On December 11, 2020, members of NECA’s Northern California Chapter met with Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.)

1. Hearing on Expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the issue of paid family leave. This hearing examined the different ways that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) could be updated to best benefit employees, employers, and the American economy. Among suggested updates are expanding eligibilty under the FMLA, reducing exclusions, promoting tax cuts to businesses that provide paid leave, and increasing employee access to additional paid leave options.

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA will continue to monitor this issue as different solutions to paid family and medical leave are presented, working with legislators to reduce the impact on the electrical construction industry. 

2. President Trump Releases Budget Proposal to Congress 

On March 11, 2019, President Donald Trump released his budget proposal to Congress, “A Budget for America’s Future”. The budget and detailed summaries are found here. 

NECA’s Look Ahead: The President’s budget in its current form will not be passed by Congress to become law. The budget is largely seen as a political document. Regarding government funding, the House is expected to introduce the twelve appropriations bills in Subcommittee by the end of April, with the full committee hearings expected in May. The goal is to pass the twelve bills through the House by July. The Senate is expected to pass their version in June.

3. Your Vote Counts!

The 2020 state primary elections are coming up, so be sure to make your vote count! NECA contractors are uniquely positioned to play an important part in our nation's electoral process. NECA is a diverse organization comprised of many voices and election day is your opportunity to make your voice heard.  

NECA’s Look Ahead: Be sure you are registered to vote in your state before election day and research the candidates on your ballot to see where they stand on issues important to you.

On February 24, 2020, a member of NECA’s San Diego Chapter met with Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.)

On April 8, 2020, members of NECA’s San Diego Chapter met with Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.)

Microsoft is changing its OneDrive storage plan. The changes include the removal of the unlimited storage plan.

Read more on howtoweb.com

Microsoft sent around an internal memo banning April Fools pranks.

Read more on howtoweb.com

Eidos Montreal's Mary DeMarle chats about art and business of writing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, a game about conspiracy theories, terrorism, and fear released into a world awash in the same. ...

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The post Microsoft Teams vs. Zoom: Which Tool Should I Use and When? appeared first on Anders CPAs.

One of the biggest areas of CARES Act that benefits businesses is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). With big benefits, comes many questions around one detail specifically: loan forgiveness.
Which loan expenses are forgivable?
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The post Using PPP Loan Proceeds to Maximize Loan Forgiveness appeared first on Anders CPAs.

We're currently working on an unannounced PC/console title (with an exciting pedigree), and need help bringing the game world to life. If you love building levels and bringing worlds to life for players, read on!Responsibilities Creating interesting, lived-in worlds with clever world building in Unreal Engine. Placing environment assets, VFX, lighting, and so on Establishing and maintaining technical requirements for environment assets and levels Working closely with designers to iterate on and finalize level layouts Utilization of 3DS Max or Maya, Photoshop, and other related tools to author environment assets Working with art leadership to review, critique and iterate on work Required Familiarity with the usual tools of the trade: modeling tools, game engines, source control, and so on. A keen willingness to adapt work as design iterates or evolves A do-whatever-it-takes mindset: flexibility to learn and grow to fill the needs of a small team Good understanding of how to create believable and visually memorable levels Good understanding optimization needs and other technical requirements regarding performance 5+ years of experience, demonstrating the above responsibilities in action Must be immediately eligible to work in the United States Pluses Titles shipped using Unreal Titles shipped across major platforms Affinity to learning new tools and techs Proficiency creating hand-painted textures Please note, due to a high volume of applicants we cannot reply to each individually. Only those in consideration for a position will receive a reply. Thank you!

Skydance Interactive – developers of the hit game The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners –is looking for Senior Software Engineers with specialties in AI, graphics, and low-level systems to help develop our next generation of groundbreaking games.   Duties include, but are not limited to: Direct development of major game systems and engine architecture Create efficient systems to deliver top tier experiences across a range of established and emerging platforms Research and implement new technologies to push the boundaries of what our engine can achieve Collaborate with the art and design teams to plan features and extend the overall vision of the game Advise and mentor other members of the engineering team Promote strong code discipline and engineering practice throughout the organization Work with other leads and producers to establish game related tasks and schedules Provide critical analysis of development practices with the goal of improving game quality, team efficiency, and cultivating a positive working environment Help drive the product to completion with the highest standards of quality, performance, and polish Requirements: BS/MS in Computer Science or related fields, or equivalent experience Mastery of C++11 Minimum of 5 years’ experience in AAA game development Previous leadership experience or demonstrated leadership potential Experience working with Unreal Engine 4 Shipped at least one PC/Console or VR game using UE4 Experience with code and data optimization Experience in the design and architecture of game systems Comfortable working within (and extending) an established code framework 

