Workplace HR & Safety - HR Email Report
January 18, 2008 http://www.workplacemagazine.com
A Resource and News Service for Workplace Professionals and Executives

Visit our Continuing Education Web pages! Workplace HR & Safety offers a variety of ways that HR and safety professionals can gain maintenance credits toward the PHR, SPHR, CSP, CIH and CSHM certifications. To view a list of live events, CDs, and articles and quizzes for which you can gain credit, visit http://www.workplacemagazine.com/contedchoose.asp.
 
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Creating a Culture of Health and Moving Toward the 21st Century Benefit Plan Design
Audio Conference Scheduled for: January 30, 2008
1:30 - 3:00 pm ET

Healthcare costs will fall into the single digits in 2008 according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. What is driving this welcome reduction in healthcare costs? A major factor is the employer trend to develop a more holistic approach to health benefits with a focus on prevention and lifestyle factors.
In this audio conference, Gregg Lehman, Ph.D., president and CEO of HealthFitness will describe the key steps in creating a culture of health that engages both the C-suite and employees. This new corporate culture of health seeks to manage short-term and long-term costs by targeting younger workers with poor health habits and lifestyle choices, heading off potential chronic health issues that will negatively impact baby boomers, and anticipating the needs of an aging workforce.
For more information, please call 1-800-431-7571 or visit http://www.workplacemagazine.com/Audio/hc/Audio419.asp

Jan. 28 – Feb. 1, OSHA Training Camp: The Fundamentals of Workplace Safety, Orlando, Fla.; http://www.oshatrainingcamp.com

March 4, Interactive HR Workshop: Practical Strategies from Industry Leaders on Recruitment, Retention, Compliance, and More, Ultimate Software, Dallas; complimentary registration at http://www.ultimatesoftware.com/dallasalert

March 31 – April 4, OSHA Training Camp: The Fundamentals of Workplace Safety, Orlando, Fla.; http://www.oshatrainingcamp.com

May 20 – 23, World at Work Total Rewards Conference & Exhibition, Philadelphia; http://www.worldatwork.org

June 1 – 4, American Society for Training and Development International Conference and Exposition, San Diego; http://www.astd.org/content/conferences/international

June 22 – 25, Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference and Exposition, Chicago; http://www.shrm.org/conferences/annual

Sept. 25 – 27, The Motivation Show, Chicago; http://www.motivationshow.com

HR Training Camp
http://www.hrtrainingcamp.com
The  Essentials of Employment Law and Human Resource Management
March 31 - April 2, 2008
Nashville, TN 

Sharpen Your Human Resource Skills and Minimize Your Risks of Litigation!

Benefits include:

• Evaluate how employment law has changed and what the future holds.
• Have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of colleagues and instructors.
• Discover decision making skills that will help you avoid litigation.
• Recognize how to make HR's case to management using cutting edge metrics and benchmarking tools.
• Identify guidelines for interviewing, hiring, coaching, disciplining and discharging employees.
• Practical HR information to apply immediately back in the workplace.
  Please visit http://www.hrtrainingcamp.com or call 1-800-431-7571 for more information!

• Continued globalization
• Securing the extended enterprise
• Global greening
• Virtualization and on-demand computing or computing as a service
• Telepresence
• Outsourcing/out-tasking
• Smartphones and managed mobility
• Unified communications
• Work-life balance
• The CIO as business strategist

For more information, visit http://www.verizonbusiness.com.

(News continued after sponsor message.)

Pregnancy-Friendly Workplace is Key to Retaining Skilled Workers
With more than 2 million women in the labor force having a baby every year, businesses must make their work environment welcoming to pregnant women or risk losing skilled employees, the March of Dimes states. The organization recently released statistics and information on retaining working mothers in conjunction with its panel discussion "Pregnancy and the Workplace: Best Practices for Mothers and Babies."
For more information, visit http://www.marchofdimes.com/aboutus/22663_28036.asp.

Web Site Developed to Expose Deceptive Labor Law Posting Tactics
G.Neil, Sunrise, Fla., a human resources products provider, announced the launch of freeposteraudit.com, a Web site that informs businesses of federal and state labor law posting requirements. Recently, the labor law poster industry has faced scrutiny resulting from a series of deceptive marketing offers in which providers encouraged employers to purchase new labor law posters because of regulatory changes, but new posters were not required.
For more information, visit http://www.freeposteraudit.com.

