Water Cooler: Join a China trade mission in October

For those doing business with China, and for those who wish they were, here's your chance to get closer to the action.

By Times Staff
Published August 19, 2007

Join a China trade mission in October

For those doing business with China, and for those who wish they were, here's your chance to get closer to the action: The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay are co-hosting a trade mission to Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai from Oct. 14 to 24. An informational breakfast will be from 8 to 11 a.m. on Aug. 29. It's free, but you must register at www.tampachamber.com and click on "Upcoming Events." Deadline for the trip is Aug. 31.

Yes, health premiums rising

If your health insurance premiums are going up, at least you're in good company. Sixty-eight percent of Florida companies increased premiums this year, according to information released this month by Compdata Surveys. The average increase was about 10 percent. It's cold comfort, but that's lower than in 2006, when 73.3 percent of companies increased premiums.

Get some tips on avoiding lawsuits

You can't dispute that it's in a company's best interests to avoid lawsuits. A free Web-based seminar will teach business owners, managers and other HR folks about their responsibilities concerning employee wages. The seminar, "Top Five Stickiest Wage and Hour Problems: How to solve them without assistance from your local wage and hour investigator," is from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday. It will be taught by Theresa Gallion and Wendy Smith, employment lawyers with the Tampa office of Fisher & Phillips. RSVP to Nicole Blankenship (nblankenship@laborlawyers.com or 813-769-7507, or Joanie Taschetti (jtaschetti@laborlawyers.com or 813-769-7508).

[Last modified August 17, 2007, 20:12:37]