Twitter is good for many things...even getting you out of jail!

Yes, you heard me right....

Check out the quote from this story I ran across...

Buck, a U.C. Berkeley graduate student of journalism, managed to type out a simple one word message -- "Arrested" -- to his network of followers on Twitter. Friends, fellow students and journalists quickly sprang into action by contacting U.C. Berkeley, the U.S. embassy in Egypt, the Associated Press, and other media outlets. The next day, Buck walked out of jail a free man with a U.C. Berkeley hired lawyer at his side and the U.S. embassy on the phone.

So, what are your thoughts about Twitter?

I'm now a Twitter user...am I a Twit? I'd define Twitter as a combination of a social-networking tool + instant message. Like most social networking sites what you type or twit can be public or private and you can allow almost anyone to follow your twits - and you can follow almost anyone's twits as well. I know...I am now over using the word twit.

So, who is really using Twitter anyway? I surprisingly saw where Democratic Presidential Candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton use Twitter...do they update it themselves or do one of their interns or staff members do this for them?

What if you are addicted to Twitter? I think my brother is and a few nights ago I called him a twit-a-holic...he didn't disagree.

Some of you out there that are a Recruiter like me might check out myspace or facebook to see if a candidate you are considering has a profile and if they do what does it look like or reveal about them? As a Recruiter I have done this before but I don't do it consistently with every new hire.

If you're a candidate (and twit user) out there check out this post on Fistful of Talent regarding what to be careful about. Below is a quote from that post...

Here's my take - the digital footprint is positive, but whether it has any impact on the hiring decision depends on three things:

1. Whether you use the digital profile to expand your knowledge or otherwise work more effectively..,

2. Whether you are giving me WAAAAAAY too much information in what you post... and

3. The type of job I have to fill.... If there's creativity involved and you're using the tool to expand your vision via #1, it's a plus... If I don't need that based on the job, than it's probably neutral or perhaps a liability...

So, for those of you twits out there, go ahead and twit away...just remember that it's always out there and available for anyone to find, read, and even possibly hold against you...

The Employment Law Sing-A-Long Song...yes, there is one!

I ran across this great clip on YouTube by Manpower.

You've all heard it said that you can learn anything easier if you put it to a song. I would completely agree and know that from experience...

Now to the topic of Employment Law. Yes, it can be interesting at times and full of learning opportunities but there are times when Employment Law is just law...and it can be boring.

Here's a song that gives us HR Pro's some great reminders and common sense examples of ways to handle anything employment or employee relations related.

Enjoy!

Got Cancer? FedEx will fire you...only if you're an "independent contractor"

Jean Capobianco...you won't meet a braver cancer survivor.

I was just introduced to Jean in this article I ran across on NY Times by Steven Greenhouse.

For more than 10 years Jean and her husband drover a truck together, hauling hazardous waste. After being diagnosed with cancer for the 2nd time and going through a mastectomy her husband decided that he didn't want to be married to her anymore.

After recovering from all of this and getting enough strength to go back to work, she found a job with Roadway Package Systems delivering packages. To her surprise, she was hired on as an "independent contractor", not an employee.

After suffering a back injury lifting packages she had to take 2 years off of work. But, before she could come back to work FedEx acquired Roadway Package Systems and the "rules" had drastically changed. She now had to buy her own truck and pay for her own gas and repairs.

Check out this next quote from the article...To attract drivers, FedEx Ground often runs ads claiming that its drivers earn $60,000 to $80,000 a year. Many drivers say those ads are deceiving. Gross income can exceed $60,000, but Jean, echoing many drivers, said she had to pay nearly $800 a month for her truck, $125 a week for gas, $55 a week for business equipment, $4,000 a year for insurance policies, plus outlays for tires, maintenance and repairs. Some years, Jean calculated, her net pay was just $32,000, amounting to $10.25 an hour.

Next, for the 3rd time, she was diagnosed with cancer - but this time it ovarian cancer. They removed the tumor and performed a hysterectomy but that next week they found Stage 4 cancer that had spread to her lungs.

Remember that she was still an "independent contractor" before reading this next quote...

She fully expected to return to her job in January, and called FedEx Ground’s headquarters to request a leave of absence. Weeks later, a letter arrived saying she was terminated.

Yes, you read the quote correctly...

Her husband has left her and she's been able to survive cancer 4 times...and this appears to be just another hurdle that she has to go through.

