2019 Was Not a Great Year for the U.S. Economy

Photo Credit: Water & Waste Digest, March 25, 2019, Huntington, WV

Adriana Cohen is an up-and-coming contributor to Fox News. She writes in the Boston Herald today, “Trump Deserves Credit for Strong Economy – ‘Expert’ Predictions of Disaster Were All Wrong.” 

She cites Apple’s 80% increase in value; wage growth of 3.1%; and record low unemployment.

Here is a report on West Virginia from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia. I was in Huntington in July 2019 for a workday. It was the same Huntington I have visited over the past 15-20 years.

WEST VIRGINIA December Summary

Reports on West Virginia’s economy varied in recent weeks as payroll employment increased but the unemployment rate rose as well. Meanwhile, housing market reports were mixed. 

Labor Markets: Total payroll employment in West Virginia rose by 500 jobs (0.1 percent), on net, in October. The largest increases were in professional and business services (700 jobs) and trade, transportation, and utilities (400 jobs). Some other industries saw smaller gains, of about 100 jobs, and others held steady. Employment fell over the month in construction (600 jobs), information (100 jobs), and financial activities (200 jobs). 

Since October 2018, West Virginia employers added 3,200 jobs (0.4 percent growth), on net. The most jobs were added in education and health services (1,700 jobs), while leisure and hospitality saw the largest percentage increase of 1.9 percent. 

On a year-over-year basis professional and business services and “other” services each decreased employment by a net 1,000 jobs, and smaller decreases were also reported in information and mining and logging.

Household Conditions: The unemployment rate in West Virginia rose 0.1 percentage point to 4.8 percent in October, 0.3 percentage point below its October 2018 reading. In the third quarter of 2019, the share of mortgages in West Virginia with payments 90 or more days past due fell to 1.1 percent. 

Delinquency rates for fixed and adjustable rate conventional loans also decreased in the second quarter to rates of 0.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. In the second quarter of 2019, real personal income in West Virginia rose 0.4 percent and was up 2.6 percent since the second quarter of 2018.

Housing Markets: West Virginia issued 242 new residential permits in October, down slightly from 256 permits in September but up slightly from the 221 permits issued last October. Compared to September, the Charleston and Parkersburg MSAs saw an increase in permitting activity, but Huntington and Morgantown saw a decrease. Housing starts in West Virginia totaled 2,500 at an annual rate in October, down from 3,000 starts in September but up slightly from 2,400 starts in October 2018. 

According to CoreLogic Information Solutions, home values in the state appreciated 1.0 percent in September and increased 3.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. 

Can Your Employer Pay You Based on Your Schedule, Not Actual Hours Worked?

Photo Credit: UCLA Labor Center

Federal and state wage laws require employers to keep accurate records of hours worked: If an employee exceeds 40 hours of work in a week, she must be paid at time and a half.

American Airlines pays hourly employees based on their schedule, not their actual hours. Specifically (and now I quote a court ruling):

“American’s timekeeping system is programmed to calculate pay for employees only for the duration of their shifts, excluding an automatic deduction for a 30-minute meal break. If an employee clocks in before the employee’s shift begins or clocks out after the shift ends, the timekeeping system defaults 4 to assuming that the employee only worked during the shift, rather than working any extra time. American calls those pre- and post-shift clock-in time durations “grace periods.”

The grace periods allow employees to avoid having to clock in exactly when their shift begins or clock out exactly when their shift ends.

Similarly, the timekeeping system’s assumption that an employee takes a 30-minute meal break during a shift means that employees do not have to return to the time clock before and after each meal break.

If employees actually do perform work during grace periods or meal breaks, American’s policy requires them to identify for a supervisor the time they worked outside of their shift and ask for approval of that time as an “exception” to their ordinary work hours. Otherwise, they are not paid for the time worked outside of their shift.”

The employees who sued are claiming failure to pay overtime and for time actually worked.

They are fleet service employees (they handle cargo, assist with lavatory services, and help maneuver aircrafts in and around hangars), mechanics (they perform repairs and updates on airplanes), and passenger service agents (they check passengers in and manage boarding at the gates).

