Going To The Vault

We're sorry we've missed you...but we want to update you with all the latest news in Human Resources (links and info from Vault.com)

Weekly Jobless Claims (Seasonally Adjusted), Week Ending 05/31 (reported 06/05) 357,000
Weekly Jobless Claims Change from Previous Week (seasonally adjusted) -18,000
Payroll Employment (Nonfarm Jobs Created or Lost), May -49,000
Unemployment Rate, May 5.5 percent


Six Essential Interview Questions: Vault Blogs

by Judi Perkins
An interview is a two-way street. It's not only important for the interviewer to learn if you fit them, but you need to find out if the company fits you. You also need to know if there are potential problems lurking behind the scenes. Most job seekers go to an interview prepared with questions, but not the ones which will ferret out the type of information they need to know before they begin working there.
Below area few questions that should always be asked. Not only will they help you to ascertain if the job for which you are interviewing meets the criterion of your perfect job, but the answers, when put together, will give you a fairly accurate picture of what's going on behind the interview.
Read more on Vault: click here

Unemployment spike stirs stimulus talk
The dismal jobs report on Friday has prompted renewed calls for a second congressional effort to stimulate the economy. The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent a month earlier. It was the biggest monthly increase in more than 20 years. Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill said the report shows that Congress and the Bush administration need to do more to help workers and the unemployed. Read more: click here .


Hillary Clinton shattered a political glass ceiling
A new CBS News poll shows most voters think that by making a serious run for the Democratic nomination, Clinton made it easier for other women to run for president. Sixty percent of men and 76 percent of women agree with that statement. Among Democrats, 75 percent agree; among Republicans, it's 63 percent. Overall, 88 percent of voters agree with the statement "I am glad to see a woman as a serious contender for president." In 1984, when Geraldine Ferraro made history as the first female vice-presidential nominee for a major party, a CBS poll found only 62 percent of voters were "glad that a woman was nominated." Read more: click here

Some employers helping workers ease cost of commuting
A nationwide survey released last week found that 57 percent of employers offer some workplace program to ease commuting costs. The most popular: a condensed workweek of four 10-hour days, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement consultancy in Chicago. The survey of 100 human resources executives across a variety of industries also found that one in five companies organizes employee carpools, with 14 percent increasing their telecommuting options and 18 percent subsidizing the cost of public transportation. Read more: click here

Pentagon's latest recruits: professors
Military power requires brainpower, and the Defense Department is moving to engage a new generation of scientists and engineers to conduct research that may pay off in technological breakthroughs for the nation's military. The department last week announced the selection of six university professors who will form the first class of the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellows Program. The professors will receive grants of up to $600,000 per year for up to five years to engage in basic research - essentially a bet by the Pentagon that they will make a discovery that proves vital to maintaining the superiority of the U.S. military. Read more: click here

A third of employed Americans do not take all the vacation days that they are entitled to
A global study by Expedia.com found that about a third of employed Americans usually do not take all the vacation days that they are entitled to, leaving an average of three days on the table. About a quarter of the workers in Britain do not take all their vacation time, and in France a little less. The only difference is that the British get an average of 26 days of vacation and the French about 37 - compared with our 14 days. 137 countries mandate paid vacation time. The United States is the only industrialized country that doesn't. About a quarter of all workers in the private sector do not receive paid vacation. And the number of Americans who said in April that they were going to take a vacation in the next six months is at a 30-year low, according to their regular consumer survey. Only 39 percent of those responding said they would go away on holiday over the next half year. Read more: click here (Free subscription required).

Helping teens find summer work
Only about one-third of teenagers 16- to 19-years-old will find a job this summer, a sign of slow economic growth and higher minimum wage for all workers in the U.S. In fact, their employment rate this season is expected to be the lowest in six decades, according to a study from the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. Low-income and minority youths will have a particularly hard time finding work. For them, the study says, the job picture may look more like "a Great Depression." Some companies are cutting back or delaying summer hiring, while a tight job market is driving unemployed older workers into traditional teen jobs. Read more: click here

Some employers get tough on workplace gossip
In workplaces everywhere, gossip remains a daily fact of life. Around watercoolers, behind closed doors, and in e-mails, employees whisper about everything from office romances to rumored mergers and layoffs. Defenders insist that this chatter is often harmless, giving workers a window on legitimate news. Critics charge that it can be insidious and malicious, lowering morale. Read more: click here

What I’m Hearing…The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Compensation came to the forefront of the nation last night, as Democratic Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton interrupted their campaigns to return to Washington, D.C. to vote on pending legislation. The topic at hand? The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The legislation failed to pass in the Senate, with a 56-42 vote. The bill is likely dead for the rest of 2008.

The Ledbetter Act’s main focus was to extend the statue of limitations for filing pay discrimination claims. Had the law been passed, individuals would have been able to file such lawsuits years and decades after the alleged discrimination occurred.

I don’t disagree with the need to ensure equal pay between the sexes. With all other factors being equal, paying someone less simply because she is a woman is wrong. However, the concept of statute of limitations is an important part of our legal system. We cannot allow new legislation on matters including and beyond Human Resources to erode this foundation. Otherwise, our already litigious society will become even more so, with far reaching effects including higher insurance costs, increased money spent on legal fees, greater court backlog, and general ill will. Let’s instead focus our time on preventing such discriminatory actions from occurring in the first place, and proactively remedying any that may have unfortunately already occurred.