(Payscale.com – Dr. Salary)

Working Mother Magazine recently conducted a survey of working mothers and found that one of the cons of a working mom is having to send a child to school or daycare when they are sick. The survey reports that one in three mothers have sent their child to childcare or school sick. The problem is the lack of paid sick days provided by employers. In an earlier column, I touched on the proposed paid sick leave law from Sen. Christopher Dodd which would provide 6 paid weeks, out of the 12 unpaid weeks that FMLA currently mandates for certain employers.

Until that paid sick leave law (or one like it) passes, choosing between caring for a sick child or going to work, will continue to be a one of the cons of a working mom (as echoed by our very own Job Mom). She notes that of the working moms surveyed by Working Mother Magazine, 70 percent felt guilty for sending their child to school or daycare while ill, 48.5 percent felt stressed and 31.2 percent felt frustrated. Almost 65% of the moms responding said that when one family member gets sick other family members are likely to follow; there was one bright spot, 54 percent say they have some flexibility to work from home.

Fired While Taking Sick Days

A 2004 analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research reported that close to 59 million workers do not have paid sick days. For most working moms, that means that working moms may have to send their children off sick and, they themselves have to go to work sick, and possibly contagious. Some working moms will take time off work without pay (under FMLA), or perhaps they are one of the 86 million who do not get paid days off for any reason, if they do not go in to work, then they risk being fired while taking sick days (as mentioned on newstandardnews.net).

In 2003, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the lack of paid sick days affects working women more severely than others. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 49 percent of working mothers said that they miss work when their child is sick, compared to 30 percent of men. Another strike was that 50 percent of working mothers did not get paid time off when they were caring for a sick child.

Stats on Families with Working Mothers

As reported on ABCNews.go.com, the World Economic Forum found that the U.S. was the one of the 20 most competitive economies in the world not to require companies to provide paid sick days. According MSNBC.MSN.com, a new study by Harvard and McGill University reports that the U.S. falls behind almost all wealthy countries when it comes to maternity leave, paid sick days; support for breast-feeding and family-oriented workplace policies that affect women in particular.

According MSNBC.MSN.com, a new study by Harvard and McGill University reports that the U.S. falls behind almost all wealthy countries when it comes to maternity leave, paid sick days; support for breast-feeding and family-oriented workplace policies that affect women in particular. The Harvard and McGill University study says the U.S. is one of only five countries (with Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea) which doesn’t require a form of paid maternity leave; 173 countries were surveyed.

Jody Heymann, founder of the Harvard-based Project on Global Working Families and the Harvard and McGill University study’s lead author, says, “More countries are providing the workplace protections that millions of Americans can only dream. Here are more revelations of the study:

• Fathers have paid paternity leave or paid parental leave in 65 countries, 31 nations offer at least 14 weeks of paid leave. U.S. law does not guarantee fathers any such paid leaves.
• 107 countries protect a working woman’s right to breast-feed, breaks to breast-feed are paid in at least 73 of them. There is no federal legislation in the U.S. to guarantee the right to breast-feed at work.
• 145 countries provide paid sick days, 127 provide a week or more annually. As I mentioned earlier, the U.S. provides unpaid leave through FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), but this law does not cover all workers. There is no federal law providing for paid sick days.
• 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week. There is no maximum work week length in the U.S., or any limit on overtime per week.

It’s not all bad news, according to the Harvard and McGill University study, the U.S. does do well in higher pay for overtime work and mandating the right to work for all racial and ethnic groups, but when it comes working moms, we have a long way to go, baby.

The film “Wedding Crashers” looks fun; who wouldn’t want to hang out with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and bed beautiful babes at weddings? However, having a best man (or groomsmen) who is trying to bang the bridesmaids, drinking too much, or acting like a moron will mean big problems for you; because if your buddies screw up your bride’s special day, then you will never hear the end of it.

The problems could start before the wedding, when your best man and/or bridegrooms try to take you out for a wild bachelor party. Now, some women hate this and other women say they “don’t mind” (that means they really hate it). Your friends’ well-intended plans for debauchery could end your wedding before it begins. If naked women start jumping out of cakes with cameras flashing, you’re headed for a pre-wedding divorce!

Many a man has had to use a Bill Clinton excuse to his new bride, “Honey, I did not have bachelor party relations with that woman.”

