Employment Help & Advice

Job Search: Networking

Everyone these days talks about networking for job searches. But for those who are just starting their initial job search, they might not know exactly what networking is. While it sounds like a computer term, networking is actually utilizing the people you know to find jobs in your field. For example, if you have just graduated from engineering school and you have an uncle who is an engineer at a nearby firm, ask him to look into any openings at his firm. Then perhaps he can mention you to his boss or to personnel, and it just might get you in the company.

Networking is by far the most common way of finding jobs in larger corporations. Since large companies and corporations receiver thousands of rsums for each job opening, they rely on word-of-mouth and personal recommendations from good employees of the company. This is how many people end up with terrific jobs: they know someone else who works for the company.

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Mukasey Asked to Watch for Lingerers
Two leading Senate Democrats asked Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey yesterday to “exercise vigilance” and ensure that political appointees do not improperly wheedle their way into permanent slots at the beleaguered Justice Department.

Labour & Employment
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is increasing its audit and raid activities, cracking down on workers employed in the United States without authorization and the employers who hire them.

Employment open house planned
The Illinois Veterans Home at La Salle will host an employment open house 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at 2015 OConor Ave., La Salle.

Paid to find tenants jobs
Work and pensions secretary James Purnell said he wanted to devolve responsibility for providing employment advice from central government to providers working in the community.

Christensen, Sickels begin appeals process with city
James Christensen and John Sickels are appealing their terminations from the Creston Police Department. Both Christensen and Sickels were terminated after pre-employment termination meetings.

Labour & Employment
IRS regulations regarding Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code will become effective on January 1, 2009. By that date, all plans providing for compensation governed by 409A’s new statutory and regulatory restrictions will need to be made compliant, both in form and in operation, with Section 409A’s strict rules.

Malta with lowest employment rate in the EU
Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi. Malta registered the lowest employment rate among the EU member states last year, according to new figures published by Eurostat yesterday.

Crandall Canyon cited in decreases for Utah’s coal production, employment
The collapses and ultimate closure at the Crandall Canyon Mine and the closing of the Aberdeen Mine are blamed for a 7.1 percent decrease in Utah’s coal production in 2007 and a 5.3 percent loss in mine-related employment, the Utah Geological Survey reported this week in its “Annual Review and Forecast of Utah Coal.”

Employee Charges Downtown McDonalds with Discrimination
The Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center of San Francisco filed charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Tuesday (today), alleging that the McDonalds in downtown Berkeley unlawfully discriminated against one of its employees and her two co-workers because of their developmental disabilities.

More On Water
MORE ON WATER….The mysterious Froude Reynolds, who “carried pipe in tomato fields, walked along canals, and studied water in California universities in preparation for current employment that makes a pseudonym a reasonable precaution,” responds to David Zetland’s suggestion that the…

Add comment July 25th, 2008

Labour and Employment Law – the Same or Different?

Labour and employment law are often terms used interchangeably. In actual fact, there is a difference between labour and employment law. Labour laws usually deal with employer-union relationships and employment laws with employer-employee relationships. Is this a distinction without a difference? Possibly, unless you happen to deal in labour and employment law on a regular basis and the distinction is important to your business.

Well, for the purposes of this short article, you will be reading about employer-employee relationships in the area of sick leave pay. As you know, most US employers offer sick leave pay. You will find some also offer accrued sick leave pay when employees quit or are laid off. This is mostly used as a benefit to attract and keep employees. However, this is NOT mandated under labour and employment law, it is strictly voluntary.

So great, where does that leave an employee? If an employer does offer sick leave pay, then you are entitled to it – so long as you comply with terms and conditions in related policies or your employment contract. Since this is a totally voluntary benefit, labour and employment law has no effect on this. So basically, it is up to the employer to follow through or not. However, there may be a loophole here should you need one. If company sick leave policy states you need a Doctor’s note and the company doesn’t consistently apply this to everyone, you may be able to sue.

What about sick leave of your own or a family member? If this sick leave pay is totally voluntary and not governed by labour and employment law where does that leave you? Here you are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and may have up to 12 weeks of sick leave for your own or a family member’s illness. This is without losing your job or group health benefits. So that’s good news.
You may recall that something dubbed the Healthy Americans Act was first introduced in the US Senate in 2005. The idea was to compel employers to provide annual sick leave benefits to workers who logged at least 1,500 hours in a year. That first Act didn’t get anywhere and was reborn as the Healthy Americans Act of 2007.
In a nutshell this act (if it passes) would dissolve all employer-based insurance. It would mandate every employer who covered his employees in 2006 convert the total they spent on insurance into salary increases. Whoa what a pay raise that would be! Employers would be legislated to do this, but would want to because every year health costs go up at least 10 percent or more. If the total for employers freezes at 2006 levels, employers would be exempt from 2007’s increase. There no indication this Act will pass in 2007.

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Nichols, East defeat West in N.D. Shrine Bowl 9-man game
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Expressing Passions (Just Not Your Own)
When I mention that Im writing a book for a doctor or an executive, I sense a certain discomfort, as if Id said that I write term papers for a living.

Unemployment benefits extended
MORGANTON - Unemployed workers could see their benefits extended. Officials with the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina said that extended unemployment insurance benefits could be available this week. The extension of benefits was a directive from the federal government. Those who filed an unemployment claim on or after May 7, 2006, are potentially eligible, say Commission …

Public servant CMC probe
QUEENSLAND’S crime watchdog starts public hearings today into allegations of official misconduct by a high-ranking former Queensland public servant.

Add comment July 14th, 2008