Bad Grades = No Job
A two-year-old business-and-education alliance, Making Academics Count, reports it has reached a goal: Over 10,000 businesses now request high school transcripts from students and recent grads looking for work. Those with bad grades and lax attendance records are not hired, the group says. The group's goal: To send the message that commitment to school matters, even in today's booming job market.

Small Businesses Lack Retirement Plans
Of the 7.6 million U.S. companies with fewer than 100 employees, 80% don't offer retirement plans, according to a new study. More than half the small companies say they don't foresee starting a plan. A third of them, however, report that they will start an employee retirement plan within the next two years.

Harvard Biz Grads Drawn to Tech Jobs
This year's graduates of Harvard Business School, traditionally able to take their pick of plum jobs, chose more technology jobs than ever, according to the school's newspaper. Consulting was still the top career choice with 22%, but tech was right behind with 20%. As recently as 1995 no Harvard Business grad had gone to an Internet company; this year 12% of the class did.

Umps Make Their Case
Major League Baseball umpires have filed an "unfair labor practices" brief with the National Labor Relations Board, saying that recent changes to the strike zone and the decision to stop using former umps to evaluate current umpires were foul play. On September 2, 22 umpires are scheduled to be let go by the leagues. The board has not yet decided whether it will issue a complaint, which could allow the fired umps to stay on the job.