Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 May 2000 — Page 29

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FRIDAY, MAY 19,2000 ■ PAGE D1

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INSIDE* D • SECTION*CLASSIFIED*REAL ESTATE

More employers offer work/lffe benefits to gain edge in tight labor market

Special to The Recorder Flexible work hours, concierge services, dry cleaning, casual dress ... these are just a few of the benefits employers are offering to attract talent in today’s tight labor market A newly released survey of 1,020 U.S. employers by Hewitt Associates, a leading global management consulting firm, shows 74 percent of companies now offer flexible jwork schedules, up from 66 percent in 1994. “Employers must offer these benefits to remain competitive in today’s war for talent,” said Carol Sladek, a work/life consultant with Hewitt Associates. “With the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, organizations recognize they need to offer attractive benefits that enable employees to better balance their work and personal lives.” Key findings of the Hewitt Work/ Life survey include: HexHcSdiedufeigAmnge-

ments —Flexible scheduling continues to increase in the workplace, with 57 percent of employers offering flextime and 47 percent offering part-time employment. Other flexible options inplude job sharing (28 percent), telecommuting (28 percent), compressed work schedules (20 percent) and summer hours (12 percent). CMdCareAafelaqoe —Overall, 90 percent of employers offer some type of child care benefits to employees. Four out of five employers (88 percent) offer dependent care spending accounts to help employees cover child care costs. Other child care benefits include resource and referral services (42 percent), sick or emergency child care programs (13 percent) and onsite or near-site child care centers

(10 percent). EMerCarePrograms f care progranjtfiMRnite to grow in popularity percent of em-

ployers now providing assistance, up from 40 percent in 1998 and 24 percent in 1994. Of those employers offering elder care programs, dependent care spending accounts (32 percent), resources and referral services (40 percent), long-term care insurance (17 percent) and counseling (4 percent) are the most prominent. Adoption Benefits —Nearly one-third of employers (31 percent) offeradoption assistance, an increase of 10 percentage points since 1994. The average maximum reimbursement is $3,100. On-SiteFersanalServices — Fifty-two percent of employers provide some type of on-site convenience or personal services to employees, such as ATM (34 percent) and banking services (22 percent), travel services (18 percent), dry cleaning (15 percent) and discount purchases (12 percent). Casual Dress — Nearly twothirds (60 percent) of employers

offer casual dress or business casual dress. Thirty-five percent of employers offer full-time casual dress, while 19 percent offer casual dress on Fridays. Financial Security —Thirtyseven percent of employers provide- financial security programs to help employees make detfsioife about their retirement and investments. Programs include financial planning (17 percent) and scholarships (15 percent). Personal and Professional Growth —Three-fourths (75 percent) of employers provide employees with opportunities foreducational assistance, and personal and professional growth programs. Opportunities include educational reimbursement (74 percent), onsite and off-site developmental seininars or workshops (24 percentj^and career counseling (4 per-

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FantiyandMedkafLeove — Twelve percent g£$ppl0yers of-

fer more than the 12 weeks leave required by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Seventyfive percent provide the minimum 12 weeks. The Hewitt Work/Life survey represents data from 1,020 major

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percent of the Fortune 500companies. Copies of Work and Life Benefits Provided by Major U.S,. Employers in 1999 are available for $100 from Jane Crandall at Hewitt Associates, 100 Half Day Road, Lincolnshire, IL 60069, (847)293-5000, [email protected]. Hewitt Associates LLC is a global management consulting firm specializing in human resource solutions. With 1999 revenues of nearly $1.1 billion, Hewitt is the larges employee benefit consulting firm in the U.S. and ranks among the Top 200 of the largest

private companies.

