With tax filing season underway, the IRS expects 164 million people will file returns by April 15.

The average refund last year was $3,167. This year, analysts have projected it could be $1,000 higher, thanks to changes in tax law.

If you file electronically, the IRS says it should take 21 days or less to receive your refund. If you choose direct deposit, it should take even less time. If you file a paper return, the refund could take four weeks or more, and if your return requires amendments or corrections, it could take longer.

Taxpayers can use the online tool Where’s My Refund? to check the status of their refund within 24 hours of e-filing and generally within four weeks of filing a paper return. The “Where’s My Refund?” tool will also provide projected deposit dates for most early EITC/ACTC refund filers by Feb. 21, according to the IRS.

Taxpayers can also consult the IRS2Go app, or their IRS Individual Online Account, to check their refund status.

This year, most taxpayers must provide their routing and account numbers to receive refunds directly deposited into their bank accounts. That’s because the IRS began phasing out paper tax refund checks on Sept. 30 in accordance with an executive order.

Kaiser workers go out on strike

Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses and healthcare professionals walked off the job Monday, their second strike since a five-day walkout last October.

A combined 31,000 registered nurses and health professionals with the United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals, or UNAC/UHCP are picketing at more than two dozen hospitals and more than 200 clinics — from Los Angeles and San Diego to Oakland and Honolulu.

An independent mediator, the nurses unions and Kaiser were all scheduled to be back at the negotiation table for a new labor contract.

The health care provider said all facilities should be operating as usual, though some pharmacies might have shortened hours.

The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Kaiser with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the company walked away from the bargaining table in December and has attempted to bypass the agreed-upon national bargaining process. The union had been bargaining with Kaiser since last May.

Fed keeps rate unchanged

The Federal Reserve opted not to cut interest rate cuts Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6% after lowering it three times last year.

The central bank said there are signs the job market has stabilized while it also said growth was “solid,” an upgrade from last month’s characterization as “modest.”

With the economy growing at a healthy pace and no signs of deterioration in hiring, Fed officials likely see little reason to rush any further rate cuts. While most policymakers do expect to reduce borrowing costs further this year, many want to see evidence that stubbornly-elevated inflation is moving closer to the central bank’s target of 2%.

According to the Fed’s preferred measure, inflation was 2.8% in November, slightly up from a year ago.

Amazon cuts about 16K corporate jobs

Amazon is slashing about 16,000 corporate jobs in the second round of mass layoffs for the ecommerce company in three months.

The tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemic.

Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, said in a blog post Wednesday that the company has been “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” The company did not say what business units would be impacted, or where the job cuts would occur.

TikTok settles social media lawsuit

TikTok agreed to settle a landmark social media addiction lawsuit just before the trial kicked off, the plaintiff’s attorneys confirmed.

The social video platform was one of three companies — along with Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube — facing claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children. A fourth company named in the lawsuit, Snapchat parent company Snap, settled the case last week for an undisclosed sum.

Details of the settlement with TikTok were not disclosed, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the core of the case is a 19-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose case could determine how thousands of other, similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out.

She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials — essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury and what damages, if any, may be awarded, said Clay Calvert, a nonresident senior fellow of technology policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Compiled from staff, Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.