Workers in the state got a boost this week from Gov. David A. Paterson after he signed the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN.

The new law, which is similar is some respects to the federal WARN Act, requires private employers with 50 or more employees to give them and the state Department of Labor 90 days notice, prior to a mass layoff or plant closing.

Failure to do so, the Labor Department said, could result in fines of up to $500 a day for each violation.

The new law also gives the department’s commissioner authority to order relief, including back wages and unpaid medical benefits, for employees who don’t receive the required notice.

The federal WARN Act differs from the state law in that it only applies to companies that employ 100 or more workers and requires only 60 days notice to those workers. The federal law also lacks an enforcement mechanism, which requires workers facing job loss to sue their employers privately.

New York’s law closes that loophole, the agency said, which has allowed employers who fail to provide workers with a timely WARN notice to escape liability for their violations.

“For too long, workers in New York, given no notice in the face of immediate layoffs, have been unintentional victims of a federal law with limited enforcement provisions,” said state Labor Department Commissioner M. Patricia Smith.

The legislation will ensure that more workers in the state are given sufficient notice prior to losing their jobs, Smith said.

“Just as important,” she said, “those employers who don’t play by the rules will be sanctioned accordingly.”

Though job cuts ebbed a bit last month, the tapering off wasn’t sufficient to keep the summer of 2008 from going down as having the largest number of job cuts since 2002, analysis released this week shows.

August job cuts jumped 12 percent compared to a year ago, totaling nearly 89,000, according to the latest Job Cut Report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Employers so far this year have announced 667,996 job cuts, a 29 percent rise from last year’s eight-month total of 515,855, Challenger said.

With just four months remaining, this year’s job cuts are just 100,000 shy of last year’s total: 768,264.  At the current pace, job cuts will surpass last year’s 12-month total by the middle of October and could exceed 1 million for the first time since 2005.

“Hopes of a late summer reprieve in layoffs were dashed by heavy downsizing in the automotive and government sectors,” said John A. Challenger, the Chicago-based employment firm’s chief executive.

“We have not seen this level of summer job cutting since 2002,” he said, “when the country was still struggling to recover in the wake of the 2001 recession and September 11.”

As Labor Day approaches, a new study finds workers are more anxious about the future of their jobs and their financial independence.

Many American workers fear that their jobs will move to another country, feel undervalued or underpaid, and worry that they may never be able to retire, according to the report, titled “The Anxious Worker,” released by Rutgers University.

Overall, the survey, which polled 1,000 Americans, paints a troubling picture of economic and job insecurity, framed by worry and uncertainty over what the future holds, according to the report.

Among the report’s findings:

• Just over a third of Americans report having trouble making ends meet.


• 1-in-3 workers acknowledges concern over personal job security.


• 30 percent of those in the labor force report that they have more in temporary credit card debt than they do in permanent retirement savings.


• Only half are working the number of hours they want to work.

Half of the workers surveyed also believe they need more education or training to achieve their work goals.

The full report is available online at www.heldrich.rutgers.edu.

Though many workers are having a tough time finding suitable employment in today’s uncertain economy, companies also face challenges finding highly skilled people, a new report says.

According to the fourth annual Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report by Robert Half International and Internet jobs site CareerBuilder.com, employees rated the level of challenge in finding a job at 3.56 on a sliding scale of 1 to 5. Similarly, employers rated the level of challenge in finding qualified candidates at 3.47.

“A dual hiring environment seems to be taking shape,” says Max Messmer, chairman and chief executive of Robert Half International, a recruiting firm that specializes in accounting and finance careers.

“Job seekers in some fields are competing aggressively for open positions, giving employers the edge in those segments of the hiring market, Messmer says.

“At the same time, however, companies continue to face a shortage of highly skilled professionals in fields such as technology and accounting,” he says.

That’s likely because workers with the talents companies need aren’t willing to leave secure jobs unless hard-up employers make very lucrative offers.

Among key findings of the report:

• More than half of employers said it is challenging to find skilled professionals today; Generation Y workers are the most difficult to recruit.


• Closely mirroring responses from employers, more than half of workers said it is challenging to find a job today.


• Nearly two-thirds of workers are more likely to try to negotiate a better compensation package today than last year.


• A lack of qualified workers and the higher cost of gas/commuting were among the top factors impacting companies’ ability to recruit skilled labor.


• Many employers are likely to offer reduced work schedules, “bridge” jobs and consulting arrangements as an alternative to retirement.


• The time to fill open positions ranges from four to 14 weeks, with senior-level roles demanding the most time.


• Six-in-10 employers estimate at least a quarter of applicants who contact them aren’t qualified.

Workers who find that their work days stretch beyond the normal eight hours can take some solace in knowing they’re not alone.

A recent Monster.com poll showed more that more than three-quarters of employees work more than eight hours a day.

