Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Should have learned in the first place

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4  Reprinted from the The Agurban - an Agracel Publication dated August 17, 2010

We found the following encouraging news in USA Today last week. We have included excerpts here...

Some manufacturing heads back to USA

Faced with rising costs, General Electric is moving production of its new energy-efficient water heater halfway around the world. The country it's leaving? China. The one it's bringing 400 jobs and a newly renovated factory? The United States.

A small but growing band of U.S. manufacturers - including giants such as General Electric, NCR, and Caterpillar- are turning the seemingly inexorable off-shoring movement on its head, bringing some production to the U.S. from far-flung locations such as China. Others that were buying components overseas are switching to U.S. suppliers.

Ford Motor said Wednesday that it's bringing nearly 2,000 jobs to its U.S. plants by 2012 from suppliers, including those in Japan, Mexico and India.

There are myriad reasons for the shifts, often called "onshoring" or "reshoring." Chinese wages and shipping costs have risen sharply in the past few years while U.S. salaries have stayed flat, or in some cases, fallen in the recession. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturers have been frustrated by the sometimes poor quality of goods made by foreign contractors, theft of their intellectual property and long product-delivery cycles that make them less responsive to customer demand.

Several cite the drawbacks of tying up valuable capital in huge overseas shipments, and want to bring assembly closer to engineers, suppliers and customers, concerns that mounted as makers slashed costs in the downturn. Others are simply weary of midnight phone calls - and multiple annual trips - to Asia.

To be sure, examples of companies moving production to the U.S. are dwarfed by the many more still shuttering U.S. plants and moving to China, India or elsewhere. No one tracks such data, but one glaring, if imprecise, barometer is the U.S. trade deficit, which hit an 18-month high of $42.3 billion in May.

Onshoring "is a trickle; it's not a flood," says Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a trade group. "There's still more going out than coming in."

In a June survey by MFG.com, 21% of North American manufacturers said they'd brought production into, or closer to, the continent in the past three months, up from 12% in the first quarter; 38% planned to research such a move in the next three months. Meanwhile, many U.S. makers that were planning to move abroad are rethinking their strategies.

For decades, offshoring has dominated, driven by Chinese factory wages that were a tenth of U.S. pay. Imports make up about a third of all goods purchased in the USA, up from 10% in the early 1970s, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

U.S. manufacturing employment, after peaking at 19.4 million in 1978, is 11.6 million, though automation also contributed to sizable job losses. More than 2 million factory jobs were cut in the recession alone. Yet, the U.S. still had 21% of global manufacturing in 2008, more than any other nation.

The tide may be easing, if not quite turning. Wages for Chinese factory workers, bolstered by recent strikes, have jumped 15% a year the past decade, but they're still a fraction of U.S. pay. Shipping costs are up about 71% the past four years as a result of higher oil prices and cutbacks in ships and containers in the slump, says IHS Global Insight.

With the cost gap between the U.S. and other countries narrowing for other expenses, such as class-action lawsuits, making products in the USA is now about 22% higher than the average of nine of its largest trading partners, down from 32% in 2006.

Once again, we are encouraged by this onshoring trend. Activity in our key markets continues to be very busy. We are cautiously optimistic about our country's manufacturing future.

Strategy: We all need to understand that our primary responsibility to acquire and maintain customers. For many of the offshoring efforts the customer service level has decreased leaving customers irritated, mad, and turned off. I myself 9 out of 10 ask whether the customer service representative I am dealing wiht is based in the US. If you can bring that workload back home and put people to work, keep customers happy and raise your bottom line through happy and engaged clients and employees.

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Disability.gov Workplace Accommodations for Employers Update: Job Accommodations for People with Voice Disorders

The guidelines for various disabilities can be found at http://www.disability.gov/employment/employing_people_with_disabilities/workp...&_supports/accommodations_for_specific_disabilities

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What are they thinking?

Almost every year since this blog began in 2006, somewhat with tongue-in-cheek, we have published Beloit College's Annual Mindet list. So as not to break my schedule here is the list ofr the class of 2014:

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014

Most students entering college for the first time this fall—the Class of 2014—were born in 1992.

For these students, Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton, Bert Parks and Tony Perkins have always been dead.

1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive.

2. Email is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.

3. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia…and learn Chinese along the way.”

4. Al Gore has always been animated.

5. Los Angelinos have always been trying to get along.

6. Buffy has always been meeting her obligations to hunt down Lothos and the other blood-suckers at Hemery High.

7. “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.

8. With increasing numbers of ramps, Braille signs, and handicapped parking spaces, the world has always been trying harder to accommodate people with disabilities.

9. Had it remained operational, the villainous computer HAL could be their college classmate this fall, but they have a better chance of running into Miley Cyrus’s folks on Parents’ Weekend.

10. A quarter of the class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority…unless it involves “real” aliens from another planet.

11. John McEnroe has never played professional tennis.

12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.

13. Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.

14. Doctor Kevorkian has never been licensed to practice medicine.

15. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.

16. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.

17. Trading Chocolate the Moose for Patti the Platypus helped build their Beanie Baby collection.

18. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.

19. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.

20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.

21. Woody Allen, whose heart has wanted what it wanted, has always been with Soon-Yi Previn.

22. Cross-burning has always been deemed protected speech.

23. Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.

24. “Cop Killer” by rapper Ice-T has never been available on a recording.

25. Leno and Letterman have always been trading insults on opposing networks.

26. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.

27. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.

28. They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.

29. Reggie Jackson has always been enshrined in Cooperstown.

30. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.

31. The first computer they probably touched was an Apple II; it is now in a museum.

32. Czechoslovakia has never existed.

33. Second-hand smoke has always been an official carcinogen.

34. “Assisted Living” has always been replacing nursing homes, while Hospice has always been an alternative to hospitals.

35. Once they got through security, going to the airport has always resembled going to the mall.

36. Adhesive strips have always been available in varying skin tones.

37. Whatever their parents may have thought about the year they were born, Queen Elizabeth declared it an “Annus Horribilis.”

