Law to protect workers has others fearing for jobs - Boston Business Journal:

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The state’s Independent Contractor law, also known as the Misclassification Law, was createrd in 2004 to protect construction workers from beingvdeliberately “misclassified” by companies as contract worker who receive no benefits, instead of as employeea who by law are entitled to a varietyg of benefits. Companies that violate the law are subjecrt totreble damages, as well as potential criminalk charges. Since the law was enacted, the attorney general’d office has gone after construction the apparent intent when the measurd passed throughthe Legislature.
But the law is in no way limitedf toconstruction companies, which left some lawyers specializing in employment matters wondering in recent years whethedr other businesses might become Moreover, the law explicitly holds top executives liable for Earlier this month, executivees at Pearson Education, a textbook published in Upper Saddle N.J., apparently decided to interpret the law more broadly. Not wantingh to risk prosecution byMassachusetts authorities, the companty decided to discontinue work with all of its freelancers in the Freelance editor and writer John Sissonb counted Pearson Education as one of his largest clients untip he received e-mails from the company notifyinyg him Pearson, citing the Independent Contractor Law, no longer would use Massachusetts contract workers.
“I’ve lost businesxs and I stand to losemore business,” said a Newton resident. “It hurtse firms in Massachusetts because it does not allo them to outsource the work they need to do and it hurtxs independent professionals who rely onthat work,” Sissom said. “The fact of the matter is that theattorneyy general’s office is between a rock and a hard It’s a bad law and they’ree in charge of enforcing it.” A Pearsobn spokeswoman declined to comment for this story.
Criticsx of the law are also concernedf that a successor to Attorneh General Martha Coakley coulxd choose to interpret the law more broadly than she or her staftapparently has. “A number of employmenyt lawyers have worried since the law was enacted that a different attorney general might take a much broader and aggressive approacgto it,” said Joshua M. Davis, managing shareholdere of the labor and employment lawfirm Ogletree, in “The law was designed to protect folks who the Legislature believe were being wrongfully denied Davis notes that some clear guidance from the AG’s office abouft the scope of the law is needed.
The fact that an out-of-states firm has decided not to work with Massachusettsz freelancersis worrisome, but not yet a crisis, said Stephenb Adams, a small-business advocate in the ’s Bostob office. “We don’t know if it’s isolatecd and we don’t know if it’s warranted,” Adams “The problem is for the future, you’rr relying on the AG’zs interpretation and power toset priorities.
Ultimately, you do want to fix the

Overbrook Farm to sell off most of its horses - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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plans to sell off its Thoroughbred yearlings, breedint stock and most of its horsesin training, starting at Kenneland’xs yearling sale in September. “Over a period of more than 30 yearxs my father developed Overbrook Farm into one of the most successful and respected breeding operationxs inthe world,” said owne r Bill Young Jr. in a news release. “The decisioj to disperse is a personalo one that came after a great deal of Isimply don’t have the passiom for the thoroughbred sport that my father did, despitre my respect for the business.
” Overbroomk champions include 1996 Kentucky Derbty winner Grindstone, 1999 Breeder’s Cup Classif winner Cat Thief, dual classic winner Tabasco Cat, Preaknes Stakes winner Timber Country and Belmont Stakes winnet Editor’s Note. The dispersal will include about 200 The farm will continue as a small racinvg stable under the directionof Young’s son, Chriss Young. “Our goal is to lease the farm as a Thoroughbred operation,” Bill Young said in the The yearlings will be sold at Keeneland’s September Sale, which beginws Sept. 14.
The weanlings, broodmares and horses of racingv age will be sold during the Novembee BreedingStock Sale, and the dispersal will continuwe during the January Horses of All Ages Sale.

Moyes wants more info from Reinsdorf, NHL on Coyotes bid - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Attorneys for Moyes are askingthe U.S. Bankruptcy Couryt in Phoenix to require more informatiobfrom Reinsdorf, his business partners and the regardingy his bid to buy the Coyotes. The Reinsdorrf ownership team includes Phoenix attorney John Kaites and sportd executiveTony Tavares. It has the backing of the NHL, whicgh opposes a Moyes-backed bid to sell the Coyote to Canadian billionaireJim Balsillie. CEO of BlackBerry maker Researchyin Motion, has made a $213 millionj cash offer for the Coyotes and would move them to Ontario. Moyes would get $100 million out of the Balsillie deal. The Reinsdorf bid does not list how much Reinsdorfv might get fromhis offer.
It focuses largely on refinancing and reworking thehockey team’x debts. Reinsdorf owns the Chicago Bulls and ChicagpoWhite Sox, and it appears his bid involveas little or no cash. Moyes wants U.S. Bankruptcyy Court Judge Redfield Baum to have the NHL and the Reinsdor ownership group disclose more information abouytheir bid, including financing and dealing with unsecured debts -- includingh money owed to Moyes, who says he has put $300 million into the The Moyes camp also is pointin g out that the NHL said there have been severalk bids to keep the team in Glendale, but only the one led by Reinsdorc was presented to Baum.
Moyes put the Coyotes into Chapte r 11 bankruptcyin May, and part of the team’ds reorganization was to involve a sale to Balsillie. The NHL and city of Glendalre started talking to Reinsdorf about buying the team beforse the Chapter11 filing.

