Employment

When Job Interview Questions Are Illegal

November 20, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

Illegal Job Interviews — Guidelines set out by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission make it illegal to discriminate against any individual based on age, gender, sexual orientation or pregnancy.

What if the person interviewing you for a job goes beyond the bounds of what’s legal? It happens fairly often, according to an Associated Press-CNBC survey. About half of the sample said they had been asked questions that could be used to discriminate against them under equal opportunity laws.

Questions that are disallowed include the applicant’s age, marital status, medical history or presence of a disability, whether they or a partner is pregnant or plans to have children or their religious beliefs. Guidelines set out by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission make it illegal to discriminate against any individual based on age, gender, sexual orientation or pregnancy.

An employer who persists in asking such questions of prospective employees may be investigated for creating a “pattern of discrimination.”

Unfortunately, many job applicants are not aware of anti-discrimination laws and fail to report instances. Most large businesses have taken steps to assure that their hiring practices don’t fall outside the law. The rule of thumb is to ask only questions directly related to the job in question.

People who feel they have been questioned inappropriately can report to the EEO. It is all right to walk out of an interview that crosses the bounds, experts in the field say.

Who’s The Richest Person On Earth?

November 9, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

World's Richest — Bezos moved from second place on the wealth rankings to first.

Jeff Bezos Hits Top Billing Of Richest Man On Earth.

On Friday, October 27, Amazon.com Inc. shares took an upward surge , lifting his net worth by $7.8 billion to top out at $91.8 billion as of 10 a.m. in New York. A 10 percent uptick in shares bought current share costs to $1,007.59. By October 31, shares are selling at $1,104.16.

Bezos moved from second place on the wealth rankings to first. He was behind Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp. co-founder, on July 27 of this year, even though he enjoyed a short time at the top of heap before Amazon shares dipped, leaving Gates the winner at the end of the day.

Thursday, Gates ended the day with a net worth of $88 billion, according to Bloomberg’s index, which tracks the world’s 500 richest people. Gates, 61, has topped the list since 2013.

On Friday, when Bezos appeared headed for top billing on the list, others also saw their wealth grow. Alphabet Inc.’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page added $2 billion in the first 30 minutes of trading, as did Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook Inc. added $600,000 to his total.

Bezos, 53, has increased his wealth by $18.1 billion this year, while Gates’ net worth rose by $5.6 billion. Gates donated $4.6 billion of Microsoft stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in August.

Analysts, looking at his public charity say Gates would be worth $150 billion if he had not donated almost 700 million Microsoft shares and cash and other assets to an amount of $2.9 billion since 1996.

Don’t Let Personal Problems Derail Your Career

October 27, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

Seek support from people outside of your work.

Face it. Life happens to everyone sooner or later. The trick is to sail some choppy personal waters without sinking your career.

Some practical advice:

Don’t bring your problems to work. Don’t waste your time and that of co-workers by talking about them. A trusted co-worker may share the information with bosses up the line in a perfectly innocent attempt to be helpful by letting them know why you aren’t performing up to snuff. Then it becomes a different game, possibly putting your job on the line.

Find emotional support off the job. Try to make the person to whom you turn for help, whether a close friend or family member or a professional, someone who has no links to your work. There are online forums that allow participants to talk about their problems while maintaining anonymity.

Find healthy ways to deal with the stresses that inevitably affect your work performance. It isn’t always possible to turn off the negative feelings that surround your problems, but try to focus on your assigned tasks. Exercise is a good way to combat stress. Regular trips to a spa or gymnasium or following a good-health regimen at home will help you cope.

Talk with your supervisor about the problem, but only in general terms. Ask for a little leeway, if necessary, to get through the worst of your situation. If you have a history of being a good employee it is likely you will be met with sympathy. There may be options such as telecommuting or changing hours.

Consider some time off if your problem requires your full attention for a while. Use sick leave, vacation or personal days if necessary. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires that employers give their workers job protection and unpaid leave in the event of a medical or family emergency. It is preferable to take a little time off than to let poor performance put your job in jeopardy.

Don’t put off professional help because of embarrassment. Professional counseling may be the answer to your dilemmas. Talking through your problems may open new possibilities.

