SFN Group, Inc. today announced the launch of Bottomless Briefcase, a career blog to support working women everywhere and its latest initiative in support of workforce diversity and inclusion. SFN Group’s strong commitment to promoting equal opportunity for all in the workplace has led to several innovative platforms that support the advancement of women at every stage of their career. [PR Newswire]
ASA and a coalition of Pennsylvania staffing firms have been working for the past two years to get fairer workers’ compensation insurance rates for staffing firms in Pennsylvania. On June 28, 10 a.m. Eastern time, ASA will host a statewide conference call to brief staffing firms on the plan of action and to enlist them in the effort. To participate: Call (toll-free) 800-351-4871. Enter pass code 32340639# [American Staffing Association]
With production recovering faster than it anticipated after the March earthquake that devastated parts of Japan, Toyota says that it plans to hire between 3,000 and 4,000 temporary workers to help speed up assembly of some of its vehicles. [Left Lane News]
What Does Wal-Mart Ruling Mean For Class Actions? [Wall Street Journal]
Wal-Mart Women Vow to Press Bias Fight. [Bloomberg]
South Africa, which has the highest unemployment rate of 61 countries tracked by Bloomberg, added 47,000 non-farm jobs in the first quarter, as growth in Africa’s largest economy gathered pace. [Bloomberg]
About a third of employers plan to take on more permanent staff before the end of the year, but average wage growth remains flat, latest research suggests. The survey, by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and recruitment agency Harvey Nash, covers 335 UK employers, which together employ nearly 3.5 million people. Report can be read here. [Guardian UK]
Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin said the Ministry of Manpower will be issuing a warning to a recruitment agency that advertised for only permanent residents and employment pass holders. Writing on his Facebook page, Brigadier-General (NS) Tan said he received information of this agency through someone who wrote to him. BG Tan said: “We have had a ‘chat’ with the recruitment agency and they have immediately remedied the discriminatory practice.” [Channel News Asia]
Over the attorney general’s strong objections, the Senate Judiciary Committee may vote Tuesday on a bill to give state judges the discretion to remove “legal impediments” from the path of ex-convicts seeking jobs, housing and state-issued professional licenses. The bill is called the “Rehabilitation, Re-Entry and Public Safety Act,” and it begins with the premise that some of the restrictions currently on the books in Rhode Island “may be arbitrary, overboard and without regard to any post-conviction rehabilitation by a defendant.” [The Providence Journal]
SFN Group, Inc. announced its centralized recruiting operations completed more than 13,800 hires for client companies in 2010, while steadily increasing the ratio of recruiter-to-hires since its inception in 2006. [SFN Group]
The Best Cities For Jobs This Summer (in pictures). [Forbes]
Medifield Staffing Inc. has officially opened for business. The privately owned business specializes in the placement of temporary, or “locum tenens,” positions for physicians, nurses and other healthcare staff in high demand health care facilities and care centers across the U.S. One of the company’s unique points of difference from larger, traditional healthcare recruitment and staffing firms is that it is run by ex-traveling physicians, rather than administrative or HR personnel. [SYS Media]
Nineteen victims of international human trafficking have been granted a reprieve by Canadian immigration officials in Windsor to stay in the country for two more years and make their case for remaining here permanently. Cathy Kolar, immigration specialist with Legal Assistance Windsor, said Monday the case of the 19 migrant workers from Thailand, who had worked as forced laborers in the agriculture and food processing industries in Essex County and were facing deportation, has set a precedent for other exploited workers across Canada. [Windsor Star]
Unemployment and Skills Shortages: Can the United States Learn from Saudi Arabia? [Benzinga]
The U.S. economy is at a pivot point, teetering between another downturn and a return to the growth path it was on until earlier this year. That problem is sure to weigh on the mind of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke as the Federal Reserve convenes Tuesday. [USA Today]
A male employee lodged separate complaints about a female temporary worker with whom he worked—first about inappropriate sexual comments the temp made and then about a forklift accident in which she was involved. The following month, the male employee was terminated. He later sued the company, claiming retaliation. [HR BLR]
Montreal postal workers block Purolator centre in protest of back-to-work legislation that will be debated over the next few days, with a likely vote on Thursday in the House of Commons. [CBC News]
The pastor of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Bonnyville, Alta., area is charged along with two others in a $1 million scheme police allege exploited foreign nationals brought from Poland and the Ukraine to Canada for work. [Toronto Sun]
