Who’s on first? States Laws Create Compliance Chaos

The Sunday Gazette Mail reported that despite the state-driven legislation to address the problem of unauthorized workers, things are slowing in state capitols this spring, with many propposals "watered down, delayed or outright defeated."  But amidst the debates, employer confusion c...

Jose E. Latour Apr 17, 2008

EXODUS: Movement of Job People (out of the U.S.)

With all due respect to the late Bob Marley, the title was "simply irresistable" given my topic for today.  Whoops, ditto for the late Robert Palmer.  An "exodus" is not too dramatic a word to illustrate the latest trend in globalism, and it foretells of a grim future f...

Jose E. Latour Apr 16, 2008

Republicans and Laissez Faire Part Ways

Historically identified as pro-business champions of the free market economy, the Republican party continues its post-September-11th expansion of government intervention in the private sector, and people are starting to notice.The process, of course, began after the terrorist bombings, when the worl...

Jose E. Latour Apr 14, 2008

The Sky IS Falling

I was stunned to read the following in an article on the current Social Security “no match” notifications mess.  The quote, published in the October issue of Inside Counsel Magazine, reads as follows: “You can fix a false negative if the agency has enough staffing to deal with it… It’s a logist...

Jose E. Latour Dec 19, 2007

Listen up USG Contractors: Time to Comply

The pressure to comply with employment verification requirements may soon hit companies which contract with the U.S. governement.  This is from SHRM:"The House has already included language in four appropriations bills that would require all federal contractors to participate in the govern...

Jose E. Latour Dec 02, 2007

Things are Tough All Over…But Needn’t Be

This Thanksgiving weekend I did something I'm a bit embarrassed to admit:  I caught up on all the business magazines and WSJs sitting in my "to read" pile.  It's Sunday and the workweek begins tomorrow, but I wanted to make this comment based on a consistent underlying theme I fo...

Jose E. Latour Nov 25, 2007

Why GCs are Embracing Workforce Compliance

InsideCounsel magazine recently reported the results of an innovative study undertaken by another publication, Corporate Board Member magazine and FTI Consulting.  In the survey/study, over 1000 General Counsels and board directors were asked about the steps they are taking to mitigate risk wit...

Jose E. Latour Nov 20, 2007

Reinventing Lawyers

I've noticed that as one grays around the temples, some sort of phenomenon gives others the impression that you know more than you knew before.  Suddenly, people who might never have listened to a word you had to say consider you a "resource" or, even worse, a "mentor".In th...

Jose E. Latour Oct 30, 2007

Unions in Check: NLRB Permits Faster Challenges by Members

As the National Labor Relations Board hustles to clear its docket, corporations are being pleasantly surprised...while unions cry "foul".Dozens of recent case decisions show a definitive intent by the Board to further limit organized labor. The Bush administration has long been the target ...

Jose E. Latour Oct 26, 2007

Metagaming, Economics, and Global HR Compliance

Today I am going to talk about the LEAST talked about 2007 Nobel Prize, the one in Economics, awarded to three U.S.-based economists - game theory pioneer Leo Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson. After half a century of work in a little-known but massively cool area of game theory, it’s about tim...

Jose E. Latour Oct 25, 2007