Local, state and federal budget deficits will seriously impede summer employment for students according to a study published by SHRM. Young job seekers will compete with recent college graduates and older workers supplementing their retirement incomes. Job prospects in the private sector are a little better. However, there has been a flurry of increased hiring of people with disabilities in… Read More Jobs? Where? Who?
Is it more important to hear or to be heard? Think it through. If you really want to be heard which means also understood and accepted – then you better also know your audience. Know their dreams and their delusions. That requires listening. Listening here means more than taking in noise. To have a harmonious… Read More Take Time to Really Listen
“HR professionals say they are swamped by the details and explanations of the new health care law and are focusing their attention on the provisions that take effect this year and next. A key challenge is how to comply with the law’s mandates without shifting costs in such a way that the plan could lose… Read More Handling the New Health Care Law
As BP is criticized by the media and politicians, we should realize that what went wrong goes deeper than blaming a corporation. It took more than one company, one person, and one accident to create the huge mess. Perhaps more regulations could have helped, but the regulators themselves also have a role to play regardless… Read More Oil Spill, HR and Ethical Workplaces
In the January 2010 State of the Union address, Obama said his administration will focus on equal pay saying “we’re going to crack down on violations of equal pay laws — so that women get equal pay for an equal day’s work.” When I heard that I wondered what law requires equal for an equal… Read More Equal Pay On Obama’s Crack Down List
The State of Iowa is considering making Iowa a weakened Right to Work state. If the legislature gives unions the right to take non-union worker paychecks it will be a step backward for the State and an unfair penalty to workers who choose to not join a union. Most (about 75%) Iowa public sector employees do… Read More Vote No on “Fair Share”
The Department of Labor seeks to enact 90 rules and regulations in 2010. Their aim is to “ensure that workers are paid a fair wage, have a voice in the workplace, are provided a safe workplace and have a secure retirement”. One regulation would require employers to disclose arrangements made with labor consultants. I will… Read More Labor Secretary Solis’ vision
Many U.S. employers feared that health benefit cost growth would spike in 2009 as employees, worried about keeping their jobs and health coverage, consumed more health services than usual. In fact 2009 saw the lowest annual increase in a decade, as the average per-employee cost of health benefits rose 5.5 percent to reach $8,945 after… Read More Health Benefit Costs Rose 5.5% in 2009
Last year the Congress, Treasury and the Federal Reserve took unprecedented steps to shore up the financial industry. With that came unprecedented government oversight. Statutory limitations on executive compensation at companies receiving direct assistance were enacted. Regulations have been released to expand the oversights to cover all compensation arrangements (not just executives) at nearly 7,000… Read More Government Oversight of Compensation
The Employment Standards Administration is being eliminated from the Department of Labor. The OFCCP will be elevated. The newly appointed head of the OFCCP is Patricia Shiu. Because of the reorganization, Shiu may have to go before Senate confirmation hearings. In the meantime, employers can expect a more aggressive OFCCP under Shiu’s leadership. Shiu, according… Read More New Zealous Leadership at OFCCP
Many people believe that legislation already exists to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in the workplace. Not the case. However, most employers and many states already do have formal policies and laws protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation. So the pending ENDA legislation will not drastically alter the workplace practices in America. Hopefully Republicans… Read More The Latest Protected Group
Handbooks that read like a legal document can do more harm than good. When employees are treated like “the enemy” they may feel and even become adversarial. Handbooks do need to pass minimal legal standards but handbooks with too many “do nots”, legal words and disclaimers set a negative tone and do not build a positive… Read More A Kinder, Gentler Handbook
Employees are worried. They are worried about losing their jobs, personal finances, retirement investments and paying their bills. Visits to EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs) are up. Much of the stress is caused by the fear of the unknown. Employers can help ease those fears by providing as much information as possible about the status of the business. … Read More Workplace Stress
This is a book worth reading. Our busy schedules and obsession with the economic downturn squeezes out reflective time we should take. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with incurable cancer and set out to leave a legacy for his children. He used the idea of “The Last Lecture” to portray his vision of happiness and fulfillment… Read More The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch
A large majority of Iowans, 66%, are opposed to the so-called “fair share” legislation that requires employees to pay union dues and fees even if they do not join the union. A recent poll conducted for the Des Moines Register by Selzer and Company, Inc. found that 66% of Iowans are opposed to the concept of “allowing… Read More What Are Iowans Thinking?
The six pillars within the Character Counts program have never been so important to employees and employers as today in these uncharted and choppy business waters. A recent SHRM-sponsored study discovered the most egregious misconduct witnessed by HR professionals was abusive and intimidating behavior by other employees. According to Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) seven elements… Read More Character STILL Counts
Discrimination claims filed with the EEOC jumped 15 percent in 2008 to 95,402 — the highest level since the agency opened in 1965, said spokesman David Grinberg. Age discrimination charges were up 29 percent. Preliminary figures to be released by the EEOC this week show that claims of age discrimination saw the biggest jump last… Read More Discrimination Claims Expected to Rise in 2009
This legislation is sneaky and misleading. The name says “free choice” but it is not. It takes away the long held process of using both card checks and the private voting ballot for workers to decide if they want a third party — a labor union — to represent them to their employer. This… Read More Employee Free Choice Act — Not Needed!
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans with Disabilites Act of 1990 and Age Discrimination Act of 1967 to declare that an unlawful employment practice occurs when: (1) a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted; (2) an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice; or… Read More Fair Pay Act
“Say on Pay” is a movement and pending legislation that allows shareholders to have a “non-binding” vote on the pay levels of company officials / executives. The executive compensation for corporation executives has gotten out of line. Some CEOs make 262 times more than a typical worker in their organization. Here’s the question though —… Read More “Say on Pay”