When the story first broke about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, I did a post wondering whether Blagojevich was like any other executive. I guess I was wrong to wonder, because the treatment he received is far different from that given to executives on Wall Street.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, one day after signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, President Obama is set to change three Bush Administration labor policies. Obama may hold off on pushing the Employee Free Choice Act, but it’s clear that he will advance a pro-employee, pro-labor agenda.

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We’ve been shocked to learn that the peanut plant located in Georgia linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened hundreds more knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, according to the Washington Post. And we thought Wall Street was bad.

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The Animals express feelings that many people have today in their 1965 hit. “There ain’t no use in tryin’ . . . . He’s been workin’ and slavin’ his life away . . . . You’ll be dead before your time is due.”

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As reported by the Wall Street Journal, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law today. For two previous posts about this law, click here and here.

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Candace Parker is pregnant. She’s between her rookie and second seasons with the Women’s National Basketball Association. She was named the WNBA’s most valuable player as a rookie. Since leaving the University of Tennessee and joining the Los Angeles Sparks, Parker has been the face (she’s beautiful) of the WNBA’s marketing campaign and is expected to help take the league to new heights.

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Watch the video clip provided courtesy of Cultural Offering. There are a lot of human resources lessons to be learned from this clip, but I’m not going to influence you by telling you what I think they are. At the very least, you’ll feel better. Thanks, CO.

This post contains information that should come as no surprise. It goes to show that someone’s bad news can be someone else’s good news.

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Kelly Weston, one of my colleagues at Miller & Martin, has written an updatae on the new I-9. Be sure to check out Kelly’s advice by clicking here. This update includes the new version of the I-9 and a previous alert Kelly did on the subject.

Dean Acheson was Secretary of State under President Harry Truman. He is one of the most influential people there has ever been in that office.

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Yesterday, we were smacked in the face with another dose of bad news: massive layoffs by some of the country’s largest, best-known employers with predictions of more to come. (Click here, here, and here.) Did we become hysterical suddenly, or has the condition existed for decades?

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Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employee can’t be retaliated against for opposing discrimination or harassment or for participating in an investigation about alleged discrimination or harassment. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that this means more than some lower courts had thought.

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Remember when immigration reform was on the front burner? Presidential politics not only removed it from that burner, immigration reform became an expletive to many politicians and regular Americans. The consequences have been dire.

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A lot of people are out of work. A lot of people are looking for jobs. Most will go to great lengths to interview for a job. They’ll travel long distances at their own expense. They’ll come back for second and third interviews.

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“You can be a millionaire and never pay taxes. You say, ‘Steve, how can I be a millionaire and never pay taxes?’ Two simple words. ‘I forgot.’ How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don’t say, ‘I forgot’? Let’s say you’re on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, ‘I forgot armed robbery was illegal.’”

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