On Monday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that this class of employees must be broken into more similar categories.

The case is a good reminder, however, that employers must pay of work performed before a shift and after a shift, if the work is “indispensable” to the primary functions of a job. If an employee must don special attire, or perform a safety check on equipment, or spend time logging in and out of a computer system that time is compensable.

It may not seem like much—maybe 6 minutes before a shift, and 6 minutes after a shift each day. Take those 12 minutes and multiply by five working days, and that an employee has actually worked 41 hours, not 40 hours. And if they are paid, say, $20 per hour, they are due $30 for each week that the employer “estimated” their pay (that's because the pre- and post-shift work added up to make the last hour worked an overtime hour). And if this process occurred for two years and the employee worked for 50 weeks each year, the employee is due 100 * $30, or $3,000 (plus attorney’s fees).
Thanks to Janet for the lead on this story!

Bra Update: Legal and Labor Developments

Are Polish-made bras superior? We’ll get to that in a moment.

Can an employer require employees to wear a bra? This was the subject of a USA Today column recently, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2019/12/17/different-dress-codes-men-and-women-generally-allowed-ask-hr/2675069001/.

The answer is correct:

When it comes to sex discrimination, gender-based dress and appearance policies are one area where the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the courts allow employers to treat men and women differently. Where the courts have drawn the line, however, is when a heavier burden is placed on one sex than on the other. For example, your employer likely wouldn’t be allowed to list 10 different dress code policies for women and only 2 for men.

A lead case in this area is Jespersen v. Harrah’s Casino (2006), listed here https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1438457.html.

A female bar tender with a 20-year record of successful employment quit after she was told she would be disciplined for not conforming to the casino’s new requirement that women wear make-up.

This is another area where women face subtle but significant discrimination: They may be required to pay hundreds of dollars more than men just to meet basic grooming and appearance standards.

Now for the Polish bra story. This was a feature in yesterday’s New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/25/style/polish-bras.html).

The story is reminiscent of drapery-making in Flanders in the 1500s. Skilled labor and nimble entrepreneurs developed a market for premium drapes when they utilized highly skilled labor.

The bras in Poland are similar in that respect:

“Most Polish bras, even those made by larger manufacturers, are still designed and constructed in Poland by hand, with fabrics and laces from Italy and Spain.”

For employees who are looking for these superior Polish exports, they are sold under the Nessa and Ewa Michalak brands in the U.S.

“‘You Shall Love the Alien as Yourself’: Hope, Hospitality, and Love of the Stranger in the Teachings of Jesus”

For Christmas, I share a recent research article on immigration and Christian faith by Prof. David B. Gowler, in Religions (2019). Gowler is a professor in the Religion Department at Emory University.

***

Introduction: With the Trump Administration Immigration Policy, “the Cruelty Is the Point”

“[T]his administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart. Compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders.”—Stacey Abrams, Democratic Response to the State of the Union Address, 5 February 2019.

If majority-culture Christians do embrace the immigrant—whether documented or undocumented—this stance could mark them in a particular way as foreigners and strangers in that they would be going against the current of a good portion of public opinion. To take that stand on the basis of biblical convictions may lead to opposition from the broader majority culture. According to 1 Peter, to suffer for doing good is a privilege and part of the pilgrimage of faith. (Carroll 2013, pp. 118–19)

***

The family escaped in the dead of night. Like countless other immigrants who were refugees, they lived in a country oppressed by a ruthless tyrant, and they feared for the safety of their young child. They fled under cover of darkness and traveled hundreds of miles to a distant land where they hoped they would be safe.

This family, the story goes, was fortunate. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escaped the murderous rampage of Herod the Great and found refuge in Egypt, although, the Gospel of Matthew reports, “all the children in and around Bethlehem” were killed on Herod’s orders (Matt. 2:13–18). 

Matthew’s story of the flight into Egypt gives no details about how the family was received, where they stayed, or how they supported themselves. Apparently, they were able to live in peace as resident aliens until they could safely return—albeit to Nazareth, not Bethlehem.

