ECC Awarded Pacific Business News' 2011 Healthiest Employer

BURLINGAME, Calif., Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Just two months after being recognized as a Top Workplace in the Bay Area by the San Jose Mercury News, ECC was named Pacific Business News' 2011 Healthiest Employer in Hawaii during an awards ceremony held at the Sheraton Waikiki.

ECC placed first out of 10 companies competing for the title of the Healthiest Workplace for businesses with under 50 employees in Hawaii. Companies were evaluated in six key categories, including culture and leadership commitment, foundational components, strategic planning, communication and marketing, programming and interventions, and reporting and analysis.

"Employee wellness clearly leads to a happier life experience and contributes to making ECC a Great Place to Work, which is one of the three vision statements guiding our Team," says Paul Sabharwal, ECC Chairman of the Board. "The idea of protecting and enhancing the health and well-being of each and every employee is woven into the very fabric of our organization. Being recognized as one of the healthiest employers in Hawaii highlights our never ending journey to celebrate the efforts our employee-owners expend each day to lead a safe and healthy lifestyle in the workplace and at home. "

Dr. Sarah Cunningham, OTD, OTR/L, CDE, ECC's Corporate Wellness Manager added, "With a 70 percent employee participation rate companywide, not only have we seen a boost in morale, productivity, and camaraderie among employees--as well as lower health insurance costs for the company--we have also made significant progress on an individual health behavior change level."

Since 2008, employees company-wide have lost more than 3,582 pounds of fat mass and decreased their intake of prescriptions for preventable conditions, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and cholesterol. Forty-two individuals have successfully quit smoking without relapse.

ECC's Wellness Program is promoted through awareness, education, action, advocacy, and sustainability. It assists employees and their families in making voluntary, positive health changes that reduce health risks and enhance well-being.

Established in 1985, ECC is an employee-owned company that delivers its clients' missions, including renewable energy, design-build, construction, operation and maintenance, environmental remediation, and munitions response services. ECC serves several U.S. government agencies, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Department of State, and Department of Energy. Established in 1996, ECC's Hawaii office serves clients on projects throughout the Pacific. ECC is Hiring! For more information, please visit http://www.ecc.net . ECC--Never Compromising Safety

Bay Area Business Leaders Joined a State Legislator

Bay Area business leaders joined a state legislator from the South Bay today to call on Gov. Jerry Brown to reinstate funding for California's statewide education data system.

State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, joined Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored public policy organization, to push for the governor to reverse the proposed cuts, part of his revised budget plan released last month.

Brown proposed to suspend about $8.5 million in federal funding for the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, CALPADS, as well as CALTIDES, its sister program to track teacher performance.

The programs have been developed in the past decade and would allow officials to better track student achievement over time, more accurately calculate graduation and dropout rates, and help local districts learn about best practices from elsewhere in the state.

Wunderman said the programs are already in place in various parts of the state and are ready to be rolled out statewide by next year, so the suspension of funding for it does not make sense.

"We're at a point where we're right about to the goal line in fully implementing the system," he said. "It seems extremely questionable when we've come this far down the road to take a step back and undo so much of what's already been done."

Simitian, whose 2006 legislation authorized the creation of CALTIDES, said even in bad budgetary times, the data systems make sense because they help officials see how effective various programs and policies are for students.

"Right now we spend tens of billions of dollars of public funds without the ability to really say why that is a value to the taxpayer," he said. "Districts are being forced to make hard choices, and (with these systems) they can make the choices with the best value."

A spokesman for Brown was not immediately available for comment, but in his revised budget proposal released in May, the governor said he wants to suspend funding for the programs because they do not adequately address problems with testing and data collection in the state's public schools.

In the budget proposal document, Brown's administration said, "Testing takes huge amounts of time from classroom instruction. Data collection requirements are cumbersome and do not provide timely--and therefore usable--information back to schools. Teachers are forced to curb their own creativity and engagement with students as they focus on teaching to the test."

Brown's administration proposed suspending the funding for the programs while looking at possible reforms, including reducing the amount of time devoted to state testing in schools and restoring power to local school districts, teachers and parents.

However, opponents of Brown's proposal said eliminating the programs could put other current and future federal funding for California's schools at risk since much of it requires states having systems to track student data.

"We're asking the governor not to cancel or put on hold" funding for the systems, Wunderman said. "We feel very strongly that if it's put on hold, it will in effect kill the system."

Progressive Insurance Plans to Hire 110 Workers by the End of June

To handle a growing customer base, Progressive Insurance plans to hire 110 workers by the end of June at its call center in southern Hillsborough County, the auto insurer said Tuesday.

"The number of policyholders we have continues to grow," company spokeswoman Leah Knapp said, citing a 6 percent increase in auto policies and 5 percent increase in special lines policies compared to a year ago.

Progressive currently has about 2,300 employees at the Riverview center. The complex is the company's second-largest customer service location, after its headquarters and flagship customer service operation in Cleveland.

The new jobs, which involve selling auto policies and answering customer questions, would pay in the $12- to $15-per-hour range, Knapp said.To find out more about available positions, go to jobs.progressive.com