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January 31, 2005

(Not So) New COBRA Notice Requirements

So why am I writing about the "new" COBRA notice requirements which aren't so new any more?  I'm finding that a fair number of people don't know what I'm talking about when I mention this.  For those who don't, here's the story....

In May of last year, the DOL issued final regulations under COBRA.  Calendar year plans are required to comply by January 1, 2005.  Generally, the new regulations set forth the details of specific notice requirements that plan administrators are to provide to qualified beneficiaries, that employers are required to provide to plan administrators and that qualified beneficiaries are required to provide to the plan administrator.  They specifically identify two additional notices that are now required and provide two model notices which can be adopted for your particular plan.  Old model notices are no longer compliant.

Many employers who use outside third party administrators may be thinking they have nothing to do, but these new regulations will require changes to SPD and provides detail on the requirements of employers to notify plan administrators or third party COBRA administrator when they learn of qualifying events.  For the real nitty gritty, go right to the regulations.  For a more user-friendly explanation, go here and here.  For MS Word version of the two Model Notices (which obviously must be tailored to the organization) go here.  I'll be doing a seminar on these regulations for LISTnet on Long Island in February.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 10:13 AM | TrackBack

Statehealthfacts.org

The Kaiser Family Foundation hosts this website (www.statehealthfacts.org) which contains free, up-to-date, and easy-to-use health data on all 50 states.  It provides data on more than 450 health topics and is linked to both the Kaiser Family Foundation website (www.kff.org) and KaiserNetwork.org (www.kaisernetwork.org).  For those engaged in benefits planning for their organizations, the Kaiser Foundation's surveys have provided a wealth of valuable information for planning purposes.  This site provides even more information on such subjects as demographics and the economy, health coverage and uninsured, Medicaid and Medicare, health costs and budgets, managed care and health insurance, minority and women's health and HIV/AIDS.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 8:49 AM | TrackBack

January 28, 2005

SOX Whistleblower Litigation

A recent Nixon Peabody Employment Law Alert provides a nice summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower cases.  With all the talk and hype about the availability of whistleblower protection, this article gives the reader a summary of the cases so far and a background on the whistleblower protection under the law, in English.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 8:09 AM | TrackBack

January 26, 2005

When No Change is a Good Thing

A recent article published at Knowledge @ Wharton (registration required) discusses an interesting concept.  The article discusses a study commissioned by Booz Allen concerning the concept of "enduring value."  The study identifies some enduring institutions such as GE, Sony, the US Constitution, the Salvation Army, Dartmouth College and the Rockefeller Foundation, that "share the ability to innovate and adapt, leadership that balances stability and change, and a commitment to excellence."  Ralph Shrader, Booz Allen's CEO stated:

"I would like to challenge the contemporary thinking that something or someone has to be new to be good.  We make a grave mistake when we look at the future with our backs to the past.  The past is what brought us to where we are.... Some of the reasons for the corporate leadership problems we have seen over the last several years [have to do with] overemphasis on things that change and not enough on things that endure..."

The article states what is now almost obvious: that companies such as Enron, et. al. were more focused on the short-term than on long-term viability and shareholder financial well being.  As many of us go into companies in a turnaround situation, we often evaluate performance from the perspective that what was done in the past must be bad or wrong.  Perhaps if we take a step back and look instead at what elements of the firm are consistently "right" over the long haul, we can balance those with the changes we are recommending.  Sometimes people become so enamored with activity for the sake of action, rather than truly understanding what in the past brought value compared with what really needs to be changed.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 6:56 AM | TrackBack

January 24, 2005

Annual OSHA Posting Requirement

As of February1, employers are required to post their annual report of job-related injuries that occurred last year.  This form, 300A, is available here on OSHA's record keeping page  in Adobe PDF or Excel formats.  Employers are required to post the notice from February 1 through April 30th.  Other requirements for covered employers:

For more information about OSHA in general, their website is here at osha.gov.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 6:56 AM | TrackBack

January 21, 2005

Blogger Ethics

I'm reading my morning coffee (thank goodness it's always decaf) and reading my Wall Street Journal and notice the article entitled "When Bloggers Make News" (registration required).  The article discusses the increasing impact of blogs as alternatives to traditional media.  The article further discusses a group of folks who are getting together to discuss a blogger's code of ethics.  Questions include bloggers disclosing the source of income, conflicting standards for journalists who blog, bloggers endorsing the links their sites point to, etc?

As I write this post, I am reminded of several key things that probably inspired most of us to blog to begin with - and I comment from the HR/Employment Law space.  First, I actually enjoy reading unedited or filtered commentary on subjects most of us face every day....  a case in California, an NLRB decision, the latest thinking on HR metrics, etc.  The posts we read are not micromanaged to death by bureaucracies.  How many of us read publications written by writers who have NEVER dealt with some of the serious workplace issues we have been involved in on a regular basis?  I'll leave nameless the newspaper I know with the workplace column written by someone who has never dealt with workplace issues - it's obvious and I can't understand why readers would think it's of value.  Secondly, our blogs represent what we feel is important, interesting, unique or of interest at any given time on any given day.  It's how life unfolds in the real world and the workplace, which is a major component of everyone's lives.  Third, there are no limits to what we discuss.  Most topics chosen are relevant and are sometimes the only place to find a good summary of an issue.  Finally, how many times have we, as professionals, been quoted in the news or written an article, only to find that the published version represents little of what we said or the spirit and intent of our words.