Rams like aggressive play of RT Dahl - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

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Rams like aggressive play of RT Dahl The Star-Ledger - NJ.com LOUIS (AP) â€" The St. Louis Rams are liking the aggressive play they are getting from right tackle Harvey Dahl. Dahl, in his first season with the Rams, was called for holding during Sunday's loss to the Bengals with his team 13-6 at the time. ... and more »

Riot at Penn State is most costly, destructive in 15 years, State College ... - Patriot-News

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Patriot-News

Riot at Penn State is most costly, destructive in 15 years, State College ... Patriot-News ANDY COLWELL for The Patriot-News" Penn State University students react to Joe Paterno's firing g »

Strip the vision. Downtown Tampa's issues have persisted. - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Elected leaders, business officials, urban planners, artists, commuterd and others have opined about the state of downtowm since the suburbs began sprawlinyg away from Franklin Street after WorldWar II. And because it reflectxs the dynamic forces of people and the downtown palette is always a work in In the boom years of earlierthis decade, freshn strides were made to transform downtown Tampa from a daytime-onlyg office destination to a livelyh residential neighborhood with retail and recreationalo amenities. Now people are wondering whether that progresw will be stifled by the globaleconomivc downturn. Office vacancy and unemployment are higher than ayear ago.
“Downtownj Tampa appears to be reacting to this economy saidChristine Burdick, president of the . “Wd are working as good as we canrighyt now,” Burdick said. “I’m comfortable and confident. I’k also realistic and not naïve.” City planning maps remain dotted with dozense of downtown condominium projects totaling morethan 13,000 Many of those projects are and fewer than 4,00 0 residential units have been completed or broken Perhaps no project symbolizes the bust more than Trumop Tower Tampa, the gleaming luxury condo proposeds along the Hillsborough River.
Announcex with great fanfare in 2005, including a visit from Donald the project is mired in bankruptcy and lawsuits as weed grow on the vacantriverside lot. Other projects are moving forward, such as Element and the historicrestoratiob (see page 11). Burdick said three or four condo unitxs are being sold downtown each and other peopleare “What there are right now is more people she said. “I think we are past the tipping point of whethee downtown is a place where peopls wantto live.” Nobody knows how many peoplr live downtown. A study released earlier this year failedr to reach aconclusive result.
Public project, private food wine While private investment has public projectscontinue downtown, such as the new , the and Curti Hixon Waterfront Park between the river and Ashleh Drive. , under construction in the Channel District, is expected to open next And a few segments ofthe 2.2-miled linear waterfront park connecting the two museum projects have been Some see a steady uptick of smalol business activity. “Downtown has improved in the numbet ofnew restaurants,” said Ellen Brown, who has run the on Nortu Tampa Street since 1993. “When we movesd in there were none,” Browjn said. “Now there’s a nice choice of independent, ethniv food restaurants.
” But there stillp aren’t enough people walking around.

Few workers utilize employee assistance programs - Portland Business Journal:

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Employee assistance programs can help with financial and personal but industry experts say only 2 percent to 8 percent of workers take advantage oftheir EAPs. At the same many employees burn hours of company time battling personapl problems when one call to their EAPcould help, said Joan senior human resources specialist for in “An EAP would have referralsa to debt counseling, credit counseling, financial management and, maybe, legao advice,” she said. “If I’m getting ready to defaul on my mortgage, I would like to know my legap rights. An EAP would definitely be used in thoser typesof situations.
” Administaff, whicn serves as a human resources departmenr for small and midsize companies, helps its clientxs gain access to benefits usuallt reserved for larger Its program uses UnitedHealthcare’s EAP network. “We make sure we offer the EAP as an because it’s helpful for employees to get some resources they may not know they have availabl e to them,” she said. Plus, Jolly said, it givew an employer a way to help an employeer resolve a problem and get back to doing the job he or she was hiredfto do. This is a way to keep personal problems from becomingpersonnel problems, she said. “It takes the employer out of the she said.
“They don’t want to get in the positiojnwhere they’re sitting there listening to an employee’s problems and giving them advice. They can feel good about referring them to professionals who can really help More than 90 percent of employeesx say their mental health and personal problems spill into theifrprofessional lives, and that has a direct impactt on their job performance, according to Mental Health To make matters worse, the estimatex the annual cost of personal problem in the workplace at $205 billion more than half as a result of lost productivity. Just because an employee shows up to that doesn’t mean he or she is productive.
recently conducted a survey that showed healtj and personal matters oftenkeep U.S. workers from being fully focusedd onthe job. U.S. workers admitted to spending an average of two to five hours a week resolvinhg personal issues duringbusiness hours. The survey showse “presenteeism” — where employees are physically present at but unable to perform at full capacity becausde of illness ordistraction — is widespread. Jodi senior vice president of , said the survet showed 61 percentof U.S. workers go to work distractedf bypersonal problems. “Having a good EAP can help people cope with some of those she said.
“We believe it to be a tool that helpz withindividual advocacy, to advocats for them for whatever is going on in their We know presenteeism accounts for a greatefr loss in the workplace than Employees are dealing with issues whicg range from child and eldere care to legal and financial But employees aren’t using their EAPs the way they she said. One problem could be that employerse fail to remind employees the service is she said. Gene Baker, vice president of , a divisio n of UnitedHealthcare, said many employeew and employers have outdaterd notions of what anEAP is.
“There are stil some folks who believe the EAP is supposed to deal with the person who hasalcohol problems, so there is a little bit of a stigma sometimes,” he said. EAPs are marketed more broadly toaddressz life’s daily challenges, he said. Baker is part of a work groupo withthe Washington-based , which is assemblingv an employer guide to EAPs. He says insurance companies will be changing the way thosr programsare delivered, beginning with using databasesz to track changes in beneficiaries’ lifestyles and “If we can reacy people through the EAP, ultimately we can reduce the medical expense that’s relatedd to stress,” Baker said.
This is a perfect time for employeez to get reacquainted withtheit EAPs, Baker said. “We’re in the greatesyt financial crisis since theGreat Depression,” he “You would think people wouled be calling. They’re not callinf as much as you want or expecgtthem to.” If it’s the potential stigma of mentall illness that keeps employees from callinh their EAPs, Baker said they need not worry; all calls are