When asked “On average, how long is your workday,” 58 percent of readers of the career Web site’s home page poll said they worked between eight and 10 hours, while 23 percent of respondents to the non-scientific poll said they worked 10 hours or more.

If you’re looking to cut down the number of hours you work, Monster offers these tips to help tame the never ending work week:

·        Commit to 40 hours a week for the next three to six months.

·        Leave work on time one or two days a week. If you can’t, leave the papers at the office.

·        Make yourself unavailable to work on the weekends by scheduling activities.

·        Identify and eliminate unproductive tasks, projects and meetings.

·        Reduce email and voice mail by not checking them more than twice a day and being selective about who has your contact information.

While the ailing economy may be taking a toll on job opportunities for younger workers, those aged 45 and older, data show, are still in demand by employers.

Employment among those 55 and older grew by 3.7 percent to 26.6 million in July up from 25.7 million a year ago, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of employed of workers aged 20 to 44 declined by an average of 1.3 percent during the same period.

The report, released today, shatters the myth that older workers are particularly vulnerable in this economic downturn, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an employment-services firm.

“The fact is pared down companies may increasingly rely on seasoned veterans to get them through the downturn, said the firm’s Chief Executive Officer John A. Challenger.

“They may cost more in salary and benefits, but their experience and knowledge make them highly valued,” he said.

Challenger said its analysis of the report also belies the myth that older workers are for the most part underemployed, seemingly able to find only part-time, hourly wage positions in retail and other low-skill service industries.

The BLS data show that the biggest employment gains for workers 55 and older occurred within management, professional and related occupations.

The number of workers 55 and up in these positions increased by 659,000 or 6.5 percent over the last 12 months, Challenger said.

A recent report on “Marketplace,” a public-radio news program, noted that applications to the nation’s business schools set a record this year as young workers delayed job seeking instead for additional education.

But it isn’t only young workers who are getting in on the education game, as today’s People@Work column explores. Older workers, too, are returning to school, albeit for different reasons.

Whether it’s fears of no longer being able to command the salaries they once did or simply a desire to do more meaningful work, many older workers are heading back to the classroom. Read more here.

The faltering economy has been cited as one reason workers are increasingly competitive among one another in the workplace.

“In an uncertain economy, people grow more concerned about job security and proving their worth to employers,” says Dave Willmer, executive director of OfficeTeam, a temporary staffing firm. “This pressure to perform may result in rivalries between employees.”

A recent survey of corporate executives by OfficeTeam showed the phenomenon of increased competitiveness is a decade-long trend, revealing that workers’ sense of vulnerability and economic unease may have deeper roots than current concern about high gas prices and the housing crisis.

Though a dose of competition can be healthy among employees, Wilmer says, too much “creates tension and stands in the way of collaboration.”

In keeping with the competitive spirit of the ongoing Beijing Olympics, OfficeTeam has identified five common workplace competitors, along with strategies for discouraging them from taking competition too far:

• The Sprinter – This employee races to the finish on projects, sometimes overlooking the details. Commend him on his long-term view and enthusiasm, but encourage him to avoid cutting corners in the process.


• The Weightlifter – This employee views her achievements in terms of quantity rather than quality, often taking on more projects than she can reasonably accomplish satisfactorily and on time. Offer to redistribute some of her work among others and encourage her to focus on doing a first-rate job rather than attempting to do too much at once.


• The Gymnast – This person aims for perfection and tends to want to complete projects on her own. While her bends and flips may be impressive, you may have to diplomatically counsel her to channel her talents more toward team goals rather than spending her time on solo routines.


• The Pole Vaulter – No challenge is too great for this employee, who lobbies to take on the highest-profile projects. While this can-do spirit is helpful, it’s important to not let this worker monopolize all of the most challenging assignments.


• The Saboteur – This athlete is present in every sport. He’s the runner who trips others near the finish line, the soccer player who always gets the yellow card or the basketball player who is ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. His struggle to get ahead at the expense of others ends up damaging his team’s chances. Explain to him the value of playing by the rules and focusing his energy on collaborating with colleagues rather than personal glory.

Advocates of dismantling Social Security in favor of a privatized retirement plan argue that shortfalls will leave today’s young workers without a safety net when they are set to retire.

New analysis from a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, shows that such fears are unfounded, however.

Analysis of the Congressional Budget Offices’s 2006 Social Security projections shows that not only will Social Security still be there when today’s 20-somethings turn 65, the real-dollar value of its benefits will be even greater than today.

Read a brief about the issue here.

Pace University has named Constance Knapp interim dean of the college’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

The Ossining resident holds a doctorate in philosophy from the City University of New York Graduate Center in Manhattan and is a professor of information systems at the school. Her office is in on Pace’s Pleasantville campus.