Now, for the justification and response from FedEx...

FedEx Ground officials said they had sympathy for Jean but had to terminate her under company rules, because she was no longer covering her route and she hadn’t found a replacement driver.

Company officials said they were free to terminate her because in FedEx’s view she was an independent contractor and therefore not protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act. That law requires companies to make reasonable accommodations to keep employees who have cancer or other disabilities. Jean has sued FedEx, asserting that it violated the act.

Wow...I can't believe I just read that. Sure, FedEx may be following the letter of the law very carefully but what about the public relations nightmare that FedEx is now receiving?

Would you say they would get your vote for being an Employer Of Choice? Nope.

Layoff after layoff after layoff...will they ever end?

You've all been reading and hearing in the news of all the layoffs and projected layoffs that have been happening in the financial industry. These started happening pretty frequently last year and will be happening well into this year.

It's actually pretty hard to comprehend the numbers. I read an article which stated that since August of last year more than 38,000 jobs have been cut in the financial industry.

You have got to be kidding me!

Even close to home, here in the South, we've had Regions Bank laying off about 1,200 in the 16 states they operate in.

Globally, Citigroup is projecting that about 9,000 of their employees will be laid off and Bear Stearn's is projecting that about 14,000 of their employees will be out of a job. These numbers have been projected and announced just in the last month.

One group of people that you probably haven't heard much about is that group of 250 or so recent college graduates and interns that were made job offers by Bear Stearns only to find those job offers now rescinded.

Check out these two quotes from this article in NY Times...

Thousands of people are losing their jobs on Wall Street — some before their first day of work. They polished résumés; they sweated interviews; they landed dream jobs. But now a small group of college and business school students are discovering that their careers at Bear Stearns ended before they began. JPMorgan Chase, which bought the beleaguered investment bank last month, rescinded many of their job offers.

But instead of starting new jobs at Bear, these students are now hunting for work along with a growing number of bankers and brokers. Since August, the financial industry has shed more than 38,000 jobs as a result of the credit crisis and the collapse of Bear Stearns. Citigroup added to the misery on Friday, saying it would eliminate 9,000 more jobs. No one thinks the pain will end there.

I know...layoffs are probably the quickest way to save a company and to immediately cut expenses but this message doesn't do anything for those that have been impacted. When it comes to stock price and value, a company basically has no choice when their main objective is to make money and increase the value of their stock.

What do you think about these companies that are putting their employees through this?

I found this clip of Citigroup employees that were just so proud just to be an employee of Citigroup. How many of these employees are still around today and do you think they still feel this way?

No more "glass ceiling" in IndyCar...thanks to Danica Patrick

For those of you out there that are racing fans, especially IndyCar racing fans, you're all aware and have heard the news that Danica Patrick just became the first female to win an IndyCar race.

I'm not a big racing fan but there are times when I'll stop and watch a race on a Sunday afternoon.

Like most of you out there, you've all heard of Danica Patrick - she been racing since 2005 and has been gaining attention year after year.

I was reading this article on the NY Times and found out some more information regarding some of the history of women in this sport.

Check out this quote from that NY Times article...There was a time when Patrick could not have competed in Sunday’s race. A few years before Janet Guthrie, an aerospace engineer and road racer, became the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1977, women were not allowed in the press box, the garage area or the pits.

As Guthrie wrote in “Life at Full Throttle,” an account of her career in racing, women were dismissed as lacking the strength, endurance and emotional stability to compete against men. Even a driver with Guthrie’s credentials as a road racer was seen as dangerous.

“A woman might be a reporter, a photographer, a timer/scorer, she might own the race car — but she couldn't’t get near it at any time for any reason,” Guthrie wrote. “A woman on the track itself was unthinkable.”

It sounds like we've had a good day in racing and a great day for women in this formerly male-dominated sport...

The Latest HR Carnival Is Out And Open For Business!

All - the Latest HR Carnival is out!

Special thanks to Ann Bares with Compensation Force for this edition!

Be sure to check out the first on the list...from yours truly...

Enjoy!

A Pepsi Employee Is Fired For Testing Positive For Coke

My Mom sent me this picture today so I had to get it out there...

Enjoy and have a great weekend...

Green-Collar Jobs - a political agenda or a real new job category?

I learned a new term today...green-collar job. No longer do we just have white-collar and blue-collar jobs but we now also have green-collar jobs.

