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Obama's massive health care proposal has far reaching implications, many of which we are now only beginning to learn about. One of the biggest areas of concern is the cost to businesses of every size. Higher government costs on business leads to several negative effects, including these businesses becoming less competitive (or leaving the US to avoid the costs), laying off employees to avoid certain regulatory thresholds or simply to remain competitive, and higher prices for consumers (since businesses will be forced to pass on the higher costs of doing business).

Don't be surprised that ObamaCare drives unemployment up. CNBC interviewed a restaurateur who fears the combination of workers comp, ObamaCare and sick time could bury her chain of restaurants she's sent the last 25 years building. Madelyn Alfano has a chain or restaurants in the LA area and is President of the LA Chapter of the California Restaurant Association. She' especially worried about her part time employees who have second job. "If we were to pay for the 400 employees, because the bill talks about part-timers--but for each two part-timers that makes that makes one full-timer--from what I gather, it...

Looking for a way to help unemployed Freepers hook up with Freeper Employers who could use good workers!

Wellness has become the new buzzword in the health care world of the 21st century. Everyone wants to talk about wellness, especially insurance companies and major employers. With wellness programs we can cure the common cause of large butts and employees who are listed as MIA.

One of every six U.S. employers that closed permanently in 2008 was in California, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration using bankruptcy court data. However, one in nine employers that opened in 2008 was in California. The net result was almost 47,000 fewer companies with employees in California by the end of 2008. The data are part of the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010. The state had 45.1% more business “deaths” than “births,” one of the steepest changes. Note that many of the closures were started in other years. In California’s case many of those...

Is this a backdoor way to have government takeover of healthcare? So much for not increasing taxes on any family making more than 200k. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is putting a value added tax (VAT) – and other taxes – on the table. To be clear, Pelosi is not suggesting replacing the federal income tax with a VAT, but she is strongly suggesting the elimination of all employer-based health insurance and pension plans.

We have some FReepers desperate to get back into the workforce after being laid off, with families to support. Great guys and gals who believe the way you believe. If they are local to you, wouldn't you prefer to give one of them the chance over just anyone off the street?

Within the past year Sarah Schupp has hired five new employees with freshly minted college degrees. She fired one on his first day for inappropriate sexual comments to a co-worker. Another lasted a week before getting a pink slip. ..." you can't call in sick at 7:45 a.m. just because you don't want to come to work at 8 a.m." Jeanne Achille also was disappointed with the hiring of a recent college hire, promoted by a university professor as a "superstar" and fired after three weeks when it was discovered she spent hours online at work visiting a dating site....

We are Employers for Quality Health Care, a coalition of 20 statewide chambers and employer organizations representing thousands of employers across America, from family-owned businesses to Fortune 500s. Our members are the financial bedrock of the nation's health care system, voluntarily providing coverage for millions of workers and their families. We continue to offer these benefits in the face of record cost increases because we know that access to care is vital to the health of our employees and our communities. We share your goal of reducing costs, improving quality and extending coverage to more Americans -- and we support...

Now is the time for all good capitalists to shop at Whole Foods. Not only will you get great produce, fresh meat, fish and healthy to-go meals, but you'll irritate those who think that President Obama's health-care plan isn't quite progressive enough. John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods Market -- green missionary and exemplar of corporate compassion -- has riled hard-core reformers by endorsing free-market principles over government-managed health care. Well, knock me over with a wakame frond. (That's seaweed for you tofu-averse.) ...If you're unlucky enough to live in a city without a Whole Foods store,...

CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2009 – The Army Reserve and National Guard signed partnership agreements with dozens of Chicago and Illinois state employers yesterday to enhance job opportunities for soldiers and veterans. Army Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz applauds Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn after Quinn's remarks at the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative signing ceremony in Chicago Aug. 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Brian Kersey  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It is our duty to take care of veterans, who have answered the call to duty and bravely defended our country,” said Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. “I salute Helmets...

Businesses with 25 employees or more would be required to offer health insurance or pay $750 a year per full-time worker to the federal government, under health care reform legislation being considered in the Senate. A "play or pay" employer mandate has been looming for months, but Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee finally defined how small a business would need to be in order to be exempted from the requirement. Most business groups oppose requiring employers to provide health care or pay a fee to the government, even if there is an exemption for small...

JUST as the econ omy begins show ing glimmers of a turnaround, here comes President Obama with a "tax-reform" effort that's sure to sock the stock prices and after-tax profits of many of the biggest US employers. Obama's $190 billion business-tax hike will hit Americans whose jobs and pensions depend on these companies doing well, and will increase pressure on already struggling colleges and hospitals. Why? Because millions of individual investors hold the companies' stocks in their portfolios, mutual funds and pension funds, as do many colleges, hospitals, museums and other institutions in their endowments. Among the important employers in...

There's been a whole lotta shootin' going on out there in recent times. Just wondering how many Freepers are employed at Companies that prohibit firearms on the property. I am curious as to how common a practice that is. If you don't mind, please sound off on what your Company's policy is, whether you are the Employer or the Employee. Anything you could add, regarding any incidents of violence, use of firearms in self-defense, etc., at the workplace, would be most appreciated. I plan on using the information I gain as "ammunition" to get my Employer to reverse its policy...

DENVER, March 27, 2009 – Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. signed on to the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative at a March 20 ceremony here that also drew 11 private-sector employers. Army Reserve Sgt. Gregory S. Ruske, who earned the Silver Star medal for gallantry in Afghanistan, shakes hands with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. in Denver, March 20, 2009. The two attended a ceremony in which the state of Colorado joined the Army Reserve’s Employer Partnership Initiative. U.S. Army photo by Jack Dempsey  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The governor is the first to commit all state...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2009 – A program that links Army reservists with civilian employers is going strong -- despite record unemployment and gloomy hiring predictions -- as more employers sign on every month so they can hire qualified reservists. The American Trucking Association and INOVA Health Systems of Northern Virginia broke new ground in April 2008 as the first formal members of the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative. Within six months, 65 employers had joined, and the program hit a milestone in February with its 200th employer partner. Now Army Reserve officials are laying plans for the University of...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2009 – Wyoming’s committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has been busy for 18 months preparing businesses that will be hard-hit by the largest reserve deployment in state history. The state is readying nearly 1,000 troops -- more than half of its Army National Guard soldiers and more than a third of its total Guard force -- for deployment to Iraq and Kuwait in April. The impact has been felt throughout the nation’s least-populous state, and nearly every community is affected, top leaders say. “The effect is pretty much the same everywhere, but...

The future of employment in the U.S. under the Obama Democrats. Five of the top six employers in Chicago are government. CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS A list of the area's 25 largest employers, ranked by number of Chicago-based full-time employees. Published Jan. 5, 2009. Rank Company No. of full-time local employees as of 9/30/2008: 1 U.S. Government 78,000 2 Chicago Public Schools 43,910 3 City of Chicago 35,570 4 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 23,453 5 Cook County 22,142 6 State of Illinois 18,124

Thank You Brian for reminding our Representatives that our first priority is to get our economy on track and that isn’t done by eliminating statutes of limitations and eliminating caps on punitive damages besides the act being “UNFAIR”.

OH YEAH -- CHANGE IS COMING! The election of Barack Obama has some employers quaking in their boots. Look into the crystal ball and prepare for dramatic changes in employment law and labor activity from unions to sick leave to ergonomics. Employers can expect to see more new workplace regulations than at any time in the last two decades. The Democrats are teeing up several bills and some issues demand attention immediately. Unions -- One issue looms far above all the others for Alabama Employers -- the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Obama supports the Employee Free Choice Act. This...