38. Bud Selig has always been the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

39. Pizza jockeys from Domino’s have never killed themselves to get your pizza there in under 30 minutes.

40. There have always been HIV positive athletes in the Olympics.

41. American companies have always done business in Vietnam.

42. Potato has always ended in an “e” in New Jersey per vice presidential edict.

43. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.

44. The dominance of television news by the three networks passed while they were still in their cribs.

45. They have always had a chance to do community service with local and federal programs to earn money for college.

46. Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.

47. Children have always been trying to divorce their parents.

48. Someone has always gotten married in space.

49. While they were babbling in strollers, there was already a female Poet Laureate of the United States.

50. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.

51. Food has always been irradiated.

52. There have always been women priests in the Anglican Church.

53. J.R. Ewing has always been dead and gone. Hasn’t he?

54. The historic bridge at Mostar in Bosnia has always been a copy.

55. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.

56. They may have assumed that parents’ complaints about Black Monday had to do with punk rockers from L.A., not Wall Street.

57. A purple dinosaur has always supplanted Barney Google and Barney Fife.

58. Beethoven has always been a dog.

59. By the time their folks might have noticed Coca Cola’s new Tab Clear, it was gone.

60. Walmart has never sold handguns over the counter in the lower 48.

61. Presidential appointees have always been required to be more precise about paying their nannies’ withholding tax, or else.

62. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.

63. Their parents’ favorite TV sitcoms have always been showing up as movies.

64. The U.S, Canada, and Mexico have always agreed to trade freely.

65. They first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.

66. Galileo is forgiven and welcome back into the Roman Catholic Church.

67. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court.

68. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.

69. The Post Office has always been going broke.

70. The artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg has always been rapping.

71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.

72. One way or another, “It’s the economy, stupid” and always has been.

73. Silicone-gel breast implants have always been regulated.

74. They’ve always been able to blast off with the Sci-Fi Channel.

75. Honda has always been a major competitor on Memorial Day at Indianapolis.

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The playing field continues to change

Fisher and Phillips Law Firm has rleased the following notice for employers:

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New Law Restricts Ability Of Massachusetts Employers To Ask About Criminal Convictions

Date: 8/16/2010

On August 6, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law legislation which overhauls the Commonwealth's Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) law. Currently, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Law prohibits employers from asking questions of job applicants about arrests that do not result in convictions and convictions for certain misdemeanors, but allows questions about felony convictions and about misdemeanor convictions not protected from disclosure.

Employers Prevented From Asking About Convictions On Initial Job Applications

Effective November 4, 2010, Massachusetts employers will not be permitted to ask any questions about an applicant's criminal record on an "initial written application form," including questions about the applicant's criminal charges, arrests, and incarceration. The only exceptions to this are for (1) positions for which a federal or state law or regulation disqualifies an applicant based on a conviction; or (2) employers who are subject to an obligation under a federal or state law or regulation not to employ persons who have been convicted. It is unclear whether employers may still question applicants about felony and unprotected misdemeanor convictions later on in the application process (e.g., during an in-person interview). It also is unclear whether the new law requires employers to obtain information about a criminal offender's record only from the newly created Department of Criminal Justice Information Services, as opposed to third party vendors.

Employers May Obtain Criminal History Under Certain Conditions

Employers may still obtain a current or prospective employee's criminal history contained in the CORI database. However, an individual's CORI record will no longer include (1) felony convictions that have been closed for more than 10 years (i.e., the conviction occurred more than 10 years ago or, if the individual was incarcerated, the individual was released more than 10 years ago); or (2) misdemeanor convictions that have been closed for more than five years. In addition, a current or prospective employee will be able to obtain from the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services a list of persons who requested his or her CORI record, the date of the requests, and the certified purpose of the requests. An employer who has lawfully obtained an employee's or prospective employee's CORI record may ask the individual about his or her criminal history and can decide to take adverse action against the employee or not hire the applicant based on the individual's criminal history, provided that the employer first gives the individual a copy of his or her CORI record.

Additional Changes To Take Effect in 2012

The following provisions become effective February 6, 2012:

Employers who annually conduct five or more criminal background investigations must maintain a written criminal offender record information policy that states that the employer will (1) notify an applicant who is the subject of an investigation of the potential of an adverse decision based on the investigation; (2) provide a copy of the policy to the applicant and a copy of the criminal offender record information obtained as part of the investigation; and (3) provide information concerning the process for the applicant to correct his or her criminal record.

The new law prohibits employers from maintaining a former employee's CORI record for more than seven years from the former employee's last date of employment, and prohibits employers from maintaining an unsuccessful applicant's CORI record for more than seven years from the date of the decision not to hire the candidate.

Employers who make the employment decision within 90 days of receiving the CORI record and who verify the information in the CORI record will be shielded from liability for failure to hire based on erroneous information on a candidate's CORI record. Likewise, these same employers will be shielded from liability for negligent hiring based on their reliance on CORI records, even if these employers do no other research into the applicant's criminal history.

For assistance in reviewing and revising your policies, procedures and application forms to comply with the new CORI legislation or for assistance with any hiring issue, please contact your local Fisher & Phillips attorney.

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The playing field continues to change

Fisher and Phillips Law Firm has rleased the following notice for employers:

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New Law Restricts Ability Of Massachusetts Employers To Ask About Criminal Convictions

Date: 8/16/2010

Employers Prevented From Asking About Convictions On Initial Job Applications

Employers May Obtain Criminal History Under Certain Conditions

Additional Changes To Take Effect in 2012

The following provisions become effective February 6, 2012:

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Beware of what you say

California Supreme Court Holds That Stray Remarks Made by Non-Decision Makers Can Be Considered in Age Bias Case
08/06/2010

On August 5, the California Supreme Court handed down its decision in Reid v. Google, Inc., an age discrimination case that was dismissed at the trial court level on summary judgment. The trial judge dismissed the case after finding that “stray remarks” by individuals who had no involvement with the decision to terminate the plaintiff’s employment were insufficient evidence of discrimination to send the case to trial. The Court of Appeal reversed the trial judge’s order granting the employer summary judgment and held that the stray remarks by the non-decision makers was admissible to prove his claim of discrimination. The California Supreme Court agreed and rejected the strict application of the “stray remarks doctrine” in California discrimination cases. Reid v. Google, Inc., No. S158965, California Supreme Court (August 5, 2010).

