AB 749: Workers' Comp
Last month Governor Davis signed a package of worker's compensation benefit increases which will go into effect on January 1, 2003. Benefits for disabled workers will go up by as much as 20%, and will increase again in 2004 and 2005. Starting in 2006, the increases will be tied to cost of living adjustments. For a review of your current policy or help in securing new coverage, contact Walt Storch, of the Elkins Jones Insurance Agency, at 949-752-1036 or wstorch@earthlink.net. Remember, operating a business without workers' comp. insurance is a felony punishable by a $10,000 fine and the possibility of one year in jail.

SB 168: Social Security Numbers
This law goes into effect on July 1, 2002, and prohibits employers from posting or displaying employees' Social Security numbers; printing them on ID cards; and requiring employees to transmit their SSNs over the Internet unless the connection is secure and encrypted. If employees need their social security number to access a website or Intranet service (benefits or HRIS related), a password or other authentication system must be used.

Beck Posters
The Executive Order requiring federal contractors to post a notice informing non-union employees of their right to withhold a portion of their union dues has been preempted. The US District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that the order conflicted with the National Labor Relations Act.

AB 655: Background Checks
Effective January 1, 2002, this law broadens requirements for employers who run background checks on candidates or current employees. Among other things, it requires that an employer notify the applicant or employee that a background check has been requested and provide the person with a copy of the report. What remains unclear is whether the law also applies to reference checks.

Economic Stimulus Bill: Unemployment
Just last week, President Bush signed the long-awaited bill which includes provisions that grant a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, allowing additional automatic extensions for workers in states whose unemployment rates are at least 4%. California's unemployment rate for February was 6.4%, Los Angeles County was 6.4%, and Orange County was 3.6%.

Companies of all sizes need to attract and retain quality employees. In our work as consultants in a variety of industries, we come across applicants with very diverse career paths, from sales representatives in the service industry to executives in high-tech firms. Our candidate referral service is designed to locate legitimate and viable candidates for our clients at affordable rates.

Vantaggio HR provides recruiting services on either a:
Retained search basis - We invoice our clients on an hourly basis for the actual time spent developing a candidate profile and conducting a search.

Contingency basis - We bear the cost for any time or expenses invested in conducting the search. We charge our clients a flat 10% referral fee with a minimum of $2,000.

While we place candidates at all levels, here are several of our executive level candidates available immediately for full time or interim projects:

Top Financial Executive:
After 15 years of international financial and management experience at companies including Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, RCO, and Deloitte Haskins & Sells, this candidate was CFO for seven years at two start-up companies offering online courses and educational services. A hands-on executive, he has managed financing, accounting, strategic planning, and budgeting functions, as well as legal, IT, customer service, and human resources departments. He also has extensive experience negotiating contracts and managing relationships with a wide range of content and marketing partners and professional associations. Recently, he successfully negotiated the sale of his company. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a BS from Duquesne University, and passed all four parts of the CPA exam on the first sitting.

Senior Human Resource Executive:
This candidate has an impressive 14 years of experience at a VP level for Fortune 500 companies, with extensive experience in manufacturing, high technology, and information services. He has demonstrated outstanding achievement in creating high performance organizations. Having also worked as a consultant, he provides proven results through a proprietary program for Top Talent Recruitment and Retention. He holds two masters' degrees from Boston College -- one in social planning and an MBA.

Operations Executive:
After serving as a regional manager developing and operating power plants for an independent power producer, this candidate became the Chief Operating Officer for several companies in the energy, chemical, and manufacturing industries. He has developed and implemented financial and human resource strategies; led business development and financing initiatives; and identified, analyzed, and negotiated major contracts and acquisitions. A strong manager with broad-based skills, he has restructured operations departments and has supervised engineering, material, quality control, and maintenance staff. He shares his expertise in management and strategy by serving on the board of directors of several companies. He has a degree in Engineering from Texas A&M University and graduated from the US Navy Nuclear Power School.

Are you interested in any of these high skill profiles?
Are you an employer with a staffing need?
Are you a candidate looking for a new position?

Please give us a call at (949) 425-1262 or e-mail us at recruiting@VantaggioHR.com

IN THE COURTS...

Employee Privacy
As an employer concerned about customer service and productivity, are you monitoring employees' phone calls? If you are recording all calls you may be in trouble with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. While the ECPA allows calls to be recorded, once the employer realizes that the call is of a personal nature, the recording must stop. In a pending case in Alabama federal court (Smith v. Devers, No. 01-T-551-N), an employee obtained a tape made by her employer containing personal phone calls she had made. The employer's defense included an argument that those portions of the tape had not actually been listened to. The court found this irrelevant, and also held that the employer had failed to show having obtained the employee's permission to having her personal calls recorded. The employer claimed that the employee had consented by receiving a copy of their employee handbook. As is not uncommon, the employee claims to never have received the handbook.

What should you do?

• Be careful about federal ECPA regulations and employee's constitutional rights to privacy under California law when implementing a phone call monitoring policy;



• Have a mechanism in place to prevent or stop the recording of personal calls;
  


• Put your policy in writing and have it distributed to all employees -- before recording any calls;
  


• Have a well-drafted acknowledgement form that is signed by all employees at the time your employee handbooks are distributed;
  


• Conduct informational meetings on this and other policy topics with all employees.

Employee Handbooks
While Vantaggio HR still offers top-of-the-line, customized, employee handbooks, we are very happy to announce that we now offer a shorter format handbook designed for smaller employers with simpler organizational needs. While still customized for each client, our short format handbooks are perfect for companies with less than 25 employees who have less complex legal requirements and do not need lengthy, detailed procedures or policies. The great news is that these handbooks are very user-friendly (usually only about 15 pages), provide the essential protections to the employer, and can be created at a reduced cost. If you are interested in either our short format or fully-customized employee handbooks, give us a call at (949) 425-1262.


Employee Incentives
Are you looking for a new idea for employee gifts or incentive programs? National Rewards offers a unique way to give the gift of choice. You choose from 26 different gift albums, themed by interest (including travel), and based on the dollar value you wish to spend. Your employee picks his/her preferred gift and then completes and mails a redemption certificate. Their gift is shipped prepaid. For more information, contact Karen Carlsen at (877) 368-9131 or kcar01@Yahoo.com