We're currently working on an unannounced PC/console title featuring a new and original IP, and need a veteran gameplay programmer to help bring it to life. If you've got the experience and enjoy working with a focused group of talented and passionate game devs, then we're the place for you. RESPONSIBILITIES: Gather requirements based on stakeholder input Provide reasonable time estimates, and communicate when adjustments are needed Collaborate iteratively with designers, artists and other team members to deliver polished gameplay Create internal tools as needed to improve and support workflow Deliver clean, efficient and well-documented code Fearlessly and relentlessly debug difficult problems   REQUIREMENTS: Experience on at least one commercial game title At least 3-5 years commercial game development experience Solid knowledge and experience using C++ Motivated self-starter; complete tasks without intense supervision Good oral and written communication skills Proof of eligibility to work in the United States   PLUSES: Experience working with Unreal 4 Experience working on a live-service game Multiplayer programming experience in Unreal 4 Latest generation console development experience Recent time travel SOME OF THE BENEFITS WE OFFER: Full health benefits including medical, dental and vision Profit sharing Generous PTO PLUS... Office movie lunches Snacks on snacks on snacks Ping Pong with a leaderboard One sick mame cabinet Please note, due to a high volume of applicants we cannot reply to each individually. Only those in consideration for a position will receive a reply. Thank you!

Franchises lost the fewest jobs, but overall the unemployment number was unprecedented.

A new series called Stories in Place on Vimeo shares the stories of small businesses across the US dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of our small business community have tips for transforming your business in 2020.

Companies that already have or intend to invest in Microsoft 365 can save significant time and money by simply learning to configure and deploy various tools and features already included in Microsoft 365 to help meet privacy requirements

Support organizations that can leverage the power of the smartphone in order to transform their contact center can not only gain key insights to help streamline support operations but can also make agents more effective

One of the most impactful innovations in IT is the democratization of the application development process

There is still a lot of speculation around Microsoft's new knowledge management service, Project Cortex

IoT devices are starting to impact the personal lives of consumers, but the part of the economy likely to be most affected in the 2020s will be the industrial sector

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Humble's latest charitable bundle has ended its run, and raised over $6.5 million for COVID-19 relief efforts in the process. ...

For Celia Hodent, a psychology PhD, author, and freelance user experience consultant whose credits include Fortnite, Assassin's Creed games, and more, UX is everywhere. ...

NYCDOT's objective is to deliver widely scattered but valuable information to the appropriate users and departments at the right time and in the right context

Efficient IT infrastructure supports the group's global growth strategy

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The post Optimize the Revenue Cycle to Increase Profit without Adding Patients appeared first on Anders CPAs.

Many physicians are aware that the medical services they provide are typically exempt from sales tax. However, the physician may still be required to pay sales or use tax in his or her medical practice. The liability depends on the… Read More

The post Are Physicians Exempt from Sales and Use Tax in Missouri and Illinois? appeared first on Anders CPAs.

I am a firm believer in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. If you've not read this book, it is worth the time. I mention this because my focus at BA Insight is around Covey's second habit, which is, "Begin with the end in mind." Seems simple, right? Well it is, but it's also quite rare. When approaching any enterprise search project, at any phase, I always try to come back to this idea. What is success? When are we done? What does finished look like? These are all different ways of saying, "Make sure you have goals!"

The milestone comes as Epic doubles down on the social elements of Fortnite with additions like the combat-free Party Royale mode and last month's in-game Travis Scott concert. ...

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, September's Tokyo Game Show 2020 has been cancelled, organizers announced Thursday. ...

Developer Chris Crawford bemoans the industry's short-sighted outlook, and suggests it might be better to plant oaks than short-lived weeds. ...

Customer data management solution cleans and enriches dynamics data and provides actionable insights

Enabling the new login gives access to full text content

Igloo's extensive catalog of training courses and self-serve resources is now available to all customers and end users so teams can make the most of their digital workplace

NERC Outlines Three Pandemic Timelines aconstanza Wed, 04/29/2020 - 23:51

Executive Order Has Major Ramifications for Utilities aconstanza Wed, 05/06/2020 - 15:08

As the name suggests, Whiteboard Capital bet on founders even before their business plan is finalised and to help them refine their products, even if it means changing the model.

It is quite common for established companies to have their names changed for reasons varying from business expansion and mergers and acquisitions to new identity and brand crises.

Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, had talked about the theory of Survival of the Fittest. Well it appears that in this rapidly evolving world of marketing, only those brands will survive, which are the ‘Useful-est’!

Pune based IT Company Destek Infosolutions Pvt Ltd has raised an amount of 2 Million in seed funding round for one of its platforms, LegalNextt - An Extensi...

It is impractical for one or a small group of company executives to collect, and process all the information regarding the imminent threat of Covid-19 infection in their area or among their staff.

CFOs have a central role to play during the financial crisis since they are the leader of the company who directly contributes to the organization's financial health.

As a member of the Global Task Force for public media, we would like to add our salute to the essential service being provided at this time by public broadcasters around the world. 

Maralinga Tjarutja shines a spotlight on the people who have lived on their lands for over 60,000 years. While it’s a story of deep tragedy, it also celebrates their incredible resilience.

The ABC TOP 5 scheme has been expanded to artists and arts scholars for the first time, to help train Australia’s next generation of researchers in the art of sharing their wisdom with the nation.

Brand equity: Tete-a-tete with Vice Media’s Shane Smith

Xiaomi India Managing Director said that the company does not collect any user data that the user has not explicitly given permission or consent to. He added that in the browser's incognito mode, all user data is completely encrypted and anonymised. He also pointed out that all Mi Browser and Mi Cloud data of Indian users is stored locally in AWS servers in India.