To diffuse this disaster, have you best man plan something wholesome: camping, paint-balling, or drinking yourself into complete oblivion. If you do choose to booze it up, don’t let your best man talk you into it the night before the wedding, or you’ve got a hangover (and the bride’s parents) to deal with on the big day.

When it comes to dressing for the wedding, you may often hear, “Do we gotta wear tuxes?” from some groomsman who refuses to fall in line. If he doesn’t dress the part, then it’s you, not him, who will catch hell from your dear wife-to-be (btw if that sounds somewhat illogical, get used to that type of thinking for the rest of your married life).

Most weddings have a wedding rehearsal; which is sort of like rehearsing for a play. Make sure your best man and groomsmen show up, depending on the church and/or religion, there may be a lot of directions and cues to remember. You’d be amazed how a simple wedding could have more stage direction than a Broadway play!

Speaking of show biz, it’s funny in films when the best man “forgets the ring” or “drops it down a drain.” However, in real life, any accidental losing of the ring by your best man will be seen as a declaration of war by your bride-to-be. She will believe it was an intentionally planned conspiracy, bigger than the Kennedy Assassination. Make sure your best man is not forgetful or a butter fingers!

After the wedding, the best man may lead a toast, and this could be a huge opportunity to embarrass you, “And I’ll never forget the time we had those two underage twins in Las Vegas .” Make sure his toast is well-planned and written out beforehand!

Once the wedding is over, watch out for honeymoon hijinks! More than once, best men and groomsman have planned wacky stunts, such as hiding under the bed in the honeymoon suite while the groom lovingly violates his new wife. Never tell anyone, especially your best friends, or loved ones, when or where your honeymoon is going to take place!

 (Payscale.com – Dr. Salary)

I have a friend who practices “second generation tipping.” He takes a tip off someone else’s table and puts it on his. His warped rational is, “I get good service, the waiter gets his tip; everyone wins.” While second generation tipping is rife with moral questions, the actual ins-and-outs of tipping and income can be complicated as well.

Which professions pay the best when it comes to tipping? Which pay the worst? I was poking around in our database, and came across some interesting facts about who relies on tips to make ends meet.

For instance, in coffee cafes, the average hourly rate for a Barista is $8.12. Tips boost their pay from $8.12 per hour to $10.35, and account for about 21% of their total income. True, some Baristas are eligible for bonuses, but this is quite rare (reportedly less than 25%). Their bosses, Coffee Cafe Managers, earn an average hourly rate between $10.75 and $11.34 per hour. If you add in tips, the hourly rate is boosted to an average of $12.20, which means only about 10% of their total pay comes from tips.

Casino Gambling High Rollers

In Casino and Gaming, we have two job types that stick out: Gaming Dealers and Change Booth Cashiers. Both jobs average 39 hours per week (though there are some who work 80 hours) and tipping is customary for both. The Change Booth employees ($12.31/hour) are making more per hour on average than Gaming Dealers ($7.55/hour), but their tip potential is much less; it’s the Gaming Dealers who are ‘rewarded” for dealing “lucky hands.”

In fact, unless, you’re a regular high roller, you might not even know that you’re supposed tip the Change Booth Cashiers.

The tips of Change Booth Cashiers can usually boost their hourly pay by $2.42 to $14.73; whereas the average Gaming Dealer can pump up his or her hourly pay by an additional $32.66 to earn $40.20/hour. A Gaming Dealer’s tips represent about 81% of their income, but tips only account for about 16% of the total pay for a Change Booth Cashier.

The Child Care category yielded two jobs that most people are familiar with: Babysitter and Nanny/Au Pair. Even though these workers are responsible for the safety of their client’s children, both jobs receive very little in the way of tips! Babysitters can expect approximately $7.77 per hour, whereas a Nanny/Au Pair can expect $11.09/hour.

Tips represented 5% of a Nanny’s hourly pay rate and 16% of a Babysitter’s hourly rate. Clearly it pays more to deal blackjack in Vegas than to care for a child. Others in the Child Care arena who reported receiving tips include Coaches, Scout Leaders and Gymnastics Instructors.

Within the religious sector, two jobs receive a significant portion of their income from tips (or rather, Honorariums). First, Rabbis earn $43.27/hour on the average, but with Honorariums, that pay rate can be boosted to $74/hour; which is 41.5% of their income.

