Business Child Labor Surges For The First Time In 20 Years. The Pandemic May Make That Worse. An estimated 160 million children were involved in child labor around the world at the beginning of 2020, according to a new report. Jaclyn Diaz
National Google Adapts To Long-Term Telework, Offers Employees Hybrid Workweek More than a year into telework, the tech giant has said about 60% of its employees will work remotely two days a week. Twenty percent will work from home permanently. Jaclyn Diaz
Business QFC Employees call Seattle hazard pay a 'win' despite store closures Employees call Seattle hazard pay a 'win' despite QFC store closures Amy Radil
Politics Biden Backs Amazon Warehouse Workers' Union Drive More than 5,800 warehouse workers at the Bessemer, Ala., Amazon facility are voting this month on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Jaclyn Diaz
Health Kent postal workers struggle with Covid-19 outbreak Postal workers in Kent are sounding the alarm after an outbreak of Covid-19 has left dozens sick at a facility in South King County. Esmy Jimenez
Business U.S. Adds Just 49,000 Jobs In January, 'Not Anywhere Close' To Recovering Lost Jobs U.S. employers added 49,000 jobs last month, after a pandemic-driven slump in December. Unemployment fell to 6.3%. Scott Horsley
Education Bellevue says it will use non-union staff to reopen schools as labor conflict intensifies Bellevue School District plans to reopen buildings to 2nd-graders Thursday, despite a vote by teachers and other school staff to stay home due to Covid safety concerns. Ann Dornfeld
Business In Seattle, pandemic stress overshadows new minimum wage boost The new year means an increase in the minimum wage for Washington State and for Seattle. But the pay boost for workers has felt like an afterthought amidst the struggles of the pandemic. Amy Radil
National Security There's A White House Clash Over Whether To Extend Freeze On Many Work Visas In June, President Trump halted various temporary work visas, including H-1B, L-1 and certain J-1 visas. Advocates for an extension say it would tie the hands of President-elect Joe Biden. Franco Ordoñez
Education K-12 students can return to schools earlier than previously advised, say WA health officials Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday said recent, more lenient public health guidelines on in-person schooling could allow students to return to physical classrooms sooner than previously recommended — and without major outbreak risk. Ann Dornfeld