My blog is listed on a variety of listings.  I recently attempted to list my blog on another (which shall also remain nameless).  I received an email back from the "editor" who told me that my blog did not meet their "editorial guidelines."  After reviewing the supposed "guidelines," (which included, among others, nitpicky details on how I was supposed to post and organize my postings), I told the "editor" thanks, but no thanks... I wasn't going to change my blog just to make him happy.  Our blogs are a source of information that we and others find of value, and should not be limited, curtailed, or micromanaged in any way.

On the subject of ethics, I wholeheartedly agree that where we cannot be objective, we should state so, we should let the reader know who we are so they understand our views, and, as the article suggests, publish only what we believe to be true and, of course, correct our mistakes publicly.  But, unlike traditional media, we are not journalists (the article refers to us a "citizen-journalists").  While there have been reports, particularly in the political arena, of false information found on blogs, we also know this to be true in traditional media.

In this space, we are generally people who do this every day and have developed strong opinions and views based on being in the trenches.  Each of our professional reputations as practitioners in this field are built and reinforced slowly every day and we know how easy it is for them to become tarnished.  That's something that most traditional journalists can't touch and serves, to some extent, to self-police all of us. 

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 8:36 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Resources for Employers Operating Internationally

The U.S. Department of State website hosts a tremendous amount of information for employees going abroad.  They publish a quartery report which calculates the costs of living abroad, a wealth of other information including information on  visas, passports,and travel warnings.  If you are an employee planning to travel or live abroad or an employer exploring this staffing option, this website will provide a wealth of information that is updated often.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 6:02 AM | TrackBack

January 19, 2005

More Changes to The Fact Act and the FCRA

The Federal Trade Commission recently issued its final rule and revised notices under the Fact Act (a.k.a. the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act).  The Fact Act amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) which imposes certain obligations on employers who conduct background checks using consumer reporting agencies.   A consumer reporting agency is an entity that collects or evaluates consumer information for a fee in order to furnish background information to third parties.  There are two different kinds of reports:

  1. Consumer reports, which can be oral or written, relate to an individual's character, creditworthiness, reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living and are taken into consideration by employers when considering applicants for employment.
  2. Investigative Consumer Reports are prepared by a consumer reporting agency and include, in addition to the items above, personal interviews with individuals associated with the subject of the report.

When companies use consumer reporting agencies, they must first notify the individual that such a report may be obtained and get that individual's permission.  If any adverse action is taken as a result of the report, the employer must first provide a copy of the written report to the individual and then must wait a period of time before taking the adverse action.  The Summary of Rights, prepared (and recently revised) by the FTC, must be given to the individual who will be the subject of an investigative consumer report at the outset, or at a minimum with the copy of the report prior to taking adverse action.  The FTC's final rule, along with other information about the Fact Act is available here.  These changes are effective January 31, 2005.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 7:07 AM | TrackBack

January 17, 2005

In Observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

The birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. has been observed as a federal holiday on the third Monday in January since 1986. To recall and celebrate the positive contributions to our nation made by people of African descent, American historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week beginning on Feb. 12, 1926. In 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial, the week was expanded into Black History Month.  The U.S. Census has issued this interesting press release which contains a wealth of demographic data about Blacks and African-Americans in the United States.

Initiated by the Atlanta-based The King Center, the Martin Luther, Jr. King Papers Project is one of only a few large-scale research ventures focusing on an African American. In 1985 the King Center's founder and president Coretta Scott King invited Stanford University historian Clayborne Carson to become the Project's director and senior editor. As a result of Dr. Carson's selection, the Project became a cooperative venture of Stanford University, the King Center, and the King Estate. 

The King Papers Project is a major research effort to assemble and disseminate historical information concerning Martin Luther King, Jr. and the social movements in which he participated.   It's principal mission is to publish a definitive fourteen volume edition of King's most significant correspondence, sermons, speeches, published writings, and unpublished manuscripts.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 9:33 AM | TrackBack

January 14, 2005

IRS Retirement Plan Limits

For those of you who missed the IRS announcement of retirement plan limits for 2005 which was released in October, here it is.   Briefly, here are some of the new limits:

For more on the world of benefits, see Janell Grenier's fabulous benefits blog.  You will find more than you can ever imagine you ever needed in the world of benefits.  The link to her blog also appears on the right side of this page.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 5:49 AM | TrackBack

January 13, 2005

Use of Human Capital Measures Predicted to Rise

The recent survey by the Conference Board of human resources executives showed that 84% believe that their use of people measures to meet strategic targets will increase.  According to Stephen Gates, author of the report,

"When determining how best to demonstrate achievement, human resource managers must choose from the hundreds of metrics that are currently available to track every aspect of an HR department's endeavors to recruit, develop, and retain employees. What's imperative for the health of their businesses, however, is that these HR professionals tie these people measures more closely into their efforts to meet their companies' overall strategic targets."