Anheuser-Busch, community partners gear up for 2000 urban scholarship program 'y i Second annual H Celebration of Black Musk” television special planned WaymanF. Smith III, vice president of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., (center), recently met with Urban Scholarship progtam partners (from left) John W. Mack, president of Los Angeles Urban League; Thomas W»t)qrtch, Jr., national president of 100 Black Men; Ed Lara, president ofWestade NAACP and other community organizations, works year-round to raise money to help uibin students receive college educations through the Uiban Schqjqpfcip program. Aspintqfthecompany’s “Bud Jammin’ for Education” ftmtMsihg efforts, Anheuser-Busch will present the second annual “A Celebration of Black Music’" television special in major markets across the nation this summer. The iraisic extravaganza features popular entertainers representing the fell range of black music genres. The show will help raise money through a phone-in pledge drive encouraging viewers to financially support the scholarship effort For more information, contact: Kim Stettes at 314577.9618

Minorities v women take circuitous route to the directors’ table Special to The Recorder est companies have the most diverse boards, the New York-based Catalyst Linda Griego was charged with the research organization says, commercial reconstruction of Los But in the Dallas-Fbrt Worth area, Angeles in 1994, two years after one of women hold only6percentofthe board the worst race riots ofthe century. The seats, according loan annual survey by project, known as Rebuild L A., yielded the Dallas Morning News, limited success, but Onego's leader- Overall, Hispanics have nearly ship won her wide praise. doubled their directorships since 1993 She became familiar with Dallas- on corporate boards of the Fortune based Blockbuster Inc, when she 1,000, says the Washington-based Hiscoaxed the video retajlbig giant to join panic Center for Corporate Respottsithe rebuilding cause in the badly scarred hility. But nahqnaUy, Hispanics corocentferof LotsaAngda. Last year, the prise less than 2 percent of the dirdiittr51 -year-old Griego was asked to join ships, though they Represent 12peruent the board of directors of the video- of the UJS. population. •«. entertainment chain. Similar surveys for African AmeqGriego’s tale illustrates the often cans and Asian Americans couldn’tbe circuitous routes that minorities and found. women take to get appointed to boards In an effort to increase those numof directors in corporate America. bers, many companies have turned to The traditional nxite to the board— untraditional search methods to find a climb up the most senior executive potential directors such as Griego, corporate ladders—is a path still not whose resume includes a stint as the heavily traveled by women or minori- deputy mayor ofLos Angeles and a job ties. as a Los Angeles director for the FedThat fact of 21 st century life leaves eral Reserve Bank (tf San Francisco. CEOs scrambling to recruit the same Griego first came to Blockbuster’s female ormrnonty candidates or search- attention after the race riots that rocked ing in nontraditronal areas such as gov- Los Angeles in the wake of the Rodney eminent, academia or nonprofit otga- King police brutality case. The private nizations as they by to inject diversity sector, rather than goveramenl, played into their corporate decision making, a critical role iaAe jribuikfing. ‘TIbs is . not an easy issue,” says As CEO of Rebuild LA., one of Griego, who is the managing general Onego's priorities was to make sue partner of Engine Co, No. 28, a bus- that “name brands” nch as Taco Bdl tlrng ifowraowo LA restaurant, and The Gap and Blockbuster located or the owner of a fledging television pro- relocated into the bumed-out area, gramming firm. “In the 21st century, Blockbuster,whichoperatesanational most boards have at least one minority chain of video rental stores, took up the or woman. Jr’s my experience that if change, she says, you don’t keep diversity on a front Through that experience she met burner, itdoesn’thappen.Ourperspec- John Antioco, who was then head of live is needed” Taco BeD and now heads Blockbuster. Nationally, women now hold 10 “I had been involved in bringing percent ofthe board ofdirector seats in Fortune 1,000companies, and the larg- S«e MINORITIES,Page D2

