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Human Resources: headlines from the week of March 8, 2010

Wichita unemployment rate jumps to 8.6% (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:01:02 GMT)

The unemployment rate in the Wichita area rose 0.8 percent in January, to 8.6 percent, from 7.8 percent in December 2009, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Kansas Department of Labor.

American Eagle closing MARTIN + OSA (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:17:00 GMT)

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. is shutting down its MARTIN + OSA store concept, the company announced today.

Governor appoints Andrade state’s census ambassador (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:07:47 GMT)

Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade has been named the Texas Census Ambassador.

Optimal Solutions Integration buys Budgetec LLC (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:51:36 GMT)

Optimal Solutions Integration Inc., a North Texas consulting shop specializing in software from Europe's SAP, has acquired an East Coast company called Budgetec LLC.

U.S. job openings rate reaches highest point since February 2009 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:22:12 GMT)

The U.S. job openings rate rose to 2.1 percent in January, with 2.7 million openings on the last business day of the month, according to preliminary figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday.

Human Capital: People on the move, Mar. 9 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:58:03 GMT)

A daily roundup of senior-level executive hires and board appointments: Tuesday, March 9

GSA acquisition chief Jim Williams to retire April 3 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:53:21 GMT)

Jim Williams, the head of Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration, will retire April 3.

Findlaw gets new president (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:05:02 GMT)

Thomson Reuters has named Karl Florida president of its FindLaw business unit that provides web marketing solutions for small and mid-sized law firms.

Catholic Charities program honored (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:32:14 GMT)

Catholic Charities of Buffalo’s "Closing the Gap in Student Performance" program has been recognized by the agency’s national body for work in the Buffalo Public School District.

More CFOs expect increased hiring; Tennessee above U.S. average (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:23:01 GMT)

More chief financial officers in the U.S. anticipate an increase in the hiring of full-time accounting and financial employees in the second quarter, according to a new survey from Robert Half International. (RHI)

Down economy means rise in workplace violence threat (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:52:29 GMT)

If the case of a disgruntled financial services client who opened fire against his financial advisers in North Dallas can teach us anything, it’s that workplaces should not ignore threats or unusual behavior exhibited by employees and clients.

Kauffman Foundation study: Top 1 percent of firms create 40 percent of new jobs (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:24:14 GMT)

Amid the national bluster about creating jobs, one of the most robust sources of new jobs — high-growth startups — tends to be overlooked, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Manpower: Austin companies hiring in Q2 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:21:30 GMT)

Businesses in the Austin-Round Rock area expect to hire at an active pace through the second quarter of 2010, according to a report issued Tuesday by employment firm Manpower Inc.

Apria scales back Morrisville unit (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:19:54 GMT)

Apria Healthcare has laid off 22 of its employees at its division office in Morrisville.

Washington state union members: No. 8 in U.S. (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:18:37 GMT)

Washington state has 574,000 union members, which is the eighth-highest total number among states, and at 20.2 percent of the work force, the fourth-highest percentage of unionized workers in the U.S.

BB&T chief exec’s compensation up by $1M (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:10:56 GMT)

BB&T Corp.’s profit plunged 42 percent in 2009, but its top executive’s total compensation rose by $1 million. (BBT) (WFC) (BAC)

IFB is nation’s leading employer of blind (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:53:30 GMT)

For the first time in its 74-year history, Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind Inc. is the leading employer in the United States of the blind.

First Niagara CEO pay rises to $2.5M (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:52:16 GMT)

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. executive John Koelmel’s total compensation rose nearly 50 percent last year due in part to additional stock awards and cash-incentive payments, according to documents filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Survey: Central regions best for IT hiring (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:52:06 GMT)

Chief information officers expect an uptick in hiring in the second quarter, and Wisconsin and its neighboring states are expected to be among the strongest performers, according to the latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.

Survey: St. Luke's Hospital workers among happiest (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:23:47 GMT)

Employees at St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo., are among of the happiest health-care workers in the nation, according to a recent survey.

First Niagara CEO Koelmel’s pay jumps 47% in 2009 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:14:08 GMT)

John Koelmel, the president and CEO of First Niagara Financial Group, took home 47 percent more in 2009 than he had the year before.

Netezza details bonus targets for execs (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:11:40 GMT)

Roughly a week after predicting 20 percent revenue growth for the current fiscal year, network equipment maker and services provider Netezza Corp. has set hefty executive bonus targets that largely hinge on the company's top-line expansion. (NZ)

Survey: Hiring outlook warms slightly (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:01:09 GMT)

The hiring outlook for the Columbus area is improving from a dismal start to the year, according to new survey conducted by staffing firm Manpower Inc. (MAN)

Bullish outlook for Triangle jobs growth (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:50:54 GMT)

Net employment growth in Raleigh/Cary is expected to hit 16 percent in the second quarter of 2010, a rate putting it of the list of the nation’s strongest employment metros, according to a new survey by Manpower.