Ministry Pastors have a similar uplift from Honorariums, but to a lesser degree. Their average Honorariums represent 23% of their income, but since the normal hourly rate is about $21.62 they are only boosted to $28.18/hour. (Note to self: convert to Judaism).

Moving from spiritual matters to great looking nails, we learn that the average Manicurist makes $11.70/hour and works 36 hours per week. That might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that gal doing your nails is capable of earning $21/hour in tips, increasing her hourly rate by a whopping 67 percent! If that wasn’t enough, some Manicurists have an opportunity to earn commissions on products and services they’re able to sell. Keep that in mind, and don’t spoil these folks rotten!

Staying in the beauty industry, Barbers and Hairstylists, work between 35 and 40 hours (per week on average). The hourly rate for a Hairstylist is $13.95; about $1 more than your friendly neighborhood Barber. However, it pays far better, tip-wise, to do hairstyling than crew cuts. While Barbers can expect about 21% of their boosted hourly pay to come from tips, Hairstylists can lay claim to nearly 42%, plus commissions if they sell products (assuming they work in a salon).

Over in the hospitality industry, hotel Baggage Porters/Bellhops and their Supervisors are making a base hourly rate of $9.13 and $8.50 respectively. Thanks to tips, their overall hourly wage can jump to $16.83 and $13.50 respectively. Room Service Clerks make about $5.48/hour, but that can jump to $11.91 when tips are added to the equation (or more if they find loose change left by guests). Chauffeurs, while not paid much at $11.47/hour, can earn a nice tip to bring them to 16.78/hour; especially if they know the late night bars and hip clubs.

Speaking of drinks, remember my friend, the “second generation tipper?” He is really hurting the wait staff when he pulls his old switch-a-roo with tips on the tables. Waiters and Waitresses make more than 50% of their money through tips and gratuities. With that in mind, he may not want to frequent the same restaurant twice!

How does your salary add up? Find out with our salary calculator.

(Payscale.com – Dr. Salary)

Csmonitor.com recently devoted an entire article to telecommuting from home success stories. In this age of Blackberry, Skype, e-mail and instant message, it is becoming more common in business to allow employees to telecommute from home, or even the local coffee shop.

WorldatWork, a national organization of HR professionals, says that around 28 million Americans are working from home at least one day per month and that number could reach 100 million by 2010. Which jobs were included in these telecommuting from home success stories?  Keep reading!

How does your salary compare to telecommuting from home success stories?  Find out with our salary survey.

Top Companies to Telecommute From

One of the top companies to telecommute from, mentioned in the csmonitor.com article, is Wasabi Publicity in Atlanta. The CEO, Drew Gerber, supervises a public relations staff in seven different time zones. He tracks his employees’ work via an online service, avoiding nag time.

Telecommuting Job Companies

Debra Dinnocenzo, of Pittsburgh-based VirtualWorks!, says most studies on telecommuting show an average increase of 30 percent in productivity. Elizabeth Anderson, of E.H. Anderson Public Relations, based in Waco, Texas, told csmonitor.com: “I know it can work. You want to make your employees as happy as you make your customers.”

Telecommuting Bookkeeping Work and Other Jobs

Some of the more popular telecommute jobs these days include: bookkeeper, PR account manager, executive staffer, marketing director, IT and customer service. However, Erin Peterson, of Lantern Partners, a senior-executive search firm, says that telecommuting doesn’t work as well for executives:  “Face time is needed to navigate the politics associated with a six-figure salary.”

Costs Versus Benefits of Telecommuting

Why is telecommuting becoming more and more popular with some businesses? Lots of reasons, says Richard Laermer, author of the book “2011″ and a New York marketing consultant. Laermer cites the rising costs of commercial real estate, ever-increasing gas prices, endless commutes, and environmental concerns.

Laermer told csmonitor.com: “It is all going to be about telecommuting in two to three years. It’s going to be a huge change in the way things get done. Working at home is not only possible, it’s going to end up being better for the employee and the employer.”

Home Office Telecommute Apply Now

So which employers are more likely to sign on to telecommuting? José Astorga, author of “A Bull in a Glass House,” told csmonitor.com, “Young managers or entrepreneurs are more inclined to understand the pros of working from home because they have been raised in an Internet society. Older managers often have to be retrained to let go of restrictive management styles.”
What would your salary look like if you worked from home? The PayScale Salary Calculator is a quick and easy way to compare positions.

