FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications has hired Maggie Sisco as account coordinator.

In this role, Sisco will focus her work on managing social and traditional media and marketing programs on behalf of agency clients, co-managing the firm’s internship program, and other public relations and multiplatform initiatives for clients in the nonprofit, business, professional services, and other industry sectors.

Sisco joins the agency from The Dow Chemical Company with a diverse background of experience including corporate public affairs; event planning and management; campaign management and freelance work in the political arena.

A previous Tanner Friedman intern, Sisco is a graduate of Central Michigan University, and holds her bachelor’s degree in integrative public relations with a minor in journalism.

Tanner Friedman is a strategic communications firm specializing in traditional and emerging media relations, adversity management and public relations counsel. Tanner Friedman is located in the landmark Tri-Atria Building at 32255 Northwestern Highway, Suite 298, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit tannerfriedman.com.

Grosse Pointe Farms, MI – May 8, 2012 – Scott Advertising, an award-winning communications, marketing and advertising agency, received five prestigious Hermes Creative Awards from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.  The Hermes Creative Awards is an internationally renowned competition that recognizes outstanding achievement in the areas of traditional and emerging marketing communications.

Scott Advertising received the following awards:

• Platinum Award for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Detroit website (viewable at www.svdpdetroit.org)
• Gold Award for the 2010 EyesOn Design Program Book
• Honorable Mentions for A Day in the Life of the Grosse Pointe Public School System book, the Reviderm USA website (viewable at www.revidermusa.com) and a Banking Litigation Direct Mail package produced for Viviano Law

“We are honored that our work was selected among what was certainly a deep field of qualified creative projects,” said Mary Conway Scott, President of Scott Advertising.   “Much credit for these awards must also go to our amazing clients. Without their trust in Scott Advertising, none of these projects would have been possible.”

About Scott Advertising

Scott Advertising is a full-service, strategic communications, creative advertising and media agency. Founded in 2009 by Mary Conway Scott, Scott Advertising has grown a roster of clients from a variety of consumer and business-to-business industries. Scott Advertising is located in the Metropolitan Detroit area and actively participates in several Detroit-based business organizations and philanthropic ventures. The agency has been honored with several awards, including recognition from the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals, and the Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce award for “New Business of Distinction.”  For more information, visit www.scottadvertisinginc.com. 

###

Wolverine Advanced Materials, an industry leading provider of specialty rubber coated materials used in automotive and industrial noise reduction and sealing applications, today announced that it has hired Ronda B. Coogan as its new Vice President of Human Resources.

Coogan will be responsible for the company’s HR practice supporting its 400 employees in five countries.

Coogan’s over 20 year career includes executive level HR positions at companies such as: ASC Inc., a specialty vehicle manufacturer with 10 facilities and 1,200 employees; Cadence Innovation, a $700M interior systems supplier with 12 global facilities and over 4,000 employees; and most recently Cooper Standard Automotive North America, a $1.3 billion operation with 27 facilities in the NAFTA region.

Coogan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Communication and Business from Western Michigan University, and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Development from Siena Heights University.

“Ronda’s broad experience in HR will be an immediate asset to our company and management team,” said Scott Koepke, Wolverine Advanced Materials CEO. “I am confident that her diverse background and experiences will impact us in a very positive way, and add great value to the organization. We look forward to her immediate contributions.”

About Wolverine Advanced Materials www.wamglobal.com
Headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., Wolverine develops, produces and sells performance-critical, specialty materials used in automotive brake noise insulators; gasket and sealing materials for automotive & industrial applications, and NVH (noise, vibration & harshness) damping solutions for automotive powertrain applications. Wolverine has manufacturing operations in Blacksburg, Va., Leesburg, Fla., Germany, and China, as well as Sales & Technical offices in Michigan, Germany, Japan, China, Brazil, and India. The company employs nearly 400 people worldwide.  Wolverine is principally owned by Wynnchurch Capital Partners, a Private Equity firm headquartered in Chicago, IL.

About Wynnchurch Capital
Located in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois and founded in 1999, Wynnchurch Capital is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurch’s strategy is to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada which have outstanding management teams and possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch Capital manages a number of private equity funds with capital under management in excess of $1 billion specializing in management buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate carve-outs, restructurings and growth capital. More information on Wynnchurch Capital can be found at www.wynnchurch.com

Detroit Employment Attorney Shares EEOC’s ‘Hot List’ for Employers

Unemployed, Dishonorably Discharged Veterans, Criminal Background Checks Included

Detroit, Mich. ---May 7, 2012 --- Employment attorney Linda G. Burwell of Detroit-based employment law firm Nemeth Burwell, P.C., says the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), empowered in recent years with additional staffing and funding to pursue a variety of employment discrimination claims, has a growing ‘hot list’ that employers should be aware of to avoid non-compliance issues.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The EEOC also enforces laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a person who filed a discrimination complaint or participated in an investigation or lawsuit regarding employment discrimination. EEOC laws generally apply to employers with at least 15 employees (20 employees in age discrimination cases), and include most labor unions and employment agencies.

“The EEOC doesn’t make laws, it enforces them,” explains Burwell. “But it is commonplace for law to be made as a result of the cases that the EEOC investigates; that’s an important reason why employers need to be very familiar with EEOC guidelines. Otherwise, they not only run the risk of non-compliance with federal employment laws, which can result in EEOC investigations, hefty fines and overall workplace disruption, but the introduction of additional laws governing the workplace.”

Burwell says the EEOC historically has a ‘hot list’ of areas targeted for employer abuse that arise from economic conditions and/or societal shifts. The EEOC’s current hot list is comprised of the following categories:

• The unemployed
• Criminal background checks
• Credit checks
• Dishonorably discharged veterans
• Jobs requiring high school diplomas
• Workers with caregiver responsibilities
• Equal pay
• Leave of absence policies

“The recession has been the impetus for heightened awareness of the unemployed, as several employers throughout the nation have been alleged to discriminate by hiring only those currently working,” notes Burwell. “The EEOC is also alarmed by employers who include a high school diploma as a job requirement when it’s not a bona fide occupational qualification, a credit check for applicants that will not be handling money, or refusal to hire dishonorably charged veterans, even when the discharge does not reflect an inability to perform a job.”

Another area of concern, criminal background checks, has gained the attention of the EEOC because of what could be deemed to be unreliable information, according to Burwell.

“An EEOC case is currently in the news in Michigan because a man claims he was fired from his job and branded a sexual predator due to inaccurate information in the state’s Oakland County sex offender conviction records. This case is a perfect example,” says Burwell.

Burwell cautions employers to avoid running afoul of the EEOC by analyzing the job openings they aim to fill, noting that the requirements need to be reviewed on an individual basis and tailored to that job; otherwise, employers may eliminate qualified candidates.  Regarding employees with caregiver responsibilities or on leave of absence, Burwell explains the EEOC is concerned with both men and women facing unlawful discrimination on account of pregnancy or because of their efforts to balance work and family responsibilities.

Lastly, the equal pay issue is almost always on the EEOC’s hot list.

“Employers are required to provide equal pay for equal work. This is an ongoing concern of the EEOC,” concludes Burwell.

About Nemeth Burwell, P.C.: Celebrating 20 years in 2012, Nemeth Burwell (www.nemethburwell.com) specializes in employment litigation, traditional labor law and management consultation for private and public sector employers.   It is the largest women-owned law firm in Michigan to exclusively represent management in the prevention, resolution and litigation of labor and employment disputes.

-end-