Taken from an alert from Ogletree and Deakins Attorneys

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Illinois joins other states in restricitng use of credit checks

CHICAGO – August 10, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law that prohibits Illinois employers from discriminating based on a job seeker or employee’s credit history. The new law will remove a significant barrier to employment for the growing segment of the population whose credit history has been affected by the historic national recession.

“A job seeker’s ability to earn a decent living should not depend on how well they are weathering the greatest economic recession since the 1930s,” said Governor Quinn. “This law will stop employers from denying a job or promotion based on information that is not an indicator of a person’s character or ability to do a job well.”

House Bill 4658, sponsored by Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) and Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), creates the Employee Credit Privacy Act. Under the act, Illinois’ employers may not use a person’s credit history to determine employment, recruiting, discharge or compensation.

The new law forbids employers from inquiring about an applicant or employee’s credit history or obtaining a copy of their credit report. The law does not affect an employer’s ability to conduct a thorough background investigation that does not contain a credit history or report.

Employers who violate the new law can be subject to civil liability for damages or injunctive relief.

Under the new law, employers may access credit checks under limited circumstances, including positions that involve: bonding or security per state or federal law; unsupervised access to more than $2,500; signatory power over businesses assets of more than $100; management and control of the business; access to personal, financial or confidential information, trade secrets, or state or national security information.

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Friday, August 13, 2010

We do not have a talent problem

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that a new survey completed by Regus,says that 40 percent of workers are tired of not being promoted, bosses that don't share company goals and are overworked. Their solution is that they are thinking of quitting their current position. This trend indicates several aspects of the job market going forward. First, the job market is improving for them to even be thinking about looking for a new position and second, we as organizational management are not doing enough to keep the human capital resources engaged in our organizations. What would you do if 40 percent of your organization walked out the door? Could you continue to stay in business?

Strategy: Take the blinders off and find ways to get the employees engaged. The age of the dominant supervisor is gone and it is time to be transparent with your employees where the company is going and how you expect to get there.Change the focus of your organization to one of collaborative teams across all departments. The time of the silo mentality has come to an overdue conclusion.

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Thursday, August 12, 2010

EEOC issues warning

The use of credit checks and criminal background checks for new employees which carry adamant rejection clauses in the case of detrimental information returned may lead ou to reject a disparate numb er of minority candidates. As a result the EEOC has stated that the use of these tests may lead to discrimination charges against your organization. Becareful that the use of these tests are based on true bona fide occupational qualifications.

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Court investigates impact of Social Media

Limited Discovery of Facebook Allowed in Harassment Case

Sid Steinberg

The Legal Intelligencer

August 12, 2010

It is a fair bet that many of those reading The Legal Intelligencer have neither a Facebook page nor a MySpace account -- although when our children reach a certain age, they can certainly tell us about them. But electronic discovery is well upon us, and employment litigation is at the forefront of issues involving social networking sites.

A recent discovery order in the case of EEOC v. Simply Storage Management in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana discussed how much information from such sites is discoverable to an employer defending an employment discrimination claim.

DISCOVERY SOUGHT

According to the opinion, Joanie Zupan and Tara Strahl claimed that they were subjected to sexual harassment during their employment with Simply Storage. In September 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, filed a complaint on their behalf and, after a round of preliminary motions, discovery ensued.

Simply Storage's request for production of documents included requests for "all photographs or videos posted by [Zupan or Strahl] or anyone on [their] behalf on Facebook or MySpace [from the beginning of their employment to the present]." Further, Simply Storage requested all "updates, messages, wall comments, causes joined ... activity streams ... and applications [including ... the 'Naughty Application']" for the same time period.

The EEOC, not surprisingly, objected to the production of all social network content -- and, in a protective order, to any deposition questioning along these lines -- claiming that the requests were overly broad, harassing, not relevant, and infringed on the claimant's privacy.

Simply Storage countered that the requests were proper because the EEOC had placed the "emotional health" of the women at issue, beyond that typically encountered in "garden variety emotional distress claims." Specifically, the EEOC had responded to prior discovery regarding damages by claiming that Strahl had sought "medical treatment" for anxiety stemming from the alleged sexual harassment and that Zupan had become "depressed and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder" based upon the same behavior.

In briefing on the issue, the EEOC withdrew its blanket objection to the requested information and, instead, argued that "production should be limited to content that directly addresses or comments on matters alleged in the complaint." Simply Storage countered that the nature of the injuries alleged implicated all of their social network communications.

Initially, the court found that the fact that the claimants may have "locked" their information or profiles from public access did not serve as a legitimate basis for shielding the communications from discovery. Any particular claim of oppression or burden could be addressed with particularity in an appropriate protective order.

LIMITATIONS RECOGNIZED

Next, the court rejected Simply Storage's assertion that all of the content on the claimants' sites was discoverable. Rather, the court held that "it must be the substance of the communication that determines relevance." The court relied upon the 2006 Southern District of New York case Rozell v. Ross-Holst, which recognized that, while "anything that a person says or does might in some theoretical sense be reflective of her emotional state ... that is hardly justification for requiring productions of every thought she may have reduced to writing ... [or] the deposition of everyone she may have talked to."

The court then found the EEOC's proposed limitation too narrow. That is, "it is reasonable to expect severe emotional or mental injury to manifest itself in some [social network] content, [including when the distress occurred and the degree of distress]." Producing only content specifically related to the allegations in the complaint would likely result only in communications supportive of the claim. The court noted that such a restriction "might not ... yield information inconsistent with the claimant's allegations of injury or about other potential causes of injury."