 (Payscale.com – Salary Stories)

One of the many holiday films opening this winter is The Pursuit of Happyness. It’s not the typical holiday fare, but a sobering flick about a man who loses his job and becomes homeless with his young son. Will Smith stars as the homeless man who finds a position at Dean Witter, only to find that his new vocation is actually an unpaid internship.

This is a timely topic, especially when more and more salary surveys remind us how many people are one paycheck from being homeless. That alone may be hard to fathom in the richest country in the world, but here are some more surprising revelations.

The statistics of homelessness nationwide are not exact, but there are an estimated 3 million homeless people, a third of them children, living on the streets of America . For those who might say those bums (and child bums?) should just “get a job,” Congresswoman Julia Carson (D-Indiana) estimates than more than half the homeless do have jobs.

So, contrary to the stereotypes, lack of employment is not the only cause of homelessness; clinical research and the homeless has shown that there are many root causes.

American families can be wiped financially out by medical bills. One catastrophic illness not covered by insurance (if you can afford coverage) is all it takes, and you may lose your savings, next comes foreclosure, followed by a shelter. People with AIDS or terminal are especially at risk, as their finances may not cover their medical treatment.

People can also become homeless because of substance abuse, or controlled substance laws, which permit the seizing of all assets: homes, cars, bank accounts, etc… Also, an unexpected divorce, with no child support payments, can easily send a young mother and her children out onto the streets.

Enlisting in the military may result in homelessness. A sizeable number of military families are on general relief (food stamps). The serviceman who returns from battle to his impoverished family may face physical disabilities and psychological wounds. In Los Angeles alone, there are an estimated 70,000 homeless veterans; a third of them women.

A natural disaster can render large populations homeless. Katrina left thousands of New Orleans residents without homes. While they were given trailers to live in, many faced homelessness again when FEMA threatened to evict them after their “time limit” ran out. It was only after media coverage, that the hurricane victims given more time.

Job loss can certainly send someone down the path of homelessness, particularly older Americans who are less likely to be trained for new skills. The Pulitzer-Prize winning play Death of a Salesman has become a real life script for many seniors trying to find work in an increasingly youth-oriented marketplace.

Most Americans believe it will never happen to them, but if the unimaginable does occur, there are some steps people can take regarding becoming and surviving homelessness:

1. Seek legal help before eviction. Many states have a legal process of appeal that people can pursue before being throw out on the streets. While the poor may not be able to afford an attorney, there are is nationwide legal help and private attorneys who provide free legal assistance.

2. Find a safe shelter in a warm climate. Some cities do better than others in this area. Those in need can find shelters by going to these links: Nationwide Shelters , Worldwide Missions and State by State Shelters.

3. Locate food banks in your areas. Second Harvest is a wonderful nationwide organization. Watch out though, some cities have actually made it a crime to feed the homeless – Las Vegas, Orlando and Santa Monica, California (although some of its laws have been overthrown in court).

4. Apply for financial aid. Each state is different, but most provide some sort of welfare or food stamp program, some are better than others. Also applying for disability is also an option. Many physical and psychological ailments are eligible conditions for disability.

5. Leave the United States . This may sound like a radical move, but there are countries with far less wealth than America , where homelessness is virtually unheard of. Sweden is a good example, as is the Netherlands . Can you guess which nation was voted to have the highest standard if living for all citizens? According to a study by the U.N., the winner is Norway.

6. Believe in yourself. Being unemployed and facing homelessness can be debilitating on an emotional level. Don’t base your personal worth on the job market. If you find yourself sinking into depression, seek out free mental health care and/or free medical care. Again, keep in mind that your depression may be compensated through you state disability program.

7. Take advantage of public services. Fortunately, most public libraries are equipped with computers, providing everyone access to the internet (thank you, President Clinton). Time-wise, it’s far more valuable to send out tons of resumes to online job postings, than to wander around, randomly looking for “Help Wanted” signs.

8. Appearances are just crucial for employment, rightly or wrongly, that is how the job market works. Services such as Dress for Success provide low income people with free interview-appropriate clothes.