Dayton 2Q hiring to remain stable (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:22:10 GMT)

It looks as though hiring in the Dayton area will not pick up in the second quarter.

Silicon Valley to hire at 'mild pace' in Q2 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:54:06 GMT)

Silicon Valley employers expect to hire at a "mild pace" during the second quarter, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released Tuesday.

Milwaukee-area job outlook improves (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:50:32 GMT)

Milwaukee-area employers expect to pick up the pace of hiring in the second quarter of 2010 enough to make the metropolitan area the fifth-best job market in the nation, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. (MAN)

Manpower: Birmingham hiring to pick up in 2Q (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:46:11 GMT)

An increased number of Birmingham area employers are expected to be hiring in the second quarter, according to an employment outlook survey released Tuesday.

Atlanta employment outlook among weakest (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:40:20 GMT)

Metro Atlanta employers plan to add staff at a “reserved” pace in the second quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey published March 9.

Robert Half: More CFOs expect to hire in Q2 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:35:47 GMT)

Seven percent of chief financial officers plan to add full-time accounting and finance employees during the second quarter, the highest forecast since the first quarter of 2009, according to a report Tuesday.

Momentive cuts net loss to $41M in 2009 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:26:37 GMT)

Momentive Performance Materials Inc. reported a 20 percent drop in revenue last year, but was able to cut its losses as well, the company said. (GE)

Study: Houston hiring to increase in Q2 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:09 GMT)

Businesses in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area expect to hire at an active pace through the second quarter of 2010, according to a report issued by employment firm Manpower Inc. Tuesday. (MAN)

Hiring trend upbeat for Buffalo in 2Q (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:49:11 GMT)

A quarterly survey of the Buffalo labor market released Tuesday looks favorable in the coming months with employers expecting to hire at a healthy pace.

Washington-area hiring to increase in Q2 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:02:06 GMT)

Local employers plan to hire at a vigorous pace during the second quarter, according to an employment outlook survey by Manpower Inc.

Survey ranks Hawaii low in job growth (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:55:10 GMT)

Hawaii will be one of the hardest places in the nation to find a job, according to a new ranking by the Daily Beast.

Walt Baker e-mail, firing: Reader comments pour in (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:40:16 GMT)

Readers have been flooding reporter Brandon Gee's e-mail with comments about Walt Baker, whose business and reputation are in tatters after he forwarded a message that compared first lady Michelle Obama to a chimp. He was fired Monday by the Tennessee Hospitality Association, as well as the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association. His business partner at Mercatus Communications, Phil Martin, has also said that he is leaving the now-damaged company, and taking clients with him. You can also comment by scrolling to the bottom of online stories. Here is some of what we've heard so far:

Best Buy closing northwest side store (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:21:36 GMT)

Best Buy will close its store on Milwaukee’s far northwest side, affecting 62 employees. (BBY)

CombinatoRx pays execs on drug's success (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:53:24 GMT)

Drug developer CombinatoRx Inc. said Monday it will pay its new CEO an annual salary of $450,000 and dole out $325,000 in cash bonuses to several senior executives following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of its pain drug Exalgo.

Hundreds turn out for Rivers Casino's table games job fair (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:17:57 GMT)

More than 400 people turned out Monday afternoon for the first day of the Rivers Casino's table games job fair, officials said, and that was at the day's halfway point.

Sunoco recruits EquaTerra to study outsourcing (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:45:31 GMT)

Sunoco Inc. has hired EquaTerra, a consulting firm based in Houston and London, to explore the possibility of outsourcing parts of its human resources, finance, information technology, accounting and procurement functions, a spokesman for the company said Monday. (SUN)

Conference Board employment index prompts hope that job growth is near (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:36:10 GMT)

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index has risen for the sixth month in a row, prompting a prediction that the nation is on the verge of job growth.

Nearly 1 in 3 NY'ers anxious about work (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:03:04 GMT)

Three out of 10 New York state residents are worried about losing their job in the next year and employment anxiety is highest in New York City.

March Madness may cost companies $1.8B (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:46:34 GMT)

Workers distracted by March Madness could cost employers as much as $1.8 billion in unproductive wages during the first week of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, according to Chicago-based outplacement agency Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Sudden spate of layoffs hits Middle Tennessee (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:36:48 GMT)

Six Middle Tennessee companies officially reported mass layoffs in the past week, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported Monday.

Obama-chimp e-mail costs Walt Baker his job, business partner (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:32:04 GMT)

Walt Baker was fired Monday afternoon by both the Tennessee Hospitality Association and the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association — and will split with longtime business partner Phil Martin — days after he created a political firestorm by forwarding an e-mail that compared first lady Michelle Obama to a chimpanzee.

Gender wage gap improved slightly in 2009 (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:47:47 GMT)

The gender wage gap narrowed slightly last year, with the median weekly earnings of female full-time workers at $657, compared with the male median weekly earnings of $819.