POSTINGS REVEALING EMOTIONS

The court determined that Simply Storage was, therefore, entitled to discover any "profiles, postings or messages ... and [applications from the date of the first allegedly harassing act] through the present that reveal, refer or relate to any emotion, feeling or mental state, as well as communications that reveal, refer or relate to events that could reasonably be expected to produce a significant emotion, feeling or mental state." Similarly, the claimants were required to produce any pictures that they had posted on their sites, as the "claimants' appearance may reveal [their] emotional or mental status."

In responding to the request, the commission was specifically instructed by the court to err on the side of production, and Simply Storage was permitted to inquire of the claimants as to the scope of what has, and has not, been produced.

BROAD IMPLICATIONS

While the court specifically relied upon the claimants' assertion of "severe emotional distress" as the justification for allowing this discovery, it appears as though the court defined "severity" as the claimants having sought treatment for their alleged emotional injuries. However, this type of claim is not as extraordinary as the court appears to believe.

In any type of harassment claim, a plaintiff or claimant will likely be seeking emotional distress damages. If the alleged distress is severe enough to warrant serious consideration in damages -- or during settlement discussions -- the plaintiff will need to have some medical evidence supporting the claim. This will lead to some type of diagnosis -- anxiety, sleeplessness, PTSD, etc. -- that will raise the claim above "garden variety emotional distress."

Similar discovery might be appropriate in the harassment context if the issues of whether the allegedly offensive behavior was "welcome" or whether the plaintiff was subjectively offended are in dispute. That is, the sexual nature of a plaintiff's postings would seem to be relevant if he or she claims to have been offended by such comments in the workplace. This particular issue is neither raised nor discussed in the Simply Storage case, but the issue is sure to arise as the boundaries of social network discovery are further explored by the courts.

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Court investigates impact of Social Media

Limited Discovery of Facebook Allowed in Harassment Case

Sid Steinberg

The Legal Intelligencer

August 12, 2010

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image: Caroline Fong

DISCOVERY SOUGHT

LIMITATIONS RECOGNIZED

POSTINGS REVEALING EMOTIONS

BROAD IMPLICATIONS

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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

An indication of things to come

Michael Vandevort, who is fellow HR professional posted this information this morning:

Court ruling: You can kick unions off your property | BusinessBrief.com

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In at least one state, a new court ruling changes the game on union organizers’ access to workplaces.

The case was decided in California – where a lot of landmark cases set the tone for what happens in the rest of the country. The facts played out this way.

The company, Ralphs Grocery Co., owned and operated a large unionized main facility and a non-union warehouse When the company resisted the union’s attempts to organize workers at the warehouse, the union retaliated by picketing and distributing fliers at the company’s unionized main facility. The company responded by filing a complaint in court, seeking a temporary restraining order against the union – essentially charging the union with trespassing.

The union cited the state’s Moscone Act, which gives preferential treatment to unions charged with trespass. A lot of states have similar legislation). In part, the act reads, “no court … has jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or preliminary or permanent injunction which … prohibits” union activities. Under the Act, the company would have to prove that, among other reasons, the picketing presented a safety hazard. The appeals court in effect ruled that the Moscone Act was unconstitutional, in that it placed an almost impossible burden in the company to prevent union trespassing.

The case presents a lesson to employers about unions and access to employers’ property:

Federal labor law prohibits discriminatory enforcement of specific no-trespass policies against unions. So you’ll want to be careful about allowing other groups to solicit on your property while you attempt to bar unions. If you allow one group, you have to allow others, including union organizers.

Most companies don’t have a plan if organizers show up and want to picket or otherwise use company property. Be prepared, including training managers and supervisors on how to handle onsite labor activity.

If you rent or lease property, review your agreement with the property owner to determine whether you have the right to exclude organizers.

Cite: Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 8, No. 34-2008-8682

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Friday, August 06, 2010

Excuse the interruption

This is a test to make sure the email notifaction system is working. Please disregard.

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DOL releases new employment figures

Private employers added 71,000 jobs in July; unemployment rate unchanged at 9.5 percent.

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And the beat goes on

A federal judge has given final approval to a $24.2 million class action settlement by Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC over allegations it underpaid and underpromoted thousands of female sales representatives.

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Thursday, August 05, 2010

Further signs of the Changing Workplace

CheckPoint HR, the trusted ally in web-based Human Resources management for small to mid-sized companies, today reports that the month of July saw an increase of 1.4% in employment and hiring in the Tri-State area (NY Metro area) The increase signifies the sixth consecutive month of growth as business hiring outpaces downsizing.

According to CheckPoint HR’s data, which is polled from more than 400 customers in the Tri-State area, employment among small-to-medium-sized businesses have increased at a rate of 3.3% from January 2010 – July 2010. Majority of the hiring activity is taking place at businesses with 100 and 200 employees.

“At CheckPoint HR, we saw an increase of 19.8% in job opportunities during the first two quarters of 2010 from our customers,” said Michelle Moylan, HR Director, CheckPoint HR.

When a business leverages a Human Resources Management System (HRMS) that combines benefits, payroll and HR management services integrated with applicant tracking and job boards, they can reduce the time and costs associated with hiring.

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Wednesday, August 04, 2010

When was the last time you visited your IP policy?

Whether I am in a mall, a restaurant, a concert or teaching a seminar I constantly see individuals texting away on their blackberries. Pne of hte primary reason many users have gone to the Blackberry plaform was that it provided a secure metjhod of communicating with others. Now along comes United Arab Emirates and Saudia Arabia who are on the verge of banning all use of Blackberries within their territory. The reason is the very reason why many users use them. Their concern is that due the secure networks there is no available audit trail that can be followed in the case of criminal activity. This has put Research Motion Incorporated in a very precarious position. On one hand they want to continue to provide the feature that has attracted all this business. On the other hand they are cognizant of the fact that the lack of a verifiable tracking system opens the avenues of the criminal elements to operate.

