Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston
Globe
December 24, 2000, Sunday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: BOSTON WORKS; Pg. G2
LENGTH: 882 words
HEADLINE:
OUT IN THE FIELD / RANKINGS;
PERKS SEEN AS KEY LURE FOR EMPLOYEES
BODY:
What does it take to make Fortune Magazine's
list of "America's 100 Best Companies to Work For?"
In a word? "Perks"
to entice "the best and brightest" to come to work for a company - and to stay.
Just to mention a few: on-site day care (offered by 26
companies), concierge services (29), domestic partner benefits for same-sex
couples (47), and fully paid sabbaticals (31).
Seven New England
companies made the list this year, led by International Data Group, the
Boston-headquartered publisher with the bulk of its 2,400 employees in
Framingham and San Francisco. IDG ranked 25th in the nation. Privately held
IDG's employee stock-option program has created more than 100 millionaires,
Fortune reports, and 400 more employees who have between
$500,000 and $1 million in their accounts.
After 20 years on the job IDG employees get an all-expenses-paid trip to
anywhere in the world.
The other New England nominees:
American
Skandia Inc. (38th) of Shelton, Conn., the US arm of Scandinavia's leading
insurance company.
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Inc. (47th) of Watertown, operator of employer-sponsored child-care centers.
MFS Investment Management (49th) of Boston, the financial services
company that helped pioneer the mutual fund.
Timberland Co. (54th) of
Stratham, N.H., the outdoor and leisure footwear firm.
Griffin Hospital
(70th) of Derby, Conn., a community hospital declared to be "a model of customer
service."
EMC Corp. (91st) of Hopkinton, manufacturer of data-storage
computer hardware.
Grant
State awards $3.6m for
worker training
Sixty-nine businesses and organizations have been
selected to get a total of $3.6 million from the state
Workforce Training fund in a sixth round of grants to upgrade employee skills.
The awards were announced by Governor Paul Cellucci. Nearly 5,200
employees at 65 companies will receive training in such subjects as English as a
second language, computer programming, team interaction, and construction
management.
Some companies also will use the funds to conduct training
that will help win ISO9000 and AS9100 certification and improve their ability to
win contracts from overseas buyers.
In addition, the Metro South Chamber
of Commerce and regional employment boards in Cambridge, New Bedford, and
Springfield each received $50,000 to provide technical
assistance to employers.
Etiquette
Cards should get more than
glance
What do you do when someone hands you a business card?
"The biggest mistake you can make when you receive someone's business
card is to glance at it and slide it into a pocket," Sue Fox and Perrin
Cunningham say in the just-published book, "Business Etiquette for Dummies"
(Dummies Press, $19.95).
They recommend spending a few
seconds reading the card thoroughly - perhaps repeating the person's name aloud
if you are not sure about the pronunciation. Saying aloud the job title that is
printed on the card can be a useful conversational tool because you might then
follow up by asking about the duties associated with that job.
"Finally," Fox and Cunningham say, "express your gratitude for being
given this information."
Massachusetts
Minimum wage rises to
highest in nation
The Massachusetts basic minimum wage rises to
$6.75 an hour effective Jan. 1, the highest in the nation,
according to the Department of Labor.
Up 75 cents an hour from the
current minimum, the increase in Massachusetts represents the last step of a
three-stage increase approved by the legislature and Governor Paul Cellucci in
1999.
The $6.75 rate is equal to about a
$14,000 annual salary for someone working full time. It applies
to all employees except those who routinely receive tips, such as restaurant
workers.
For these workers the minimum remains $2.63 an
hour, but employers are responsible for guaranteeing that employees receive the
full minimum wage. If tips are insufficient, employers must make up the
difference, according to an analysis by the Associated Industries of
Massachusetts.
Ten states will have minimum wage rates above the federal
hourly minimum of $5.15 as of Jan. 1, 2001, according to the
Labor Department. The others are Washington, $6.72; Oregon,
$6.50; Connecticut, $6.40; California,
$6.25; Rhode Island and Delaware, $6.15;
Vermont, $5.75; Alaska, $5.65; and Hawaii,
$5.25.
Benefits
Prescriptions to be covered
Employers must cover costs of prescription
contraceptives, including the pill and intrauterine devices,
along with other prescription health benefits, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission said in a ruling earlier this month.
The commission's ruling
could affect millions of workers at businesses where health
insurance or HMO benefits include no payment for
contraceptives, or where such coverage is limited to the birth
control pill.
Basing its decision on the federal Pregnancy
Discrimination Act and Supreme Court rulings, the commission said denying
prescription contraceptives was discriminatory because they are
prescribed only for women.
Thirteen states, including Connecticut,
Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, already mandate that any
prescription drug health benefits include contraceptive drugs
or devices, the EEOC said.
LOAD-DATE: January 1, 2001
