School Teacher Denied Unpaid Leave to Serve in Legislature

Bryan Spencer, a Republican from Wentzville and Francis Howell School District teacher for 22 years, will begin new career as a state legislator on January 9th. Spencer sought an unpaid leave of absence from his teaching job. The District rejected his request. County GOP Chairman Jon Bennett and state Rep. Mark Parkinson, R-St. Charles County, say that’s unfair. They point out that the Board has previously approved unpaid leaves of absence for leaders in a teachers union usually allied with Democrats. The Board denies that politics played any part in the decision to deny Spencer's leave request. Read Mark Schlinkmann's complete article at Stltoday.com

Police Recruit’s Suit Could Pave Way for More Sex-Based Discrimination Claims from Public Employees

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a former police recruit's failure to file a charge of discrimination within 300 days was not fatal to her claims because she alleged violations of her right to equal protection under the Constitution and not just her civil rights. Read more here.

Unemployment Benefit Applications at 5 Year Low

According to the Department of Labor weekly applications for unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 in the week ending Dec. 22nd. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to a nearly five-year low of 356,750.