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News and insight about working in and with today's contingent workforce.
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Workforce news and insight from Sean Rehder, a former Recruiter, 1099 Independent Contractor Compliance Manager, and Supplier Qualification Program Manager turned web developer.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2003
 HR.com HR Masters Symposium
Location:The Westin Mission Hills Resort, Palm Springs, CA
Dates: October 26-30, 2003
The Symposium brings together 350 of the most senior-level HR Executives with industry leading providers of HR products and services. And, with a world-class and inspirational keynote line-up of visionary leaders, this Symposium is the premier Human Resources event of 2003!
Uniting the most elite HR leaders from Global 2000 companies is our main goal for you, our HR sponsoring partners. This is your opportunity to meet with HR executives in a private one-on-one setting. In only four days, there is no better place to meet with these decision-makers to build relationships, create opportunities and close business. Amidst this high-powered audience, you still have the opportunity to enjoy the insight and wisdom of the Keynote Masters including:- Desmond Tutu: 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
- Erin Gruwell: Two-time Teacher of the Year
- Larry Bossidy: Former CEO of Honeywell andAuthor, Execution
- Pat Mitchell: President of PBS
- Dr. Ben Carson: Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Roger Nierenberg: Conductor Stamford Industry
- Libby Sartain: Senior VP of HR and Chief People Officer,Yahoo!
- Dave Hopla: Sought after Basketball Coach
- Mike Abrashoff: Former Navy Commander
The HR.com HR Masters Symposium delivers significant value for HR vendors and is a
must-attend event.
posted by Sean Rehder at 2:29 PM, (Permalink)
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 Allan Schweyer, a Senior Researcher for HR.com, has been added to our "Industry Experts."
Allan Schweyer has been involved in Internet recruiting since 1994 when he pioneered e-recruitment solutions for Human Resources Development Canada. From 1995 to 1999, Allan directed the award-winning National Graduate Register, Campus WorkLink and SkillNet.ca programs with Industry Canada, which introduced the concepts of applicant tracking and advanced screening to job boards and "career networks" to job seekers.
In 1999, Allan formed the On-line Recruiters' Association of Canada. In 2000 and 2001, he worked with Cahners Business Information in Boston to build information portals for technical professionals and attended graduate school at Harvard University.
Allan currently consults with large organizations on HR strategies and specializes in e-recruitment projects. He is a senior researcher and analyst with HR.com and the guest editor of the HR.com staffing vertical.
posted by Sean Rehder at 2:00 PM, (Permalink)
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 Compensation
News Postings
Comp Reform Adds Costs to Coverage
Insurers are warning that California's workers' compensation reform legislation, meant to slash the expense of the $29 billion system, will add new costs for carriers and make it tougher for small businesses to find coverage.
CEOs Got Hefty Raises at Some Big Nonprofits
The chief executives of the country's largest nonprofit organizations won median pay raises of 4.3% last year, but some of them have enjoyed substantially larger increases over time, according to a new survey.
SEC Wants Exchanges to Spell Out Pay
Expanding his agency's corporate governance probe beyond the New York Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William H. Donaldson has written to the other U.S. self-regulating stock markets seeking information about the makeup of their boards and how their executives are paid.
GE Chief Is Charting Own Strategy
Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric's chairman and CEO, seemed a bit anxious last week about how changes in his compensation would play with investors and the public.
posted by Sean Rehder at 1:35 PM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Big Increase Seen in People Lacking Health Insurance
The number of people without health insurance shot up last year by 2.4 million, the largest increase in a decade, raising the total to 43.6 million, as health costs soared and many workers lost coverage provided by employers, the Census Bureau reported today.
Work-Injury Cost Savings Are in Doubt
A key insurance rating organization Monday cast doubt on whether California's pending workers' compensation reforms would generate the hefty savings and premium rollbacks trumpeted by the legislation's backers.
Firms Look to Reap Benefits from Sarbanes-Oxley Act
For local accounting firms, it seems the Sarbanes-Oxley ship may be coming in. Though the financial accountability act's compliance deadline isn't until June 2004 and later for certain provisions, the act is bringing ripples of new business that could become waves for accounting firms both large and small.
Feds Delay HIPAA Standard for Filing of Electronic Claims
Citing a low level of compliant claims being submitted, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has delayed enforcement of new standards for health care providers and insurers to submit claims electronically.
posted by Sean Rehder at 1:33 PM, (Permalink)
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Monday, September 29, 2003
General
News Postings
134,000 Lost Jobs in August 'Mass Layoffs'
More U.S. workers lost their jobs in large layoffs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday, another sign that employers are continuing to trim payrolls even as the economy strengthens.
Workers' Comp Reform Face-Off
Two rival groups of number crunchers will face off in San Francisco today in a statistical showdown that will help determine whether California business owners see a rollback in their workers' compensation insurance premiums, which have more than doubled since 1999.
More Workers Get Shut Out of E-Mail
Some companies are reducing or eliminating e-mail in a bid to staunch the spread of disruptive computer viruses and spam. Executives admit the changes may be extreme. But e-mail spam and viruses — which often spread via e-mail — cost companies billions of dollars a year in lost productivity.
