Some MA Business Owners Urging Delay of Sick Time Law

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In November of 2014, by a margin of 19 percent, voters in Massachusetts clearly expressed their wishes that a statewide provision be implemented requiring all employers to offer sick time. Every employer in the state will soon be required to offer either paid or unpaid sick time, depending on their number of employees. In each case, employees will be required to accrue the time with their hours worked, one hour for every thirty. This sick time is to be available to all employees, whether full or part-time.

The regulations are expected to be issued by the Attorney General’s office in mid- June and the law is set to go into effect this July. However, some employers are concerned, saying that the compressed time frame simply doesn’t allow businesses enough time between that publication date and the implementation of the earned sick time law. This is the primary complaint being voiced by most businesses. Without those regulations in place for use as a guideline, they say, businesses will be unlikely to be able to fully comply with the new law quickly enough. There are also concerns about businesses modifying existing sick time policies to match up with the new regulations, particularly given that most are likely in the middle of their fiscal year. Representatives from both camps are now asking that the date for implementation be pushed back to January of 2016

On the other side of the argument are proponents of the new law, like Raise Up Massachusetts, who want the law to go into effect as it was originally intended – on the very same timeline chosen by voters. They claim that the people have shown that they want this law and that this matters more than any difficulties businesses may face as a consequence of implementing the new law.

 

Worcester Chamber Lists Annual Business Award Winners

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The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce announced their list of local business award winners, all of whom will be honored at a special ceremony commencing at 4:00 p.m. on May 14, 2015, at The Haven Country Club in Boylston.

  • The Richard B. Kennedy Business of the Year award goes to Imperial Distributors, located in Worcester and Auburn, a company that has handled supermarket non-foods distribution and merchandising services since 1939.
  • West Side Steak & BBQ won as Small Business of the Year.
  • Skyscope Creative is honored as the Entrepreneur of the Year.
  • Percy’s TV and Appliance received the Family-Owned Business of the Year.
  • Jim Donoghue, the Tweed’s Pub owner, is the Chamber Advocate of the Year.
  • The Joe Cohen Retailer of the Year is Crompton Collective for its innovative addition of a farmer’s market and, later, an event venue.
  • Maureen Raillo, CEO and president of WLimo, West Boylston, is the Ambassador of the Year.

The Silver Hammer Awards for local distinguished construction or rehabilitation projects has three winners:  SpencerBANK for turning the former Fire and Telegraph Building on Park Avenue into a branch with a community room for the public to use; Winn Companies, for restoration of the former Worcester Technical High School into housing known as Voke Lofts, and Commerce Bank for its restoration of the Slater Building on Main Street.

Congratulations to all!

Massachusetts’ Unemployment Rate Lowest In 7 Years

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The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) announced Thursday that Massachusetts unemployment fell from 4.9% in February to 4.8% in March. This is the lowest unemployment figure since February of 2008. The “Great Recession” drove Massachusetts’ unemployment to a high of 5.9% in March 2014.

The labor force participation rate, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is “the percentage of the population [16 years and older] that is either employed or unemployed (that is, either working or actively seeking work).” This number increased 0.3% to 66.2% in February, its highest point since June of 2010 and up a full percentage point from March 2014.

The Massachusetts’ economy added 60,200 jobs; 49,400 of which were private sector since March 2014. The EOLWD reports that the private sector added 10,700 jobs in March. The most significant gains were 1,400 jobs in manufacturing, 4,900 in hospitality and leisure, and 5,500 in education and health providing services.

The National Association of Business Economics (NABE) projects continued economic growth for the duration of 2015 and into 2016. The outlook expects the United States’ GDP to grow by 3.1% through 2015 and 2.9% in 2016. Predicted increases are derived from data linked to government spending, housing investment, and consumer spending. Recent trends in labor market strengthening are expected to continue, adding more jobs to the Massachusetts’ economy.

Raytheon buys 80% of Websense for $1.9 billion

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In an effort to improve its cyber-protection technology, Waltham-based Raytheon has reached agreement with private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners LLC  to acquire an 80 percent share of Websense Inc. for $1.9 billion. Vista acquired Websense two years ago for about $990 million.

Raytheon plans to integrate Websense into its existing  Raytheon Cyber Products unit and operate the new division with Websense incumbent CEO John McCormack at the helm.

In addition to contributing the $400 million cyber products unit,  Raytheon will infuse $1.6 billion in cash, $600 million in the form of a loan. For its 20 percent stake, Vista will contribute $335 million to the venture.

Websense’s Triton platform, which allows companies to adapt and respond to future cyber attacks, is said to be what particularly appealed to Raytheon.

In November, Raytheon spent $420 million to bolster its intelligence business by acquiring surveillance and cybersecurity company Blackbird Technologies.

Advanced Manufacturing Report Urges a Change in Public Perception

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The New England Council released a report on Wednesday that urged for increased training for advanced manufacturing workers throughout New England. At the same time, they recommended changing the public’s view of these industries by focusing on its safety.

