Tampa Bay Business Journal (04/17/12)
The Staffing Resource Group has acquired Metro Group IT Recruitment Services based in Fort Lauderdale as part of its plan to expand its Florida footprint. Metro Group president Mike Fisher will remain on staff to manage SRG’s South Florida office and to build business in the area. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Buyers of a business generally expect sellers to be responsible for certain liabilities relating to when the seller owned its business—a concept mergers and acquisitions professionals refer to as indemnification. Indemnification is one of the most heavily negotiated, and potentially most significant, provisions of a purchase agreement, and understanding the terminology common to such agreements is essential when negotiating a deal. Attorney Paul Pincus of Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP explains what sellers are liable for, how a seller’s liability may be limited, and how buyers may seek to fund potential indemnity claims.
MarketWatch (04/17/12)
Information technology staffing and consulting firm Digital Intelligence Systems Corp. reports that it has recently acquired certain assets of Conversion Services International Inc., a provider of information management and business process optimization solutions. The deal is the first in DISYS’s recently announced growth-through-acquisition strategy. “The acquisition of certain CSI assets will give us access to a complementary set of customers and allow us to expand our presence in financial services and other key vertical industries,” says DISYS chief executive officer Mahfuz Ahmed.
A record-breaking gathering of staffing executives wrapped up another successful ASA Staffing Law Conference in the nation’s capital this morning. The two-day annual conference is the only event devoted to legal and regulatory issues facing staffing firms.
Among the conference speakers was Victoria A. Lipnic, commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who participated in the panel discussion “The Regulators Speak: Enforcement Agendas of DOL, EEOC, and DOJ.” Lipnic highlighted staffing firms’ critical role in helping educate their clients, saying, “You really can be leaders in making sure employers comply with the laws.” She added, “I completely appreciate the work that you do.”
Recordings from this year’s conference will be available soon on ASAPro, the ASA online professional development center. Conference attendees will receive an e-mail notification when the recordings are available. ASA members who did not attend the conference may purchase the recordings at a discount. Learn more at americanstaffing.net.
Mark your calendar for the 2013 ASA Staffing Law Conference, May 7–8 in Washington, DC.
Are you maximizing your ASA membership benefits? Find out tomorrow, April 19, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern time, during the ASAPro Webinar “ASA Membership Orientation.” This one-hour Webinar is designed to help ASA member companies learn more about their member benefits. You will learn about professional development opportunities, legal and legislative resources, benchmarking data, marketing tools, and much more.
This ASAPro Webinar is open to new members, and to all members who want to learn more about ASA membership benefits. In addition to the firm key contact, any staff members in your headquarters or branch offices can participate in this Webinar. There is no limit to the number of staff members who can participate—everyone will benefit.
All ASAPro Webinars are free for ASA members. Register online at americanstaffing.net.
Seyfarth Shaw (04/17/12) Ronald J. Kramer
On April 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed the implementation of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board’s rule requiring companies to post notices in the workplace about workers’ rights to unionize. The stay will remain in effect until the D.C. Circuit Court resolves the pending appeal in NAM v. NLRB. The order comes just days after a U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina struck down the NLRB’s posting rule in Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. NLRB, which likely will be appealed.
JDSupra (04/17/2012)
An April 6 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gives the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration just six months to cite employers for record-keeping violations from the date the employer neglected to record an injury or illness in the OSHA 300 log, overruling the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s 2011 decision in Secretary of Labor v. AKM LLC d/b/a Volks Constructors, in which every day the OSHA 300 log was inaccurate constituted a continuing violation. Employers should record the illness or injury within seven calendar days, and from that date, OSHA has only six months to issue a citation for record-keeping violations. The ruling shortens the time during which employers can be cited.
Business Management Daily (04/16/12)
Experts say employers can minimize the risks of litigation, avoid monetary losses related to lawsuits and lost productivity, and show employees they are valued by posting all promotion openings. In the case Culver v. CCL Label the Sixth Circuit dismissed an employer’s claim that a female employee could not sue for sex discrimination because she did not apply for the promotion, stating that employees can sue for missed opportunities if they are unaware of promotion openings. Although the employee ultimately lost the case because she could not prove that she was as qualified as the male co-worker who won the promotion, the company spent a lot of time and money on the case.
Kelly Services News Release (04/17/12)
Employees across the globe have experienced unprecedented economic turmoil, and, as a result, are restless regarding future career goals. Many are unhappy in their jobs and are actively searching for new opportunities. Others are content with their current employment position but are seeking greater engagement and meaning from their positions.
These findings are part of the latest survey results from the Kelly Global Workforce Index, an annual survey conducted by Kelly Services. Overall, only 44% of the global work force feels valued by their employer and 66% intend to look for a new job with another organization in the next year. The survey finds that among the main work force generations, Gen X (aged 31-48) are more likely to be thinking about resigning their current jobs than either Gen Y (19-30) or Baby Boomers (49-66).
USA Today (04/18/12) Paul Davidson
A revival of the manufacturing sector has fueled economic recovery during the last two years, but a decline in the number of tool and die makers could jeopardize the strength of the sector’s revival. The tool and die industry is having a hard time finding skilled workers, and a U.S. Congressional Research Service report indicates that the lack of skilled workers has shrunk the work force to such an extent that it may not be able to support the reshoring trend as companies bring production jobs back to the U.S. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the number of tool and die makers rose 7% to 98,000 in 2011, and the National Tool & Machining Association says 80% of the nation’s tool and die firms want to hire anywhere from one to five workers. Workers with strong math and science skills and an ability to work with their hands are in high demand.
Wall Street Journal (04/18/12) Neil Shah
The wage gap among U.S. workers is getting bigger. According to U.S. Department of Labor numbers released April 17, between the end of the recession in mid-2009 and the first quarter of this year, earnings of U.S. workers at the top of the pay scale rose 7%, while the wages of those at the bottom rose just 2.5%. The gap in growth rates has persisted for decades. Economists cite globalization, which has shifted many U.S. low-skilled, high-paid manufacturing jobs overseas. Of the jobs created in the past two years, about 40% have been in low-paying industries such as retail and restaurants, according to Wells Fargo Securities.
U.S. News & World Report (04/17/12) Danielle Kurtzleben
A new study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research finds that among the 20 most popular occupations for women workers, they only out-earn men in one field: bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Among secretaries and administrative assistants, women make up 96% of workers but earn 86% as much as men. Women account for 54% of financial managers, but they earn only about 66% of what men in that occupation make.
The pay and gender gaps also persist in jobs dominated by men. Approximately 25% of chief executives are women, and they earn only 69% as much as male executives. Meanwhile, women with professional degrees are paid just 67 cents for every dollar paid to men with professional degrees, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families.
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