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After Years of Cuts, Cities and States Are Hiring Again
© AP North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department employees celebrate the agency’s 50th anniversary earlier this year. After recession-related job cuts, many states and localities are hiring again. (AP) Public employment, long seen as a secure job with good benefits, took a series of hits during the recession, with state and local governments implementing hiring […]
In Some States, a New Focus on Family Caregivers
© Getty Images Nearly half of family caregivers administer multiple medications, treat wounds or operate specialized medical equipment. Some states require hospitals to give them better instructions. (Getty Images) Iraq war veteran Doug Mercer had been home in McAlester, Oklahoma, for just four days when he was in a motorcycle accident that left him broken […]
Tax Amnesties Send Message to Delinquents: ‘We Want You Back’
© Getty Images A U.S. Postal Service customer signs his tax forms before mailing them. (Getty Images) This story was updated to reflect the fact that the Maryland amnesty program signed by the governor does not exclude taxpayers who have 500 or more U.S. employees. Dear state tax delinquents: We want you back. All is […]
On July 1, Many States Will Cut Taxes
© AP Farmer Ben Burgess carries rice in a field near Coy, Arkansas. Arkansas farmers and many others across the country will benefit from a slew of state tax cuts set to kick in July 1. (AP) Indiana and Rhode Island businesses will see a drop in their corporate tax rates on July 1. In […]
Out of Work? States Offer Help in Your Job Search
Tanya Scott uses a desktop computer at the Mississippi Department of Employment Security WIN Job Center in Jackson, Miss. States are helping unemployed workers update their job-seeking skills. (AP) Caroline Reardon hadn’t looked for a job in more than a dozen years when she got laid off last year as an administrative assistant with the […]
Medicaid Expansion Spurs States to Fight Fraud, Overpayments
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announces Medicaid fraud charges against more than a dozen Russian diplomats and their spouses living in New York. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has spurred states to redouble their anti-fraud efforts. (AP) States are stepping up efforts to combat health care fraud and overpayments that cost them […]
Size of Gender Pay Gap Varies By State, Job
A Nissan employee tacks in the trunk lining of an new Altima sedan chassis at a plant in Canton, Miss. The difference between men and women’s wages varies widely by state. (AP) Female workers don’t need to be told what numerous studies have concluded: Women, on average, are paid less than men, even when they […]
Tolls Fill Gas Tax Gap
Automobiles enter the Indiana Toll Road in Hammond, Ind. In the face of sagging gas tax revenues, many states are turning to tolls to pay for road construction and maintenance. (AP) Cash-strapped states are scouting for ways to pay for critical road work, and increasingly, the result for motorists is the same: You’re going to […]