A positive attitude helps. Self-talk, reminders that the current situation will pass, may get you through the day. Avoid negative thoughts as much as possible. Try to concentrate on solutions to your problems, not the problems themselves.

Personal problems can be distressing and the solutions sometimes are not perfect, but adding the loss of your job to the list can only exacerbate the situation. Do everything in your power to avoid it.

Microchips Replacing ID Badges?

September 26, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

At some companies, the standard ID badge that identifies employees is moving over for a microchip injected into the individual’s hand. At the Swedish Epicenter plant, it’s still optional, but the trend is growing.

The microchips are the size of a grain of rice. They function as swipe cards to open doors, operate printers – or purchase fast food items.

Convenience is the argument the company uses for the identification method. Workers at the plant hold parties for those willing to have a chip implanted. It is not a requirement. Officials say it replaces a lot of other communications devices, such as credit cards and keys.

It’s the same technology that has been used for some time to identify pets. Some companies use embedded microchips to track shipments. But widespread use for employee identification is just beginning.

Security and privacy issues are part of the development. The chips are biologically safe, but some think they are too intrusive, recording data about what time an employee arrives at work and what he or she buys. Some employees who had qualms at the outset went ahead and now feel at home with the chips. The many sorts of implants that people have had in recent times helps alleviate some of the doubts. For instance, just about everyone knows someone with a pacemaker or a port for medications.

Epicenter has 100 companies and some 2,000 employees. It began implanting ID microchips in 2015 and now has some 150 workers implanted.

The microchips use Near Field Communication technology, the same that is used in contactless credit cards or mobile payments. When activated by a reader a few centimeters away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are passive, unable to read information themselves.

There are concerns that hackers could conceivably get a huge amount of information from the embedded microchips. As the sophistication level of the implants rises, the concerns could multiply. Questions about who, when and where should be subjected to implantation will get more sticky.

The devices are injected using pre-loaded syringes into the fleshy area of the hand next to the thumb. The process takes just a few seconds and there is little if any blood. At Epicenter, they make a party of it. Monthly, they meet and those who want to get “chipped” get it done.

The gradual move toward implants may be the wave of the future, and there is a growing number of employees who want to be part of the movement, but the potential problems re: confidentiality and the prospect of hackers ending up with an individual’s information should be addressed.

How Much Better Can Jobless Rate Get?

September 20, 2017 By Twila Van Leer

Jobless Rates — Could the rate of joblessness in the United States actually get too low?

Could the rate of joblessness in the United States actually get too low? It’s an interesting question that economists are considering more closely as the unemployment rate reaches new lows for this post-recession era.

The crux of the matter is that a pool of unemployed people anxious for jobs is necessary to support any growth in the number of jobs created. The latest report on unemployment , calculated by the Department of Labor, shows the figure at 4.3 percent, down a tenth of a point since May, when the rate was 4.4 percent.

In June, employers offered 209,000 more jobs that contributed to the small dip in the rate. In July, the greatest surge in job availability was in the restaurant/bar sector. Some 53,100 jobs were added to the tally, probably indicative of the rising wages being offered to restaurant and bar workers. Average hourly pay increased by 4.7 percent over June of the previous year.

The United States is benefiting from steady economic growth around the world. Europe and Japan have both posted gains and China’s somewhat teeter economy has showed signs of stabilizing.

The new figures suggest that Americans who had become discouraged with the job market and quit looking are now coming back to the search. Many who went back to school or decided to just stay home and care for family are being lured back by the abundance of jobs.

The rate of hiring has stayed about steady over this year compared with last, but some 184,000 new jobs have become available each month through July. In 2016, that figure was 187,000, a sign that the post-Great Recession economy was righting itself. This July, 81.8 percent of people aged 25 through 54 had jobs or were looking for one, the highest number since December 2010. Economists focus on this age range because it includes the Baby Boomers who retiring and the younger generation that is likely still to be pursuing higher education. The current figure, however, still lags behind the 84.6 percent that was registered in 1999.

Economists expect that the 81.8 percent could jump by another 0.7 percentage points if current trends continue. That would add another 1.8 million jobs.