Levi, an American Icon, to Shut Last Plants in U.S.
Levi Strauss & Co., maker of a jeans brand so all-American that it became ingrained in the nation's identity, said Thursday that it would close the last of its North American manufacturing plants, laying off almost 2,000 workers.
posted by Sean Rehder at 8:36 AM, (Permalink)
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Workplace Safety
News Postings
OSHA Expands Small-Business Voluntary Program
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration expanded its Voluntary Protection Program, which recognizes employers with excellent safety programs, to include small businesses that make incremental improvements.
Court to Weigh Cancer Lawsuit Against IBM
Former IBM employees who developed rare cancers at relatively young ages have a hearing in a San Jose courtroom Friday to determine whether a lawsuit they filed against the technology giant in 1998 finally can go forward. The group, which includes family members, alleges that Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM knowingly exposed workers to cancer-causing chemicals in its semiconductor factories, and lied to them about the health risks. Their lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Stress Busters
Blamed for everything from physical illness to psychological problems, depression and growing health-care costs, stress has been a growing problem for decades. Now more organizations are turning to alternatives to try to get people to relax — and save money at the same time.
It’s the Work, Not the Hours, That’ll Get You
Think long days are stressing out the workplace’s front lines? A new study says that in actuality, it’s the workplace and the work environment that builds stress in employees.
posted by Sean Rehder at 7:44 AM, (Permalink)
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Thursday, September 25, 2003
Recruiting & Staffing
News Postings
Jobless Claims Drop in Wake of Hurricane
The number of idled workers seeking jobless benefits for the first time fell sharply last week, dragged down in the wake of Hurricane Isabel, to its lowest level since early February, the government said on Thursday.
Moderate Job Growth Seen for California
The continuing loss of jobs across the United States and California, particularly in the Bay Area, is unexpected but has been offset to some extent by more positive reports regarding profit, productivity and business investment, according to the quarterly University of California at Los Angeles Anderson Forecast. Moderate-at-best growth is forecast for the national and state economies by the widely-watched economic forecast, released Wednesday.
Child-Care Availability Aids Recruiting Efforts
Convenient child care improves recruitment and reduces absenteeism and turnover among employees who work outside the normal daytime hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to a survey by Circadian Technologies Inc.
What's Going on in the Corporate Staffing World?
Electronic Recruiting Exchange's survey, and resultant conversations with recruiters, demonstrate that networking, referrals, and relationship building via the corporate website are the sources that will dominate 21st century recruiting. Job boards will evolve to be primarily sources of candidates for mass hiring (if that ever happens again), and for niche and specialty jobs.
posted by Sean Rehder at 8:04 PM, (Permalink)
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HRIS
News Postings
San Jose Is No. 2 for Software Jobs
As a percentage of the region's population, software-related employment in San Jose ranked second among U.S. metropolitan areas in 2001, according to the Software & Information Industry Association.
Dell Says Some Tech Firms Doomed
Michael Dell, who built an empire selling computers based on other companies' innovations, argued that the future in the technology market belongs to players who embrace industry standards, not proprietary systems.
Association Finds Minorities in IT Jobs Is on the Decline
The number of African-Americans and women who hold information technology jobs is decreasing, according to the Information Technology Association of America.
Good News for Tech: Midsize Companies Increase Spending
Like a cooling rain after a long drought, medium-size companies are apparently resuming capital spending in the parched telecommunications services and equipment market, and they're spending at least 8 percent more so far in 2003 than they did during the same time last year.
posted by Sean Rehder at 8:02 PM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Changes Discussed in Accounting for Pension Fund Obligations
The board that writes accounting rules for American business discussed changes yesterday that could wipe out much of the financial incentive for companies to convert to cash-balance pension plans.
Study Suggests Slow Recovery for Silicon Valley
2010. That's the year when employment in Silicon Valley will have reached the levels of the year 2000, just before the high-tech and dot-com bust, according to a new study for the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group released Tuesday.
Sarbanes-Oxley Called 'Administrative Burden'
Sarbanes-Oxley, which holds auditing firms and company executives accountable for the financial statements they present to investors, is designed to improve transparency of financial conditions and executive actions -- ultimately reducing the potential for fraud. But in the year since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the law has public companies diligently working to ensure they are in compliance -- and at a cost.
Wal-Mart Asks Judge to Break Up Lawsuit
Lawyers for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are asking a federal judge to break up a sexual discrimination lawsuit that seeks to represent 1.6 million current and former women workers against the retailing giant.
posted by Sean Rehder at 6:56 PM, (Permalink)
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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Employee Development
News Postings
Best Employers for Moms Are Partners in Life
The top 100 companies for working moms in Working Mother magazine's 18th annual survey are very committed to work and life programs for their employees despite the tough economic conditions, and offer flextime.
Downside of Downsizing
A conundrum companies of all sizes are facing in the current economy: Lay off a portion of the staff to save the majority of jobs, or keep everyone and lose money. Increasingly, companies are choosing the former and asking the employees who remain to work a little harder. It's the downside of downsizing -- doing more with less and asking employees to pick up the slack.