9. Job Retraining. Depending on why you’re unemployed, there may be job training services available through the government or through your former employer. Check out some of the hottest jobs on the market.

10. When you do get back on your feet, don’t forget what it was like when you were down and out. Don’t forget the millions who are going through what you went through. Volunteer at your local food bank or shelter. Don’t just work to overcome your problem, help others as well.

Some are already doing just that. Congresswoman Julia Carson (D- Indiana) has proposed the Bringing America Home Act , to greatly increase funding for shelter, food and social services. But the bill has languished in Congress – while the number of homeless adults and children grows and grows.

We can never eliminate poverty. The very nature of capitalism produces winners and losers. However, if we can tolerate the winners and reward them with tax breaks and subsidies, perhaps we can also tolerate the losers, provide them with a solid safety net and bring our standard of living up to the Swedens and Norways of the world.

(Sprouse Bros. Code Magazine, premiere issue July 2006)

They have nukes, but no potty training!

DailyIndia.com reports that it’s not unusual for people in India to pinch a loaf in public, but the country’s Development Minister, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, is hopeful the tradition of going to the bathroom (number 2) will come to an end someday. “Open defecation is slowly losing popularity in rural India , and the government is doing all efforts to end this for all by 2012,”says Singh. “In Haryana and Punjab , people are not poor, what they lack is awareness.” Awareness? We think that warm feeling between your toes and really bad smell of your neighbor’s crap on your feet might give you a clue.

He pooped in a lunchroom bowl and doesn’t even live in India !

Two High School students in Verona , Virginia , bet another student $15 dollars that he wouldn’t take a crap in a lunchroom bowl. Eager to earn some money, the hard-working boy took a soup bowl into the bathroom, filled it with his poo, came back into the cafeteria, and put the foul dish on a conveyer belt that rolls into the kitchen. That’s when the sh** hit the fan! The boy who defecated into the bowl was expelled and the two morons who paid him got suspended for three days. Then two more kids got suspended when they pushed another kid who had cursed at a cafeteria worker. But that’s not all! The worker got charged with assault and battery when she tried to break up the pushing fight between the kids. Finally, four cafeteria workers quit their jobs. We can’t imagine why, it sounds like a great place to work, if you don’t mind the smell.

Teacher tries to kill bug, loses part of his hand

In Ventura , California , a teacher tried to squash a bug with a paperweight that he kept on his desk. The paperweight was a 40 mm shell that the teacher, Robert Colla, found while hunting several years ago. Colla didn’t think the old weapon would ever explode so he kept it. Colla was instructing 20 to 25 students when he picked up the 5-inch-long shell and tried to smash a bug with it. That’s when the shell blew part of his right hand off and burned him really bad. But what we really want to know is; what happened to the bug?

Old man threatens 7-Eleven workers with chainsaw

Workers at a 7-Eleven in Tokyo repeatedly told a 70-year-old man to stop reading the store’s magazines, unless he was going to buy them. The old geezer left, returned with a chainsaw, and shouted, “I’ll cut you to pieces!” While the frightened people called the police, the angry senior put his chainsaw down and continued reading the mags. When the cops arrived, they found the saw still running and arrested the elderly gentleman. He should have plenty of time to read now… in jail.

12-year-old boy gums up painting worth over a million dollars

During a field trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, a boy stuck a wad of gum on a Helen Frankenthaler painting “The Bay,” a 1963 work worth 1.5 million dollars. Reports say that the gum-smacking smart aleck put the chewed Wrigley’s Extra Polar Ice Gum on the art piece’s lower left corner. While it didn’t stick permanently to the canvas, the sticky goo did leave a quarter-size stain. To clean the painting, the museum is now researching the chemicals in the gum. And what about the boy who started this whole mess? He got suspended from school and his parents have disciplined him; we bet he’s not allowed to chew gum anymore!

(Westside Today May 2005)

Comedian George Carlin once said, “There’s no such thing as fun for the whole family.”

I decided to test out this theory at the Soup Plantation in Brentwood during the dinner hour. 6pm and 7pm is when this popular self-serve restaurant transforms into a quasi-day care center. Dinner this witching hour, the eatery is overrun with more chaos than Election Day in Iraq.

