HR | News & Trends for Business & HR in NY, NJ, CT

Living Wage bill for NYC approved

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The second of two controversial wage bills for NYC passed earlier this week. On Monday, the City Council overwhelmingly approved the living-wage bill, the partner legislature to Read Full Article »

Senate passes commuter tax credit via $109 billion transportation bill

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On Wednesday, March 14, Senate passed a $109 billion transportation bill that includes a commuter tax benefit that allows mass transit users to Read Full Article »

10 brain boosting superfoods to boost employee health, productivity

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“Eat your dinner. You want to be smart, don’t you? Fish is brain food!” Many a mother has uttered similar dinnertime phrases to their Read Full Article »

NYC a hot region for tech startups

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The recent announcement that Cornell and Technion-Israel Universities will be building a state-of-the-art applied sciences center on New York City’s Roosevelt Island has brought national attention Read Full Article »

Category Archives: HR

Micromanaging spells distrust

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Micromanaging EmployeesRunning a successful company is like the proverbial running of a tight ship; organization is paramount. Not to be confused with bureaucracy, there should be clear-cut definitions of what is expected from each position and the reinforcement of these expectations in a well-meaning manner. Micromanagement can rear its head when what is required of personnel isn’t being delivered. Nevertheless, micromanagement can eat away at an operation like a disease, eroding the self-worth of employees and ineffectively absorbing a manager’s time.

Governor Cuomo issues executive order for NY health care exchange by 2014

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For the 2.7 million New Yorkers without health insurance, a recent executive order by Governor Andrew Cuomo has been designed to help. In April of this year the Governor issued the establishment of a statewide health insurance exchange, an online marketplace that would allow individuals and small businesses to select from competing health insurance plans. Hoping to make health insurance more affordable for citizens and the businesses that employ them, Cuomo’s health care exchange is expected to be up and running by January 2014.

Living Wage bill for NYC approved

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The second of two controversial wage bills for NYC passed earlier this week. On Monday, the City Council overwhelmingly approved the living-wage bill, the partner legislature to the prevailing-wage bill, passed by the Council in March.  Under the living-wage businesses that receive large government subsidies would be required to increase the now-minimum-wage ($7.25) pay of its workers to $10 an hour plus benefits, or $11.50 an hour without benefits.  Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the prevailing-wage bill which would raise the hourly wages of service workers at the end of April, and has promised to do the same to the living-wage. 

The importance of initiating an employee volunteer program

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Today’s employee wants to reap more than just a paycheck from their work; many recent surveys have indicated that the opportunity to craft a harmonic work-life balance is of utmost importance for many workers, especially this current generation of recent college-graduates. One way to attract competitive talent like this is to be the sort of forward-thinking, community-minded, responsible organization that values its employees, its clientele and its surrounding community. Creating an employee volunteer program is a wonderful way to satisfy a conscientious workforce and unite it with a worthy cause and, in doing so, many organizations find that they not only gain valuable experiences, but also develop integral relationships with potential clientele in their area.

Mayor Bloomberg vetoes the first of two wage-increase bills for NYC

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on April 25 vetoed the first of two City Council bills that would raise the wages of workers employed by businesses that Bloomberg vetoes two wage bills for NYCreceive government subsidies. The prevailing-wage bill would increase wages for the service workers in buildings that receive government subsidies, and its legislative brother, the living-wage bill, would raise the minimum wages for a larger group of NYC workers whose employers also receive public subsidies. Bloomberg has also promised to veto the living-wage bill after its Council passage, even assuring a court battle against the two bills if (rather, when) the Council overturns his vetoes.

Effectively managing a poor performer

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When a company comes to the realization that it has poorly-performing individuals on its team, it seems easy to blame the employee themself, and to disregard the fact that underlying structural or managerial practices might be contributing to the creation of these underperformers. Many of the analyses of the issue of poor performance in an organization say that identifying the weaknesses of certain workers should not be done to necessarily chastise or punish – or even force out – a troublesome worker, rather the successful manager will look to the identification of a poor performer as a gift, where flaws in both supervisory and bureaucratic policies can be revised.

Over 50 percent of workers plan to keep working after retirement

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For many people near retirement age, continuing to work is becoming their new reality.  A 2011 study by Harris Interactive© for CareerBuilder and PrimeCB.com found that over half of those surveyed – aged 60 and over – will seek new work after retiring from their current position.  And while some have retirement plans on the eventual horizon, over ten percent don’t see retirement as a viable possibility in their futures whatsoever.