Proper Succession Planning Often Key to Future Success
Being able to give up control of a company that took a lifetime to build is of special importance when the business is a family affair, but failure to develop a proper succession plan could significantly hinder the smooth transfer of the business from one generation to the next.
Productivity Always Should Be on Agenda
If you're looking for ways to make your small business more productive, the answer isn't just to buy new computers or outsource tasks like bookkeeping. People who advise small businesses say assessing and improving productivity is an integral, ongoing part of running a company, one that should be done regularly, just as you should continually monitor your cash flow.
posted by Sean Rehder at 2:44 PM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Study Finds HR Strategy Dovetails with Profits
Cost concerns are pushing U.S. companies to take a close look at ways their human resources departments can work with the rest of the organization to increase profits, according to a recent Mercer Human Resources Consulting report.
Big Pension Fund Seeks Accounting Reform
The nation's largest pension fund yesterday urged regulators to go one step further to clean up the accounting industry by banning accountants from providing tax advice to publicly traded clients whose financial statements they audit.
How to Turn Unemployment's Rising Tide
America's manufacturing sector is reeling, with some 2.7 million factory jobs lost since 2000. Workers are worried about losing their jobs, incomes, and benefits to low-wage competitors in the developing world. Politicians on the state and national level, including the Bush Administration, claim to feel the pain of the unemployed, while Corporate America is coming under attack for closing factories and exporting middle-class jobs.
Accounting Firms Ramp up Entry-Level Recruiting
The National Association of Colleges and Employers has reported that accounting firms will increase their hiring of new college graduates by about 3 percent this year. International, national and regional accounting firms, meanwhile, are in a heated battle for the best and brightest students that colleges are turning out.
posted by Sean Rehder at 2:39 PM, (Permalink)
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Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Benefits
News Postings
Health Insurance Bill Worries Small Business
Businesses are pressing Gov. Gray Davis to veto legislation that would force California employers to provide health insurance for their workers, saying it would mean high costs and the loss of potential jobs.
State Investigates 'Tribal Coverage'
California employers and insurance brokers are being courted by organizations owned by Indian tribes that claim their sovereign status can allow employers to sidestep a state requirement to carry workers' compensation insurance.
Health Costs Don't Retire
There's only one surety for most of those heading toward retirement: It'll be expensive. Most American workers believe they'll have adequate income to finance a comfortable post-work life. But one wonders whether they fully understand the costs, especially for health-care services.
Lawmakers Vote to Limit Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care
In the final day of the state legislature's regular session, California legislators voted to make revisions to their state's workers' compensation insurance system, with the intent of reducing premiums and overall costs associated with the system.
posted by Sean Rehder at 11:30 AM, (Permalink)
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Compensation
News Postings
Don't Expect Much of a Raise
Employees won't be seeing signs of an economic turnaround in their paychecks anytime soon. After enduring the lowest pay raises in nearly 30 years, workers should expect only modest hikes in 2004.
Small Businesses Grapple with Proposed Overtime Pay Changes
Whether it's a necessary change that benefits workers or an attempt to bilk a large number of employees out of their due pay, proposed changes by the U.S. Department of Labor to overtime regulations remain a lively topic.
Payment OKd to Enron Workers, Creditors
A Manhattan bankruptcy judge authorized the committee representing Enron Corp. employees to collect some of an estimated $53 million in accelerated deferred compensation payments set aside for certain executives on the eve of the company's bankruptcy filing, lawyers said.
Republicans Renew Call for Special Session on Workers' Comp
Republican legislators and the two leading Republican candidates for governor in the recall race are not giving up on their demand for a special legislative session to deal with California's workers' compensation program, probably the biggest business issue in the state.
posted by Sean Rehder at 11:29 AM, (Permalink)
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Recruiting & Staffing
News Postings
Silicon Valley Jobless Rate Dips Below 8 Percent
For the first time in 15 months, the unemployment rate in Santa Clara County, heart of Silicon Valley, has dropped below 8 percent. The California Employment Development Department says the county had an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in August, lowest rate of the year, and lowest since the same rate noted in May 2002.
Guidelines for the Effective Use of Online Pre-Screening Tools
These guidelines to help manage the risks associated with the use of pre-screening tools while maximizing the effectiveness of these tools won't guarantee that pre-screening will achieve all the marketing claims made by vendors, but it will help ensure that pre-screening provides maximum value to your staffing process.
Manpower Survey Shows Small Increase in Hiring Prospects
Hiring will improve slightly nationwide in the last few months of the year, but not enough to make much difference to job seekers, according to a survey by staffing company Manpower.
Jobless Claims Drop to 399,000 Last Week
The U.S. labor market brightened a bit last week, beating analysts' expectations, while a forward-looking measure of the economy pointed to a further pick-up in growth in coming months.
posted by Sean Rehder at 11:27 AM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Workers Planning to Retire Later
The image of American retirees lounging by the pool or playing golf may disappear as nearly three-quarters of older workers say they plan to work past the normal retirement age, according to a study to be released today.
JetBlue Sued for Disclosing Passenger Information to Defense Contractor
A group of passengers has sued JetBlue Airways Corp. for passing their personal information to a Defense Department contractor. The suit, filed Monday, follows JetBlue's acknowledgment last week that, in violation of its own privacy policy, it had given information from about 5 million passenger records to Torch Concepts of Huntsville, Ala.
