Employees

Anne Arundel County is appealing a court decision that could cost it $600,000 in back pay for 67 clerical and blue-collar employees whose bosses in 1996 asked them to work longer hours without an increase in pay.Circuit Judge Eugene M. Lerner gave newly elected County Executive Janet S. Owens her first problem when he ruled Jan. 4 that the county owed money to workers in two employee unions, Locals 582 and 2563 of the American Federation of State, County...

AT&T Corp. and International Business Machines Corp., two giants of the information technology industry, announced a multi-billion-dollar series of agreements yesterday to swap some key operations.In a move seen as a bid to enhance New York-based AT&T's standing in the international and Internet markets, AT&T will buy IBM's global network business for $5 billion in cash. That move comes as companies such as MCI WorldCom Inc. continue to aggressively build their own worldwide networks.That thrust by AT&T would complement the company's joint venture with British Telecommunications PLC to develop an international network.

The Anne Arundel County Health Department has renewed a lucrative contract with a medical transport company despite complaints from sick people that they have been stranded at doctors' offices and from workers that they haven't been paid.This week, several employees of the Alexandria, Va.-based Southeast Transit/Metro Access walked off their jobs when their paychecks bounced, leaving about 10 county patients without a ride to kidney dialysis treatments.Some workers said this was the fourth time in a row they had been left hanging by Metro Access, which has signed a new $720,000 contract with the county that goes into effect July 1.About a dozen lawsuits are pending in courts in Baltimore and in Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties alleging that Metro Access has failed to pay bills, promoted dangerous driving and has not followed safety guidelines for passengers.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- You're opening a new stadium, right next door to one of the nation's most successful. As many as 69,000 people will descend on you, needing to be parked, greeted, seated, fed and entertained. You want to send them home happy -- no matter what happens on the field or how much they spent -- with plans to return again and again.Whom can you turn to for help with such a daunting task?Here's a hint: M-I-C (See you at Ravens stadium!). K-E-Y (Why? Because you'll love it!

Employees who need downtime at USinternetworking Inc., an Annapolis software reseller, can take out a company boat or Jet Ski.Revenue Systems Inc. in Alpharetta, Ga., is even more generous: Each of its 50 full-time employees is issued a leased BMW, courtesy of the company. That's every employee -- from receptionists to upper management.America Online Inc. has offered all of Netscape Communications Corp.'s 2,300 employees a month's pay as a bonus for sticking around until AOL's $4.3 billion acquisition of Netscape is completed.

A key Maryland Senate committee approved a bill last night that would significantly increase pension benefits for public school teachers and state workers -- but adopted a markedly different approach than the House of Delegates.With the end of the 90-day legislative session looming at midnight tomorrow, the prospects for final passage of the heavily amended bill appeared uncertain."This is a take-it-or-leave-it bill," said Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, the Baltimore Democrat who chairs the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee, which passed the bill unanimously.

A front-page article yesterday incorrectly reported the date Poly-Seal Corp. alerted health authorities to an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease among its employees. The company contacted health officials Friday after learning that an employee had died and others appeared to have similar illnesses.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 10/08/98

Carroll County has paid a Washington consultant $27,000 to update its job classifications.The six-page survey -- four pages for employees to fill out and two for supervisors -- is giving county workers the jitters. Some worry about downsizing, others compare it to annual performance evaluations, which every employee receives.The nearly 550 county employees were given five days to complete the "position analysis questionnaire" by Jan. 23. The signed and dated pages were given to supervisors, who had one week to complete the final pages.

Baltimore's Department of Public Works intends to suspend additional employees in a continuing investigation into allegations of missing building materials and petty cash abuses, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said yesterday.Last week, the department recommended firing eight employees after allegations of missing materials, including city equipment, bricks and wood, surfaced. The city has hired a hearing officer to review its recommendations.Union officials are defending the employees -- whose names have not been released -- saying that the department has failed to detail the reason for the dismissals.

On the first day after Howard County's sweeping new personnel report came out, Mike Rund of the county's firefighters union thought his membership had scored a coup. "We make out like bandits," he said.Twenty-four hours later, after staying up all night looking for the catch, Rund found it.The elation turned to frustration: "We have people who will do great [financially], but the majority of us won't." It's been that kind of week for Howard County's 1,850 employees -- including police sergeants, office clerks and department heads -- as they struggle to comprehend Monday's report by the Organizational Consulting Center in San Diego.