Two thousand years later, refugees are still fleeing nations plagued by war, gangs, political oppression, or civil unrest, and they seek asylum in countries far from their homes but where, they hope, they will be safe and able to rebuild their lives. Most of them do not receive the same welcome or the same freedom to live their lives in peace. In the United States, for example, such refugees and asylum seekers have become the targets of an administration that demonizes these human beings to gain what it believes is a political advantage over its opponents.

Should the GOP Decide Who Is a Jew?

Jews have nationality and race status, according to President Trump’s executive order. Now comes Rudy Giuliani to declare that George Soros— a Jew born in Hungary, like my Dad, and a Jew who survived the Holocaust, like my Dad— is less of a Jew than the Giuliani, a Catholic.

To put this in broader perspective: The GOP’s recent efforts to declare Jewish identity has a historical precedent. A bill in Britain was passed in 1753 to make Jews English citizens. Prior to that, Jews had legal presence but had legal disabilities because they weren’t citizens.

Some Jews were uncomfortable with having their religious identity a matter of public debate. They foresaw that this type of public debate would raise old prejudices against them. And they were right.

The London Post ran a series of Op-Ed pieces that depicted Jews as threats and traitors to the nation. 

Here are two brief snippets from a research article by Prof. G.A. Cranfield, The ‘London Evening Post’ and the Jew Bill of 1753.

***

'Britannicus', one of the Post's most forceful writers, entered the lists with a sarcastic account of 'the many great Advantages that will accrue to this Nation by naturalising Jews.’ According to 'Britannicus', it is not to be doubted but all the Hebrew Race wheresoever scatter'd, will flock over, and this Nation be enrich'd with all the Tribes of Israel.... That when they are naturalis'd, they will buy Lands, is also reasonable to suppose. That when they are Possessors of Land, they will have Votes for Members of Parliament, is a Certainty... That they will therefore... chuse Members of Parliament, who can doubt, if we reflect on the vast Riches they are Masters of, and the Manner in which our Boroughs have of late elected?

And this:

To add emphasis to these various strictures, the vicious little verses for which the Post had become notorious in the past, but which recently had faded from its pages, now returned as a regular feature, in such items as 'A Call to the Jews': Come, Abram's Sons, from ev'ry Quarter come, Britain now bids you call her Land your own ... Revenge (your fav'rite Passion) you may hoist, And once more triumph o'er the Cross of Christ.

***

Back to Giuliani: His pronouncements regarding Soros have a similar quality. Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote on Twitter: "Opposing Soros isn't what's #antiSemitic. Saying that he controls ambassadors, employs FBI agents and isn't 'Jewish enough' to be demonized is."

Hall of Shame College Coaches

Kansas Coach Mark Mangino (Later Fired for Verbally and Emotionally Abusing Players)

The NCAA football bowl season is upon us, and NCAA basketball turns to conference play. The stakes are higher and higher for coaches, as they chase lucrative contracts for winning.
Here is an incomplete list of coaches who were fired or resigned due to abuse allegations.  
Some people dismiss all of this as "hard coaching." 
At times, however, it crosses into clear criminal behavior. Even the milder abuse stories raise the question: Where else on a university or college campus is an employee entitled to call some a n*****, or a c***, or a p****, or a m*****f*****, or shove them, or break them down emotionally to the point of contemplating suicide? 
To the 50% of teams that lose their next game, here's hoping that your coach is a decent human being and comports himself/herself like faculty members who are obligated to treat students with respect.

Sean Woods, Men’s Head Basketball Head Coach Morehead State University Resigned (2016). Woods resigned after multiple players and a parent accused him abusive behavior, including head-butting a player and halftime locker room with players. Matt Norlander, Morehead State Coach Resigns after Investigation, Charges, Abuse Allegations, CBSSPORTS.COM, at https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/morehead-state-coach-resigns-after-investigation-charges-abuse-allegations/ Woods was charged with criminal battery. Kyle Boone, Report: Morehead State Basketball Coach Facing Battery Charge (Dec. 13, 2016), CBSSPORTS.COM, at https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/report-morehead-state-basketball-coach-facing-battery-charge/

Jim Leavitt, South Florida Head Football Coach (2010), Fired. Leavitt was fired for striking a player during a game and interfering in the school’s investigation. Leavitt was later hired as the defensive coordinator at the University of Oregon. Dennis Dodd, Jim Leavitt Back in College Game, While Player He Struck Is Struggling (Feb. 10, 2016), CBSSPORTS.COM, at https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jim-leavitt-back-in-college-game-while-player-he-struck-is-struggling/.

