With gas (Office Gossip) hitting record highs, drivers feeling squeezed (AP)

AP - Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren't their fault.

Microsoft Reveals a Web-Based Software System
The new system, called Live Mesh, is Microsoft?s most ambitious step yet in tying its personal computer business more closely to software running in remote data centers.
Even though most Human resource managers and owners want to give second chances, the hammer just has to come down on insubordinate employees. If you don't pay a severance, you may face a law suit under one of 3 circumstances. If you don't inform a worker the reason for the lay off, or if the dismissal is about his conduct or performance and you don't give him the opportunity to correct the behavior, you may have a illegal lay off claim on your hands. First, the worker is likely to sue and you have appropriately detailed a legitimate reason. And, in the third and following meetings, you complete the negotiations. Be sure the terminated employee gets a response.

Once you document the problems with the employee, you can sack her or him if he continues to cause problems. If you don't pay a severance, you may face a legal action under one of 3 circumstances. Tactful language and providing a way of leaving the company with dignity in front of other personnel are conditions for making the dismissal process less painful for everyone involved. Again, this will lower the chance of a lawsuit when her new supervisor fires the disgruntled employee. A book about how to go about dismissing employees for misconduct suitably can be a helpful tool to have. This is not only important in the daily workplace, but also if you must layoff a problem employee. 6) State this final incident gives you no choice but to fire. I've written a dismissal memorandum explaining the grounds for your separation and how we're going to help you through your career transition. As you review these notifications, you should notice the medium-risk notices ask for a release of claims while the low-risk notices don't.