Human Capital: People on the Move, Mar. 8 (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:29:27 GMT)

A daily roundup of senior-level executive hires and board appointments: Monday, March 8.

Rep. Heinrich hosts job fair Monday (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:24:58 GMT)

U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., is hosting a job fair Mar. 8 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to help connect local employers that are hiring with qualified job seekers.

K&L Gates to make its Downtown Pittsburgh move official March 22 (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:46:01 GMT)

K&L Gates LLP, Pittsburgh’s largest law firm, said Monday it will officially operate from its new Downtown Pittsburgh office at 210 Sixth Avenue as of March 22.

Affiliated Computer Services to hire 190 (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:32:22 GMT)

Affiliated Computer Services on Monday said it plans to hire 190 to staff its growing Portland call center. (XRX)

Parametric reelects directors, hires PricewaterhouseCoopers (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:02:55 GMT)

Parametric Technology Corp. said shareholders last week reelected directors Paul A. Lacy, Michael E. Porter and Robert P. Schechter to the company’s board, while also endorsing a slate of compensation- and auditing-related measures.

ACS adding 280 call center jobs in Raleigh (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:52:34 GMT)

Affiliated Computer Services is hiring for 280 new call center positions in Raleigh, the company announced on Monday. (XRX)

CNH Global names new CFO (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:51:24 GMT)

CNH Global NV, parent of Case operations in Racine, said Monday that it has appointed Richard Tobin as its new chief financial officer, replacing interim CFO Steve Bierman. (CNH)

Two more lawyers leave Cranfill Sumner (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:48:32 GMT)

Two additional employment lawyers have left Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog to join Jackson Lewis.

People on the Move: March 8 (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:40:46 GMT)

People on the Move: March 8 This is a weekly roundup of promotions, appointments and employee accomplishments in the Birmingham metro area. For more People on the Move, check out the Birmingham Business Journal’s print edition each week. Send announcements to ccrawford@bizjournals.com.

Kaplan Ward partner Leonard Keen now Bovie Medical top lawyer (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:27:47 GMT)

Bovie Medical Corp. hired Leonard Keen as vice president and general counsel.

Missouri ranks 49th for job prospects (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:29:22 GMT)

Missouri is one of the hardest places in the nation to find a job and is ahead of only Ohio and Michigan for job prospects, a new ranking shows.

Don't cut here (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

Looking to trim expenses?

Social networking sites can create HR risk (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

Stephanie Cole enjoys using online social networking sites, and says there are things to keep in mind to protect a company’s trademarks, copyrights and other information. As general counsel at Niagara University, she is often asked to be a guest speaker on the topic.

Recent grads turn to fed agencies for jobs (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

Brittany Machmer wanted to work behind the camera.

Triad’s largest employers continue to fill openings, but special skills in demand (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

The Triad’s 50 largest employers are currently looking to fill more than 1,850 job openings, a Business Journal analysis has found.

Restocking jobs seen as 5-year trudge (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

RALEIGH – Recovery from job losses caused by the Great Recession could stretch to five years or more in North Carolina, two to four times longer than after prior economic downturns.

Lawmakers may expand E-Verify rules (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

A Georgia immigration reform law that currently is limited to businesses seeking government contracts soon could apply to all companies.

Baker Donelson adds veteran expertise to beef up gaming industry practice (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has created a gaming industry service team and hired five attorneys in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Bashas’ buyout could close some stores (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

If Albertsons LLC or another suitor takes over Bashas’ Supermarkets Inc., they likely will cut existing management and close under­performing stores, analysts tell the Phoenix Business Journal.

Social anxiety: Online networking sites are making it easier to vet employees — and are leading to potential legal pitfalls for employers to avoid (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

By now, we’ve all heard the cautionary tales about posting unsavory photos or explosive rants online because they could come back to hurt you — professionally as well as personally.

After a year of cuts, hiring crawls back (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

The layoffs that thinned the ranks of associates at Boston-area law firms have subsided, and legal recruiters say firms are more receptive to hiring as business picks up in a variety of practice areas.

Nonprofit execs: Lower pay but greater satisfaction (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

The desire to set a positive example for his daughter was the final straw that led Anthony Stankiewicz to a midlife career change.

Why the N.C. jobs recovery will be years in making (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

North Carolina’s recovery from job losses caused by the Great Recession could stretch to five years or more — two to four times longer than after previous economic downturns.

Age-old problem: In bad economy, more older workers file bias claims (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

Age discrimination complaints in Massachusetts have hit a four-year high, highlighting the vulnerability of older workers in a tough economy.

Making the grade in math and science (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

When Adam Halperin lost his job at a Houston employee benefits consulting firm in 2004, a subsequent job search became an education, in more ways than one.

J.C. Penney cuts 55 jobs at McClellan (Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT)

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. has laid off 55 workers in its custom decorating business at McClellan Business Park.