U.S. Department of Labor awards nearly $123 million in 4th round of President's Community-Based Job Training Grants

U.S. Department of Labor awards nearly $123 million in 4th round of President's Community-Based Job Training Grants

Sounds small compared to the almost $2 trillion in bailout money, until you ask yourself: Where, exactly, is the Constitutional authority for the federal government to train people in Advanced Manufacturing, Health Care, Construction and Law Enforcement?

Document management systems

Our Business Process Optimisation services give you greater control over documentation and processes along with major improvements in productivity, efficiency and customer service. Typically, we can reduce your operational costs by up to 40% within six months.

Religious Accommodation Insanity

Gmail - SHRM's HR Week with State Update, May 5, 2008 - larry.w.bradley@gmail.com: "HR SOLUTIONS
Religious Accommodation: Beliefs Count
Q: Can we require documentation from a religious authority to verify that an employee's request for religious accommodation is consistent with the requirements of the religion or to verify that the person is actually a member of that faith?
A: Employees are not required to provide notes from their clergy. Furthermore, an employee's firmly held religious, ethical or moral beliefs may not be associated with a specific organized religion, and that does not alter the possibility that employers may be required to honor an employee's religious accommodation request.
# Read the full answer
# More HR Solutions articles
# Contact a SHRM Knowledge Center Advisor"

Smoking or Weight Loss?

I have noticed that in workplaces where there is a heavy concentration of smokers, the number of obese employees is lower. The reverse side of the coin: employers with a heavy concentration of obese people have fewer smokers.

Corollary (or maybe it should be "Coronary?"): The adoption of strict workplace smoking rules has led to greater obesity because many ex-smokers substitute food for tobacco.

Solution: Adopt a "Please Smoke" program to drive down obesity. Make sure the vending machines are filled with sugary sweets when going through a Stop-Smoking campaign.

Asian Workers Trapped in Servitude | Newsweek International | Newsweek.com

Asian Workers Trapped in Servitude | Newsweek International | Newsweek.com: "Bottom of the Barrel

Millions of Asian workers producing goods sold here are trapped in servitude."

Read this article, then come back here to discuss:

What role, if any, should American employers play in preventing such practices? Better yet, what should be the role of the HR executive in stopping such practices when it is discovered that the companies outsourcing affiliation engages in or condones such practices?

CHRMS believes it is patently obvious that some American companies would condone such practices on our own shores if there were not laws to prevent it. Should American laws against labor abuse extend overseas to cover American companies that outsource?

SHRM

SHRM - "Diverse People"

Forget the article. Here's the question: what does it mean to be a "diverse" person? Smacks of politically-correct pap and drivel to me. Discuss.

Compulsive e-mailing, texting could be classified as bona fide illness - Engadget

Compulsive e-mailing, texting could be classified as bona fide illness - Engadget: "we're not surprised one iota to hear that uncontrollably texting / e-mailing could soon become 'classified as an official brain illness.' According to a writeup in the latest American Journal of Psychiatry, internet addiction is a common ailment 'that should be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders."

Blog Editor's Note: ... of course, I'm blogging this at 1:25 a.m. Addiction? What addiction?

Don't Discriminate Against Caregivers, Expert Cautions

Don't Discriminate Against Caregivers, Expert Cautions

This goes way beyond the bounds of constitutionality, and it is a blatant double standard. Discuss.

Technology Use Transforming Workplace Learning, ASTD Reports

Technology Use Transforming Workplace Learning, ASTD Reports

Anti-Hate Crime Legislation Fails

Congress failed to pass "anti-hate crime" legislation that would have included sexual orientation, gender, "gender identity," or disability. Question: Will this legislation pass under the next President? Comment below. See poll in right sidebar.

Unconscious Bias - Mind Control at the EEOC

Did I miss something, or has there been a conspicuous absence of protest surrounding the recent EEOC revelation that the agency intends to focus more on "unconscious bias?" If I read the article correctly, the EEOC is not interested in your intentions or motives; rather, they want to know what kinds of discriminatory thoughts are buried so deep inside your mind and soul that you don't even know you have them.

And how will they do this? By concluding (we can only guess) that in all cases where there are no facts supporting the EEOC's case, any action you took against a member of a protected group must have been the result of some form of unconscious bias.

Easter - An Un-PC Holiday

I know someone whose office is decorated for the next holiday as soon as the last one is over -- except for religious holidays like Easter. (This person decorated for Christmas, but strictly in a secularized way). As a Christian, does this bother you? If so, why? If not, why not? (Clue: It does not bother me in the least, but not because it is "illegal".)

Giving Feedback - Balancing Grace and Truth

It seems that giving feedback that levels with the employee without destroying his/her motivation is almost universally done badly. One of my favorites sayings goes something like: "Truth without grace is harshness; grace without truth is hypocritical." Comments?

SHRM and FMLA: Pro-Employee or Anti-Employer?

Is SHRM's chairmanship of the "National Coalition to Protect Family Leave" pro-employee or anti-employer? Both? Neither?

Should People Be Able to Sue Private Employers for Prosyletizing?

"Worker at medical office cited pressure to talk about God"

A federal jury has ordered a Huntsville, AL medical practice to pay $115,000 to a former employee who claims that she was fired for refusing to discuss her feelings about God.

Carolyn S. Hall, 48, of Paint Rock sued Alabama Pain Center for religious discrimination under the federal Civil Rights Act in January. The trial was held last week in the federal court here.

Is SHRM Anti-Right To Bear Arms?

Under the guise of "workplace safety," SHRM opposes state initiatives to impose sanctions on employers who illegally prohibit licensed gun-holders from bringing guns onto the employer's property, even when the owner has a right-to-carry permit, the gun is concealed, and the owner's property is protected by a fence and security personnel. IMO, SHRM has gone too far. In fact, I question whether this is an issue with which SHRM should even be involved. Click on "Comments" below and weigh in. (Contributions are moderated; results will not be displayed immediately).