Take Note

Less Time Spent on the Job Jobs held by American men and women take substantially less time today than in 1965. A new book, "Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time," reports the average woman put in 31 hours per week of paid time in 1995, down from 37 hours 30 years earlier. For the average man it was 40 hours compared to 46.5 hours in the mid-60s. Women, however, still do two-thirds of the childcare and housework. Next Generation of CEOs Might be Women More women are considering a career in business, so it's not surprising that 25 percent of family businesses say they plan to choose a woman as chief executive officer -- that's five times the 4.7 percent of such businesses now headed by women, according to a survey by Arthur Andersen and Mass Mutual American. The study also found almost half the respondents expect their businesses to have joint CEOs in the next generation.

There Is Such a Thing as a Paid Lunch Workers required to stay on premises during meal breaks must be paid just as if they were working. That's the ruling from a federal appeals court in Boston, MA, in awarding $14.5 million in back pay and damages to 1,500 employees of Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. In Connecticut, a state enforcement action has prompted Wal- Mart to pay 933 workers $325,192 in back wages. The action involved pay for night restockers who weren't allowed to leave stores during meal breaks. Wal-Mart said it kept workers around to guard against theft and to assure employee safety.