EEOC Sues Firm for Alleged Bias against Muslims
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued an Atlanta company, Atlanta Rent-A-Car Inc., for allegedly discriminating against two women because they are Muslim.
Small Business Optimistic over Potential for Expansion
Optimism about the future is shared by owners of small and mid-sized businesses nationwide. Nearly 80 percent say they are optimistic about their firm's chances for growth in the next 12 months and 32 percent plan to increase spending in coming months, according to a new poll for City Business Journals Network.
posted by Sean Rehder at 11:24 AM, (Permalink)
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Friday, September 19, 2003
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Employee Development
News Postings
Working Around a Boss Who Won't Work with You
A boss sometimes doesn't have a clue about what it really takes to make things happen. Focusing on results is necessary but sometimes the price you pay in getting there does more damage than it's worth.
Job Training for Aging Workers Becomes Hot Topic
Improving skills and enhancing experience and abilities are critical for aging workers who are trying to dispel the notion that younger is better. That's why one of the hottest issues in work force development is job training for senior citizens.
Someone to Look Up To
The trap many first-time mentors fall into is trying to stuff their mentees so full of information that they end up dependent on their mentors and unable to maneuver on their own. The key to an effective mentor-mentee relationship is to slim down your advice to allow your mentee room to grow and learn on their own.
Are We Working Smarter —or Harder?
For several years now, economists have been praising the tech-driven improvement in the productivity of the U.S. work force. The theory is that, as computers allow us all to produce more with less work, our incomes will continue to grow and our standard of living will rise. But there's a darker side to productivity that some economists are now beginning to look at more closely. Simply put: Are we all really working smarter? Or just a lot harder?
posted by Sean Rehder at 10:59 AM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Many California Employers Face Health Care Mandate
With the ranks of the uninsured rising rapidly across the country, California — where the problem is especially acute — is on the verge of requiring thousands of employers to provide health benefits for their workers.
Small-Business Owners Show More Confidence in Recovery
In what could be a positive sign for the U.S. economy, about six in 10 small-business owners responding to a nationwide survey say they expect an increase in their companies' revenues over the next 12 months.
Whistle-Blower Awarded Nearly $1 Million
Michelle Doggett, a whistle-blower at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, has accepted $990,000 in an out-of-court settlement of her lawsuit against the University of California, which manages the top-secret government laboratory in the East Bay, according to her attorneys.
Companies Unlikely to End Travel Cuts Soon
Large U.S. companies have no plans to expand their shrunken travel budgets in coming months. For the struggling airline industry, which needs corporate travelers to open up their wallets again in order to fully recovery from its worst downturn ever, these are not good signs.
posted by Sean Rehder at 10:57 AM, (Permalink)
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Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Compensation
News Postings
Grasso Critics Extend to NYSE Board
New York Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso, who has encountered a barrage of criticism for his $139.5 million pay package, is under fire from some of the most powerful members of his board of directors, who hope to force changes in the way the exchange is run.
Wet Seal to Pay Fired CEO More Than $3 Million
Wet Seal Inc. agreed to pay fired Chief Executive Kathy Bronstein more than $3 million in compensation to settle her claims against the chain-store operator, according to a company filing.
Grasso's Pay Becomes a Classroom Lesson
Peter White, New York state's teacher of the year in 1999, said Wall Street floor traders "grossly understate the matter" when they call New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso's pay package excessive. Grasso's salary has become the talk of classrooms nationwide.
Microsoft Doubles Annual Cash Payout
Nine months after declaring its first-ever dividend payout, the Microsoft Corporation said that its board had approved a doubling in the size of its annual cash payout, to 16 cents a share.
posted by Sean Rehder at 11:07 AM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Bill Targets Firms of All Sizes
Under the landmark health bill passed by the Legislature over the weekend, businesses with 200 or more workers in California would have to provide medical insurance to their employees' dependents starting in 2006, when the law would kick in.
Judge Hears Age-Bias Suit by Agents at Allstate
A lawyer for agents in a long-running age discrimination dispute against Allstate said today that company executives told the board in the summer of 1999 that summarily dismissing "low-performing agents" in a drive for greater efficiency was "not legally possible."
Senate Panel Expected to Vote on Bill to Aid Pension Plans
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote tomorrow on a bill that would offer relief to severely troubled pension plans — including those at airlines — and would radically change the way companies calculate their pensions.
Legislature Approves 'Living Wage'
If you're a contractor doing business with the state of California, you may have to increase your workers' pay. The Legislature approved a bill (AB1093) on Wednesday that would make a so-called "living wage" of at least $10 per hour the norm in many cases where the state government contracts with private companies for services.
posted by Sean Rehder at 11:04 AM, (Permalink)
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Monday, September 15, 2003
Benefits
News Postings
Bill Would Modify Pension Plan Rules
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) plans to sponsor legislation that would require operators of pension plans to take into account the age of their workforce when computing pension liabilities.
More Double-Digit Increases in Store for Health Premiums
Health insurance premiums jumped 13.9 percent this year, the biggest increase since 1990 and the third consecutive year of double-digit percentage increases, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.
