I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
DETROIT—Two weeks ago, Mayor Dave Bing got job security — at least for the next four years — when he emerged victorious in the municipal election. Now, two weeks into his first full term leading the city, Bing has sold the auto supply company he founded 29 years ago.
Last month Bing said that he would likely wait until 2010 to sell The Bing Group, so last week’s sale to Belleville metal stamping company L & W engineering came as a surprise — even to the 350 people he employs.
Now, controversy is developing around the sudden layoffs of all Bing Group employees. The Michigan Citizen reports that The Bing Group may have violated the WARN (Worker Re-Adjustment and Re-Training) act which requires an employer to give at least 60-day notice to workers during a plant closing or transfer.
The Michigan Citizen quoted a U.S. Department of Labor Report from the year the WARN act was passed:
“An employer who violates the WARN provision … is liable to each aggrieved employee for an amount including back pay and benefits for the period of violation, up to 60 days,” according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Labor at the time.
So far neither the Bing Group nor UAW spokespeople have commented on the matter.
L & W Engineering has not committed to re-hiring Bing Group workers to run the new company, now called Oakland Stamping, but they have not ruled out hiring some workers back.
Until that is decided, 350 Detroit jobs are in limbo.
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