Now, I’m not letting the cat out of the bag. Soup Plantation clearly markets itself to families, right down to its plastic table notes written in third grade scrawl with that cutesy intentional misspelling. You know, the ones that read: “I’ll be ripe back.”

Bah Humbug!

On this particular night, the place is filled with screams in high notes that only children and Mariah Carey can hit. I carefully maneuver my tray between tables filled with out-of-control kids. Moments after I sit down, a little boy with a bad cough walks by. I know what’s coming and quickly shield my food with my hands; he looks at me and hacks towards my plate.

His mom just smiles.

Moments later, another munchkin comes running by. He is wearing a red plastic fire-fighter helmet; his haggard mom is in hot pursuit. She finally catches him and lifts him up into her arms. The fire chief responds by smacking her in the head several times. She tries to bob and weave to miss his blows, which is probably good training if she ever decides to become a boxer.

At a corner table, I notice some parents smiling as their young daughter runs in and out of the restaurant via the mechanical sliding glass door. She enters and leaves so many times that the sliding door breaks down and comes to a grinding halt. The parents quickly gather their belongings and head for the exit before any of the Soup Plantation employees discover the broken door.

Not every child is completely out of control. The very small ones who are snugly restrained in their high-chairs tend to stay at their table; they have no choice. The toddlers don’t appear to be very happy; which reminds me of my childhood.

When I was a kid, I never enjoyed going out to eat. And isn’t that the way it ought to be? My father would have killed me if I ran around and screamed loudly in a restaurant, even if there were a fire. Our table was as quiet as a funeral for the Pope.

The only joy I got was when dad dropped a dime into the bottom of his water glass as a “tip” for the waiter. “They should work for it,” my die-in-the-wool Republican father would cackle as we walked out.

Kids today, they just don’t know what they’re missing.

(Ask Dr. Salary – Payscale.com)

There are over 25,000 private contractors in Iraq. These contractors make up the third largest international force in the war-torn country, behind US and UK troops. For this reason, private contractors are often called the “shadow army in Iraq.”

Many jobs that were traditionally performed by the military – truck driving, security, laundry and food services – have been farmed out to private contractors. The idea is if these military jobs are “outsourced” to contractors, then U.S. soldiers are freed up for armed conflict.

These positions in Iraq, such as truck drivers, certainly pay more than the average salary in the U.S. for the same job. According to our PayScale salary survey, the average salary for a truck driver in Illinois is $43,000.

If that same trucker works for a private contractor in Iraq , he will be pulling down in the six figure salary range. According to news reports, truckers have a starting salary of $100,000; but are the dangers worth it?

Wearing only a flak jacket, truck drivers face ambushes, machine gun fire and the deadly IEDs that line the road. Many truckers have complained that KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, does not adequately fit its trucks with armor, adding more risk to this high salary range position.

What if you or a family is killed, while on the job in Iraq ? Do you have legal or financial redress? Probably not. A lawsuit against Halliburton brought by survivors of contractors killed when a fuel convoy was attacked near Baghdad in April 2004 was thrown out.

In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller said the U.S. military played a major role in sending the convoy and that it was not the courts’ place to second-guess the Army’s decision. “The contracts show that the Army, not the defendants, was responsible for the security of the convoys,” Judge Miller wrote.

However, some convoys are not guarded by the U.S. military, but rather by private contractors such as Blackwater, a security firm started by a former U.S. Navy SEALs, located in a 6,000 acre site in rural North Carolina .

How do private security guards fare in average salary vs. US military enlisted? It pays far better to work for a private company than Uncle Sam.

An enlisted U.S. serviceman makes almost 30K , while a private security officer could easily make in six figure salary range. Chris Boyd of Kroll-Crucible Security says, “It pays quite well. There’s a lot of contracts that pay anywhere from $350 a day to $1,500 a day.”

Of course, the risks are extremely high, who can forget the grisly killings of four U.S. Blackwater security contractors in Fallujah?

No one knows the exact risk because private contracting companies do not release numbers of employees killed, nor does the Pentagon.

In fact, CNN reported that “the Pentagon is urging contracting companies not to speak to the media about the dangers in Iraq , claiming that it makes things more dangerous for their workers who are willing to take the risk.”

But some news reports say that deaths among contractors are actually higher than U.S. military forces.

Another downside is that there is no overtime pay in Iraq for private contractors.

