Job-hunting Teens: Is This Summer Job Right for You?
KANSAS CITY (BUSINESS WIRE), May 27, 2008 - Responding to accounts of scams and crimes committed against consumers by traveling sales crews -- and risks faced by crew members themselves -- the National Consumers League and Direct Selling Education Foundation have teamed up to create educational materials to help consumers and teen workers distinguish reputable door-to-door sales and charitable sales from unethical companies.
Opportunities with legitimate companies that follow a code of ethics, such as those provided by Direct Selling Association member companies, are a great way for many young workers to earn income. As a sluggish economy strains the wallets of consumers, however, advocates caution teenagers in search of a summer job against accepting offers of employment by traveling sales crews.
"NCL's long history of fighting for the rights of workers and consumers finds us fittingly warning both workers and consumers about traveling sales crews. Consumers certainly don't want to buy products from exploited and often physically abused young workers, and those who do are unlikely to receive the very magazines they paid for from these disreputable outfits," said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director.
In two separate recent incidents, a 25-year-old magazine salesman was charged with raping a teenager in Durham, SC, and a 28-year-old magazine salesman pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 14-year-old boy on his way home from school with intent to sexually abuse him in Vista, CA.
Many dishonest companies capitalize on the positive reputations of established door-to-door sales companies and the generous response of consumers in supporting charities. Salespeople may seem charming and friendly, offering a compelling sales pitch, or requesting support for a program to help keep kids off drugs or to teach them about entrepreneurship. They may press residents to help them win a trip or prizes. These traveling sales crews quickly sweep in and out of neighborhoods. The companies recruit children, teenagers and young adults to sell products such as magazine subscriptions, cleaning supplies, and candy. They often falsely claim to support programs to help kids or raise money for charity, a religious institution, hospital, or local school.
NCL advises consumers to check that the company or charity is legitimate before responding to its sales pitch. A legitimate, ethical salesperson will:
-- have a solicitor's permit, if one is required in the city. Most
non-reputable companies do not possess a local permit to sell.
-- provide literature, which displays the company or charity's street
address and other contact information.
-- present identification that shows he or she is affiliated with or a
representative of the company, charity, or school.
-- be happy to set an appointment for another time to discuss their
product, which will give the consumer time to research the company or
charity by contacting his/her Better Business Bureau or Attorney
General's office to see if there are complaints against the
company/charity.
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New Protections Proposed for U.S. and Foreign Workers
KANSAS CITY (Kansascityfrontpage.com), May 27, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed rules to modernize the application process and enhance worker protections under the H-2B temporary labor certification program. The changes respond to the administration's Aug. 10, 2007, promise to review and update foreign worker program regulations.
"These proposed improvements will give the department additional tools to protect workers and remove duplicative bureaucracy," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
When a shortage of U.S. workers is demonstrated, the H-2B program makes it possible for employers to apply for temporary, non-agricultural foreign workers to fill their temporary or seasonal needs.
The proposed rule would reform the application process so that employers would attest, under threat of fines and other penalties, that they have complied with all the program's requirements. These proposals would alter the current certification process, following a model similar to that adopted in the successful re-engineering of the permanent labor certification program in 2005.
The proposed rule also would eliminate duplication of effort by state workforce agencies (SWAs) and the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Instead of applying first with their SWAs, employers would file their H-2B applications directly with ETA under the proposed process. Furthermore, employers would obtain from the Labor Department instead of SWAs the applicable prevailing wage determinations for their specific job opportunities.
In addition, the department seeks to enhance protections for U.S. and foreign workers. For instance, employers would be prohibited from passing along application and other costs to foreign workers participating in the H-2B program.
The Department of Labor also proposes to debar for up to three years employers, attorneys and agents found to have committed fraud or willful misrepresentation concerning the H-2B employment-based immigration program, or failed to cooperate in Labor Department audits or investigations.
Finally, the proposal contains a new Department of Labor enforcement program for H-2B in the event the Department of Homeland Security delegates its statutory authority for enforcing the H-2B program to the Department of Labor. Congress vested the Department of Homeland Security with H-2B enforcement authority in 2005.
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UMB Experts Provide Summer Job Tips for Young Entrepreneurs
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