Low-Cost Health Plan Offers Alternative to Dropping Coverage
Companies are increasingly buying health insurance plans that push some of the costs of health care to the employee. Because of this trend, Blue Shield of California, through an affiliate, has begun selling a plan that resembles a consumer-driven health plan in which an employee pays for health-care costs out of a spending account set aside by the employer.
Staying Ahead
The perks of one's job -- be it a frothy beverage or cosmetic surgery -- are being offered with salaries and benefits to keep employees in-house.
posted by Sean Rehder at 10:59 AM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Jury: AMD Not Guilty of Discrimination
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. rose more than 5 percent Thursday after news that a jury found the Sunnyvale chip maker not guilty of discriminating against a Muslim who resigned from the firm in 2001.
CFOs Support New Accounting Standards
Should privately held companies apply corporate governance standards that are mandated for publicly traded companies to their own businesses? Many financial executives from nonpublic companies say yes.
Blazing a Trail for Health Care
The passage of a landmark California bill that would require all but the smallest businesses to provide health insurance to their workers may give new traction to sputtering efforts in other states to expand health coverage, experts said Sunday.
Uptick Pulls Tech Sector 'Off Bottom'
The long-awaited technology sector recovery — critical to broader U.S. economic growth — finally seems at hand. Latest sign: 32% of small firms surveyed last month plan to buy tech and other capital goods in coming months, says a report out today by the National Federation of Independent Business trade group.
posted by Sean Rehder at 10:56 AM, (Permalink)
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Friday, September 12, 2003
Workplace Safety
News Postings
Improved Productivity Doesn't Have to Equal Increased Stress
With recent productivity jumps indicating that American businesses are getting more bang for their employee buck, it seems like the picture being painted by last quarter's 6.8 percent productivity increase would be a bright one. But more often than not in the recent weeks, those positive productivity improvements were turned into negatives: employee stress, job burnout, overworked workers.
Can Ergonomics Fix Back Pain?
It's a fact – with or without ergonomics, 80 percent of all workers will still face some sort of low back pain at some point in their lives. So does that make ergonomics a futile effort in the fight against back pain? According to Stover Snook, Ph.D., CPE, in an interview for The Ergonomics Report™, not at all, but it is time to refocus ergonomics to work with back pain rather than just trying to prevent it.
How Does the Insurer See Back Pain?
In a state where workers' compensation costs for businesses have doubled in the past two years and are scheduled to increase again in January 2004, the lure of a reformed system is promising. But so is lowering costs and expenses through decreasing the number of on-the-job injuries – a task custom-built for ergonomics.
Working Long or Late Hours Takes Its Toll On Workers and Workplace
Increased stress, higher-than-average divorce rates, and poor productivity are all factors that face the 24 million Americans working the night shift every time they punch the clock. Reporting on a study in Business Week, researchers found that working nights meant more than just heavy eyelids. As the study conducted by Circadian Technology indicates, when night falls, accidents go up and productivity and accuracy plummet.
posted by Sean Rehder at 9:59 AM, (Permalink)
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Recruiting & Staffing
News Postings
Working the Network
Networking substantially improves the odds that you'll connect with someone you otherwise would have missed. All it takes is a little discipline. Networking is not just asking every person you meet whether he happens to know someone looking for a job. It's a methodical approach to identifying top candidates.
Traditional Advertising Metrics: Why They Don't Work for Recruiting
It seems like all we hear about these days are metrics. But there's something really, really important that we're missing: reliable, relevant return on investment data on our advertising. The unique challenges presented by recruiting are beyond what traditional advertising metrics can ever hope to measure.
Outsourcing and Your Brand
One of the most pressing reasons why branding is becoming a critical discipline within HR has nothing to do with what many accept as the historical role of human resources, and everything to do with how the game of commerce has changed in the ever-expanding global economy.
Payrolls Slashed for 7th Straight Month
U.S. companies slashed payrolls for a seventh straight month in August, raising new worries that a weak jobs market could shackle the budding economic recovery despite a slight improvement in the overall unemployment rate.
posted by Sean Rehder at 9:56 AM, (Permalink)
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Thursday, September 11, 2003
Employee Development
News Postings
Generation Gaps in the Workplace
In the past decade, the Pitney Bowes Company transformed itself from a maker of postage meters into a document management company with a software orientation. But managing through that change may be nothing compared with what the company and several others are anticipating over the next decade ... a clash of generations.
Job Stress, Burnout on the Rise
You're doing the work of three people at your job. Some weeks you spend more time at work than at home. You missed your child's soccer game ... again. In the morning, you feel more exhausted than rested. Watch out, you may be a candidate for worker burnout.
The Sixty-Minute Hour, Or, Why Doesn't Anything Ever Get Done Around Here?
It has been said that work takes up the time allowed for its completion. This is probably true in many instances. It is a sad and jaded truth, based upon the unfortunate reality of mutual exploitation and perception of human nature through a dark and cynical prism.