Mike Leach, Texas Tech Head Football Coach (2011), Fired. Published news reports state that Leach ordered a player to “stand in a dark shed at the Tech football practice facility because he thought (he) was faking a concussion.” Leach reportedly repeated the treatment, ordering the player to stand in another dark room for three hours. Emily Friedman, Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach Fired After Claim of Abuse, ABCNews (Dec. 30, 2009), at https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-tech-university-football-coach-mike-leach-fired/story?id=9449169. Leach was later hired as Washington State University Head Coach.

Mark Mangino, Kansas Head Football Coach Resigned (2009). University opened investigation into accusations that Mangino verbally and emotionally abused players. Associated Press, Kansas Coach Quits Under Fire, N.Y.Times (Dec. 3, 2009), at https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/sports/ncaabasketball/04kansas.html. Mangino was later hired as offensive coordinator for Iowa State University. Associated Press, Mark mangino Leaves Iowa State Football Program, Los Angeles Times (Oct. 26, 2015), at https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-college-football-notes-20151027-story.html.

Greg Winslow, University of Utah Head Swimming Coach, Suspended (2013). Greg Winslow was accused of abusing an underage girl over two-year period, according to a police report. A published report said that Winslow also came to practice drunk; had outbursts of anger, including once punching an assistant coach; used racial slurs; and once forced a team member to swim underwater with his hands tied to a PVC pipe that was strapped to his back until he blacked out, according to a parent. Associated Press, Utah Hires Out for New Investigation, ESPN (March 11, 2013), at https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9040762/utah-utes-open-new-investigation-greg-winslow.

Mike Rice, Rutgers University Head Basketball Coach, Suspended and Fired (2013). Practice videos of Rice showed him hurling a basketball at close range at players’ heads, legs, and feet; shoving and grabbing players, and screaming obscenities and homophobic slurs. Don Van Natta Jr., Video Shows Mike Rice’s Ire, ESPN (April 2, 2013). Also see Steve Eder and Kate Zernike, Rutgers Leaders Are Faulted on Abusive Coach, N.Y. Times (April 3, 2013), at https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/sports/ncaabasketball/rutgers-fires-basketball-coach-after-video-surfaces.html. Rice was hired in 2019 to coach an elite high school basketball feeder for NCAA and NBA prospects. Jerry Carino, Mike Rice on His New Venture: Princeton Arts and Sports Academy, Asbury Park Press (May 1, 2019), at https://www.app.com/story/sports/high-school/basketball/2019/05/01/mike-rice-princeton-arts-sports-academy/3631272002/

Petra Martin, Rutgers University, Women’s Head Swimming Coach, Fired. See Rutgers Fires Head Swimming Coach Petra Martin, Swimming World (Nov. 16, 2017), at https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/rutgers-fires-head-womens-swimming-coach-petra-martin/. Martin was fired over allegations that she “shamed athletes over their weight, used abusive language during training, and sessions and demanded they stop using medication prescribed by their doctors for anxiety and other issues.” 

Sylvia Hatchell, University of North Carolina Women’s Basketball Coach, Resigned. The coach was accused of racial insensitivity, including a warning to black players that a loss would “lead to nooses.” Marc Tracy and Alan Blinder, Sylvia Hatchell Is Out at U.N.C. After Inquiry Supports Team’s Complaints, N.Y. Times (April 19, 2019), at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/sports/basketball/north-carolina-sylvia-hatchell.html.

