Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

April 14, 2009

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The Burger King Complex and Health Care

This comment by an emergency room physician is so juicy and right on that I just have to reprint it here from another blog--sorry about that, blogger, but I did give you a backlink: Your reader's response to Megan got a lot closer to the core of the problem with healthcare costs. I am a physician in an emergency room in New York City, and every day I see tons of cash needlessly flying out the...

April 12, 2009

45 view(s)

HR 1355 Replicates EFCA But Without Card Check

EFCA

Introduced in the House of Representatives on March 5, the National Labor Relations Modernization Act (H.R. 1355) is like EFCA's little sister. The main difference is that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) allows for instant unionization when a majority of employees sign a card--the infamous card check provision. What the Modernization Act calls for instead are elections within 30 days of 3...

April 6, 2009

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The Dismal Science Becomes Depressing

David Ricardo dismal science Ricardo's Iron Law of Wages

I know I studied economics way back when, no doubt in some undergraduate survey course, but the passage of time has helped me mercifully forget many of the economists and theories I studied. Until today. In my daily research rounds of reading Google Alerts, I came across a site called the Christopher Hitchens (who he?) Watch. In the most recent blog posting, Greywolf (who he?) regurgitates th...

April 5, 2009

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EEOC Flouts FLSA, and Makes Employees Sick

EEOC FLSA

Turns out that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) borrowed a page out of the private sector and reclassified employees as exempt when they should've remained non-exempt employees eligible for overtime pay--a clear violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Affected employees didn't like being awarded comp time instead of time-and-a-half and filed a complaint; an arbitrat...

April 4, 2009

49 view(s)

EFCA Clings to Life

EFCA

You can't kill it, and it comes back to haunt you every time you think it's safe to venture back into society again. It's the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), and even though it lacks the votes to survive a Senate filibuster, it's still stalking American businesses and filling the nation's newsprint, airwaves and cyberspace with endless prattle (like this, huh?). Somehow, I think the unions a...

April 3, 2009

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Payback Time for Pampered Government Workers with Fat Contracts?

collective bargaining government workers union contracts

Us taxpayers (bad Inglish intended) may get the last laugh, or as Karl Marx said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce." This time around, the Great Depression II is indeed looking a lot like farce (see D.C., Washington; bailout, Paulsen and Gaithner; Detroit, UAW and Big Three; everywhere, public employee unions). Unionized government workers have always felt, "They can't ...

April 2, 2009

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Your Tax Dollars at Work: NIH Proves Pineal Gland Houses the Soul

NIH pineal gland soul

Rene Descartes is not only turning over in his grave; he's no doubt dancing about and shouting with glee. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have now determined that the pea-sized pineal gland located deep in the brain is indeed the "Seat of the Soul," as the French philosopher Descartes proclaimed. Of course, Descartes also said, "I think, therefore I am," and thus created the comma spl...

April 1, 2009

40 view(s)

Favorable Outcome for Republic Windows Workers | WWC

Republic Windows and Doors

Most everyone is familiar with the saga of the workers at Republic Windows and Doors, who at holiday time in late 2008 were laid off with little notice. However, they refused to leave the premises and staged a sit-down until owner Richard Gillman, backed by a loan from Bank of America, paid them all monies owed from vacation and WARN Act 60 days' pay (WARN basically requires a company to give 6...

March 31, 2009

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AIG Bonus Controversy — Worker Perspective

AIG AIG bonuses bonuses

Yesterday, we learned that the IRS can conceivably tax even those who returned their bonuses to AIG using the tax law principle of constructive receipt. Today, there comes to light an e-mail sent this past Friday to AIG employees from someone with the screenname of "Bottom of AIG's Food Chain." It generally portrays/betrays the angst felt by AIG employees who had to take pay cuts while execs w...

March 31, 2009

38 view(s)

Recession, European-Style: More Paid Time Off

Europe recession socialism

I'm beginning to think this recession, depression, or whatever it is, is going to make Eurosocialists out of all of us, even me who was bred on free market capitalism (and often victimized by it too). There's a great discussion forum on the New York Times online blog that highlights the differences in approaches across the pond. The Germans seem to really have it made, social safety net-wise, ...

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