Strategy: It would be a perceptive move on your part to review your intellectual property policy now rather than later. What you need to be cognizant of is a) what types of intellectual property are you currently transmitting over the Blackberries within your organization? and b) Of this IP how much would be detrimental to your organizations interests if the secure platform was opened somewhat. From there you should look at what alternatives are you available to maintain the integrity of your corporate data which heretofore you thought nothing of sending over your network, knowing that you could be safe with the knowledge who was seeing your data. If RMI takes steps to meet the concerns of global governmental agencies, this status quo could change overnight. Are you ready if it does?

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Department of Labor releasess guidance on hiring employees under 18

The interactive, online Child Labor Rules Advisor [ http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/cl/default.htm ] is designed to answer questions about workers and businesses that are subject to federal child labor rules. This Advisor provides information at different levels of detail, depending on who is seeking the information, (i.e., youth, parent, employer, teacher). Federal child labor rules are established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

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Tower Watson releases Compensation Survey Results

With the economy showing some signs of improvement, U.S. companies are planning to issue modestly larger pay raises to their workers next year. Employees can also expect to receive larger annual bonuses this year as organizations return to profitability, according to two new surveys conducted by global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW).

A survey of 1,046 U.S. companies conducted by Towers Watson Data Services found that companies are projecting merit increases of 2.7% for 2011, an increase from the 2.3% raise workers are receiving this year and 1.6% they received in 2009. The survey also found that the number of companies freezing salaries is declining. While 32% of companies froze salaries in 2009, the percentage decreased to 12% in 2010 and is expected to drop to only 5% in 2011.

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Trails of Technology Part 2

We are back up and running again with the corporate website and email

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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Trials of Modern Technology

Got up this morning to find that corporate website and thus corporate webmail had crashed. Hope to have it back up later today.

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Friday, July 30, 2010

Untitled

Taken from DCI Consulting's Bog with permission

On July 23, 2010, Administrative Law Judge Larry W. Price supported Frito-Lay on an issue that is critical to all DCI clients. The facts in this case are as follows. The OFCCP selected the Frito Lay Dallas Baked Snack facility for a compliance review and sent the standard scheduling letter. Item 10 of the scheduling letter specifically asks for information pertaining to applicants and hiring. More specifically, Item 10 requests: Data on your employment activity (applicants, hires, promotions and terminations) for the preceding AAP year and, if you are six months or more into your current AAP year when you receive this listing, for the current AAP year.

Because Frito Lay was six months or more into its plan year, it sent the required 12 months (June of 2006 through May of 2007) of applicant flow data for the annual plan and the required six months of update data (June of 2007 through December of 2007). OFCCP conducted a desk audit review and identified “adverse impact” in the supplied applicant flow data. As a result, on November 10, 2009, OFCCP requested that Frito Lay supply more recent applicant and hire data from January 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009. Frito-Lay refused and the OFCCP filed an administrative complaint.

As stated in the ALJ Price’s ruling: The issue before the Court is whether the temporal scope of the desk audit phase of a compliance review can be extended beyond the date that the contractor received its Scheduling Letter

Short and Sweet --- the answer is NO!!!. In the words of ALJ Price: In summary, I find that the EO, regulations, case law and the FCCM contemplate that the temporal scope of the desk audit phase of a compliance review cannot be extended beyond the date that the contractor received its Scheduling Letter. Accordingly, Frito-Lay‟s Motion for Summary Decision should be granted.

Here’s wondering if they can re-open the Bank of America case.

Some potential implications of this significant ruling include the following:

1. This ruling makes it clear that OFCCP can go back two years from the receipt of the scheduling letter. However, OFCCP cannot ask for additional data going forward once the scheduling letter has been received. This is a significant ruling for federal contractors as requests for additional data going forward have been a common practice for OFCCP in recent compliance evaluations.

2. The decision reduces potential back pay exposures in pending audits to the two year period preceding the audit notice.

3. Frito Lay cited language from OFCCP’s Federal Contract Compliance Manual (FCCM) as its justification for NOT submitting the additional data going forward. The OFCCP basically said that the FCCM is “old and outdated” and did not have to abide it. The judge thought otherwise and stuck to guidance in the FCCM. Note that OFCCP is currently reviewing and revising the FCCM, so it will be interesting to see what changes are made to relevant data-related sections.

4. It is important to note that OFCCP could open a new audit for the “post-audit” period, but that location would have to be selected again from the ‘neutral’ FCCS system

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Dept of Labor Releases June Employment Cost Index

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.5 percent, seasonally

adjusted, for the 3-month period ending June 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent

of compensation costs) increased 0.4 percent while benefits (which make up the

remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.6 percent.

Civilian Workers

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.8 percent for the 12-month

period ending June 2010. This was the same as the 12-month period ending in June

2009. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent for the current 12-month period,

compared to a 1.8 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in June 2009.
Benefit costs rose 2.5 percent, up from a 1.8 percent increase for the 12-month

period ending June 2009.

Private Industry Workers

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.9 percent for the

12-month period ending June 2010, higher than the 1.5 percent increase for the

12-month period ending June 2009. The wage and salary series increased 1.6 percent

for the current 12-month period, the same as for the period ending June
2009. The cost of benefits increased 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ending

June 2010, higher than the June 2009 increase of 1.3 percent. Employer costs for health benefits
rose 5.0 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2010. In June 2009, the 12-month percent
change was 4.4 percent.

Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry

the 12-month period ending June 2010 ranged from 1.5 percent for management,

professional, and related occupations to 2.3 percent for sales and office

occupations. The sales and office increase was primarily due to a 2.9
percent increase among sales and related occupations, which rebounded from

a 1.6 percent decrease a year earlier. The other component of sales and

office occupations--office and administrative support--increased
2.0 percent.

Among industry supersectors, compensation cost increases for private industry

workers for the current 12-month period ranged from 1.0 percent for construction

to 2.6 percent for trade, transportation, and utilities.

State and Local Government Workers

Compensation costs for State and local government workers increased 1.8 percent

for the 12-month period ending June 2010. Since this series began in June 1982,

published values ranged from 2.0 percent in March 2010 to 9.6 percent in June 1982.

Wages and salaries increased 1.4 percent. This series also began in June 1982.

