1 million government workers who may be forced to take unpaid time off if mandatory budget cuts kick in this week.

• Unions begin 14-city push for immigration reform

  By Sam Hananel  |  February 8, 2013

  Union leaders are rolling out a 14-city campaign to mobilize support for President Barack Obama's immigration overhaul plans.

• Report defends family, medical leave law

  By Sam Hananel  |  February 6, 2013

  Just 16 percent of eligible workers took time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act last year to recover from an illness, care for a new child or tend to a sick relative, according to a government report released on the law’s 20th anniversary Tuesday. Most employers said the...

• Unions suffer sharp decline in membership

  By Sam Hananel  |  January 23, 2013

  The nation’s labor unions suffered sharp declines in membership last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, led by losses in the public sector as cash-strapped state and local governments laid off workers and — in some cases — limited collective bargaining rights.

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  Labor secretary tells colleagues she is resigning

  By Sam Hananel  |  January 9, 2013

  Labor Secretary Hilda Solis resigned her post on Wednesday, saying she plans to return to her native California. She is expected to run for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.