Woe Are We
The job market is so bad that unemployment went down — because people were so discouraged they stopped looking for work. But the jobless aren't the only ones complaining.
posted by Sean Rehder at 8:09 AM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Assembly Approves Sexual Harassment Bill
The state Assembly approved a bill Friday that would hold employers liable if they didn't do anything to protect employees who were sexually harassed by customers.
House Blocks Treasury Work on Pensions
The House of Representatives voted decisively last night to block the Treasury's work on pension regulations, citing concerns that the rules might be used by companies intent on changing their pension plans in ways that would strip older workers of benefits.
EEOC Settles Sexual Harassment Suit for $2.3 Million Against SH&E and Reed Telepublishing
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the $2.3 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment at New York-based airline consulting firm Simat, Helliesen & Eichner (SH&E) and Reed Telepublishing under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit alleged that the former president of SH&E sexually harassed female employees at its Manhattan office.
CEO Confidence in Economy Increases
Chief executive officers of small to mid-size companies are showing more confidence in the nation's economy, according to a quarterly survey of 1,000 CEOs by San Diego-based TEC International, a nonprofit organization for executives.
posted by Sean Rehder at 8:07 AM, (Permalink)
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Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Compensation
News Postings
The Tussle over Overtime
Lawsuits over working conditions, and compensation — and particularly costly class-action lawsuits — are among the fastest-growing type of civil litigation filed in federal court. Last year 3,900 cases were brought under the FLSA, more than double the 1,900 filed in 2001, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Big Board Chief Will Get a $140 Million Package
Bowing to criticism of the secretive way it compensates its chief executive, the board of the New York Stock Exchange disclosed yesterday that its top executive, Richard A. Grasso, would receive lump- sum payments totaling $140 million in accrued savings and incentives, in addition to a base salary of $1.4 million and a bonus of at least $1 million.
Compensation Probe to Cut into Profit
Hollinger International Inc., publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, warned that profits would be hit by the cost of a probe into executives' benefits in the wake of a key shareholder's complaint.
Executives Bask in Dividend Windfalls
Enacted in May, the federal tax cut on dividends will benefit every shareholder holding stocks in firms that use periodic dividend payouts to distribute a portion of their profits. For some top executives, who own large amounts of stock, the tax change will generate six-figure income boosts.
posted by Sean Rehder at 7:17 AM, (Permalink)
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Benefits
News Postings
Workers' Comp Fix Crafted
A legislative cure for California's ailing workers' compensation system is expected to be voted on by Sept. 12, according to a member of the Assembly-Senate Workers' Compensation Conference Committee.
Individual Health Plans Growing Business
Individual health plans are gaining in popularity. Large-scale unemployment, early retirees and recent college graduates are growing segments for individual health plans, and insurers have increased their efforts to market these plans to gain more business.
Long-Term Benefits
Financial planners say President Bush's new tax-cut package provides some opportunities to consider when saving for retirement, but they caution that investors shouldn't make wholesale changes to their portfolios.
Mandatory Employer-Paid Health Insurance Advances
A bill that would require employers with 20 or more workers to provide healthcare benefits to their employees -- or pay a fee into a state healthcare fund -- will get its first hearing Tuesday before a Legislative conference committee on the uninsured.
posted by Sean Rehder at 7:16 AM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Survey Says Health Insurance Premiums Rose in Past Year
Health insurance premiums for American employees rose 13.9 percent during the past year, the biggest annual jump since 1990, according to a survey of employers released today in Washington.
Group Takes Aim at State Business Climate
A group of economic development executives has joined forces to examine manufacturing business failures and business migration in California from 1999 to 2002 in an effort to turn around the state's business climate.
Businesses Owned by Women Get Special Aid
Women who own small businesses qualify for special help in winning U.S. government contracts without having to compete for the work. It is help that many other woman- and minority-owned businesses qualify for under an array of programs run by the federal government.
Labor Department Offers Employers Online Help
Two new efforts to help employers understand how to comply with the U.S. Department of Labor's employment laws and regulations are going online. Called "compliance assistance tools," they are the FirstStep Employment Law Advisor and the Employment Law Guide.
posted by Sean Rehder at 7:10 AM, (Permalink)
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Friday, September 05, 2003
 If you are a manager who works with staffing agency temps...
Here is an article for managers on how to deal/work with temps placed by staffing agencies. The article mainly addresses issues of co-employment.
posted by Sean Rehder at 6:28 AM, (Permalink)
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Thursday, September 04, 2003
Recruiting & Staffing
News Postings
Layoffs to Fade as Hiring Kicks into Gear
Don't expect to see help wanted signs on every shop window, or recruiters to start calling again. But after years of a virtual hiring lockdown, it appears some corporations are ready to start cracking open their doors to a few new workers.
Why Both Sides Expect a Job-Market Recovery
Industrial orders are edging upward, new home purchases continue to climb and even corporate profits are showing signs of improvement. But if the economy is really in the midst of a revival, where are the jobs? They'll be showing up within the next six to 12 months, a majority of human-resource managers interviewed for a new survey conducted for the Society of Human Resource Management and CareerJournal.com believes.
