Compensation consultant Ann Bares, Managing Partner of Altura Consulting Group, writes an outstanding blog on compensation and benefits issues. Among other things, she does a great job of tracking trends. Here are some of her recent observations:

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A recent article on Forbes.com notes a dramatic rise in the demand for occupational license requirements. Doctors and lawyers have always been subject to governmental licensure, but Forbes points out that mortgage brokers, interior designers, funeral directors, building contractors, hairdressers, and others are now asking governments to impose or stiffen occupational entry requirements. Forbes refers to this as a new “union” movement:

As the economy has switched from manufacturing to services, some 28% of U.S. workers--or 43 million people--now belong to a licensed profession, according to a Princeton University/Gallup survey last year. That's up from 4.5% 50 years ago. Over the same period union membership has fallen from 35% to 12%.

Forbes argues that “[t]hese modern-day guilds have replaced organized labor as the main vehicle for workers seeking to shield themselves from competition.” This may or may not be a fair attack on unions, whose primary function is to bargain with an employer over terms and conditions of employment. But restricting labor competition is clearly bad policy – and not just for businesses:

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Updated on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 07:35PM by workplacehorizons.com

By now, most employees are generally aware that their employers can access their emails, monitor web usage, and otherwise track some of their activities performed on the company’s computer network. Few people probably realize how close the next level of computerized scrutiny may be.

On December 27, 2007, the U.S. Patent office published a June 27, 2007 patent application filed by Microsoft that describes a system of components that would use various "physiological or environmental sensors to detect at least one of heart rate, galvanic skin response, EMG, brain signals, respiration rate, body temperature, movement, facial movements, facial expressions, and blood pressure.”

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The Ohio Employer's Law Blog, written by Jon Hyman of Kohrman Jacksont & Krantz, was among the first of the on-line workplace trendwatchers to pick up on "maternal profiling" discrimination claims.  He notes today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last week affirmed a jury verdict awarded under Michigan law.  Mr. Hyman notes that the employer denied a promised promotion to a woman after learning that she was pregnant.  The employer was alleged to have told her:  "You should consider this position considering your position."

Compensation guru Ann Bares of Altura Consulting Group, who writes an excellent blog called Compensation Force, points to this article from CFO magazine, which discusses a new program in the works at IBM for employee-funded, company-matched learning accounts.

IBM's proposed "learning accounts" would allow U.S.-based employees with five years of service to contribute up to $1,000 a year, with IBM matching 50 cents on the dollar. The program doesn't begin until next July, which will give IBM time to pursue another wrinkle: getting the government to pony up a tax break by making contributions exempt from income taxes, a la 401(k) plans. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill) has already proposed such legislation and IBM is bringing its lobbying powers to bear.

IBM will continue to spend $600 million a year on tuition reimbursement, but says this new option is needed so that "our employees get an expanded skill-set to be effective in a global economy," says Stanley Litow, vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs. "People need training for the jobs that may exist in the future."

A number of workplace trend watcher have been writing about social networking websites - such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn - seeping into common usage by employers and employees.

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