Appropriately classifying individuals as employees or independent contractors can be more complex than it appears. One complexity involved in determining independent contractor status, notes Attorney James Coleman, a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Constangy, Brooks and Smith, is that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of federal civil rights law, and some state-level regulations each define such contractors in slightly different ways.
March 5, 2010
February 10, 2010
Job Hunting? Now May Be a Good Time to Kick the Habit
Given the economy and record unemployment rate, employers can afford to be choosy in their hiring practices. In addition to credit checks, drug testing and background investigations, some companies are now conducting nicotine tests on prospective candidates.
Federal law doesn’t protect smokers from discrimination, however 16 states have laws prohibiting employment decisions based on the tobacco habits of a candidate.
In 2008 Caterpillar Inc. banned smoking on its worksite and Whirlpool Corp. fired 39 workers who lied about not smoking to avoid paying an increase in health care premiums, according to Colleen Madden, a researcher at Challenger Gray.
Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., doesn’t hire new employees who use any kind of tobacco products, on or off duty, according to Madden. Nicotine screenings are included with the usual drug screenings.
Sometimes the habit proves a stronger lure: In 2006, Weyco and Scotts Miracle Grow each stopped hiring smokers, and four Weyco workers quit rather than take the mandatory nicotine screening.
The best advice when applying for a job: Be truthful on the job application, even if you’re a smoker.
Source: www.walletpop.com
January 25, 2010
Sam’s Club Contracts Out Sampling Staff
Wal-mart, considered by some to be practically immune to the recession, has decided to layoff over 11,000 workers at its Sam’s Club member-only discount stores.
Sam’s CEO recently said in a memo that the company contracted with Shopper Events, a third-party marketing company based in Rogers, Ark., to run the Sam’s Club demo program instead of the mostly part-time employees. The company, which employs about 110,000 in its 600 stores, didn’t provide details on cuts at specific stores but said each Sam’s Club store has on average 18 demo associates and two new business membership staffers.
Read the full article here
Source: Business First of Columbus
December 9, 2009
1st Quarter Jobs Expected to Stay Steady
According to Manpower Inc., U.S. employers indicate the first quarter of 2010 will be a break-even quarter on jobs gained and lost.
Manpower surveyed 28,000 employers. Twelve percent indicated they would add jobs in the first quarter and 12 percent indicated they would reduce staff, Manpower said.
The good news is that the bulk of employers, 73 percent, indicated they would keep staff levels the same.
“A record number of employers plan to keep staff levels stable, which is good for the employed, and an overall positive outlook means expanding opportunities for job seekers,” said Manpower President Jonas Prising. “Employer uncertainty around hiring is shifting from whether to consider adding staff, to when — and at what rate — to make the investment.”
The survey included employers in a mix of U.S. industries and carried a margin of error of plus and minus 0.49 percentage points, Manpower said.
Source: www.HispanicBusiness.com
November 23, 2009
Tips for Retaining Top Performers in 2010
A recent survey by Robert Half found that 43 percent of chief information officers said retaining existing workers will be their top priority in 2010.
Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, says “Employers need to focus on preventing burnout and keeping their best people engaged at work. This may be a challenge, given that staffing cuts and the reduction or elimination of benefits have left many employees feeling overworked and undervalued.”
Although developed with IT employees in mind, these tips are applicable across all employee segments.
- Re-recruit your best workers. Talk with employees about what might enhance their job satisfaction and remind them of the unique benefits provided by your company. Emphasize what your firm has to offer, whether it’s a great corporate culture, solid financial standing, or strong industry reputation.
- Invest in professional development. One in five (21 percent) CIOs polled for the Robert Half survey said they plan to offer more training and professional development for their staff in 2010. Online learning opportunities, mentoring programs and tuition reimbursement are all good options.
- Provide opportunities for career advancement. Structure positions so employees can grow their careers without leaving your firm. Offer promotions to workers who have demonstrated they can succeed at the next level.
- Recognize excellence. It seems obvious, but a simple “thank you” and public acknowledgement of your staff’s contributions will strengthen their loyalty.
- Communicate regularly with staff. Maintain an open-door policy year-round. Workers want to hear about company news, in good times and bad.
- Provide project support. Employees who have lost coworkers to layoffs are, in many cases, now doubling down. If hiring is not an option, consider bringing in project professionals to help alleviate workloads.
- Encourage more team-building activities. No doubt, many companies have cut back on employee perks, but an occasional group activity, such as a trip to the movies or an offsite lunch, can make them feel more appreciated.
- Consider compensation. While not all firms can offer employees increased salaries, there may be potential for spot bonuses at the end of a major project or team accomplishment.
- Promote work/life balance. Give staff members the option to follow a flexible schedule or telecommute one day a week. It doesn’t cost anything to implement these changes and workers will appreciate the leeway.
- Evaluate workloads. While every project may seem like a priority, there are likely some that can take a backseat to more pressing matters.
