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Tom Perez has been one of the most aggressive advocates for civil rights in decades. He prosecuted a record number of hate crimes cases and got huge settlements from banks that overcharged minorities for home loans. But Republicans say he has questions to answer about a whistle-blower case.
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Officials say the Department of Justice is reconsidering criminal charges in an incident that killed two teenagers.
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Republicans claim Thomas Perez struck a quid pro quo deal with Minnesota that may have cost the federal treasury as much as $180 million. Perez says he acted ethically.
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The persistence of grain bin entrapments and a horrific 2010 incident expose weaknesses in worker safety laws and enforcement. An NPR and Center for Public Integrity analysis has found that among 179 deaths since 1984, fines were reduced 60 percent of the time.
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Perez would replace Hilda Solis and if confirmed, become President Obama's only Hispanic cabinet member. He is currently in charge of civil rights at the Justice Department.
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Regulations to restrict the amount of silica dust that workers can inhale were set decades ago, and workplace safety experts say that limit needs to be cut in half. A proposal for new rules was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for a 90-day review, but almost two years later, it's still under review.
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Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis is resigning, opening up one more slot in President Obama's second-term administration. Solis was the first Hispanic woman to head a Cabinet-level agency in the U.S. government.
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The four-week moving average also dropped significantly to 364,000, beating economists expectations.
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The Labor Department announced on Friday the lowest unemployment rate since January 2009. Most big companies use software to screen resumes and ultimately move that unemployment number. These programs can be a big help for hiring departments, but a hindrance for job searches everywhere.
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The unemployment rate dropped last month, but it's not all good news. Some 844,000 people have given up on finding a job for one reason or another. Some have decided to go back to school to train for a new career, but others have simply become too dejected to keep trying.