Labor

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Union demonstrators protest pending right-to-work legislation Friday outside the state office building where Gov. Rick Snyder’s office is located in Lansing, Mich. Michigan is poised to become the 24th state with a right-to-work law. (Associated Press)

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The Colorado case of Brandon Coats is giving employers pause. Coats, 33, was a telephone operator for Dish Network. Paralyzed in a teenage car crash, he’s also been a medical marijuana patient in Colorado since 2009. Coats was fired in 2010 for failing a company drug test, though the employer didn’t claim he was ever impaired on the job. Coats sued, and the case is pending before the Colorado Court of Appeals. The case will test the bounds of Colorado’s Lawful Off-Duty Activities Law, which says workers can’t be dismissed for legal behavior off the clock. It was enacted in 2007 to protect tobacco users. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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** FILE ** Recruiters and job seekers mingle about at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes hiring fair held at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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David Dudenhoefer, a right-to-work supporter, is met with opposition from union employees Thursday at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. Michigan has pushed ahead with a bill to make the labor stronghold a right-to-work state. (Associated Press)

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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo Hamer, right, and his coworker U.S. Army civilian Rekisha White, second from right, talks with Washington, D.C. Area Chapter Director Karen Francis with Blue Star Families, a nonprofit that supports, connects, and empowers military families, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes hiring fair at Nationals Park in Washington on Dec. 5, 2012. While Hamer and White were at the fair to get information on joining the job hirers next time for the Army Core of Engineers, Hamer was also there to look for employment ideas for his wife. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Job seekers listen as U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue welcomes them to the Chamber’s Hiring Our Heroes job fair for veterans Wednesday at Nationals Park in the District. “It’s easier to market military skills here,” said one attendee. “People here know what they’re looking for and speak the same language.” (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a meeting on Capitol Hill to talk about Superstorm Sandy recovery aid. On Thursday, he also vetoed legislation establishing a state-run health insurance exchange. (Associated Press)

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Union workers rally Dec. 6, 2012, outside the Capitol in Lansing, Mich., as Senate Republicans introduced right-to-work legislation in the waning days of the legislative session. The outnumbered Democrats pledged to resist the proposal and said rushing it through the legislative system would poison the state's political atmosphere. (Associated Press)