Cohabiting Couples Show Lower Level of Commitment than Married Couples

The number of people who choose to cohabit without getting married has been on the increase several years now.  However, if you are part of a couple that currently lives together or co-habits, then you must know that your relationship has a higher risk of failure compared to married couples.  New research finds that unmarried cohabiting couples may not necessarily have a long-term commitment to each other.

The study by the Rand Corporation finds that unmarried couples living together have much lower levels of commitment to each other, compared to married couples who live together. 

That is definitely bad news for persons who are in cohabiting relationships.  These relationships can offer very low levels of protection and security for the partners involved, and if the relationship breaks down, the cohabiting partners may be at huge risk of financial stress and struggle, especially if they have not bothered to sign a cohabitation agreement.

It is highly recommended that you and your partner sign a cohabitation agreement that clearly outlines all your rights, obligations and duties in black and white.  A written, legal document like this is enforceable, and can help protect your rights if the relationship ends.

For instance, one of the more common issues that arise when a cohabiting relationship ends is the division of any assets that were accumulated by the couple during their relationship together.  Other issues may have to do with the custody of children that were born during the relationship.  These issues must be addressed much in advance, and San Jose family lawyers recommend that you deal with these matters in the form of a cohabitation agreement.

Age Discrimination Laws Failed to Protect Older Workers during Recession

Workplace anti-discrimination laws protecting older employees in the workplace failed to protect these workers during and after the recession.  That information comes from a new study that was released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

According to the study, workplace anti-discrimination laws protecting older employees did nothing to protect these employees from unfair treatment during the recession.  In order to study the impact of federal anti- discrimination laws protecting older employees, the researchers focused on unemployment and job offers involving candidates aged 55 and above.  They looked at the data in various states before, during as well as after the recession.

They found that while there are federal anti-workplace discrimination laws protecting senior employees, many states have laws in place that do a much better job of protecting older employees from being fired.  They therefore focused on those states that, at least in theory, did afford better worker protections to older employees.  They found that although the laws were very effective in helping protect senior employees from age-based employment discrimination during normal times, they did not seem to work as well during a recession. 

At a time of recession, during large-scale layoffs, and massive job insecurity, these laws did not protect older employees from discrimination.  In fact, in some states, older employees seemed to be much worse off compared to before the recession, in spite of their state having laws protecting them from unfair firing and other wrongful practices.

Moreover, such unfair treatment often led to devastating consequences for the seniors.  When senior employees were fired because of large-scale layoffs, they were less likely to find another job after the termination.