Prior published values ranged from 1.8 in March 2010 to 8.5 percent in June 1982.

Benefit costs increased 2.6 percent. Prior published values for this series,

which began in June 1990, ranged from 1.2 percent in December 1997 to 8.3 percent

in June 1990.

U.S Department of Labor Releases June Employment Cost Index

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-monthperiod ending June 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries (which makeup about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.4 percent while benefits (which make up the remaining30 percent of compensation) increased 0.6 percent.Civilian Workers     Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2010.This was the same as the 12-month period ending in June 2009. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent forthe current 12-month period, compared to a 1.8 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in June 2009.Benefit costs rose 2.5 percent, up from a 1.8 percent increase for the 12-month period ending June 2009.Private Industry Workers     Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.9 percent for the 12-month period endingJune 2010, higher than the 1.5 percent increase for the 12-month period ending June 2009. The wage andsalary series increased 1.6 percent for the current 12-month period, the same as for the period ending June2009. The cost of benefits increased 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2010, higher than theJune 2009 increase of 1.3 percent. Employer costs for health benefits rose 5.0 percent for the 12-monthperiod ending June 2010. In June 2009, the 12-month percent change was 4.4 percent.     Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-monthperiod ending June 2010 ranged from 1.5 percent for management, professional, and related occupations to2.3 percent for sales and office occupations. The sales and office increase was primarily due to a 2.9percent increase among sales and related occupations, which rebounded from a 1.6 percent decrease a yearearlier. The other component of sales and office occupations--office and administrative support--increased2.0 percent.     Among industry supersectors, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the current12-month period ranged from 1.0 percent for construction to 2.6 percent for trade, transportation, andutilities.State and Local Government Workers     Compensation costs for State and local government workers increased 1.8 percent for the 12-month periodending June 2010. Since this series began in June 1982, published values ranged from 2.0 percent in March2010 to 9.6 percent in June 1982. Wages and salaries increased 1.4 percent. This series also began in June1982. Prior published values ranged from 1.8 in March 2010 to 8.5 percent in June 1982. Benefit costsincreased 2.6 percent. Prior published values for this series, which began in June 1990, ranged from 1.2percent in December 1997 to 8.3 percent in June 1990.

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

FLSA fines continue to mount

Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, GeoPharma Inc. has agreed to pay $1,360,098 in back wages to 187 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

"Employees have the right to expect that they will receive full pay on time for their work, and the Labor Department will not sit by while employers attempt to evade their responsibilities," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

The investigation, conducted by the Wage and Hour Division's district office in Tampa, determined that the company missed or was in arrears for 14 payroll periods from late 2009 through 2010. The FLSA requires that covered employers pay employees at least equal to the federal minimum wage for each hour worked, and wages are due on the regular payday for the pay period. In this case, the investigation revealed that the employer broke both provisions of the law at different times by not paying some wages at all and by not paying employees on time.

The dietary supplements and pharmaceutical manufacturing company operates six facilities in Largo, Fla. Employees affected by this investigation were involved in production, inventory control and shipping.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Department of Justice releases new rules regarding ADAA implementation

On July 26th, in conjunction with the celebration of the anniversary of the American's with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has rleased regulations to clarify some terms under the Act. Among these are :

Major changes include a new definition for the term "service animal." Dogs and miniature horses individually trained to mitigate the effects of a disability are now the only animals that qualify as service animals.

The rules also now require entities to allow individuals with disabilities to use Segways wherever pedestrians and wheelchairs are permitted, unless it would fundamentally alter the entity's services or pose a threat to safety. New requirements for event ticketing and reservations at hotels are also included in the rules.

The rules provide a general safe harbor for elements in covered facilities that were built or altered in compliance with the previous standards. Those elements will not need to be brought into compliance with the new standards until they are subject to a planned alteration, according to DOJ.

Entities that previously had the option to comply with either the ADA Accessibility Guidelines or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards no longer have that option. All entities subject to Titles II or III of the ADA must now comply with the new accessibility standards.

In addition to the new final rules, DOJ issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding its intention to regulate websites, movie captioning and 911 services, among other things. Notably, the department has requested public input on which web standards it should adopt in requiring entities covered by Titles II and III to make their websites accessible: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or the section 508 standards.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

20th Anniversary Meets Technology

We promised you an update on the terms of the legislation working its way through Congress regarding new access standards for the disabled to modern technology. Thanks to the staff at SHRM nad a press release from the Associated Press, I was able to determine that the bill calls for:

The bill, which passed 348-23 and now moves to the Senate, takes such steps as making it easier for the blind to access the Internet from smart phones, providing deaf people with the ability to watch new TV programs online with captions included, and requiring that telecom equipment used to make calls over the Internet be compatible with hearing aids.

The measure also:

_Gives the blind a fuller TV experience through audible descriptions of on-screen action.

_Makes cable TV program guides and selection menus accessible to people with vision loss.

_Mandates that remote controls have buttons or similar devices to easily access the closed captioning on broadcast and pay TV.

_Provides financial support to help the low-income disabled buy accessible Internet technology.

The legislation does not require manufacturers and service providers to install particular technology, but it does set new federal standards that the telecommunications industry will follow.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Sometimes dreams do come true

Did you hear about the California painter's dream of a life time? He stopped by a garage sale and negotiated with the homeowner over a $70 box of glass photograhic negatives. Convinced the homeowner to reduce the price to $45.

As the late Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story. The negatives were long lost Ansel Adams photographs and today they are worth $200,000,000. So you never know where your next opportunity is going to come from.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

20th Anniversary mets the Technology World

Yesterday, July 26, marked the annivereasry of one of the best pieces of civil rights legislation in the history of the United States with the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As part of the recognition of the day, the US House of Representatives passed legislation creating federal standards for the ramping of the internet and other forms of technology for the handicapped. The legislation now goes to the Senate. As we learn more about the standards we willpass it on.

