Reuters (05/21/12) Chris Francescani

Lauren Odes, a staffing employee who worked at the Native Intimates lingerie company, says she was fired because the Orthodox Jewish owners of the company were uncomfortable with her attire. Odes’s attorney Gloria Allred says she filed a gender and religious discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in New York. Odes says she was warned that her attire was too alluring and that she was asked to wear a red bathrobe to cover one outfit. She says she eventually agreed to purchase a sweater to wear over her dress but was dismissed anyway.

PRWeb (05/22/12)

Allied Van Lines International Inc. reports that Spartanburg, SC, Allied agent Carey Moving & Storage has formed a strategic partnership with Foreign Staffing Inc., which specializes in placing permanent, temporary, and contract bilingual personnel with international companies. The partnership is meant to combine the extensive global networks and wide range of services both companies feature, enabling clients to use one entity for global staffing requirements.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (05/22/12)

New data show that staffing was one of the industries with the largest number of layoffs in April. The number of mass layoffs increased by 115 to 1,388 in April from March, according to seasonally adjusted data released on May 22 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. Initial claims for unemployment insurance caused by mass layoff events rose by 14,290 in April from March for a total of 135,600. “School and employee bus transportation” was the industry with the most initial claims due to mass layoff events in April with 20,482 claims, followed by temporary help services, with 10,285 initial claims in April.

USA Today (05/23/12) Chris Woodyard

The automobile industry recovery has forced automakers to push factories and workers to the limit to try to meet increasing demand for new vehicles. Ford Motor and Chrysler Group are eliminating or reducing the annual two-week July shutdown at several plants this summer to add thousands of vehicles to their output.

Automakers have slimmed down in recent years, and have no excess capacity. However, they do not want to open new plants and risk having to close them if demand falters. So as demand rises, they push existing plants and workers harder. Hiring is increasing as well—for example, more than 1,000 jobs are being added at five U.S. plants by Toyota. Chrysler is adding 1,100 jobs on a third shift at the Detroit plant making the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and also just added 1,800 workers in Belvidere, IL, to make the new Dodge Dart. Volkswagen is adding 800 workers at its Chattanooga, TN, plant to run 20 hours a day, six days a week making Passat sedans. Hyundai is adding a third new shift of 877 workers at its Montgomery, AL, plant.