No Pay For Overtime

Late at night, long after the grocery superstore Fred Meyer closes, there is still activity in the store. If you look through the windows, janitors are cleaning. But are they employees? Not officially. On paper, they're contractors.

Since 2004, Fred Meyer's janitors have signed their names to documents stating that they're independent contractors. They're not paid hourly. A local janitorial services company pays them a lump sum of around $1,000 every two weeks to work seven nights a week, 364 days a year. Were those janitors actual employees instead of contractors, fair labor laws would entitle them to a minimum wage and overtime pay. They are currently not paid overtime.

More at source: KUOW.org

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As the two young men moved about the building cleaning, it was hard to tell that they have special challenges in their lives.

Concentrating on their movements as they followed their cleaning routines, the two seemed like very polished workers – and in fact, they are.

One folded dirty cleaning towels into triangles and placed them together as he moved from one chore to another while cleaning a restroom. He sprayed cleaner on the mirror in the same pattern, wiping the mirror in the same motion each time. Both avoided eye contact and spoke very little.

Each has been diagnosed with autism (also known known as autism spectrum disorder). The severity of the disorder is different for each person, but the life situation of a person with autism is often misunderstood.

Those with autism do not naturally develop the ability to interact socially and, therefore, struggle with things like job interviews and conversations.

More at source: Charlotte Observer

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WILMINGTON -- One coastal city's effort to clean up and re-purpose old, abandoned properties got another financial boost.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wilmington was one of 171 communities nationwide and one of eight in the state to receive grant money for its Brownfields redevelopment initiative.

The city must use the $400,000 grant to conduct environmental assessments.

"They're abandoned for a reason. Somebody has abandoned them and hasn't redeveloped them usually because of some environmental concern," said Phil Prete, a senior environmental planner for the city.

With the city digging up all the dirt on the sites, business recruiters said it's easier to attract developers.

More at source: Triad

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NEWS: Show your appliances some much needed attention with these spring cleaning suggestions from Northstar Appliance Repair Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Use these seven homemade remedies to clean your kitchen and have it smelling fresh – no need to leave your home for supplies.

These suggestions can remove stains, eliminate odor, and get rid of food buildup in the kitchen. Appliances take a lot of abuse and they get the least amount of attention. If you keep them clean that can help them run longer and more efficiently, cutting back on appliance repair services.

1. Remove food residue from your dishwasher by running a empty dishwasher with a cup of vinegar.

2. Remove food stains from your microwave by using 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda and one quart of water to wipe down the interior walls of the microwave.

3. Clean your condenser coils on your refrigerator. They are located behind the refrigerator. Use a small brush or handheld vacuum to remove any lint, dust, pet hair, and/or dirt.

More at source: E News

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Eric Grover
Keller Grover LLP
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BALLWIN, MO (KTVI) – Ballwin police have charged a housekeeper with stealing, after four Blues tickets and a parking pass were stolen from a Ballwin home.

Charges against 21 year-old Kacy Woods have just been filed, but it all dates back to March, when Jeff Johnson was about to take his sons to a Blues vs. Dallas Stars game.  That’s when he noticed the four tickets, valued at $169 each, were missing from the kitchen counter, where they`d been sitting for days.

The Johnsons reported the tickets stolen and received new ones at the Blues box office.  Sure enough, when Johnson and his two sons got to their seats, two strangers were already there.  The two claimed they bought the tickets on Craigslist from Woods, the Johnsons’ housekeeper.

“You know, you do feel a little violated, but for me, I was glad that it was just tickets. You know, it could have been something more,” explains Jeff Johnson’s wife, Valarie.

FOX2 headed to this housekeeper`s Arnold home, looking for answers.  Woods did admit to selling two of the tickets on craigslist, for $100 each.  She says, “I was like, I don`t need four, I do need money, ok, I`ll sell the other two tickets, why not?”

But she claims she bought them from a construction worker, part of a crew working on the Johnsons` basement: “I was talking to them about how me and my boyfriend like the Blues, and he said he had some tickets, relatively cheap for sale.”

However, according to the construction company`s log, the workers were not in the home the day Woods was there cleaning, and say they never spoke to her.  But if that`s the case, how did she give an accurate description of the two men?

“If Kacy had never been here before, it`s odd that she would give this description, because that is true. There was a taller guy, he was older,” admits Johnson.

More at source: FOX

JACKSON, MI – A new contract for janitorial services at city-owned properties will push out a Jackson-based company and likely result in four layoffs of its employees.

Beginning July 1, A Williams Cleaning Services will no longer provide cleaning services for the city after nearly four years as the lead cleaning company. Owner Al Williams said he has contracted on and off with the city for 15 years."It's unfortunate the city won't work with a Jackson company," he said. "The four employees I have working part-time to clean those properties - all of who live in Jackson - will likely be laid off and they're looking for other jobs."

Jackson City Council voted 4-3 this month to approve a contract with RNA Janitorial. The Ann Arbor-based company provided a bid of $46,176, nearly $13,000 a year lower than A Williams Cleaning Services' bid of $59,124.

"Money doesn't grow on trees and $13,000 isn't anything to sneeze at," Councilman Andrew Frounfelker, 5th Ward, said at the May 13 council meeting.

Mayor Jason Smith and council members Arlene Robinson, 1st Ward, and Kimberly Jaquish, 2nd Ward, voted against contracting with RNA Janitorial.

More at source: Mlive

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Ann Handley: I like Facebook, but I struggle with how to use it a business platform. Is Facebook really great for business?

Paul Chaney: Is Facebook really great for business? With over 300 million members and growing (50 percent of which log on to Facebook daily), it has to be… especially if you're a B2C company.

From the perspective of a company using Facebook, the only legitimate options are Pages and Ads (aside from creating Facebook apps of course, and using Facebook Share or Connect, which we'll discuss later). If those are the options, then it's a matter of making the most of what's available to you.

I believe you have to view the creation of a Facebook Page the same as you view creating a community, for that's what it is. Facebook may call them "Fans," but I think of them as community members.

Therefore, the same principles that make for vital online communities apply here: Regular updates with fresh content, incentivizing fans to spread the word about the page, and encouraging them to comment on posts made by the administrator as well as upload content themselves.

Read more at source:  AE

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NEW YORK CITY undefined One of the most crucial questions Bob Dagger has on a first date is, "Will the woman be wearing 

perfume?"

Any whiff of a chemical-ladened synthetic fragrance, found in many perfumes and cleaning products, will trigger breathing difficulties and an embarrassing outbreak of coughing for Dagger.

His issue with synthetic fragrance is just one on a long list of chemical sensitivities that he believes are more common than many people realize.   

"A lot of people have this [chemical sensitivity] and don't even know it," said Dagger, who turned from a "rock and roll" lifestyle to being ...

More at source:  DNA New York

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