I went to Wikipedia and here's how they describe a green-collar worker - A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in the environmental sectors of the economy, or in the agricultural sector. Environmental green-collar workers satisfy the demand for green development. Generally, they implement environmentally-conscious design, policy, and technology to improve conservation and sustainability.

There is much more than this on the Wikipedia website so feel free to click through the link and read more.

I also ran across this video on CNN that talks about this new wave of jobs that are emerging. The video tells the story of a start-up company that makes solar energy panels. This start-up decides to locate themselves in Toledo, Ohio due to the availability of highly-skilled factory workers that have been laid off from the automotive industry. The video also estimates that over the next 20 years 3 million new green-collar jobs will be created all over the country, with the right incentives and tax credits.

I decided to do some more searching on-line and an article on John Edwards website showed up - surprised? The title of his article is, "Building One America in the New Energy Economy with Green Collar Jobs"

Check out this quote from the article...Today, Edwards outlined his "Green Collar Jobs" initiative to train and employ at least 150,000 workers a year in new energy economy jobs. He will dedicate 50,000 Stepping Stone jobs—subsidized employment that form part of Edwards' anti-poverty plan—to energy-related occupations. In addition, the Green Collar Jobs training initiative will work with employers, unions, community colleges and high schools to prepare and engage the next generation of workers.

There were pages and pages of articles on-line and I could have spent all day reading these and updating myself on this new concept. But, I just didn't have the time...

I'm all for real jobs that are created and especially when these jobs can be filled by workers that have been laid off. But, when the government decides to step in with incentives and tax credits I just can't help to be skeptical.

I'll just have to read more about this...

What's your take on this?

I'm an Executive With An Annual Salary of $1. Who am I?

If you're Steve Jobs with Apple or one of the top 3 Executives at Google then this describes you.

I just ran across this great article on Portfolio and honestly thought that it was part of an April Fools' Day joke...but then I realized it wasn't April 1st.

The title of the article is The 1$ Executive Club and today was the first time I had ever heard of this.

Check out this quote from the article...

What is the hottest status symbol in executive compensation?

It's not the private jet or huge buckets of stock options and restricted stock, or lots of little things like season baseball tickets or free dry cleaning. (Although those are always welcome, thank you very much.)

No, it's the $1 salary.

The three at the top of Google, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and C.E.O. Eric Schmidt have affirmed their cachet in corporate cool by taking salaries of only $1, according to the proxy statement the company filed on Tuesday evening.

So, what do you think? What's also interesting is that every year since this started in 2004 all 3 of the top Google Executives have been offered more market competitive salaries but have turned them down. Would you do this if you were in their shoes?

Don't feel too sorry for these Executives because I'm sure that their "other compensation" completely makes up for any amount of perceived loss of income. Remember that there is "other compensation" called stock options.

I also learned that Steve Jobs (Apple) is the most famous $1 annual salary recipient and he's been doing this since 1997. Bill Ford (Ford) has been doing this since 2005 and Richard Fairbank (Capital One) decided to try it for 2007.

Here's another quote from the article that sheds some light on some other advantages to Executives as well...

Taking no or little salary is often done for symbolic reasons: an executive trying to bolster employee morale at a company in need of an immediate turnaround. But there is a practical motive as well. Salary is taxed at rates as high as 35 percent, while capital gains from stock sales are taxed up to 15 percent. Cutting down the salary portion of an executive's compensation could help reduce the overall tax bill.

In reference to the first part of the above quote I couldn't agree more. If I was working for a large corporation that was going through some difficult financial times and our CEO, CFO, and COO decided to forgo an annual salary then I'd probably be impressed...but once I saw the obvious tax advantages I wouldn't be as impressed...

So, what's your take on this?

Is That Cotton Candy I Smell? It Must Be Time For The HR Carnival...

Yes, you guessed it...it's that time again.

The 30th edition of the HR Carnival is live!

Special thanks to Rowan Manahan at Fortify Your Oasis from all the way over in Dublin, Ireland for this record setting month. Not only is it the 30th edition but we also have a record 28 entries!

Enjoy and be sure to take some time to click through all the links. In case you're wondering, mine is the 3rd from the bottom...

Recruiting with a pickup truck - the future for 2009

Someone forwarded me this great clip this morning and I had to get a post in about it...

Any thoughts about whether or not this will become a reality?

Enjoy!