Tips for selecting an Internet service provider

(NAPSA) — Doing some researcfr+refore connecting to the Internet may net you some rewards. With thousands of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) out there, it can be a challenge to make an informed decision. Experts at AT&T WorldNet Service offer some tips on what to look for: • Brand — With thousands of ISPs available, choose an ISP you know and trust. Some may not have the depth of services or variety of features offered by larger, more established companies. • Security — Look for an ISP that has a strict privacy policy so you can be sure your personal information will be safe. Some may even sell your personal data to third parties. Look for the Better Business Bureau Online seal so you can shop with confidence. • Technical Support — Look for an ISP that offers both live and online customer care and technical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After all, you never know when you may need some help. • Features — Choose an ISP that offers features and services you want - like a variety of price plans to fit your budget, multiple email IDs, space and tools to create personal

Web pages, chat rooms, instant messaging, games, free calendar services and the latest anti-spam filtering to cut down on unsolicited e-mail messages. AT&T’s WorldNet Service offers free child safety software so you can be sure your kids don’t wander on the Web to somewhere they shouldn’t be. • Speed and Reliability — Since you’ll be downloading information from the Web, look for an ISP that has a strong record of providing reliable, speedy access and downloads: Magazines like PC World and PC Magazine rank ISPs on these performance measures. • Local Access Numbers (POPs) — Make sure that the ISP you select has a local access numbdr to use and local points of presence (POPs) covering most of the U.S. Check with your phone company to ensure your Internet access number is within your local calling area. Most I$Ps also offer 888 and 800 access numbers for customers to use when they are traveling, but these are not free calls. Before embarking on an Internet adventure, do a little comparison shopping to ensure that adventure will be safe and secure. For more information on AT&T’s WorldNet Service, or to sign up, go online to yvww.att.net.

Fair Housing laws regMfete al housing transactions. Citizens o Indiana have the right to be treater equally in renting property, pur chasing property, and securing a loan to purchase property. All citizens of Indiana have the right to receive fair and equal treaty ment in the terms and conditions; of such housing services. The In-; diana Fair Housing Act exacted by the General Assembly provides that no one may be denied housing or accepted on less favorable terms because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, national origin or family status. ; The Indiana Civil Rights Com-; mission is the state administrative agency whose mission is to: * • To investigate complaints alleging violation of the Indianacivil rights laws. r • To prosecute complaints where probable cause is found that Indiana Civil rights laws have heed violated, and to adjudicate such complaints. • To determine, based on law and evidence, whether a violatiort of Indiana civil rights laws had occurred. ' The subtle forms of housing dis-> crimination may include: . Steering ..You have therightto choose where yoU Want to live. A* real estate or leasing agent who* discourages you from seeing or selecting certain properties because of a neighborhood’s racial, religious or national origin composition is violating the law. Rental discrimination .The terms and conditions of rental agreements must apply equally to all renters regardless of race, color,i religion, sex, disability, national origin or family status. The law’ prohibits discrimination on such basis in the terms, conditions, and> privileges of rental so as to deny you equal access to property, and equal opportunity in the rental of property. ' » FabedenialofavaflabiUty Real estate or leasing agents are breaking the law If they tell you' property you are interested in is> not available, when it is actually available for rental or purchase. ' Blockbusting .It is illegal for anyone to pressure you into selling) your home because members or groups of another race, color oT religion or national origin have* moved in or are moving into your neighborhood. i Finandng discrimination Lending institutions such as banks,' savings and loans, or mortgage) lenders, can’t deny you a loan or discriminate in lending services' they offer you because of your race, color, religion, sex, disability, national origin or family sta-l tus. i Redlining .It is illegal to cteny,! limit or impose different terms on: mortgage loans, or insurance cov-> erage because of your race, color,' religion, sex, disability, national' origin or family status. Ads or commercials for homes or apartments cannot indicate a preference or limitations for rents or buyers based on race, color, reli-' gion, sex, disability, national origin or family status. ; If you feel you have been the* victim of housing discrimination' contact (317) 232-2600 or 800-628-2909. Questions, concerns, suggestions also feel free to call Mildred Wilkins, at F.C. Tucker, 259-8600.' E-mail mildred <&haverstck@talk-. to-tucker.com.

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