TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

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1. 

   HOLLY CULHANE: Must California workplaces be 'drug free?'

   BY HOLLY CULHANE Contributing columnist

   Tuesday, Apr 30 2013 07:00 AM

   A good friend received a troubling inquiry the other day from a supervisor who works for a local nonprofit organization. Clearly distraught, the caller wanted to know if California law mandated companies maintain drug-free workplaces. This seemingly simple question can be complex, so my friend asked for details and then sought my advice before responding to the caller.

   The caller explained that the organization's top executive wants to hire a friend for a maintenance job. The applicant recently retired with a disability pension from another company.

   The caller wasn't questioning how the applicant could be too disabled to work for one company, but be hired by another company to do the same work.

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2. ROBIN PAGGI: Hold employees accountable for being late

   One of the biggest pet peeves of employers is chronic tardiness, according to CareerBuilder.com. That's not surprising since one in six employees reported being late to work once a week or more in a new CareerBuilder survey. What do tardy...

3. STEVEN VAN METRE: Strategies exist to maximize Social Security benefits

   Social Security provides at least half the income to Americans ages 65 years and older. For about 25 percent of that age group, it accounts for 90 percent. And that's why the Social Security reform debate now under way in Congress is so...

4. RUSS ALLRED: Going hog-wild for business

   As we finish the last bites of the leftover Easter ham, the memory of that savory, smoked meat with a hint of brown sugar is solidified in our minds. All business owners want their customers to remember them fondly. They are sometimes...
5. 

   HOLLY CULHANE: Is your job stressing you out?

   Is your job or workplace stressful? If it is, you aren't alone. A recent study by the American Psychological Association concluded that too much work, too little money and not enough opportunity for growth are stressing workers out....

6. ROBIN PAGGI: Employer social media postings lead to lawsuits

   If you're an employer or manager who is being sued by some of your employees, don't post derogatory comments about them on your company website or Facebook page unless you want an additional lawsuit. That's what happened to the founder and...

7. PAUL ANDERSON: Shake the dog from your portfolio

   Until this article, I had used the same picture in my columns for the past two years. The picture was one of the only ones I had of me on my hard drive at work when I submitted my first column. I never put much thought into it but I noticed...

9. RUSS ALLRED: Business value can be elusive as diamonds

   Would you rather have a million dollars worth of diamonds or a million dollars worth of peridot? Except for their color, sparkle and bulk, the monetary worth is the same. Diamond is my wife's birthstone and that of everyone born in April...

10. RUSS ALLRED: Consistency leads to grander business goals

    Spring means baseball. Brad Pitt starred as Billy Beane, the Oakland A's general manager in the 2011 Columbia Pictures movie "Money Ball." The plot chronicled a major shift in the way ball teams recruit players. Previously, team managers...

11. RUSS ALLRED: Business owners should prepare for inevitable

    "Hope springs eternal" were the words Alexander Pope used to glorify the promise of an afterlife. Where business is concerned, hope springs off a cliff. Below there might be rocks or a refreshing pool of water. It is of no use for an...

12. ROBIN PAGGI: Communication and supervision

    When Jack Dorsey invented Twitter, he changed the way we communicate, according to the "60 Minutes" correspondent who interviewed him for the March 17 show. For those who don't tweet, Twitter is an online social networking service that...

13. RUSS ALLRED: Old business owners should not be sheepish

    "March roars in like a lion and bleats out like a lamb," much like the life cycle of many owner-operated businesses. The entrepreneurs enter the market bold and brave. With skill or luck they build a livelihood. They squeeze every dime out...

14. ROBIN PAGGI: Court on employer's side on timecard rounding

    "Time is on my side," sang the Rolling Stones in 1964. Fast forward to 2013, when a decision by the California Supreme Court demonstrated that the court is actually on the employer's side when it comes to time rounding. Employers with...