WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators are in the early stages of an antitrust probe into whether Google Inc, the top player in Web display advertising, breaks antitrust law in how it handles some advertising sales, a source told Reuters on Thursday. The source said that it was unlikely that the Federal Trade Commission had sent out civil investigative demands in relation to the probe, which would be the sign of a formal and more serious investigation. The new line of inquiry focuses on tools acquired when Google bought display ad company DoubleClick in 2007; other firms which specialize in helping  [ Read More ]

House Republicans are pushing a bill that takes away extra pay for overtime, substituting “comp” time instead. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/Roger Jegg – Fotodesign-Jegg.de May 9, 2013  |  Copyright, Truthout.org. Reprinted with permission. View the original article at TruthOut.org. Republicans are trying to pass an “alternative” to overtime pay. This is really about taking away the eight-hour workday and 40-hour workweek. Will weekends be next? What about an “alternative” to paying workers at all? House Republicans are pushing a bill that takes away extra pay for overtime, substituting “comp” time instead. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 is the  [ Read More ]

Colorado man Joe Lobato was fired after posting a status update complaining about work. Joe told KUSA 9News that he was feeling severely sick on the job. Lobato said it was so bad that, “It felt like someone was kicking me in my stomach.” He went on to say that his supervisor’s response to his illness was less than sympathetic, reporting, “He told me I wasn’t allowed to leave my machinery again.” At his computer, Joe logged in to Facebook and vented, posting a 9-sentence status update that included the statement, “Guess they think a person is a machine and  [ Read More ]

New Jersey labor law lawsuits allege violations of New Jersey state labor laws including overtime pay, discrimination and harassment. The rights of employees in New Jersey are protected by a number of laws, including the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Possible violations of New Jersey employment labor law include wrongful termination, retaliation and discrimination. New Jersey Labor Law New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or potential employees in any job-related action on the basis of  [ Read More ]

Small Businesses Face Double-Edged Sword in Deciding to Put Contractors on Payroll By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN And EMILY MALTBY An Internal Revenue Service crackdown on employers who improperly use independent contractors could force many small-business owners to make tough choices: Staff up and raise operating costs, or risk an audit that could have pricey penalties. Under an agency program unveiled last week, business owners can reclassify contractors as employees and make only a small payment to cover past payroll taxes. The IRS expects most applicants to be smaller firms, because they tend to have looser structures and fewer personnel. Along  [ Read More ]

By Joshua Burd |NJBN Closely watched bills that would reshape the state’s business and development incentives will have to wait until at least early May, their two top sponsors said today, as lawmakers fine-tune the measures while getting through several weeks of budget hearings. But the sponsors, Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark) and Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), both said they remain confident about the future of the legislation, with the effort garnering broad support and two related bills clearing their respective committees earlier this week. Support for the plan was plain to see last week, when top state officials — including  [ Read More ]

Forbes By Jenna Goudreau | Forbes – 16 hours ago Long-term shifts in the U.S. economy coupled with the recent recession means Americans are more likely to pack up and move for employment-related reasons. Although the total number of residential moves is down, new data shows a clear pattern of the states that people are fleeing the fastest. Moving company United Van Lines released its 36th annual study of customer migration patterns, analyzing a total of 125,000 moves across the 48 continental states in 2012. The study provides an up-to-date, representative snapshot of overarching moving patterns in the U.S., and  [ Read More ]

You work hard, pay your dues, dedicate yourself to your job. Unfortunately, New Jersey employers don’t always play fairly in return. The good news is that you have rights under the law to protect yourself against illegal employment practices, such as job discrimination, a wage and hour dispute, or a wrongful termination. The Mashel Law Firm exclusively represents employees in disputes with their employers. Since 1999 we have been successfully taking on companies of all sizes to make sure our clients obtain what they are entitled to under New Jersey and federal laws. Money Disputes Employers in New Jersey do  [ Read More ]

John Bacon and Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY10:23a.m. EST February 6, 2013 The Postal Service will end Saturday delivery for first class mail this summer, Postmaster General Patrick Donahue said Wednesday. Package delivery, which has seen growth in recent years as online purchasing booms, will continue under the plan. Postmaster General Patrick Donahue said. Donahue, saying the plan will save $2 billion annually, called the decision an “important part of our strategy to return to financial stability.” He said the plan would allow for elimination of 22,500 jobs. Donahue said he hoped the job losses could be covered by attrition, buyouts  [ Read More ]

One of the stranger aspects of Bloomberg’s story about the FBI’s Tip Machine, also known as former Morgan Stanley director David Slaine, is that one of his original tips involved a fund manager who was allegedly paying off people to discover who was coming in and out of Teterboro Airport, the small New Jersey airport catering to many New York area private corporate jets. There are a number of things that makes this a strange start for a relationship that has led to the conviction of nearly a score of people on securities law violations. But the number one thing  [ Read More ]

Good news for anyone who’s ever been tagged in a Facebook photo doing something less-than work safe: It’s now illegal in California for your boss to demand access to your Facebook page. Gov. Jerry Brown took to Twitter and Facebook, appropriately enough, to announce Tuesday that he had signed two new Internet privacy bills aimed at protecting employees and students from social media snooping by employers and Universities. The first bill, AB 1844, was introduced in the state assembly by San Jose’s Nora Campos, makes it illegal for employers to require job seekers and employees to provide the username and  [ Read More ]

By Associated Press New Jersey’s state Senate passed a bill Thursday to raise the minimum wage in March and then adjust it automatically each year in increases or decreases tied to the Consumer Price Index. The party-line vote of 23-16 signals a return to politics as usual for the state Senate a month after Superstorm Sandy and sets up a showdown between the Legislature dominated by Democrats and Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who’s expected to veto the bill. The bill would hike minimum wage on March 1 by $1.25 an hour to $8.50. Anticipating a veto, the Senate also  [ Read More ]

By Fahmida Y. Rashid, TechNewsDaily Contributor | LiveScience.com – Mon, Nov 19, 2012 Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the start of the American holiday shopping season. Brick-and-mortar retailers gear up for it by offering gargantuan sales to get shoppers in the doors. But they’re not they only ones getting ready. Cybercriminals are prepping their online wares too. Many of the scams also target Cyber Monday, which falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving. For the past few years, Cyber Monday has been the biggest day for online retailers, who entice customers with special “one day only!” promotions. Search the  [ Read More ]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Hostess Brands — the maker of such iconic baked goods as Twinkies, Drake’s Devil Dogs and Wonder Bread — announced Friday that it is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to close its operations, blaming a strike by bakers protesting a new contract imposed on them. The closing will result in Hostess’ nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide, as well as 570 outlet stores. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union represents around 5,000 Hostess employees. “We deeply regret the necessity  [ Read More ]

When you apply for a job, most employers will do a criminal background check. Nothing to worry about, right? Because you’re not a criminal. Think again. Experts say those background check companies are causing innocent people to lose jobs, mistaken for drug felons, armed robbers, even sex offenders. It happened to Catherine Taylor, a stay-at-home mom looking to get back to work. The Red Cross wanted to hire her as an accountant. “I was supposed to start work the following week,” Taylor told us. But suddenly, Catherine’s job offer was yanked. A criminal background check had come back with a  [ Read More ]