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Would you rather be a front-desk clerk or "Director of First Impressions"? A barber or a "Grooming Manager"? How you answer could mean a significant difference in annual earnings. That's because companies routinely inflate workers' titles to avoid paying them in full for overtime work, according to researchers from the University of Texas and Harvard Business School. It's no secret companies go to great lengths to keep their labor costs down. What the new working paper reveals is that firms save a total of $4 billion in overtime payments a year simply by getting creative with titles. For employees, however,...

Asking any lawyers /attorneys or paralegals, or anyone with some knowledge of legal affairs. This is in MD, so of course can be dependent on exact laws. Please see the post.

A Good Reminder from the Lord on Titles and Honors Msgr. Charles Pope • August 23, 2016 • Christ Showing A Little Child As The Emblem Of Heaven by Benjamin WestLast Saturday (20th Week of the Year) featured a Gospel in which the Lord cautions us on the use and collection of titles. Speaking of the religious authorities of His day, Jesus lamented,They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers....

A petition to reverse the decision by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to make the entire job title system gender-neutral has reached more than 100,000 signatures, forcing a White House review.The petition soared to 50,000 within the first week of its launch in late September, but for the rest of October, it was an open question of whether it would reach its goal.But as of Monday morning, the petition reached 102,591 signatures, which reflects the fact that the new job title change is viewed in an almost universally unfavorable light.“For 241 Years Navy personnel have been identified by their...

In Carly Fiorina’s interview with Katie Couric from May, Fiorina went on and on about how if you don’t have a room full of “diversity” when making an important decision, you will not get the decision right. For Fiorina, it’s all about hiring women (and of course anyone else who isn’t a straight white male), and she goes on at length insisting that women in top positions absolutely and necessarily equates to merit; guarantees merit — the same thing Hillary Clinton just said, by the way. I had been inclined very favorably toward Fiorina, especially because of her ability to...

This is one of those stories that I hesitate to comment on because I’m indirectly implicated in it. But according to substantial rumors, the Pope has decided to eliminate the title “Monsignor” being conferred on any priest under 65.I say “rumors,” because I have not seen any official Vatican statement. Further rumors like this circulated couple months back and proved unsubstantiated.The second reason why I consign this to the category “rumors,” is that these reports also claim to explain why the Holy Father has done what he has apparently done. But, without any Vatican statement what is actually in the...

I always run into this one: Does anyone know how to search FR posts containing TSA, DoD, DoJ, SoS or DHS in their titles?

It's common for companies to indemnify their officers and directors against lawsuits. But what happens when the company gets taken over by the government? Oh, you know.... Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. The cost was a closely guarded secret until last week, when the companies and their regulator produced an accounting at the request of Congress. This would be amusing if it wasn't so outrageous. Remember, most of these allegations date...

Federal bankruptcy judges in Delaware are due to hold separate hearings Monday on requests by two defunct subprime mortgage lenders to destroy thousands of boxes of original loan documents. The requests, by trustees liquidating Mortgage Lenders Network USA and American Home Mortgage, come despite intense concerns that paperwork critical to foreclosures and securitized investments may be lost. A series of recent court rulings have increased the importance of original loan documents, holding that they are essential for investors to prove ownership of mortgages and to have the right to foreclose.

A funny thing happened to DeBary resident Russ Vas Dais as he was about to buy a foreclosed home: He learned the bank selling him the house didn't actually own it. Fannie Mae had foreclosed on the property but, in an apparent paperwork problem, never took ownership. "It was quite shocking to learn the bank didn't have title to it," said Vas Dais, who had worked in the real-estate sales and appraisal business for 18 years. "I just felt that there are a lot of incompetent professionals who aren't paying much attention. … We were trying to boost the economy...

When the White House announced Dr. Donald Berwick as President Obama's choice to lead the $800 billion Medicare and Medicaid agency in April, officials hailed his long list of credentials, including current roles as a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. "He is also a pediatrician, adjunct staff in the Department of Medicine at Boston's Children's Hospital ..." the White House announcement of the nomination of Dr. Berwick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) states. But Dr. Berwick hasn't seen a patient in years. And the two Harvard professor positions...

Drug can help cut diabetes risk, say researchers By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent (Filed: 16/09/2006) A drug that improves the body's ability to turn sugars into fuel can substantially reduce the chances of people at risk of Type 2 diabetes developing the disease, according to research published yesterday. In a large international trial volunteers with "pre-diabetes" taking rosiglitazone, sold under the brand name Avandia, were 60 per cent less likely than those on placebos to develop the full disease. The drug, already prescribed to those with Type 2 diabetes, was also found to help patients return to normal blood sugar...

Clinton CD on way By Tom Baldwin in Washington August 17, 2005 Bill Clinton / Reuters YOU'VE read the book and you've seen the interviews but if you were thinking that there is no more juice to be squeezed out of the Bill Clinton experience, think again. The former president is producing a CD, The Bill Clinton Collection: Selections from the Clinton Music Room. The 11-track compilation goes on sale next month. Mr Clinton is so taken with the album that he is reported to have been blasting it through the open windows of his people-carrier as he drives. The...

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is shown (obviously alive) on North Korean last night, (Korean time), on 17 November 2004, recently inspecting (date unclear) the North Korean Peoples Army "Unit 754".However, as South Korean TV reporters from YTN-TV in the voice-over in this clip note, the traditional Korean-language title of "Great Leader" is absent from the usual script. This is the first time that such an honorific title is missing, when describing Kim Jong-il, in their national press.The video clip starts with the South Korean TV female announcer for 30 seconds who introduces a very short file clip showing...

After a report Bill Clinton is having trouble coming up with a title for his unfinished book of memoirs, the New York Daily News invited readers to suggest titles. Some took this seriously: From Hope to Harlem: An American Journey and things like that. But, as usual, the mean ones were more fun: From Hope to Grope, Tuesdays with Monica and Crouching Intern, Hidden Cigar.

Reading Between the Lines • If presidential candidates were books, could we judge them by their covers? Well, why not, since we're torturing a metaphor anyway. Below are titles from a roundup of candidates' favorites, as culled last week by the American Booksellers Association. Try to correctly match 'em with your favorite Democratic presidential aspirant (or Republican incumbent). 1. Wesley Clark 2. Howard Dean 3. John Edwards 4. John Kerry 5. Dennis Kucinich 6. Joe Lieberman 7. Al Sharpton 8. George Bush A. "Undaunted Courage" (Stephen Ambrose) B. The Bible C. "The Great Santini" (Pat Conroy) D. "Moral Man and...

North Korea reports on its national evening TV news from Pyongyang 23 November(with the usual vitriol and staged excitement), that they have now tabulated the number of honorable titles of respect assigned to the 'Great Leader' dictator Kim Jong-il.The North Korean male TV reporter emotionally announces these have been flooding in "from all over the world." They are such titles of respect and endearment as: "The Undefeated General", and "Wise Man Born of Heaven", and "Teacher of Philosophies", "Son of the Sun", etc. etc. etc., ad nauseum....Please don't take my word for it. VIEW THE BRIEF STREAMING VIDEOS HERE:Cut...

AUSTIN -- One of the oddest battles of the 78th Legislature is pitting Texas' licensed professional engineers against the high-tech industry's software dudes. At issue is just who in Texas can call himself an engineer. "It's one of the silliest issues we're having to deal with this session, but it's also one of the most important," said Steven Kester, legislative director of the American Electronics Association, an organization of computer companies. Texas has one of the nation's strictest engineering practices acts and limits the title of engineer to those people who have studied engineering and passed a licensing exam. And...