03 January 2007

Noticezilla Sees Its Shadow; One More Year of Overregulation Predicted

This morning, one of our company's human resources associates carried-out a hallowed corporate New Year's tradition -- the annual posting of the new employment regulations poster.

This year's poster of Federal and California employment notices is more than two feet wide and nearly four-and-a-half feet long. For those of you keeping score, this represents an increase in surface area from the original 1907 poster of approximately 25,000%; that ur-poster had but a single line -- "If you can read this, you're fired for leaving the factory floor." Ah, the good old days!

Despite the fact that it's almost twice as tall as Mini-Me, the producers of this year's poster helpfully suggest that it "easily fits on a door, in a break room, or a main hallway". The poster notes that it is a violation of Federal and State laws for employers not to post these notices on a door, in a break room, or a main hallway; notwithstanding, it also indicates that it is a violation of Federal and State laws to post Noticezilla on a door, in a break room, or a main hallway as it impedes emergency egress, break enjoyment, or easy movement through public areas.

As someone who tends toward libertarianism, I cringe at the sight of such ridiculous overregulation. As a corporate attorney with a small child who'll someday need orthodontia and college education, I smile at the prospect of secure employment.

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