In a class action lawsuit against Halliburton for overtime, workers claimed they were working more than 100 hours a week and not receiving overtime wages, even though a Pentagon contract called for overtime wages to be paid in Iraq .

However, U.S. District Court Judge Melinda Harmon ruled that Halliburton does not have to pay millions in overtime wages because U.S. laws governing military contracts allow only workers employed inside the United States to be eligible for overtime wages.

How does your salary rank against the contractors in Iraq? Is it time to move to Baghdad? Or stay home? Find out with our salary calculator.

(Dr. Salary – Payscale.com)

This is the time of year when Super Bowl mania dominates, so I thought it would be an opportune moment to examine pro football salaries. Of course, the big question is, “Who is the highest paid player?” The often disappointed Atlanta Falcons failed to make the playoffs, but their quarterback, Michael Vick had a great season. He topped all pro football salaries with an annual salary of $23.1 million.

Is he worth 23.1 million? In 2006, Vick became the only quarterback in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards; but what if we compare to Vick’s salary to a cardiothoracic surgeon salary in the Atlanta area (this is the type of surgeon often saves lives by operating on organs within the chest). With 5-9 years of experience, a cardiothoracic surgeon salary averages out to $329,229; less than 2% of Vick’s salary!

Plastic Surgeon Salaries & NFL Football Salary by Position

Obviously more people (millions) would rather watch football than surgery. The massive national TV audience accounts for the enormous pro football salaries, but the salary disparity between playing a game and practicing life-saving medicine raises eyebrows. Get yours ready as we take a look at the next 4 highest pro football salaries and compare them with average surgeon salaries.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck of the Seattle Seahawks comes in at number 2 with an annual salary of $19,005,280. Let’s compare the Seahawks’ all-time highest-rated passer to a Seattle plastic surgeon with 10-19 years of experience. A Seattle plastic surgeon salary averages out to $234,089, with a high-end of $322,161; that is less than 2% of Hasselbeck’s annual salary. If Mike takes a nasty hit on the field, he can certainly afford the surgery.

Pro Football Salaries and Surgeon Salary Comparisons

At number 3, we find St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace, with an annual salary of $18 million. Orlando has seven Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl win on his resume. Let’s compare him to orthopedic surgeons, who treat with chronic, acute and traumatic injuries. With 5-9 years of experience, the average orthopedic surgeon salary in St. Louis is $144,421, that’s less than 1% of Pace’s annual salary. Apparently, it pays better to block (and break) people, than to operate on them.

At number 4 in pro football salaries is offensive tackle Walter Jones of the Seattle Seahawks, who earns an annual salary of $17,701,320. The 7-time Pro Bowler is one of eight kids raised by his mom on her then-hourly salary of $3.75 (that’s another article!). Jones works out in the off-season by pushing an SUV around a parking lot, but can he topple a Seattle trauma surgeon salary?

What Football Salary Caps?

In hospitals, trauma surgeons make life and death choices everyday. They work in emergency rooms to save lives and/or stabilize patients. With that in mind, the average trauma surgeon salary in Seattle (with 20 or more years of experience) is $161,840, topping out at $227,797. That’s far more than Jones’ mom making $3.75 an hour, but less than 2% of his eight-figure salary.

That brings us to New England Patriot Quarterback Tom Brady, clocking in at number 5 in pro football salaries with an annual salary of $15.6 million. One of the best quarterbacks ever, Brady has three Super Bowl wins, two Super Bowl MVP awards and three Pro Bowl appearances to his credit. But how does his annual salary compare to a Boston cardiac surgeon salary?

Heart Surgeon Salary

Heart surgeons, also known as cardiac surgeons, perform a variety of life-saving surgeries. For all this amazing expertise, a Boston-based heart surgeon salary averages $284,340 and has a high of $400,050 (for a practitioner with 10-19 years of experience). Let’s take the high-end number, $400,050, and compare it to Tom Brady’s annual salary. I’m am pleased to report that a heart surgeon salary breaks the 2% glass ceiling, but is still less than 3% of Brady’s salary.

Hopefully, someday, surgeons will make at least half of what the top football players earn, but it doesn’t seem likely. For the parents out there, you may not what to show this article to your kids, lest they forgo the books for dreams of massive pro football salaries.