The report, titled “Advanced to Advantageous,” identifies influential industries in New England that are setting the pace in advanced manufacturing. These industries include aerospace, defense, medical devices, software and biotechnology. The report praised certain programs as being progressive “islands of excellence” that combine existing advantages while encouraging other industries to adopt them. The report provides recommendations to increase growth and improve global competitiveness.

Below are highlights of the recommendations:

  • Improve partnerships between government, educators, and industry.
  • Create a federally funded manufacturing center in New England.
  • Transition the public’s perception of manufacturing from dangerous to safe.
  • Increase industry partnership and apprenticeship opportunities for students.

James T. Brett, president and CEO of The New England Council, commented that “manufacturing and higher education organizations across New England have told me how invaluable our report has been to them.” Brett hopes that the report will encourage broader discussion among the public and private sectors, improving collaboration between the two. Brett added that this was necessary in order to “support advanced manufacturing to promote sustained economic growth in every corner of New England and strengthen our regional competitive advantage.”

Manufacturing and education sectors will mutually benefit from increased training, apprenticeship opportunities, and partnership ties. The public also needs to understand that manufacturing is a safe career choice. If this can be accomplished, advanced manufacturers in New England will be stronger and more competitive.

 

Baker Being Urged to Replace MBTA Board

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Based on findings recently  issued  by a panel he appointed in February to investigate blizzard-related system shutdowns, Governor Charlie Baker is now being urged to find new leadership for the beleaguered MBTA. including asking for the resignations of the entire MassDOT Board of Directors. In a press conference, Baker stated there was a need to improve the fiscal responsibility and the performance of the transit system.

One recommendation includes creation of a five-member “Fiscal and Management Control Board.” Over the next three to five years, this board would supervise the MBTA’s finances, develop goals, restructure the MBTA, and “reinvent the labor-management and contract relationships.” Of the five board members, the governor would appoint three and the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives would each select one. This board would be given the mission to “aggressively” pursue these and other objectives, ultimately choosing a new CEO for the transit system.Baker shared the recommendations of this panel with the state legislature, saying they were “interested in the findings.” He also said that MassDOT board members are aware of the findings.The report includes recommendations to crack down on fare evasions and to add more advertising and concessions in stations. Interestingly, the report also suggested the state should assume debt payments for the Big Dig, in exchange for which the state would no longer cover shortfalls in the operating budget of the transit authority.Portions of the report have been leaked to the media over the past several days. One uncomfortable finding was that the average MBTA worker was absent 57 days a year. Perhaps more disturbing, the MBTA did not utilize up $2.2 billion in possible grants and bonds between 2010 and 2014.

Spaulding Closing Salem Location

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Administrators at Spaulding Hospital have announced that it will shut down The Spaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care North Shore’s inpatient operations by the end of September 2015, with the hospital saying that new federal regulations will severely impact patient volume.

Approximately 320 people are scheduled to be laid off because of this move and Spaulding has indicated they would, where appropriate, be assigning some displaced staff to other positions within its parent Partners HealthCare system while others will be receiving severance packages.

The Salem location, formerly known as the Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital, has been experiencing declining inpatient numbers for years and now operates below 50% capacity. Given recent policy changes at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, inpatient volume was predicted to dip to below 32 percent.

“The dramatic further decline based on the new admitting criteria established by CMS has created an untenable situation. Sadly, it is no longer viable to continue SNS’s inpatient services,” said David Storto, president of Partners Continuing Care, and Maureen Banks, president of Spaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care North Shore.

“The new LTAC regulations will not impact Spaulding Hospital Cambridge to the same degree because of a different Medicare mix and a greater number of referring hospitals,” Spaulding officials said.

Spokespeople for Partners HealthCare say the CMS changes won’t affect patient services at any of their other hospitals. Both inpatient and outpatient services will still be available in Charlestown, Cambridge and on Cape Cod, as well as at skilled nursing facilities in Boston and outpatient sites in the North Shore.

Boston to Investigate Gender Wage Gap

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On Tuesday, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh jumped head first into the bickering swirling around the issue of the gender wage gap. He did so by announcing that the city is getting set  to study the wages of male and female employees at dozens of  local companies. This is the first attempt by any major U.S. city to quantify the gender wage gap by scrutinizing actual salary data.

Addressing an audience at the inaugural Boston Women’s Venture Capital Summit in the Seaport on Tuesday morning, Walsh said, “We know that the wage gap continues to be an issue all across this nation, and it’s time to stop talking about it and start taking action.”

Many of the state’s largest employers, including Putnam Investments and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, have agreed to anonymously provide wage information, broken down by gender, race, job category, and length of employment.

Evelyn Murphy, former lieutenant governor and member of Boston’s Women’s Workforce Council, said, “This is the game changer. Prior to now, this has been all so secretive. Some companies just don’t want people to know [salaries]. And you can understand why. But on the other hand it means there’s been no collaboration to get at the inequities that are really there.”

