American Staffing Association (01/06/12) Lenz, Ed

In the Jan. 5 issue of Staffing Today, ASA provided a link to a sample ASA notice form that staffing firms can use to comply with the new California wage notice law in lieu of the form provided by the state’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The ASA form has been revised to reflect the most current information.

Wall Street Journal (01/06/12) Nicas, Jack

For the second consecutive year, Indiana House Democrats are boycotting their chamber to block a state right-to-work bill, which in Indiana would ban labor contracts that require all employees to pay union dues, weakening unions’ finances and clout in the workplace. Supporters of the bill, including Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma and Gov. Mitch Daniels, say it would make the state more attractive to employers, while opponents maintain it is an attack on unions and would drive down wages.

Bosma unsuccessfully tried to call for a quorum twice on Jan. 5. The state Constitution requires 67 of the 100 House members to answer the roll call to begin the session. Three of the 40 House Democrats joined Republicans in the chamber Thursday, leaving the House four members short. Bosma says he will invoke fines against Democrats for boycotting the chamber, “if necessary.”

Allentown Morning Call (Pennsylvania) (01/06/12) Kennedy, Sam

Integrity Staffing Solutions has settled a discrimination lawsuit brought by an African-American man convicted of manslaughter almost 30 years ago, after Integrity denied him a job at Amazon.com because of his criminal record. “Employment policies that impose a blanket exclusion on people with past convictions, without any consideration of the relationship of the conviction to the job in question, can constitute unlawful discrimination,” says Jennifer Clarke, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia.

The Public Interest Law Center says ISS “has reaffirmed its policy of providing equal employment opportunity for people with past criminal convictions” and “also has further reemphasized to supervisors and personnel engaged in the hiring process the importance of and appropriate review of a job applicant’s criminal convictions.” ISS declined to discuss the matter.

MyPrivateBallot.com (12/20/11)

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 20 filed suit in federal court to block the National Labor Relations Board’s “ambush” election rule, which would change the process for union representation elections. The new rule effectively shortens election time frames, limiting employees’ opportunity to hear from employers and make an informed choice and diminishing employers’ due process. The complaint seeks to enjoin the NLRB from enforcing the final rule.

CDW chairman Geoffrey Burr said, “Instead of putting fairness first, the NLRB bowed to special interests by abandoning longstanding rules governing union-representation elections for this new rigged system where employees have less information and employers have fewer legal rights and a diminished due process.” He continued, “Big Labor’s paid union organizers seeking more dues-paying members spend months making their pitch. Employees deserve to hear from employers too—employees deserve the full story.” Burr concluded that the only way to block the rule was to take legal action.

Maryland Gazette (01/06/12) Shay, Kevin James

With federal budget cuts making private-sector job creation more important than ever, small businesses in Maryland want to see a “do no harm” policy from legislators, says Ellen Valentino, the state director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “The economy is still very unsettled,” she notes. “We may see more measured action with respect to considering laws that could adversely impact businesses.”

Valentino is looking for a “strict” implementation of the federal health insurance reform law to “make sure that Maryland doesn’t go beyond” it. Business are also concerned about a number of tax proposals, such as combined reporting or even imposing a sales tax on certain professional services. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce has specifically warned against proposed legislation that expands the grounds to sue employers or contributes to the company’s legal costs.