Larry Cochell, University of Oklahoma Baseball Coach, Resigned (2005). Cochell resigned as after he used a racial slur to describe one of his African American players during off-camera interviews with ESPN. Eric Stephens, Details of Cochell’s Use of Racial Slur Disclosed, Los Angeles Times (May 3, 2005), available https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-03-sp-cochell3-story.html (Cochell said to Thorne: “There are honkies and white people, and there are niggers and black people. Dunigan is a good black kid,” and told Peterson, “There’s no nigger in him.”)

Brian Meehan, Brandeis University Men’s Basketball Coach, Fired (2018). Meehan was fired after an outside investigation corroborated allegations of racism and abusive behavior towards his players. Prince Lobell, Summary Report of the Independent Investigation

of Complaints Related to the Brandeis University Men's Basketball Program: Part One

(August 22, 2018), at https://www.brandeis.edu/president/letters/pdfs/independent-investigation-report.pdf.

Ehren Earleywine, University of Missouri Women’s Softball Coach, Fired (2018). He was investigated in 2016 for alleged verbal abuse of players but was retained. In 2018, he was fired just before the season started for unspecified reasons, though the athletic director said “we have lost confidence in Coach Earleywine's leadership to foster the type of healthy environment we expect for our student-athletes.” Graham Hays, Missouri Fires Softball Coach Ehren Earleywine After 11 Seasons (jan. 26, 2018), at https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/22224960/missouri-tigers-dismiss-softball-coach-ehren-earleywine-11-seasons

Ric Seeley, Quinnipiac University Coach of Women’s Ice Hockey, Fired (2015): Seeley was accused of abusive behavior during his time at the university, including taking a slap shot at a player's head, telling players to kill themselves, and grabbing a player by her jersey in a game at Harvard University in 2015. Brett Bodner, Former Quinnipiac Women’s Hockey Coach Accused of Physically and Verbally Abusing Players, Daily News (April 13, 2017), at https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/quinnipiac-women-hockey-coach-accused-abusing-players-article-1.3052194

Matt Heath, College of Charleston Head Baseball Coach Fired (2017). Heath was fired shortly after the school launched an investigation into allegations of abusive behavior by Heath toward his players. Andrew Miller, College of Charleston fires baseball coach Matt Heath, The Post and Courier (June 30, 2017), at https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/college-of-charleston-fires-baseball-coach-matt-heath/article_36f02ebc-5ded-11e7-8673-e7801f3a3aa9.html.

Kellie Young, University of Louisville Women’s Soccer Coach, Fired (2017). Young was fired twelve days after a local newspaper reported a former player accused Young of negligence, an accusation that was similar to news reports in 2012 that Young used abusive coaching tactics with players. Danielle Lerner, Former U of L Lacrosse Coach Fired ‘Without Cause,' Courier Journal (Dec. 4, 2017), at https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2017/12/04/former-louisville-lacrosse-coach-kellie-young-fired-without-cause-contract/919406001/

Larry Eustachy, Colorado State University Men’s Basketball Coach, Resigned (2017). Eustachy resigned after being put on leave for a “climate assessment” evaluation of his program. In 2013-2014, an investigation at CSU recommended he be fired for emotionally and verbally abusing his players and creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. ESPN News Services, Larry Eustachy Stepping Down at Colorado State after Being Put on Administrative Leave, ESPN (Feb. 26, 2018), at https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22589155/larry-eustachy-stepping-colorado-state-rams-head-coach.

Tim Beckman, University of Illinois Football Coach, Fired (2015). Beckman was fired after an outside investigation concluded that he deterred players from reporting injuries and attempted to influence decisions to postpone medical treatment and continue playing despite their injuries. Vinnie Duber, Report Contains Ugly Details of Tim Beckman’s Behavior as Illini Coach, NBCSports (Nov. 9, 2015), at https://www.google.com/search?q=tim+beckman&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS820US820&oq=tim+beckman&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l4j35i39l2j0.3487j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

GOP Judge Accused of Courthouse Threesomes: “Remember Who You Are and Whom You Serve”

Another GOP elected official is facing impeachment. Justice Dawn Gentry, a Republican, is facing nine charges by Kentucky’s Judicial Conduct Commission. If the allegations are proven, Judge Gentry will likely face impeachment by the GOP-led Kentucky General Assembly.