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Monday, July 26, 2010

Have we lost our Way Part 2

For those of you who would like more information on the survey, the survey creators sent me a link to the executive summary of their findings. It can be found at http://www.lma.biz/Decade_of_LEAD_Exec_Summary_15-07-10.pdf

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Have we lost our way?

According to a post on Google News today, in a new book entitled A Decade of L.E.A.D. (the Leadership, Employment and Direction survey), which charted workplace attitudes in Australia in the past decade, revealed that while the ranks of HR managers had swollen, the number of staff who believed their needs were being met by them had fallen.Researchers, analysing data from four big workplace surveys dating to 2003, found the proportion of employees who believed the HR department was addressing their concerns had fallen from 60 per cent to less than 50 per cent. In the most recent results, about 40 per cent of employees said HR had a poor or very poor awareness of what their issues actually were. ''HR departments are plagued by contradiction - they are trying to meet employee needs and expectations on one hand, and the needs and expectations of managers and shareholders,'' Sydney University workplace expert Professor John Shields said. A Decade of L.E.A.D. suggested human resources departments were leaning more towards their paymasters than general employees, and a much larger proportion of managers professed to be happy with their activities.Grant Sexton, the managing director of the Leadership Management Australasia, which commissioned the surveys and compiled the book, said HR departments did not give employees the right training. ''So often internal training is determined by a very narrow conception of what the organisation needs rather than what the individual needs,'' he said. ''There's not enough focus on soft skills - communication, goal-setting, time management.'' He said decisions about training and other HR functions were often taken out of the hands of HR managers themselves. ''How many HR departments do you know that have a seat on the board of their company?'' Mr Sexton said. ''Too often leaders see HR departments as a way to deal with staff issues but then don't give them any power to actually change anything. ''They end up being the meat in the sandwich.'' The chairman of the Human Resources Institute of Australia, Peter Wilson, said human resources departments were not meant to be trade unions. ''HR is about reconciling the interests of staff and management and in our view they do that very successfully,'' Mr Wilson said.

DBAI Strategic Take: The culture of human resources in today's workplace is all dependent on how you look at the human capital within your organization. If, as Russ Moen from Express Personnel states, that your human capital assets are nothing more than a line in your expense log, then the human resource function will not look at the employees for what they truly are. If we were still in the industrial age, which many of us have forgotten we exited from awhile back, then I would agree that your employees were a line item on the balance sheet. But we have moved on. Depending on who you talk to we are now in the knowledge or creative age where your service or your product is based on what it is in the minds of your human capital. If they leave your knowledge base goes with them. I have heard of situations whre the knowledge drain was enough to pull an organization under. So what doe we need to change? Here are some suggestions we would like to offer:

1. Take a page from the plate of the new generation and where feasible make decisions based on the collaborative efforts of all employees through the involvement of cross functional teams.

2. Human Resources should not only earn but demand a seat at the decision table. HR is not just baout keeping the organization out of legal trouble, but is directly responsible for providing guidance how to best utilize the human capital asssets of the organization.

3. Human Resources must remove themselves from the silo mentality of many organizations and ensure that their efforts are utilized across the entire organization.

4. Management must come to the realization that they are not there solely to act as the lord high master. The day of the overbearing manager wnet by the wayside the day the first millennial showed their face in the workplace.

5. Management must in short order remove from their space the belief that the employees are there primarily to see what they can get away with. Consider flexible work environments which may benefit the employee in the short run, but may benefit the organization in the long run.

As one of the final parts of my e-mail signature is the statement that the world is a better place because of those who refuse to believe they cannot fly. Our employees can be the key to the success of an organization as long as we treat them as they would like to be treated.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Friday, July 23, 2010

Relocation Announcement

Vermillion, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRML), a molecular diagnostics company, today announced that it is relocating its corporate headquarters from Fremont, California to Austin, Texas. Vermillion has executed a two-year lease for a new principal place of business at 12117 Bee Cave Road, Building Two, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78731. Vermillion will continue to operate research and development, regulatory and quality operations in California. All other functions will be conducted at the Austin offices.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Did You Know?

As human resource professionals we are all concerned with the impact of the new health care reform law, but buried on Page 600 of the law is a revision to the Fair Labor Stabdards Act and many of our peers that I have talked with are not aware of it. This past week the Department of Labor released a fact sheet dealing with the issue.

As of March 23, 2010 employers are no longer able to tell a female employee that if she needed to express breast milk she needed to go use the facilitiy's restrooms. In fact the legislation specifically prohibited this action.

The regulation informationm sheet released last week provides details about the requirements (See Fact Sheet #73)

General Requirements:

Employers are now required to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for a period of one year EACH TIME THE EMPLOYEE HAS THE NEED TO EXPRESS MILK. In order to accommodate this the employer is required to provide "a place,other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from both co-workers and the public.

Time and Location of Breaks:

Employersare required to provide a reasonable amount of break time to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing mother. DOL states that the duration and frequency will vary depending on the needs of the mother.

Coverage and Compensation:

Only employees who are NOT EXEMPT from the FLSA's overtime pay requirements are entitled to breaks to express milk. Employers are not required to provide the breaks to nursing motehrs whoa re exempt from the overtime pay requirements of Section 7 of the FLSA. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not supject tot he FLSA break time requirement if compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship.

The law also states that employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. However if you already provide compensated breaks, an employee may use the breast milk express break as part of that compensated time.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Sign of the Times

We all know that the marketplace is full of places to go for information on just about everything. But here is a new twist. Fast Company Magazine is reporting that a website that has been existence for sometime called eBossWatch has added a new service. The original services was to allow employees to rate their bosses good or bad. Tye then with help of a panle of workforce experts rank the worst bosses of the year. eBossWatch has now added a new service and it is a registry of those bosses in the workplace that have been the subject of a sexual harrassment complaint.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Catch -22

In an effort to help employees who were confronted with serious medical related conditions, the Congress passed the Family Medical and Leave Act. Under the terms of the Act if an employee had worked for a period of twelv emonts and accumulated 1250 hours the employee was eligible to recieve 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for themselves or a family member. Many human resource managers have operated for some time under the view that if at the end of the 12 weeks the employee does not return to work, then it is automatic grounds for termination of employment.

