PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Offshore Bank Accounts / Skipping Meals / Social Sharing

Sept. 6, 2011

EXPERT ALERTS:

1. Business: No Encore for U.S. Exports?

2. Finance: Deadline Extended for Consumers to Report Offshore Bank Accounts to IRS

3. Science: Assessing the Risk of Drinking-Water Contamination After a Hurricane 

4. Technology: Why International Logistics Is Perfect for Cloud-Based Computing

5. Workplace: Can Companies Pressure Employees to Skip Meal Breaks?

6. Workplace: Texans Running Back Puts MRI on Twitter: Consequences of Social Sharing

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

1. Minding Your Communications Manners

2. #ConnectChat Recap: Making the Switch From Journalism to PR, Part 2

3. Smart Cards: Next-Level Enterprise Security

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EXPERT ALERTS:

Via Expert Alerts, ProfNet members can alert reporters to experts who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please see the contact info at the end of the alert. You can also find Expert Alerts online on ProfNet Connect at http://bit.ly/pncalerts

**1. BUSINESS: NO ENCORE FOR U.S. EXPORTS? Daniel L. Gardner, CEO of Ocean World Lines, is passionate about free trade and its critical role in creating jobs and fueling exports and the U.S. economy. As a professor, international executive and author, he has spent the last 25 years in global trade: "The prickly truth is the United States is in a competitive decline and it's not China or NAFTA's fault. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the May 2011 deficit of goods and services ($50.2 billion) was the highest since October 2008 ($59.5 billion). In the global marketplace, companies have to offer more than a quality product at a fair price -- they also need to create an additional competitive advantage through the tactics they employ when shipping goods overseas. Whether one speaks of the impact on landed costs, time to market, customer service, invoicing or collection of funds, properly designed logistics programs are a must for any successful export program." Gardner most recently wrote a book-length essay called "No Encore: An Essay Concerning the Competitive Decline of the United States of America." He is available to discuss how the U.S. can increase exports and drive job creation, starting today. Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/gardner  News Contact: Melissa Bradley, [email protected] Phone: +1-928-208-9300

**2. FINANCE: DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR CONSUMERS TO REPORT OFFSHORE BANK ACCOUNTS TO IRS. Michael Rozbruch, CEO of Tax Resolution Services, Co., one of the nation's leading tax negotiation and mediation firms: "The Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) deadline that originally ended Aug. 31 has been extended to Sept. 9, due to the potential impact of Hurricane Irene. Extension or not, consumers need to consider having the help of expert tax resolution professionals on their side. What many consumers don't always understand is that they don't have to go to the IRS alone, and worse, that they would be ill-advised to handle this type of (potential criminal) matter on their own without expert professional representation in their corner. The IRS has given taxpayers an opportunity, and now an extension, to come clean about their offshore bank accounts. Tapping this deadline is important, but it is more important to do it right. The value of having expert tax resolution attorneys or tax resolution specialists to support you in navigating the offshore bank account maze can save time, headaches, money and possibly your freedom. It is nearly impossible for taxpayers to understand everything required by law if they have foreign bank accounts or have signatory authority over an offshore account -- a little help makes a big difference." Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/michael_rozbruch  News Contact: Debbie Edwards, [email protected] Phone: +1-866-477-7762, ext. 326 Website: http://www.taxresolution.com

**3. SCIENCE: ASSESSING THE RISK OF DRINKING-WATER CONTAMINATION AFTER A HURRICANE. Marc Hamel, product specialist at Horizon Technology in Salem, N.H.: "Up and down the East Coast of the United States in the wake of Hurricane Irene, municipalities and commercial testing labs are scrambling to quantify the risk to public drinking water from flood-water contamination. The first days after a flooding catastrophe like Hurricane Irene are critical in determining the risks to public drinking water. Harmful environmental contaminants can enter human drinking-water supplies through numerous sources during a flood event. Contaminants such as raw sewerage, flame retardants (found in most building materials), herbicides, pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons and other known substances migrate quickly from flood waters into public reservoirs, private wells and municipal pumping stations. Determining the extent and scope of this contamination early after a flood event is critical to protecting human populations. The analysis of increased volumes of water will strain even the most well-equipped environmental-monitoring laboratories. Demand for fast and continued analysis in the days during and weeks after flooding is crucial to insuring public safety. Labs equipped with automated water-monitoring systems are best suited to assist in the ongoing assessment." Hamel is available for media interviews. News Contact: Richard Berman, [email protected] Phone: +1-914-572-2707 Website: http://www.horizontechinc.com

