January

In terms of resumes, lies are on the rise. And while you might think that lying on resumes is less common among candidates for senior management jobs, it turns out that it's actually easier for them to do.

This is according to Jay Meschke, president of CBIZ Human Capital Services, who claimed that by the time the manager gets to the fourth or fifth interviewee, he|she is already convinced he|she wants you. "Meanwhile, no one has really read your resume very carefully," Meschke added. "Or at all."

A list of businessmen who've inflated their resumes to gain advantage in the corporate world includes: Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo!, Ronald Zarrella, CEO of Bausch & Lomb, David Edmondson, CEO of RadioShack; Jack Grubman, executive analyst at Salomon Smith Barney; Jeffrey Papows, president of IBM's Lotus; Albert Dunlap, president of Nitec; and Kenneth Lonchar, CFO of Veritas Software.

A bill sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill and Senator Shirley K. Turner that would end employment discrimination based on an individual’s credit history or financial status was approved by the full Senate.

The bill (a substitute for S-524 and S-1130) would prohibit an employer from making any inquiries into the credit history or financial status of a current employee or applicant for employment, unless a good credit history or financial status is an established bona fide occupational requirement for a particular position, as laid out in the bill. Any employer found in violation of the provisions of this bill could face civil penalties of up to $2,000 for the first violation, and $5,000 for each subsequent violation. The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 22-16. It next heads to the Assembly for consideration.

Metro’s Civil Service Commission voted unanimously in favor of a movement called Ban the Box. Nashville will join about 100 cities and 16 states that have removed questions about criminal convictions from job applications.

It is called “Ban the Box” because it will put an end to the small check box on job forms that asks whether an applicant has been convicted of a crime. Organizers said they are in favor of background checks and they believe an employee should have to disclose their criminal past, but feel it should happen at a later phase in the interview process. “We have never been opposed to disclosure, but when that is the first thing that you do on an application, there is bias and there is prejudice,” said Jackie Sims with Democracy Nashville.