Pharm-Olam International Ltd., Houston, announced the appointment of Susan Ferran as director of global human resources. Ferran will be responsible for the company's HR strategy of its 500 employees in more than 24 offices worldwide, including talent management, compensation and benefits, learning and development, and employee communications.

CyberShift, Parsippany, N.J., a provider of workforce management and expense management software and services announced that its Workforce Management 3G Time and Attendance solution has won START-IT magazine's Top 50 Technologies Award. The Top 50 Technologies Awards honor products that target the manufacturing industry and help companies to advance and revolutionize their business practices.

Pamela Rogan has been named Vice President of Business Development for Flex HR Inc., an Atlanta HR outsourcing firm. Rogan will focus on expanding the Flex HR network and client base by researching and targeting clients.

MedImmune Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., appointed Max Donley as vice president, human resources. Donley is responsible for providing business integrated leadership and delivering professional tools, programs and services to optimize MedImmune's human capital investments. Prior to joining MedImmune in 2000 as a senior manager, he led field HR and development at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Brian James and Joe Messineo, former Managing Directors and Co-Heads of Fixed Income at Cohen & Co., announced the launch of Link Global Solutions, a recruiting and consulting firm focused on helping financial institutions identify qualified professionals to fill open positions.

Taleo Corp., Dublin, Calif., and AIRS, Wilder, Vt., announced a strategic partnership with the launch of Taleo TalentReach. Under the agreement, Taleo will offer the complete suite of AIRS SourcePoint solutions under the name Taleo TalentReach powered by AIRS.

Who is Affected?
Over the years, immigrants have settled in Arizona taking positions that had previously remained unfilled. According to a University of Arizona study released in October 2007, of the state's nearly 2.5 million workers, close to 300,000 are not U.S. citizens, equaling more than 10 percent of the total workforce. Companies in agriculture, construction and service industries rely heavily on an immigrant workforce, and will be affected by this legislation that could possibly drive their employees not only out of work, but out of the country. These results could bear significant economic repercussions for the state.

What is the Impact?
The implications of the Legal Workers Arizona Act are twofold: Immigrant workers without documentation will leave to avoid deportation, and immigrant workers with documentation could choose to relocate due to fear of discrimination.
Employers across industries are likely to face immediate workforce disruptions, but these could be most dramatic in the agricultural industry.  The lack of a consistent labor force could in turn directly impact consumers in early 2008 as farm owners struggle to maintain and deliver their produce in a timely manner. In addition to the economic impact, this new law will certainly affect thousands of immigrant families and, most likely, the civil rights of legal Hispanic residents who will come under scrutiny.

What is Happening Nationally?
Although the overall reform discussion has been on hold recently, the Department of Labor (DOL) is reviewing the processing procedures for the H-2A temporary work visa for seasonal agricultural certification applications. Proposed regulations would make it easier for agricultural employers to fill jobs with workers who are legally in the country.
In addition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working to meet the objections of a federal judge in California who in September 2007 halted the implementation of the "no-match" letter regulation. The "no-match" letter regulation, developed by the DHS and the Social Security Administration (SSA), outlines specific steps employers should take if they receive a letter from the SSA informing them they have an employee whose name and Social Security number do not match government records.

What Actions Should Employers Take?
Employee verification is a critical step every business should take when hiring foreign workers. As Arizona is the first state to move forward with a strict immigration law for undocumented workers, it is imperative that companies prepare now for what could be a domino effect encouraging other states to follow suit by passing similar laws.
Now is the time for employers to consider the best plan to verify workers and manage immigration processing. A technology-based immigration management system could hold immense benefits for industries affected by the immigration issues. Become familiar with the processes around hiring foreign workers, what your options are and whether a work visa is required. Do your homework now to save time, resources and possibly workers later.
For more information, visit http://www.visanow.com.

Attraction and Retention: The Impact of Prevalence of Work-Life and Benefit Programs
(Published by WorldatWork)
This report found that workers rank stress as a top reason they would leave their company, yet only 50 percent of employers offer stress management programs to employees. In addition to workplace stress, the report analyzes 41 total rewards programs and their impact on worker attraction and retention.
View the report at http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=21945.