USA Today (04/16/12) Paul Davidson

Wage-and-hour lawsuits filed in federal court topped 7,000 last
year, up 32% from 2008. Workers are filing suit to recoup
overtime pay, alleging that they were required to work off the
clock, were misclassified as exempt from overtime requirements,
and were expected to handle work-related tasks after hours using
smartphones and other technology. Experts say the Fair Labor
Standards Act is outdated, as it does not take into consideration
the new workplace and new technologies.

Employers are now clearly distinguishing between workers and
managers and pulling back on telecommuting and company-issued
smartphones, especially as the U.S. Department of Labor cracks
down on violators. The amount of back wages recovered by DOL rose
28% from fiscal 2010 to $225 million in fiscal 2011, and it has
increased its wage-and-hour investigators by 40% to 1,050.

New York Times (04/14/12) Alexandra Levit

Around 31% of the U.S. work force is independent or contingent,
including temporary workers, contractors, and the self-employed,
according to a 2006 government report. Contingent workers were
favored by employers during the recent recession because hiring
them helped hold down costs, and they are not likely to go away
given that employers remain hesitant to hire permanent
employees.

Washington Post (04/14/12) Steve Vogel

A new study from the RAND Corp. concludes that federal tax credit
programs encouraging employers to hire disabled veterans are
proving effective. In 2007, Congress added incentives to the Work
Opportunity Tax Credit program, offering employers who hired
disabled veterans who were recently discharged or unemployed for
more than six months up to $4,800 per hire. The new study finds
that the tax credit increased employment among disabled veterans
by two percentage points in 2007 and 2008, or approximately
32,000 jobs each year. “These findings suggest that tax
credits may be an effective means to reduce unemployment among
disabled veterans,” says the study’s author, Paul
Heaton.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (04/14/12) Brian Bowling

Richard McDonald, the former chief executive of the Wilkins,
PA-based medical staffing firm World Health Alternatives Inc.,
pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, securities fraud,
certifying false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, payroll tax evasion, and income tax evasion as part
of a deal with the government to avoid prosecution on 15
additional charges. McDonald assumed the top post at the company
in 2003 and resigned in 2005, and during his tenure, he
transferred company money to his personal account and hid the
fact that the company had $2.3 million in unpaid payroll taxes,
among other things. The company filed bankruptcy six months after
his resignation and was acquired by Alpharetta, GA-based Jackson
Healthcare Solutions in 2006.

Reuters (04/13/12) Andy Sullivan

Three years after the Obama administration launched a push to
build a job-creating “green” economy, the millions of
jobs predicted have been slow to become reality. A $500 million
job-training program has so far helped fewer than 20,000 people
find work, far short of its goal. The White House said in
November 2010 that its clean-energy efforts had generated work
for 225,000 people and would ultimately create a total of 827,000
“job years”—implying average annual employment of
around 200,000 over the four years of Obama’s presidential
term. White House officials stand by that estimate and say job
creation is only one aspect of the clean-energy push.

Backers of the notion of a “green collar” work force
argue that earth-friendly energy is a promising growth sector
that could create a bounty of stable, middle-class jobs and fill
the gap left by manufacturing work that has moved overseas.
However, Darren Divine, vice president for academics at the
College of Southern Nevada, says the fields of health care,
education, and technology are likely to provide the best
employment prospects in the years to come.