Roger Madsen, head of the Idaho Department of Labor, said Labor has had a challenging year, but he's honored to provide a new home for the Idaho Human Rights Commission, which is tentatively scheduled to move into the department as the state cuts back its funding. Madsen said he won't interfere with the operations of the commission. "I'm not going to tell the Human Rights Commission my opinion on different issues, even if they ask," Madsen told JFAC this morning under questioning from committee members. "I'm going to make sure they're efficient, independent and effective, and that they take care of the state's issues."

Madsen said the current downturn has brought "the most severe loss of jobs in Idaho since World War II," and the state now has fewer workers on the job than it had in January of 2005. As a result, the state's unemployment fund had to borrow millions from the federal government to continue paying unemployment benefits.

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