Benefits Manager

Not content to target only public-sector unions, Republican lawmakers in more than one-quarter of the states this year launched their most ambitious attempt in about generation to break up union shops in factories, offices and other private-sector workplaces.

While the job market at times still looks pretty lousy, a new survey has some upbeat findings, as well as some not-so-rosy results. Many laid-off employees have been hired back, less are taking pay cuts, yet women and older workers are having trouble finding work.

General Motors Co., responding to demand for more fuel-efficient transmissions, plans to add up to 400 workers and invest $260 million at a factory in Toledo, Ohio, a move that is part of a larger investment at plants in eight states.

More than half of primary care physicians in Massachusetts are no longer accepting new patients, and more patients than ever are facing lengthy wait times to see both primary care and specialty doctors, according to a new report.

An increase in last month’s CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI) may be sign of more positive hiring trends for small employers.

As employers gird for tough times, they must adapt benefits programs to better withstand the downturn.

More than 3,000 Alabama workers have filed for unemployment compensation benefits because the tornadoes April 27 knocked them out of work, and that could cause a slight increase of about one-tenth of a percentage point in the state's unemployment rate.

House and Senate negotiators hope to resolve their differences on competing plans to reform New Hampshire's public pension system by the end of the month, at the same time the state's retirement system is experiencing a big increase in applications from retirement-eligible employees.