September 30, 2009
Pack The Bags Honey, We’re Heading To Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, NE and Flint, MI have an interesting connection: They are the two cities in the United States with the greatest difference between the number of employers expecting to add workers in the next quarter and how many expect to let them go. That’s very good news in Lincoln, and very bad news in Flint.
In Lincoln, over 20% of employers plan to hire soon, and only 4% plan to layoff–a net difference of 17 percentage points. In Flint, where the economy has had an exaggerated impact on unemployment, pretty much the opposite is true – 26% of employers are planning cuts to payroll and 9% are expecting to hire.
Manpower surveyed 28,000 employers across the nation’s 201 metropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. It measured what percentage expect to be hiring in the next quarter, between October and December of this year, what percentage expect to be firing, and then tallied the difference as “net employment outlook.”
Read the full article here
Source: abcnews.com
September 18, 2009
HR Fact Friday: More Cuts to Payrolls for End of 2009
Okay, I really am trying to find good HR news to feature in my weekly HR Fact Friday posting. Sadly, it’s just not happening. Even with the statement earlier this week by a top U.S. government official that the recession is “probably” over I just can’t take the glass half full viewpoint. And I am in marketing. That’s my job! I am generally an optimistic person but when it comes to the economy, the only statistic that means anything to the millions of laid off workers across the country is the number of new jobs being added to payrolls. The recession will “probably” be over when hiring for new jobs exceeds layoffs. Projections are that that tipping point will not happen for quite some time. Case in point . . .
There are more employers who expect a decrease in their payrolls over the next 3 months than there are employers who expect an increase, according to a survey of 28,000 employers by Manpower, Inc.
While 12 percent of respondents said they expected to increase staff from October through December, 14 percent of employers said they expected to decrease payrolls. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they expected no changes to their payrolls.
“The hiring intentions of U.S. companies continue to be sluggish,” said Jeff Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower. “While there are areas within the U.S. which are showing an uptick, we have yet to see the robust hiring intentions that would indicate a full labor market recovery.”
After seasonal adjustment, Manpower’s Net Employment Outlook for the fourth quarter of 2009 is -3%, the weakest in the history of the survey, which began in 1962.
Source: HR.BLR.com Sept. 10, 2009
September 8, 2009
Women Gain as Men Lose Jobs
Source: USA TODAY, 9/4/2009, Dennis Cauchon
Women are on the verge of outnumbering men in the workforce for the first time, a historic reversal caused by long-term changes in women’s roles and massive job losses for men during this recession.
Women held 49.83% of the nation’s 132 million jobs in June and they’re gaining the vast majority of jobs in the few sectors of the economy that are growing, according to the most recent numbers available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s a record high for a measure that’s been growing steadily for decades and accelerating during the recession. At the current pace, women will become a majority of workers in October or November. The data for July will be released Friday.
The change reflects the growing importance of women as wage earners, but it doesn’t show full equality. On average, women work fewer hours than men, hold more part-time jobs and earn 77% of what men make. Men also still dominate higher-paying executive ranks.
Women have been a growing share of the once heavily male labor force for nearly a century, recording big bumps during epochal events such as the Depression and World War II.
This time, the boost came from a severe recession that has been brutal on male-dominated professions such as construction and manufacturing.
Through June, men have lost 74% of the 6.4 million jobs erased since the recession began in December 2007. Men have lost more than 3 million jobs in construction and manufacturing alone.
The only parts of the economy still growing — health care, education and government — have traditionally hired mostly women. That dominance has increased in part because federal stimulus funding directed money to education, health care and state and local governments.
The Postal Service is cutting tens of thousands of unionized, blue-collar jobs dominated by men while new hires are expanding in teaching and other fields dominated by college-educated women.
The gender transformation is especially remarkable in local government’s 14.6 million-person workforce. Cities, schools, water authorities and other local jurisdictions have cut 86,000 men from payrolls during the recession — while adding 167,000 women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
August 28, 2009
August 11, 2009
Credit Checks in Limbo?
According to SHRM, approximately 40% of employers use credit checks as part of the background check process. Although the checks are often conducted on candidates who will be handling money, many employers use credit checks to gauge a prospective employee’s reliability and responsibility.
Joseph Nai of West Springfield, MA, doesn’t think the practice is fair. “I don’t think it’s right, I think your credit shouldn’t have anything to do about going out and getting a job. Some people fall into hard times and their credit goes bad, does that mean they don’t deserve a job?”
Some states agree with Joseph:
- New York State requires that any background check be directly related to the job being sought.
- Legislators in Ohio and Michigan — a state especially hard-hit by unemployment — are weighing bills that bar credit checks altogether from being used as a basis for hiring.
- In July, Hawaii approved a measure that allows employers in that state to review a credit history only after making an offer and requires the credit check to be “directly related” to job qualifications.
- Similarly, in Washington State, there’s been a law on the books since 2007 that mandates credit checks can be done and used only when they are “substantially related” to the job.
The house is currently considering a bill called ‘The Equal Employment for All Act’ that would prohibit the use of consumer credit checks against prospective and current employees for the purposes of making adverse employment decisions.
Source: WWLP.com