**4. TECHNOLOGY: WHY INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS IS PERFECT FOR CLOUD-BASED COMPUTING. Bryn Heimbeck, CEO of Trade Tech, an integrated global application service provider for the transportation and logistics industry: "No other industry is as geographically challenged as international logistics. Imagine if an assembly line had to stretch across continents or oceans. In many ways, logistics is the assembly of pivotal information and command sets that represent and create the digital picture of a shipment. A cloud-based solution ties all of the global users within a logistics provider together on a single virtual assembly line and then ties them all to all of the essential services they need, such as customs organizations, carrier portals, insurance companies and financial institutions. Electing to participate in a cloud means companies do not have to build all of these connections on their own." Heimbeck is available to discuss unique views and expertise on cloud computing today and its applications in international logistics and other industries. Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/brynheimbeck  News Contact: Melissa Bradley, [email protected] Phone: +1-928-208-9300

**5. WORKPLACE: CAN COMPANIES PRESSURE EMPLOYEES TO SKIP MEAL BREAKS? Alan Levins is a shareholder at Littler Mendelson, the nation's largest employment and labor law firm representing management. While under California law companies cannot pressure employees to skip meal breaks, they are not required to ensure that employees actually take their breaks. In Driscoll, et al. v. Granite Rock Company ("Graniterock"), the Superior Court of Santa Clara County ruled in favor of defendant Graniterock, determining they were not in violation of California law as it relates to off-duty meal periods, a wage and hour issue receiving much attention in light of the highly anticipated decision in the case, Brinker Restaurant Corporation, et. al. v. Superior Court. Levins is available to speak about the topic of meal-period regulation: "At the center of this case is the clarification of a critical wage and hour issue -- that employers are required to make meal periods available to employees but are not required to force employees to take a lunch break. When faced with a wage and hour lawsuit, employers can become bewildered with California's meal-period regulations and settle their cases. The elements of proof needed are a clear policy providing meal periods, company-wide communication on this subject so that employees know their rights and clear opportunities for individuals to express to the employer their meal-period preference." News Contact: Shani Wright, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-219-0321

**6. WORKPLACE: TEXANS RUNNING BACK PUTS MRI ON TWITTER, A REMINDER OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL SHARING. William J. Ward (a.k.a. "DR4WARD"), professor of practice in social media at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, can talk about Houston Texans running back Arian Foster sharing an MRI scan of his hamstring on Twitter, which violated the team's Twitter policy: "Foster's tweet has the potential to be a multimillion-dollar misstep. By sharing his injury on Twitter, Foster released valuable information that could help opposing teams exploit the situation and develop a strategy to take advantage of Foster and the team's weakness. The early release of this information on social media also has the potential to alter fan attendance, viewing behavior and odds makers' projections on the outcome of games. This is yet another example of people not understanding the dynamics of social sharing or choosing to ignore company social policy, with the consequences having a far-reaching impact beyond the individual act." Here is a related presentation from Ward: http://bit.ly/fy1j0n  Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/dr4ward  News Contact: Wendy S. Loughlin, [email protected] Phone: +1-315-443-2785

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

**1. MINDING YOUR COMMUNICATIONS MANNERS: Beth Monaghan discusses modern phone etiquette: http://bit.ly/nw3i1l

**2. #CONNECTCHAT RECAP: MAKING THE SWITCH FROM JOURNALISM TO PR, PART 2: ProfNet Editor Evelyn Tipacti spotlights marketing expert Michelle Mekky: http://bit.ly/qfXjIp

**3. SMART CARDS: NEXT-LEVEL ENTERPRISE SECURITY: Hilding Arrehed explains how smart cards promote security in the IT environment: http://bit.ly/ru1Gd3

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/PRNewswire – Sept. 6, 2011/

SOURCE ProfNet