Human Resources: New Manpower Blog is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Employment Law

MILWAUKEE (August 22, 2007) – To commemorate Labor Day, a new Manpower blog brings to life the oft-ignored, sometimes boring and always important topic of employment law. Manpower’s resident comedian, singer-songwriter and North American Chief Legal Officer Mark Toth writes The Manpower Employment Blawg, found online at www.manpowerblogs.com.

            Toth dresses like Elvis, sings an employment law rock-and-roll anthem and asks interactive questions like “What hit an all-time low last year?” with answer choices that include “American pop culture,” in an effort to encourage companies to pay more attention to employment law so they can keep employees happy and lawyers at bay.

            “Don’t get me wrong. I like attorneys. I am an attorney,” said Toth. “It’s just that I’d like to help companies avoid paying lots of money to attorneys unnecessarily.”

With The Manpower Employment Blawg, employment law has never been so easy!

            Employment Blawg readers can look forward to learning the subtle nuances of employment law, such as “Communicate, Communicate, Communicate (Unless You Communicate Stupidly)” and “Follow Your Own Dang Policies.”

            Users of the Employment Blawg may already be a winner! To mark the launch, visitors can participate in the “How to Hire if You Want to Get Fired” video contest. Those who spot the most interview mistakes could take home fabulous prizes, including two airline tickets to anywhere in the continental United States or even a Manpower coffee mug.

            That’s not all! In the coming weeks, readers will also get answers to burning questions such as:

·         Can I ask an employee if he or she has a gang tattoo?

·         What should I do if an employee complains of sexual harassment but begs me not to investigate?

·         Whom should I call first if an employee comes into my office at 4:57 on a Friday afternoon and informs me that she suffers from several disabilities, including narcolepsy, spontaneous combustion syndrome and spleen-induced hyper-grumpiness and she demands a portable IV hooked up to a Starbucks espresso machine, a fire extinguisher mounted to her head, three-and-a-half weeks off each month and my office.

            But wait, there’s more! The Employment Blawg also contains a variety of resources in sections such as “How to Keep Lawyers from Taking All Your Money,” which includes guidelines for working with outside counsel, a lawyer scorecard, a budget forecast table and tips for developing a law firm request for proposal (RFP).

            Did you know five hundred employee lawsuits are filed per day with nearly 70 percent resulting in favorable rulings for the plaintiffs? One in every five employment lawsuits is a million-dollar case. Isn’t it time you tried the Employment Blawg today?

      If you act now, you could be on your way to enjoying your own Employment Blawg experience in a virtual press conference with Mark Toth on Aug. 28 at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) in Manpower’s headquarters in Second Life at www.manpower.com/press/secondlife.cfm.

Operators are standing by.

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The $18 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at www.us.manpower.com.