Utilization Metrics: The Key to Improving Hiring Performance
Utilization metrics encompass data that reflects how well you are using your existing resources. These metrics allow you to get more strategic in how existing assets are leveraged and aid in the justification of additional resources. Utilization metrics gauge the management of such assets as talent database, career website, employee referral program and internal mobility programs. This information enables you to show the value these tools provide to your company.
Networking Semi-Candidates
Semi-candidates are the sourcing sweet-spot. There are plenty of top people in these groups who can easily be found and hired with well-designed systems and well-trained recruiters.
posted by Sean Rehder at 8:03 PM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Garamendi: I Can't Lower Workers' Comp Premiums
Responding to an inquiry by lawmakers, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said he does not have the authority to reduce workers' compensation premiums. In addition, he warned state lawmakers Tuesday not to "draft a law that mandates a reduction in the premiums" below the "actual costs of paying claims, legal costs, administrative costs and a reasonable profit."
Suit Alleges United Refused to Pay Overtime
United Airlines has been sued by a Chicago woman who claims she and other employees were deprived of overtime pay.
Productivity Soars; Jobless Claims Climb
The productivity of U.S. companies in the second quarter posted the biggest gain in a year as businesses produced more with fewer workers. New claims for unemployment benefits climbed last week to the highest level since the middle of July.
On the Firing Line: Employees vs. Employers
An employee refuses to perform an illegal act in connection with his work, such as destroying or changing financial records -- and receives the reward of a pink slip. He decides to sue his employer. Attorneys who deal with cases such as this say rulings related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations have made it more important and also harder for the employee to prove he was terminated from his job solely based on refusal to perform an illegal act.
posted by Sean Rehder at 7:38 PM, (Permalink)
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Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Employee Development
News Postings
Shaking It Up
How can beleaguered quarterlifers escape their funk and find meaning in life? For starters, quarterlifers might want to consider being more realistic, says Tom Johnston, managing partner of WorldBridge Partners, a national executive search firm. Young people who were in college during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, especially, have a distorted view of the workplace, he says.
Following Through
Effective followers don't always wait for specific directions, they dive in and start swimming. Here are some strategies to help you dive in.
Tethered by a High-Tech Leash
If the line between work life and home life has become increasingly blurred, technology serves as the foggy glasses. For virtually all “knowledge workers,” the days of leaving the office at the office are gone. Those with tech toys and Internet access do about an hour of extra work from home every night, a recent study says.
Tough Times Drive Down Employee Benefits, Attitudes
As the economy continues its slow rebound, companies are struggling to maintain employee morale while management trims expenses and considers, or even implements layoffs.
posted by Sean Rehder at 5:14 PM, (Permalink)
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Compensation
News Postings
The Tussle over Overtime
Lawsuits over working conditions, and compensation — and particularly costly class-action lawsuits — are among the fastest-growing type of civil litigation filed in federal court. Last year 3,900 cases were brought under the FLSA, more than double the 1,900 filed in 2001, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Big Board Chief Will Get a $140 Million Package
Bowing to criticism of the secretive way it compensates its chief executive, the board of the New York Stock Exchange disclosed yesterday that its top executive, Richard A. Grasso, would receive lump- sum payments totaling $140 million in accrued savings and incentives, in addition to a base salary of $1.4 million and a bonus of at least $1 million.
Compensation Probe to Cut into Profit
Hollinger International Inc., publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, warned that profits would be hit by the cost of a probe into executives' benefits in the wake of a key shareholder's complaint.
Executives Bask in Dividend Windfalls
Enacted in May, the federal tax cut on dividends will benefit every shareholder holding stocks in firms that use periodic dividend payouts to distribute a portion of their profits. For some top executives, who own large amounts of stock, the tax change will generate six-figure income boosts.
posted by Sean Rehder at 5:12 PM, (Permalink)
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Benefits
News Postings
Business Pushing Pension Change
As Congress returns to work from its August recess this week, business lobbyists will be angling for quick action to overhaul the pension-funding system.
Pensions May All Be in Peril
In late July a federal district court ruled that IBM had violated age-discrimination laws when it switched its pension plan to the "cash balance" version in 1999. But while employee-rights activists are hailing the ruling, some pension experts worry that it could well spell doom for the U.S. pension system.
Is Self-Insurance a Salve for Ailing Businesses?
California employers looking to self-insure, or more likely, to band together in groups to provide their own workers' comp coverage, may find the moves are more of a bandage on a system that requires radical surgery.
COBRA Takes a New Bite
The Department of Labor has proposed additional requirements for COBRA compliance. Under the proposed changes, which apply to companies with 20 employees or more, employers would have to increase the amount of paperwork they provide employees and former employees, including two new notices: one that notifies former workers or beneficiaries that they are not entitled to COBRA and one that notifies people that their COBRA coverage has been terminated.
posted by Sean Rehder at 4:48 PM, (Permalink)
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General
News Postings
Best Defense
One of the best defenses employers have against costly and time-consuming allegations of racial and gender discrimination is a good offense, diversity managers say.
On the Firing Line: Employees vs. Employers
An employee refuses to perform an illegal act in connection with his work, such as destroying or changing financial records -- and receives the reward of a pink slip. He decides to sue his employer. Attorneys who deal with cases such as this say rulings related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations have made it more important and also harder for the employee to prove he was terminated from his job solely based on refusal to perform an illegal act.
