Here’s the deal: L’Auberge Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel has begun accepting applications for a dealer school it’s hosting to teach blackjack, poker, craps and roulette. Training will begin on May 14, with day and evening classes offered, and those selected will be required to take 11 weeks of courses. Being selected for the school does not guarantee a position at the casino. Applications will be accepted now through May 4 at the L’Auberge website here, as well as at the casino’s employment center at 8000 GSRI Ave., building 3100. L’Auberge, which will open by Labor Day, is expected to employ roughly 1,000 people.
Walk the line: Chinese workers who often spend more than 60 hours per week assembling iPhones and iPads will have their overtime hours curbed and their pay increased after a labor auditor hired by Apple inspected their factories. The Fair Labor Association says Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the Taiwanese company also known as Foxconn that runs the factories in China, is committing to a reduction of weekly work time to 49 hours, the legal Chinese maximum. That limit is routinely ignored in factories throughout China. FLA CEO Auret van Heerden says Foxconn is the first Chinese company to commit to following the legal standard. Apple’s and FLA’s own guidelines call for a workweek of 60 hours or less.
The high price of pastels: Easter egg painting has become something of a luxury for European children this year as the egg industry has been hit by the European Union’s new requirements for bigger, more animal-friendly cages for hens. The changes have limited production and, combined with high feed costs, boosted consumer prices—sometimes by as much as three times typical prices. The European Egg Processors Association says that EU-wide production of eggs since the Jan. 1 legislative change has dropped by 10% to 15%, or about 200 million eggs per week. Prices are peaking at over 2 euros ($2.60) per kilogram, says Philip Van Bosstraeten of Ovobel, an international company that makes equipment for egg processing. Get the full story from The Associated Press here.
Today’s poll question: Do you agree with the U.S. Senate’s vote on Thursday to kill a bill that would have removed some tax breaks for the nation’s largest oil companies?
