Good morning, and welcome to the Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, June 20, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, great to have you with us today, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Louisiana’s new Ten Commandments law is a first in the nation, a federal judge says medical accommodations don’t apply to one particular procedure, and there’s more fallout regarding previous COVID-19 mandates. The Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding overtime pay—and beware of Social Security payment scams.
New Louisiana Law Requires Ten Commandments Be Displayed in All Classrooms
Under the new law, Louisiana schools that receive state funds will have to display the Ten Commandments in each building and each classroom. The bill specifies that the text must be the main focal point of a poster or framed document, measuring at least 11 by 14 inches, and printed in a large and easily read font. It also requires something called a 200-word “context statement” explaining that the Ten Commandments were “a prominent part of American public education” for many years.The measure was spearheaded by Louisiana state Rep. Dodie Horton. Last year, Ms. Horton successfully led a legislative effort to require that the national motto “In God We Trust” be displayed in classrooms across the state.
So you know, while more than a dozen states have laws requiring or allowing schools to display the phrase “In God We Trust,” the Louisiana law goes one step further in requiring signage in each individual classroom.
Federal Judge Blocks Rule Requiring Employers to Accommodate Employee Abortions
A federal judge is blocking the enforcement of a rule in Louisiana and Mississippi that requires employers to provide accommodations to employees who are seeking elective abortions.The rule was issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this past April implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in a way that included abortion in the definition of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”
The plaintiffs, which include the attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi and some religious organizations, argued that inclusion of abortion under the definition of pregnancy-related medical conditions was an attempt to hijack the provisions of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in order to impose a national abortion exception.
In granting the injunction, U.S. District Judge David Joseph said that the EEOC exceeded its statutory authority in issuing the rule and also unlawfully infringed on the sovereign rights of both states.
The injunction effectively blocks the EEOC from initiating any investigation into claims that a covered employer failed to accommodate an abortion that is not medically necessary related to pregnancy. It also prevents the EEOC from taking legal action on behalf of employees who choose to sue their employers for not accommodating them in getting an elective abortion.
Appeals Court Revives Case Against COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is reviving a case against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in favor of firefighters who sued both the city of Spokane and the state of Washington.In the ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson said that the city “showed callous disregard to the firefighters’ Free Exercise rights” when they applied for exemptions to the Spokane COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were denied.
City officials imposed the mandate on all health care providers after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation, ordering providers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and Spokane firefighters fell under that mandate.
Firefighters who submitted exemptions on religious or medical grounds sued the city and the state after the city refused to accommodate them. City officials said that employing unvaccinated personnel would delay emergency response times. The firefighters disagreed, but said the city could have still accommodated them by moving them to different roles or requiring testing and masking in lieu of vaccination.
Interesting to note that several neighboring cities granted accommodations to their firefighters, and under pre-existing agreements, those cities sent firefighters to Spokane to work at certain times. That means Spokane firefighters were being treated differently than firefighters from outside the city, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which Judge Nelson cited in his ruling. The case has now been sent back to the lower court for reconsideration.
Supreme Court to Review Evidence Standards for Employers in Overtime Exemption Cases
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the standards of evidence for employers trying to prove that their workers should not qualify for overtime pay and other legal protections provided by U.S. wage laws.The petitioner, E.M.D. Sales, distributes Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American foods to grocery stores in and around the nation’s capital.
Three employees sued the company, arguing that they should receive overtime pay because they routinely work 60 hours per week.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which covers more than 140 million workers nationwide, guarantees eligible employees a minimum wage and overtime pay. However, the statute also contains 34 exemptions from those mandates; for example, employers don’t have to pay overtime to executives, agricultural workers, or outside sales workers.
The legal issue here is whether employers have to prove the applicability of an FLSA exemption on a preponderance of the evidence, as six federal courts of appeal hold, or by the stricter clear-and-convincing-evidence standard, which only the Appeals Court for the Fourth Circuit upholds.
The salesmen acknowledged that they spend most of their time outside of the company’s main office serving stores along their routes but disputed the company’s claim that their primary responsibility is making sales.
The Supreme Court will hear the case in its new term, which begins in October.
Social Security Agency Sounds Alarm Over $600 Payment Scam
The Social Security Administration is sounding the alarm this week over a $600 payment increase scam that’s being promoted online. Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley says no Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase will occur until January 2025.You should know that the agency typically announces the cost-of-living adjustment in October, factoring in federal inflation data for the previous three months.
The agency’s inspector general says reports of a $600 payment increase are false and that the public should be aware of scammers who try to gain their personal information related to receiving an increase in Social Security payments.
The inspector general also says the annual cost-of-living increases issued by SSA are always automatic and that no additional information is required for anyone to receive the legitimate COLA increase.
Social Security-related scams are very common, according to a March report from the Federal Trade Commission, which says it’s the number one government imposter scam in the nation.
In 2023, consumers reported losing more than $126 million in Social Security-related scams.
We’re all in this together, and we’ve got to watch each other’s backs. Just trying to keep you safe from fraud.
Looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
At some point today, we hope you’ll tell a friend or two about our program as we’re always trying to grow the ever-expanding News Brief family—and we’re doing all we can to become the biggest and best brief on the planet.
Nancy Maki checks in from Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and says, Thanks for your succinct coverage of “primary interest” topics.
We also heard from Leah in Upland, California (about an hour east of Downtown Los Angeles).
And my pal Karl Reik sent us an email from his home base in Denver, Colorado.
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and we’re always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote:
Author Steve Maraboli said: “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.”
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas. We appreciate you spending a bit of your Thursday with us, enjoy the rest of your day, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief! Have a spectacular day today. Bye for now.