Tightening the Screws
Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted in July 2002 with the goal of protecting public company shareholders from corporate mal-feasance by requiring greater transparency of financial statements and demanding greater executive and director accountability. Section 404 will take Sarbanes-Oxley a step further in terms of increasing costs and time commitments by forcing companies to document and demonstrate their procedures for complying with the law.
Job Search Time Nearly Doubles
Unemployed workers at almost all levels are needing nearly twice as long to find new jobs as they did two years ago, according to new statistics released by Right Management Consultants of Philadelphia.
posted by Sean Rehder at 4:39 PM, (Permalink)
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Monday, September 01, 2003
 I added Boise Office Solutions to the list of companies that I am going to blog on the Inside Los Angeles Job Blog. They are located in Garden Grove, Ca.
Description:
Boise Office Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boise Cascade Corporation (NYSE:BCC), is a premier multinational distributor of office and technology products, office furniture, and paper, with annual sales totaling $3.5 billion. The company, based in Itasca, Ill., is a leader in business-to-business e-commerce with 2002 domestic online sales of more than $1 billion. In 2001, Boise was recognized for its outstanding commitment to customer service with Gartner Inc.’s inaugural CRM Excellence Award. In 2003, its customer service centers were ranked World Class by the Service Quality Measurement Group. Boise is also a pioneer in the diverse business community and has demonstrated a commitment to supporting minority- and women-owned business development since 1972.
If you have any feed back on them for me, please let me know.
Contact(s):
Jane Neubert, Human Resources
Roberta Diebold, Human Resources
posted by Sean Rehder at 9:56 AM, (Permalink)
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Sean Rehder is a Contingent Workforce Developer who administers this site and specializes in building online solutions for workforce issues. Also, a former Independent Contractor Compliance Manager and Program Developer for such companies as Oracle, Cisco, Seagate, Inktomi, Ariba, CommerceOne, etc.
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Sue Becker is the owner of From Piles to Smiles™ professional organizing service. She is a C.P.A., and spent 20 years in various auditing, accounting, finance, and marketing positions at a variety of companies, including The Quaker Oats Company and Ameritech. The organization and time management skills that she used in these positions led to numerous accolades, including a prestigious leadership award. She started From Piles to Smiles early in 2000.
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Alice Snell is Vice President of
iLogos Research, a division of Recruitsoft. As a leading industry analyst, Ms. Snell has authored numerous
articles and reports on recruiting technology issues including best
practice staffing management methodologies and jobseeker behavior online.
Ms. Snell has been frequently called upon to provide expert commentary and
analysis regarding staffing management technology issues and is quoted in
leading media including The Boston Globe, Chief Executive, The New York Times
, PC Week, IT Recruiter, Chicago Tribune, and CNBC.com.
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Simon Meth builds rock-solid staffing systems. Incorporated are all facets
of the recruitment process including recruiting, identifying, behavioral or
competency based interviewing, selecting, and hiring the best-and-brightest
candidates for his clients. These people make a difference each-and-every
day.
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James R. Ziegler, Ph.D. is author of the "Contract Employee's Handbook", a free,
online resource for technical and professional contractors. Dr. Ziegler is also the Founder and Executive Director of
the Professional Association of Contract Employees (P.A.C.E.),
a unique employer of record service for Contract Professionals.
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As a Passion Catalyst (sm), Curt Rosengren helps people discover their passions and create careers that ignite them. His work is based on the Occupational Adventure Guide (sm), a passion pursuit / career development model he created to offer people an easily understood and effective approach to finding the career of their dreams.
Curt shares his thoughts daily at the Occupational Adventure Blog, "an ever-unfolding mixed bag of nuts, loosely clustered around the the central theme of Occupational Adventure - that is, a career that really gets you juiced." He also writes a monthly passion pursuit e-newsletter called Passionkey (sm).
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Jason Butler is the editor of numerous workforce related sites including "The Job Blog" and "The HR Blog" on the BostonWorks.com website. He has also written for the past three years on his personal blog, at jpbutler.com. Jason has worked in the Internet space since 1997, as a project manager for PlanetAll, as a program manager for Amazon.com, and as Director of Product Development for Abuzz, a division of New York Times Digital.
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Allan Schweyer has been involved in Internet recruiting since 1994 when he pioneered e-recruitment solutions for Human Resources Development Canada. He also currently consults with large organizations on HR strategies and specializes in e-recruitment projects. Alan is a senior researcher and analyst with HR.com and the guest editor of the HR.com staffing vertical.
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Tom Mochal is President of TenStep, Inc., a methodology development, consulting and training company. He has published a book on project management called Lessons in Project Management (Apress 2003). He has also developed a complete portfolio management process for companies called PortfolioStep (www.PortfolioStep.com), a project management methodology called TenStep (www.TenStep.com) and a framework for implementing and supporting project management within companies called PMOStep (www.PMOStep.com). Tom has over 23 years of IT experience, at Geac Computers, The Coca-Cola Company, Cap Gemini E&Y and Eastman Kodak. Tom has published hundreds of columns, and has presented and trained on project management and life-cycle topics around the world.
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