Civil Rights News: Business Challenges Labor Board Transparency Rule; Proposed Birth Control Coverage; School Discipline

Business Groups Challenge Rules on Unions
By Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post

In a hearing held by the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday, business employers spoke out against the board’s latest rule which would expedite the union election process by guaranteeing employees’ rights to quick union elections. Stressing the fact that the new regulations were a violation of employers’ rights, “Employer representatives told the labor board that streamlining the election process would deprive employers, especially small businesses not versed in labor law, of the chance to consult with lawyers and communicate with their workers prior to a vote,” wrote Alec MacGillis of the Washington Post.
Despite these claims, proponents of the new rule cite examples of past exploitations of the union election process including stall tactics and unfounded investigations as a primary motivation for employee’s rights to vote being protected through quick and efficient union elections.

Birth Control Coverage Proposed for All health Insurance Plans
By N.C. Aizenman, The Washington Post

“Virtually all health insurance plans could soon be required to offer female patients free coverage of prescription birth control, breast-pump rentals, counseling for domestic violence, and annual wellness exams and HIV tests as a result of recommendations released Tuesday by an independent advisory panel of health experts,” writes N.C. Aizenman of the Washington Post. Despite the potential benefits of these recommendations for women, the measure remains controversial with some conservative organizations arguing that contraceptives should not be by all taxpayers. Others organizations like Planned Parenthood have commended the new action.

School Discipline Study Raises Fresh Questions
By Alan Schwarz, New York Times

A Texas study aimed at measuring the effectiveness of school disciplinary methods has found that over 60 percent of students who had received an in-school suspension or worse throughout their middle and high school years. The study has shown a dramatic increase in the number of students receiving strict disciplinary action over the past 20-25 years. Educators have cited this information as indicative of a new trend in education in which punishment upon students comes far too easily, and that its effects can be detrimental for both the integrity of the school system and for students’ futures. Other findings of the study have suggested that discipline is also heavily influenced by race and generally worsens students’ behaviors rather than improving them.

Compiled by Candance Samuel, a summer intern