How does your salary play in the big leagues? Find out with our salary survey.

(Ask Dr. Salary – Payscale.com)

A recent survey of working mothers by Working Mother Magazine revealed one of the cons of a working mom: choosing between taking care of ill children or going to work. According to the survey, one in three mothers sent their ill child to school or childcare. The main reason cited was that Mom could not take a day off from work to care for her sick child. With these stats on families with working mothers, it’s no surprise that many moms would welcome a paid sick leave law.

In an earlier column, I mentioned that the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) allows for 12 weeks of unpaid leave for birth of a new baby or “bonding time” for a newly adopted child or illness for the worker and/or a member of the worker’s family. Now, Senator Christopher Dodd (D–Connecticut) has proposed a new paid sick leave law, amending the FMLA, paying employees for 6 of the 12 weeks. On the flip side, employers say such a law would burden them financially, but what is the cost when employees show up to work sick?

Would your salary be healthier if you had 6 weeks of paid leave? Give it a check up with our salary survey.

San Francisco Sick Leave Legislation

59 million American workers have no paid sick days, and 86 million do not get a paid day off to care for a sick child. According to research by the World Economic Forum, the U.S. is the only one of the 20 most competitive economies in the world not to require companies to provide paid sick days. While congress squabbles over federal laws such as amending the FMLA and the Healthy Families Act (guaranteeing employees seven paid sick-leave days a year), San Francisco has already moved ahead with new legislation.

According to ABCNews.com, new San Francisco sick leave legislation kicked into gear on Feb. 5, 2007. As mentioned at CareerJournal.com, under San Francisco sick leave legislation, all employers must provide one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked by full-time and part-time workers. Depending on the size of the company, there is a five or nine-day cap per year. Workers can use sick time for their children, family members, domestic partners or themselves. Similar bills to the San Francisco sick leave legislation are pending in Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Inappropriate Activities While on Sick Leave

On the other hand, some companies and trade groups (representing industry) complain a paid sick leave law will hurt the economy and FMLA is already too one-sided for workers. They say that the definition of “serious health condition” in the FMLA is too broad and is used to cover minor aches and colds. They also claim that workers engage in inappropriate activities while on sick leave – taking time off for vacations, staying home to recover from a night at the bar; there are also claims of airline employees using sick days to strike. Make 6 of those 12 FMLA weeks paid and the cost to companies will be too great, say businesses and trade groups.

As reported at film.guardian.co.uk, one of the more well-known inappropriate activities while on sick leave is going to Star Wars premieres. Apparently, each time George Lucas rolls out a new chapter from the saga it costs companies big time! Episode II was estimated to have cost the U.S. economy more than $300 million in wages when it was released (that sounds a bit hard to believe). And when Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace premiered, about 5.7 million people reportedly to a sick day to see the sci-fi flick on its opening day.

How to Reduce Employee Sick Leaves

As reported at hr.br.com, American Airlines actually asked its employees to use less sick leave time. The airline said that last year more than 5 percent of its workers were out sick on any given day, which cost the company a whopping $1 million every day, according to Chief Executive Don Carty. To encourage workers, Carty spoke in a recorded message to employees: “We desperately need all our employees to come to work unless injury or illness truly prevents them from doing so.”

Average Sick Days for Employees

Still, people “going to work sick,” does exist and is costly. As reported in BostonWorks.Boston.com, Walter Stewart, an epidemiologist with extensively study experience of workplace health issues for Geisinger Health System, surveyed 29,000 workers and found that health problems result in $225 billion in lost work time annually in the U.S. According to Stewart, 71 percent of the health problems can be traced to workers who showed up at work feeling ill, mostly due to respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.

As reported in BostonWorks.Boston.com, Dr. Ronald F. Dixon, an internal medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, says that an intense sore throat, fever above 101 degrees and a serious hacking cough are all legitimate reasons to call in sick.

However, if you just have a cold, you can probably go in. Dr. Alfred DeMaria of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health tracks diseases for a living and says, “If somebody had a common cold, there’s no reason they couldn’t go to work, assuming they’re not working in a bone marrow clinic” or somewhere else populated by especially vulnerable people.” Demaria suggests washing your hands frequently, sneezing into a tissue and throwing used tissues into a garbage can.

How is your salary’s health these days? Find out with our salary survey.