Integrally intertwined, staffing, law and economics have come together regularly to define the atmosphere in which staffing firms operate. On that front, various interesting developments in the industry are at the forefront of staffing news.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner (D-Ohio) is the new majority leader and has proven to be a staunch supporter of the staffing industry. As chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Boehner helped to pass the Workforce Investment Act and No Child Left Behind and also worked for pension reform.

In less auspicious news, online giant CareerBuilder.com recently paid $524,216 to 677 workers in order to resolve allegations of overtime pay violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The allegations were brought by the U.S. Department of Labor and officials of that department alleged that the company improperly classified some employees as exempt from overtime pay and failed to pay them time and a half for weeks during which they worked more than 40 hours.

Meanwhile, fears that the 2004 deadline for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) would lead to decreased placements in the finance and accounting industries have proven ill-founded, as 2005 saw stronger growth than in the previous year. Many in the industry surmise that SOX compliance has taught many that ongoing temporary assistance is in order to properly achieve accounting accuracy and compliance with internal standards. Despite this, it is generally assumed that 2006 growth will slow.

Finally, outplacements fell 5% during the past year. Though the news is not necessarily welcome within the staffing industry, it is generally accepted that outplacement is a counter-cyclical sector, i.e. – strong economic growth leads to greater permanent hires and thus less outplacement and temporary placements. Growth in the near term is not expected as the economy continues to perform well.

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