“We’re not trying to punish companies, we’re trying to have people understand where they’re at,” said Megan Costello, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement.

So, how do you convince a major corporation to peel back the lid on sensitive salary information when competitors would so clearly benefit from having access to that data?

By keeping it anonymous, that’s how. Even when the aggregate salary information is made public, the companies attached to specific data will not be revealed.

Tuesday morning, Walsh also made it clear that he is determined to lead by example.

The mayor says he observed a wage gap among top City Hall staffers as noted in a draft report from his new Office of Diversity. According to an analysis of payroll data, men in Walsh’s cabinet are paid, on average, nearly $156,000, while women in the cabinet earn $123,000.

To help close the gap, Walsh gave a 12 percent raise to his chief of policy, Joyce Linehan, increasing her annual salary from $125,000 to $140,000 and Laura Oggeri, the mayor’s spokeswoman, received a 15 percent pay hike, increasing her annual salary to $116,000 from $101,000. Despite these pay increases, women in Walsh’s cabinet are still being paid, on average, almost $27,000 less than men.

Previous attempts to address the wage gap have largely been limited to legislative proposals, including the federal Paycheck Fairness Act, which would increase pay transparency and require businesses to justify pay grade differences. Bills filed in Massachusetts earlier this year would prohibit employers from seeking job candidates’ salary histories and require that minimum pay be disclosed for advertised positions.

Analyzing the gender wage gap is a complex undertaking, said Kathy Horgan, chief operating officer for global human resources at State Street Corp., one of the companies taking part in the survey. She noted that one of the sources of salary disparities at the Boston financial services company appears to be a lack of women in senior positions.

“That’s where we don’t have the kind of representation of women that we want to see, and we do believe that’s a driver of our wage gap,” she said.

The city pledges to make the salary information public early this summer.

 

Coffee is… GOOD FOR YOU??

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Over 50% of the American adult population drink coffee daily. The next time you feel bad about making your fourth trip to the break room in two hours, allow yourself to bypass the guilt of relying so heavily on the bean and remind yourself that your caffeine habit (it’s totally not an addiction) could actually be doing some good for your health. Apparently, there are health advantages to drinking the brew daily; it can even help lower the risk of developing liver cancer.

Coffee is, first and foremost, rich with antioxidants. Antioxidants, in case you may have forgotten their actual function, help prevent cell damage by blocking the activity of chemicals known as free radicals. Free radicals are produced naturally by your body as a byproduct of respiration, and can cause cell damage as well as lead to cancer. Statistics show that coffee drinking can lower that risk by up to 14%.

A study by a research team at Imperial College London analyzed 34 existing global studies on the effects of diet, nutrition, exercise and weight in regards to the risk of cancer. In total, the studies encompassed about 8.2 million adults and 24,500 cases of liver cancer.

While the exact reason as to why coffee may lower the risk of the disease is still unknown, researches speculate that it may have something to do with certain compounds present in the beverage that can help fight toxins. The report noted that studies have shown coffee to reduce the inflammation of cells, and that the effects were most pronounced on the liver.

So in case you were debating taking that extra mid-afternoon brew, go ahead! Drink up in the name of health!

Berkshire County Rep. Proposes Change to Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers

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Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Berkshire County, Massachusetts has presented a bill that, if passed, would gradually increase the minimum wage for tipped workers in the state until they are paid the same as other minimum wage workers. This is an addition to the current law, which will increase minimum wage for tipped workers to $3.75 per hour from the current $2.63 by 2017. Standard minimum wage for those employees who do not receive tips was raised to $9 in January.

Massachusetts currently defines tipped employees as those who earn more than $20 per month in tips and who, with minimum wage plus tips, make at least $9 per hour. While employers are legally required to make up the difference for tipped workers who do not reach the $9 per hour threshold, restaurant worker advocates say that many avoid actually doing so. This is especially true for restaurants that employ large numbers of undocumented workers.

The bill is supported through the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) of Boston advocacy group’s “One Fair Wage” campaign, which seeks to end wage theft by employers. According to research by the Economic Policy Institute, this type of theft results in employee loss of more than $50 billion per year.

Beyond the wage theft issue, many labor and gender relations experts believe that a landscape in which employees must work for tips leads to a culture of sexual harassment by customers. According to a report by the ROC, 78 percent of women and 55 percent of men who work in restaurants report experiencing this type of harassment. Their research also shows that restaurant servers, who are traditionally tipped employees, are three times more likely than other types of workers to live in poverty.

As expected, restaurant owners argue that moving away from the current system would make it difficult for them to create jobs because of the resulting economic loss. Stephen Clark, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, argues that in Massachusetts, most servers make at least $13 per hour, with some topping out at as much as $30 per hour.

California and Nevada have both enacted similar legislation.