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Manufacturers Want to Hire, But Can’t Find Skilled Workers

Special from Atlanta–SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition Seventy-five percent of manufacturers are actively hiring, but 2/3rds of those are having trouble finding the types of workers they need, according to research released 6/24 by SHRM at its Annual Conference and Exhibition, in progress this week in Atlanta, Georgia. At a special session covering the hiring […]

Short Takes: Background Checks

A criminal background check on a new employee has revealed that the employee has a warrant for his arrest (drunk driving). The warrant does not appear to have been resolved. Can we discuss this matter with the employee? If so, and if the employee indicates that the matter has been resolved in the courts, can […]

News Notes: EEOC Stepping Up Equal Pay Enforcement; New Focus On Temporary Staffing Industry

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has unveiled a new initiative to boost enforcement of the wage bias laws. The agency will create a new task force to help EEOC investigators analyze equal pay issues when employees file charges. The government is also providing additional educational resources through a new equal pay page on its […]

Is Executive Comp ‘Obscenely High’ or Just ‘Embarrassingly High’?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Just My E-Pinion In the past 2 years, executive comp has been battered as never before. From the general public to Congress—and don’t forget shareholders—there is increased scrutiny over the amount of compensation and its relation to results. High compensation—some would say obscenely high—is what attracts and keeps […]

PPACA Foe Proposes Repeal and Replacement with Market-driven Tools

Critics say health reform is part of a disturbing trend of the government displacing free markets, and they note that it looks unlikely to curtail spiraling health costs. Well, now Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) – a freshman House member – has introduced a bill that would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) […]

Bulletin Item: Workers’ Compensation Reform Developments Continue

The Assembly Insurance Committee was recently scheduled to vote on the controversial reform measure (ABX4 1) proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger just after he took office in November. However, the committee postponed the vote, which likely would have resulted in the bill’s defeat. The governor and legislators have now entered into talks to reach a compromise […]

Bulletin Item: Gov. Davis Vetoes Bills Before Leaving Office

Among the bills that failed to win the governor’s approval were AB 1715, which would have prohibited employers from requiring employees to sign agreements to arbitrate Fair Employment and Housing Act claims as a condition of employment; AB 1093, which would have set a living wage for employees of state contractors; AB 1133, which would […]

Arbitration Agreements: Ninth Circuit Says Compulsory Arbitration of Bias Disputes Is OK; Caution Still Required

Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, decided that federal antibias laws don’t prohibit employers from requiring job applicants and employees to sign mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. The case then went before a full panel of the Ninth Circuit for review—which has now handed down another strong […]