Trump freezes federal nuclear whistleblower protection regulation | BBDO, GE say female scientists are the real stars | Opinion: Cutting federal workforce may be easier said than done
Trump freezes federal nuclear whistleblower protection regulation The Trump administration has frozen a regulation that provides for the assessment of civil penalties against federal nuclear contractors for retaliating against whistleblowers. The move, which will last until March 21, is part of President Donald Trump's "plan for managing the Federal regulatory process at the outset of the new Administration," the Energy Department said. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (2/8)
BBDO's 60-second spot for General Electric fantasizes about a world where female scientists are as feted as celebrities. The spot showcases Millie Dresselhaus, the first female to be awarded the National Medal of Science in Engineering, as part of the brand's overall campaign mission to tout its promise to have an equal gender split in its technical entry-level positions and to recruit 20,000 women in STEM roles by the end of the decade. Adweek (2/8) Opinion: Cutting federal workforce may be easier said than done President Donald Trump may not find it easy to keep his promise to cut the federal workforce, despite public support for the idea, writes ICF International Senior Vice President Jeff Neal. He says that the public will resist cuts to programs and agencies they support, that proposed additions to defense and homeland security forces may outstrip staff cuts elsewhere, and that members of Congress will hesitate to cut jobs in their own districts. Chief HRO blog (2/8)
Leadership & Development
Encouraging women to seek leadership positions Only 29% of the manufacturing workforce is women, and part of the solution to this is helping women believe in themselves, writes Kathleen Buse, director of the Leadership Lab for Women. Employers can encourage women to take on leadership roles by connecting them with a mentor and give them work that challenges them to learn more. IndustryWeek (2/7)
Benefits & Compensation
Bills take aim at state-backed private retirement plans Two bills introduced in the House seek to block Labor Department rules aimed at smoothing the path for state and city governments that want to create private-sector retirement savings plans for workers whose employers don't provide retirement plans. The rules make it clear the plans wouldn't be required to comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Pensions & Investments (free access for SmartBrief readers) (2/8)Coal mine gender bias case leads to $4.25M settlement A federal judge has approved a settlement in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case against St. Louis-based Foresight Energy, which allegedly denied coal production and underground work jobs to women. Foresight must pay $4.25 million to women who say they were denied certain jobs and must hire a minimum of 34 women for coal production work. The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Ill.) (2/7)
HiringSolved's RAI, an artificial intelligence assistant for finding job candidates, will handle the task of finding and contacting people for jobs quickly, freeing up recruiters' time, says Shon Burton, co-founder and CEO of HiringSolved. RAI will be available to commercial users in April, Burton says. SHRM Online (2/2)
The HR Leader
Welcome fools and tricksters on your team Having a person in senior management who breaks the leadership mold by being sarcastic or using humor to transmit messages can benefit an organization, writes Manfred Kets de Vries. An office "fool" helps challenge the status quo by telling it like it is and ensuring others don't act on hubris. INSEAD Knowledge (2/3)
I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come indirectly through accident, except the phonograph. No, when I have fully decided that a result is worth getting, I go about it, and make trial after trial, until it comes.
