Florida Touts Job Growth
August 20, 2002— Despite the national economic downturn, Florida continued to create more jobs than any other state in the nation and was one of only 16 states to post positive job growth from July 2001 to June 2002, according to a report presented last week to the Board of Directors of Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development organization.
BLS Releases June Metro Jobless Rates
August 02, 2002— The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 268 metropolitan areas across the United States saw higher unemployment rates than they did the same time a year ago. The national unemployment rate for June was registered at 6 percent, with eleven metropolitan areas reporting rates of 10 percent or higher, and fifteen areas reporting rates of less than 3 percent.
Fla. Planning to Double Death Benefits
March 18, 2002—Florida lawmakers are moving to double the death benefits for the families of firefighters and law enforcement officers killed on the job, the Palm Beach Post reports.
Performance-based Pay for Doctors?
November 20, 2001—In what could be a first in the U.S., a coalition of several major employers in central Florida is seeking to launch a health-care system that pays doctors based on performance.
Productivity Rses, Labor Cost Growth Slows
November 15, 2001—Just when the economists were grumbling about another possible interest rate hike by the Fed, worker productivity galloped in to the rescue.
Fla.'s Pension System Likes Litigation
September 14, 2001—Florida's public-employee pension system has become the most litigious institutional investor in the country, according to the Miami Daily Business Review.
Teacher Fired at the Last Minute
August 16, 2001— A newly hired teacher has been dismissed by school officials in Brooksville, Fla., after they learned she stands accused of failing to protect a child that her polygamist husband took as his "wife," the St. Petersburg Times reports.
Worker's Comp: Double-Digit Increases
July 19, 2001—A study of worker-compensation claims in eight large state shows that claim costs grew by 11 percent in 1997 and 1998, the most recent years available for review.
Should Life Partner Get Cop's Pension?
July 11, 2001—It's hard enough for a police force to cope with the slaying of an officer. But in the case of Officer Lois Marrero, Tampa police must also scour their rules and contracts to determine whether her survivor benefits should go to the woman she lived with for 10 years.
Supreme Court Says Overtime an Essential Function
October 13, 2000—Florida Power & Light Co. emerged victorious this week in a U.S. Supreme Court decision over a worker's right to decline overtime because of a disability. The court let an appeals court ruling on the issue stand.
