The U. S. Chamber of Commerce has hailed three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on the Americans with Disabilities Act as major victories for employers.
The rulings state that people whose conditions can be easily corrected with medication or devices cannot be considered “disabled” under the ADA.
“The court is applying a common-sense standard to the workplace,” said Steve Bokat, the Chamber’s general counsel. “Employers make reasonable accommodations for employees who are truly disabled, but they should not have to relax necessary standards for employees who have common and easily correctable ailments.”
Don’t be caught off guard
Most executive managers say retaining a skilled administrative staff is more difficult today than it was five years ago, according to an Officeteam survey of 150 managers with the country’s 1,000 largest companies.
Officeteam offers six early warning signs that an employee may be looking for another position:
- A once active contributor to group projects now stays to him or herself.
- An organized employee who now has a messy desk. The reverse is also true: An unusually neat work area may indicate that the employee has already “checked out.”
- A normally casual employee who shows up in suits.
- An employee who suddenly takes longer lunch hours or asks for additional vacation days.
- An employee who doesn’t have home access to the Internet, a fax machine or printer, is suddenly using these tools more frequently at work.
- An employee who is suddenly spending much more time making private, personal phone calls.
No thank yous
The thank-you note may have gone the way of the office typewriter. A recent survey conducted by Accountemps shows most job applicants fail to send thank-you notes after an interview.
While 76 percent of managers said they consider a post-interview thank-you note of value when evaluating candidates, only 36 percent of job applicants actually follow up with this simple courtesy.
East meets West
Ohio leads the country in the number of new Japanese manufacturing plants, according to the Chicago-based Japan External Trade Organization.
Ohio gained 17 Japanese manufacturing plants last year. The state now has 169, just behind California, which has 274, but only attracted one additional plant last year.
“Japanese companies have long seen the advantages of doing business here and greatly contribute to Ohio’s positive business climate,” said Gov. Bob Taft. The state has 840 foreign-owned companies, which employ nearly 190,000 Ohio residents.
Certification notice
The U.S. Small Business Administration is allowing qualified companies to self-certify their small disadvantaged business status while seeking subcontracting opportunities on federal projects through the end of September. But effective Oct. 1, those companies must obtain formal certification from the SBA if they or their prime contractors expect to get the contract evaluation credits reserved for SDBs.