Investigators allege that problems arose after Judge Gentry brought a former pastor and current guitar player, Stephen Penrose, to her chambers.
Investigators allege that the couple used the courthouse like a swingers’ club.

A Cincinnati news outlet reports that the pair allegedly had a threesome with Gentry’s secretary, Laura Aubrey.

The pair, who play in a band together, also allegedly propositioned an attorney for another threesome.

These allegation arise a month after three GOP judges in Indiana were suspended for a night of heavy drinking and patronizing a strip club. One of the judges, Andrew Adams, has publicly admitted that the charges have merit, apologized, and asked for forgiveness.

Two years ago, Judge Alex Kozinski, appointed by Ronald Reagan, resigned after credible complaints came forward from female clerks alleging that his computer at work featured pornographic images and his behavior made them feel uncomfortable.

I looked for Democratic judges who fit this pattern of misconduct. For now, I cannot find examples but I welcome readers to send them along.

In the meantime, Christianity Today is making national headlines for a blistering rebuke of President Trump. The editorial makes this simple point: “Remember who you are and whom you serve.” That phrase was likely a reference to serving Jesus Christ, but it fits just as well for serving the public.

Sen. McConnell: Do You Quit if You Acquit?

This post is not persuasive—it will change no one’s mind on President Trump.

Our unique times offer a chance to understand our wonderful—and incomplete—Constitution.

Setting: Sen. McConnell suggested recently that he would move to acquit the president of the two articles of impeachment. 
Smart tactic from his vantage point: He would need only 51 votes to acquit, whereas 67 votes are needed to convict.

But can the Senate acquit President Trump without holding a trial? 
The answer appears to be yes.

In 1993, the Senate convicted Judge Walter Nixon. He was in jail by this time, convicted on two counts of perjury connected to charges that he accepted bribes. He remained on the bench.

He argued to the Supreme Court that he was not given a trial—and he was factually correct. A Senate committee— not the full Senate— held four days of hearings, heard from 10 witnesses, including Nixon, and presented a transcript and record to the full Senate for a vote.

Nine justices upheld the conviction, but three wrote concurring opinions. This meant they didn’t agree with the majority opinion which said the Senate has sole authority to determine its trial procedures.

In an eerily prescient paragraph, Justices White and Blackmun said that there must be some limit on the Senate’s trial powers, or else the textualism around its “sole power to try all Impeachments” would be a nullity.

They said:

It should be said at the outset that, as a practical matter, it will likely make little difference whether the Court's or my view controls this case. This is so because the Senate has very wide discretion in specifying impeachment trial procedures and because it is extremely unlikely that the Senate would abuse its discretion and insist on a procedure that could not be deemed a trial by reasonable judges. Even taking a wholly practical approach, I would prefer not to announce an unreviewable discretion in the Senate to ignore completely the constitutional direction to “try” impeachment cases. 

When asked at oral argument whether that direction would be satisfied if, after a House vote to impeach, the Senate, without any procedure whatsoever, unanimously found the accused guilty of being “a bad guy,” counsel for the United States answered that the Government’s theory “leads me to answer that question yes.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 51. Especially in light of this advice from the Solicitor General, I would not issue an invitation to the Senate to find an excuse, in the name of other pressing business, to be dismissive of its critical role in the impeachment process.

In sum: There are no known limits on the Senate power to try an impeachment. But two justices foresaw today, when one party defends the president on grounds that he has been impeached for being “a bad guy” and a Senate “trial” might turn into a political circus or a quick vote to acquit (51 votes)—neither of which is what the framers had in mind in using the term “sole power to try all Impeachments.” 

If the two justices were right to suggest a limit, it's very doubtful that a Supreme Court would step in to correct the process. That's the significance of Judge Nixon's conviction, i.e., six justices said that the Supreme Court has no practical role to play in defining what is a trial in the Senate.

To acquit means to quit your role as a Senate jury.