FORD RECALLS EVALUATION PROGRAM
Detroit — Facing a number of lawsuits alleging discrimination, Ford Motor Co. has decided to change a controversial employee evaluation program. The program was meant to evaluate managers and supervisors, but a number of employees say it discriminated against older white males in favour of women and minorities. Lawyers for the employees cite comments from CEO Jacques Nasser that the company needs to change its leadership development because it ended up with “too many middle-aged white Anglo-Saxon males running the company, and that had to change.”
SUPPORT FOR WORKING PARENTS
Washington, D.C. — The United States government has introduced a tax credit supporting workplace child care. Employers will be eligible to receive a break of up to (US) $150,000 to cover expenses related to the funding of on- or near-site child-care centres and company expenditures on training for child-care workers.
SLEEPING AT YOUR DESK
London, U.K. — A British company is marketing “the Besk,” a desk that folds out into a bed to allow workers to take refreshing 15-minute naps. The Besk Company plans to distribute the product in North America next year.
CHARGE IT
San Francisco — Visa has created a new method to pay staff. Employers can now deposit an employee’s pay directly onto a Visa Payroll card issued in the name of the employee. The new system is supposed to reduce the costs of producing, handling and distributing paycheques, as well as the costs associated with reissuing lost cheques.
WELLNESS PAYS OFF
Ann Arbor, Mich. — A study at Xerox Corp revealed a considerable drop in the number and seriousness of workplace injuries among employees who participated in the company wellness program. Of the 943 employees who participated in the program, 5.6 per cent made workers’ compensation claims versus 8.9 per cent of those who did not take part.
Detroit — Facing a number of lawsuits alleging discrimination, Ford Motor Co. has decided to change a controversial employee evaluation program. The program was meant to evaluate managers and supervisors, but a number of employees say it discriminated against older white males in favour of women and minorities. Lawyers for the employees cite comments from CEO Jacques Nasser that the company needs to change its leadership development because it ended up with “too many middle-aged white Anglo-Saxon males running the company, and that had to change.”
SUPPORT FOR WORKING PARENTS
Washington, D.C. — The United States government has introduced a tax credit supporting workplace child care. Employers will be eligible to receive a break of up to (US) $150,000 to cover expenses related to the funding of on- or near-site child-care centres and company expenditures on training for child-care workers.
SLEEPING AT YOUR DESK
London, U.K. — A British company is marketing “the Besk,” a desk that folds out into a bed to allow workers to take refreshing 15-minute naps. The Besk Company plans to distribute the product in North America next year.
CHARGE IT
San Francisco — Visa has created a new method to pay staff. Employers can now deposit an employee’s pay directly onto a Visa Payroll card issued in the name of the employee. The new system is supposed to reduce the costs of producing, handling and distributing paycheques, as well as the costs associated with reissuing lost cheques.
WELLNESS PAYS OFF
Ann Arbor, Mich. — A study at Xerox Corp revealed a considerable drop in the number and seriousness of workplace injuries among employees who participated in the company wellness program. Of the 943 employees who participated in the program, 5.6 per cent made workers’ compensation claims versus 8.9 per cent of those who did not take part.