A plan to furlough state employees could require those in lower income brackets to take fewer unpaid days, and workers may agree to some changes in health benefits, officials said yesterday. Details of $470 million in budget cuts that Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to announce later this month emerged Tuesday during a hearing of legislative budget committees in Annapolis. Budget Secretary T. Eloise Foster said the administration is preparing a list of cuts that will target employee compensation and local aid to present to the Board of Public Works on Aug. 26. Negotiations with labor representatives are continuing, and administration officials declined to provide many specifics.

The first wave of Legg Mason employees showed up at new Harbor East headquarters Monday, representing a new start for the struggling money manager while also creating a potential boon for businesses at the waterfront neighborhood. At the same time, Legg's relocation will leave a big dent in the old central business district. The huge vacancy at 100 Light St., where Legg occupied 22 of the 35 floors, has not been filled. For surrounding businesses at Legg's former home, the loss means more bad news during trying economic times.

The names and Social Security numbers of about 8,000 state employees and retirees were in a report "lost in the mail" this month, raising concerns about identity theft and questions about why sensitive information was sent through the postal service rather than electronically. Maryland officials say there is no evidence that the information was stolen or misused, but the Department of Budget and Management has suggested compromised employees place a "fraud alert" with national credit-rating agencies as a precaution.

As difficult as it is for a small business to find and train good people, it is even more difficult sometimes to keep them once they become top performers. Motivated, productive employees can be vital in getting a business off the ground or helping it grow. The No. 1 reason good employees leave is a lack of advancement opportunity. This is the thing that many small businesses cannot offer. A survey by Robert Half International examined the reasons that"top" employees left the business.

Everyone has a bad day now and then. If you are not careful, those bad days can become the norm rather than the exception for your small business. Without a positive attitude among everyone involved - including your own - a business can suffer. Employees with poor attitudes can affect customers and discourage other workers from doing their best. Customers can sense when a person helping them is indifferent about his work and may wonder if it extends throughout the company. When examining employee attitudes, start with your own. Respect your employees' dignity.

It's not enough anymore to be satisfied with your job. Being engaged in your job is the new measure of work happiness that employers desire and researchers are studying these days. What's the difference? Being engaged at work means you're emotionally connected, invested in your job and organization and want to contribute to the company's success. As a result, an engaged work force can help a business' bottom line and increase the likelihood that workers will stay with the company, according to several recent studies.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- In this town, Amgen Inc. rules. It's the biggest private employer here. Its 8,300 local employees, known as "Amgenites," make an estimated average annual salary of $162,000. Its sleek corporate headquarters with sweeping views of the Santa Monica Mountains looks more like a college campus, and frequent late afternoon "fermentation parties" offer free beer for all. In this city of nearly 127,000, the biotech giant and its well-heeled work force have kept the area's economy humming.

The Naval Academy will pay a total of about $14,000 to more than two dozen workers at a campus restaurant who were denied lunch breaks over several years, marking the fourth time since 2004 that the school has lost a dispute with the union representing its civilian workers. A federal arbitrator ordered the settlement, which both sides agreed to in recent weeks, after ruling that the military college violated labor laws and created an environment of "fear" and "intimidation" among employees at the Officers' and Faculty Club in Annapolis.

Everything "green," from our homes to cars to clothes, is all the rage these days. And a green office might not be far behind. In a recent survey of 2,473 workers, 33 percent said they would be more inclined to work for a green company than for one that does not make environmentally friendly efforts. (The survey by employment agency Adecco has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.) "People are becoming more sensitive and connecting the dots on how the company behaves," says Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer at Melville, N.Y.-based Adecco.

ATLANTA -- US Airways handed Delta Air Lines an unexpected gift when it launched a surprise takeover bid three months ago. After years of morale-sapping cutbacks, Delta had a common enemy that united and revved up the work force. The challenge for Delta will be keeping up the momentum now that the takeover battle is won. "You can tell when all your people, including your pilots and ... everybody else is exactly on the same page. There is huge strength in that," said Delta chief executive Gerald Grinstein.