Judge won’t force Uber driver into arbitration

An Uber driver ruled an employee (instead of an independent contractor) by the state Labor Commissioner won’t be required to have her case heard by arbitrators. A San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled the case of driver Barbara Berwick would remain in the courts, according to court records. Bloomberg...

Recruiters smell ‘blood in the water’ at HP — Staffing Quote of the Week

“Every recruiter I know can smell the blood in the water,” Jason Berkowitz, VP of client services for Seven Step RPO, told CIO in a story about layoffs at Hewlett-Packard. “They know now that the people who remain, people who may have been content at HP will be more willing to take calls from recruiters.”...

Sonoma Consulting acquires East Coast tech recruiting firm

Illinois based-Sonoma Consulting Inc., an IT consulting and executive search firm, acquired StrategyHire, a technology recruiting and solutions provider based in Tyson’s Corner, Va. 

“StrategyHire adds to our already-strong US presence and will round out the East Coast by bringing over 50 clients...

Staffing firms must pay in sick leave, nursing mother cases

A contingent worker fired for trying to take sick leave and another temporary worker who requested time off to express milk both resulted in staffing firms having to pay damages.

In the first case, a staffing firm must pay $10,000 in lost wages and damages after terminating an assembly line worker in...

CHG Healthcare names new COO

CHG Healthcare Services, the second-largest US healthcare staffing firm and the largest US locum tenens staffing provider, named Mark Law as chief operating officer.

Law succeeds Scott Beck, who replaced Michael Weinholtz as CEO earlier this year.

Law most recently served as a group president at CHG, managing...

Unhealthy work environment trumps money as cause of turnover, research finds

Issues related to a psychologically unhealthy work environment, rather than money, appear to be a frequent cause of turnover, according to reached released today by PsychTests.com.

“Some of the reasons people cited for quitting, or wanting to quit, are justifiable, if not understandable — like wanting...

Marine staffing firms partner in two markets

Venture Dynamics and Shipyard Staffing, two marine staffing firms providing skilled trade personnel to the ship construction and repair industry, today finalized a partnership to share resources in the ports of San Diego, Calif., and Jacksonville, Fla. The companies will remain competitors in the Hampton...

Slowdown in China’s economy won’t have much impact on US growth, TD Economics reports

Slowing activity in China and other emerging market economies will be a headwind to growth over the next year, but the US economy is in good shape to weather the storm, according to a report released today by TD Economics.

Led by consumer spending, economic growth is expected to average 2.5% on an annual...

Silicon Valley wants high-skilled immigration on campaign agenda — Web

The Wall Street Journal reports Fwd.us, a lobbying group created by Mark Zuckerberg and other tech founders, is trying to get immigration reform on the agenda of the US presidential campaign.

Fatal injuries rise among contracted workers

More contracted workers died on the job in 2014 than 2013, according to preliminary numbers released Thursday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Contracted workers are defined as people employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that controls the worksite where the fatality...