In a blog by Frerikson and Byron Attorneys it is now reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is saying wait a minute not so fast. Their feeling is that such a blanket policy may violate the terms of reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Strategy: Review your current policies to see how you have worded those circumstances where extended leave is requested. It may no longer be sufficient to carry a blanket clause that says if you need more than 12 weeks 26 weeks if due to military reasons) then you have lost your job. Be sure to talk to your labor counsel to review what changes maybe needed to your policies. Further, review and take careful consideration of the changes to ADA so as not to place yourself in the position of violating the requirements. It is less expensive for you to make changes up front rather than when told you have to.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

IOMA exclusive survey results

The Institue of Management and Administration (IOMA) has released their compensation survey for 2011 and are forecasting merit raises will run around 2.7 percent. This is compared to an actual raye in 2010 of 1.9 percent.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Monday, July 19, 2010

Social Media Best Practices

One of the blogs I read religiously is the Delaware Law Blog. In the current post they talk about a clause that can now be found in government applications for those considering applying for new positions with the Federal Government.The author suggests that in the name of full disclosure regarding the hiring process, you should not only consider using text in yoir policy that not only tells the applicant that you are going to check their social media networks but exectly what types of things you are going to be looking for. The wording of the clause is as follows:

As part of the agency’s review of your application, the agency may view and/or access publicly available information about you, including information publicly available on the internet, that is job-related and consistent with the merit system principles and prohibited personnel practices set forth in the Civil Service Reform Act, 5 U.S.C. 2301, 2302. No information from any source may be used to discriminate for or against an applicant based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, political affiliation, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization.

Even more important if your organization does not currently have a social media policy it might be the time to create one. The conversation is now and you need ot be involved.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Passing of an industry pioneer

I received in the mail this morning my copy of the new Mobility Magazine and on the credit page was the announcement that Meri Hill had passed away. Meri was one of the pioneers, having been the president of Maenner Relocation, of this industry we call home and was a true professional. I enjoyed every interaction I ever had with her and she was very instrumental in the background research for our book "Just Get Me There". Our heartfelt condolences are passed on to her family. Her daughter is still in the business today.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Sign of the times

With a declining real estate market, some corporations are taking extreme methods to help needed executives relocate for the benefit of the organization. Medtronic has announced that in the fiscal year that ended in April the compensated an executive who is expected to become the next CEO, $1.7 million in relocation benefits to move from California to corporate headquarters in Minnesota. They estimated that he would have taken a loss on sale which would have acconted for the majority of the funds.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Friday, July 16, 2010

Are You Planning an HR Audit?

If you are planning to conduct an audit of your HR function, processes and procedures be sure to include a review of how you are classifying your positions. The missclassification occurs on two fronts. The first is that of independent contractor vs. employee. The second is that of whether they are exempt or non-exempt from the labor laws. The current administration and the US Department of Labor have made it known that the missclassification of employees will be a critical area of enforcement in the coming months. To possibly hit home the necessity to do this a subsidry of FedEx was just fined by the state of Massachusetts $3,000,000 for misclassifying its drivers as Independent Contractors.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Relocation Announcement

Saratoga Potato Chips LLC, a Brampton, Ontario-based producer of potato chips, kettle chips and popcorn, plans to locate its U.S. headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind.by 2013.

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Site Selection Magazine releases th elist of the most sustainable programs

In their July issue, Site Selection Magazine rleased the 2010 list of both the most sustainable countries and cities in the world. Below is the lists:

Most Sustainable Nations

Canada
Brazil
China
Germany
Norway
India
Japan
Mexico
Spain
Sweden

Most Sustainable US Cities

San Francisco-Oakland- Fremont, CA
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
Denver-Aurora, CO
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IND-WIS
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
Pittsburg, PA
New York-Newark- Edison, NJ
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Austin-RoundRock, TX
Houston-Baytown-Sugarland, TX
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
Albuquerque, NM
Boulder, CO

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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Relocation Announcement

Globalstar is relocating its corporate headquarters from California to Covington, LA and is committed to relocating or creating more than 150 jobs in the area by the end of 2011, another 50 by the end of 2013 and another 300 by the end of 2019. The jobs will average an annual salary of $70,000 a year,

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Sign of the times

The US Treasury Department has indicated that US based employers have requested credits under the Hire One Act that 4.5 million unemployed workers have been hired since the credit became available.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Friday, July 09, 2010

It could happen here

Awhile back we had posted an entry to our newsletter regarding the fact that in Europe the unions could put a snag in a corporation's plans to relocate their operations if they had grounds to feel that the move was not in the best interests of the employees. At the time I had talked with several labor attorneys as to whether we could have the same situation here in the United States. Their general consenus at the time was that employees in the European Union had more rights then they do in the US, and so it was unlikely that it would happen here.

Fastforward to the current economic market and along comes a federal court decision regaring the planned relocation of Pratt & Whitney from Connecticut to Georgia. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a federal judge's ruling that said the subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. failed to make every reasonable effort to avoid shutting two engine repair plants in the state. The ruling essentially stated that the planned move violated the union contract and therefore the corporation can not complete the move.

Strategy:If you are planning a relocation of your operations it is imperative that you dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's" and make sure that all the stakeholders are involved in the planning process. You still are required to follow the terms of the WARN Act where applicable, but everyone has to be on board for the reasons regarding the move.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

New Law Restricts Ability Of Massachusetts Employers To Ask About Criminal Convictions

New Law Restricts Ability Of Massachusetts Employers To Ask About Criminal Convictions

Monday, August 16, 2010

Friday, August 13, 2010

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Limited Discovery of Facebook Allowed in Harassment Case

Limited Discovery of Facebook Allowed in Harassment Case

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Friday, August 06, 2010

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Friday, July 30, 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Monday, July 26, 2010

Friday, July 23, 2010

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Monday, July 19, 2010

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Friday, July 09, 2010

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