Andrew Marritt of Andrew's Strategic Resources blog (listed on the blog list on the right), a blog dedicated to "HR, recruitment, staffing and employment trends," notes that the study further identifies, however, that only 31 percent of survey participants indicate that their HR executives have a strong understanding of strategic key performance indicators.  Even fewer (25%) consider their HR leaders capable of linking people measures to such indicators.  Further the study indicates that only 22 percent of these HR executives are able to identify strategic talent pools.

The survey shows how to make the case for people measures by overcoming these obstacles:

  1. HR needs adequate information technology to capture people data, yet only 19% of the survey participants believed their IT systems were up to the task.
  2. Internal politics over the perceived value of measurement and what to do with the results that may be critical of a manager's performance.
  3. Who presents the results to senior management?  HR or the line?  According to the survey, delivery by the line greatly enhances credibility of the reports.

My thought:  Strategic human resources management is truly about the ability of an organization to effectively direct the efforts of employees in the direction of the achievement of organizational objectives.  This cannot be done without adequate measurement.  Whether it is the line manager or HR staff that spearheads the process, it should not matter.  Human resources management is everyone's responsibility if organizations are to be most effective.  Organizations that hold themselves and their management accountable will be most successful.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 7:40 AM | TrackBack

January 12, 2005

USERRA Amendments

For those of you who were diligently doing your holiday shopping and missed the changes to USERRA, there are some changes worthy of note.  Specifically, the Uniform Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 has been amended by the Veterans Benefit Improvement Act of 2004 ("VBIA") effective December 10, 2004.  The new law  provides for three major changes:

  1. The law requires that employers provide for elective continuation of employer-sponsored health coverage, similar to COBRA, for service members who would otherwise lose their coverage because of an absence due to service in the military.  The VBIA extends this period from 18 to 24 months.
  2. VBIA now requires employers to provide notice of USERRA rights.  The Department of Labor is required to provide a notice for employers and this posting requirement will go into effect March 10, 2005.
  3. Sometime this year, new regulations will be issued for this law.

For more information on the VBIA, go here.  For more information on USERRA, go here.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 8:04 AM | TrackBack

January 10, 2005

Automatic IRA Rollover Requirements

In March of this year, all qualified plans will need to comply with mandatory rollover requirements.  If a former employee's benefit in the plan is more than $1000 and subject to the plan's cash out provision, the plan must roll over the benefit into an IRA selected by the plan fiduciary unless the employee elects direct payment or directs that the benefit be rolled over to the IRA of his/her choice.  Here is a simple article on this subject to get you started.  This one will help as well.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 9:41 AM | TrackBack

January 7, 2005

Economic Outlook for 2005

A recent article cites some predictions by UPenn professors on the economic outlook for 2005.  Some of their predictions:  3/5 - 4.5% growth in GDP, inflation at the rate of 2.5%, a 6%-10% rise in the stock market, interest rates at 3.5% by the end of the year, and job growth of approximately 200,000/month.  Now the bad news.  These could have a negative effect on the economic outlook for the year:  fewer housing starts, higher  mortgage payments for those who refinanced with ARM's and thus less discretionary spending, the situation in Iraq or another terrorist attack, the deficit, the dollar, and oil prices.  Let's cross our fingers.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 1:31 PM | TrackBack

January 5, 2005

Now it's not IM, it's Internal Networks

A recent article in USA Today cites one of the more interesting threats to corporate networks - not the outsiders, but employees.  Several weeks ago, we discussed the risks of IM in the workplace.  Now it seems that corporations are waking up to the fact that while they have armored themselves against the outside, they may lack the necessary protection on the inside.  One only has to read the headlines to learn about employees stealing the identities of customers, about employees operating file-sharing systems on corporate networks (think music sharing) and the list goes on.  The article cites a Computer Security Institute/FBI study which claims that three-fourths of the financial losses traced to security breaches are from inside the business.  While many organizations have effective policies to address technology in the workplace, we know that many do not.  Moreover, the most effective policies will be the result of a collaboration among legal, human resources and IT staff.  All to often the technology policies will be drafted by one or two of these three and, as a result, fail to address important technological, legal  or human resources implications.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 9:15 AM | TrackBack

January 3, 2005

The NLRB Flips on Unionization of Contingent Workers

A recent opinion by the National Labor Relations Board overturned a ruling from the Clinton era which allowed the Board to include in a bargaining unit, employees who were joint  employees of  a staffing agency and an employer along with the employer's employees.  In Oakwood Care Center 343 NLRB No. 76, Local 1199 of the SEIU sought to organize employees at a New York nursing home.  The union sought to include in the bargaining unit employees who were directly employed by the nursing home and contingent workers who were jointly employed by a staffing agency and the employer.   The Board now reverts back to a long-standing precedent that prohibits inclusion of the contingent workers into a bargaining unit without the employer's consent.  The Board noted that because combining the two groups of employees would result in a multi-employer arrangement, such an arrangement cannot be done without the employer's approval.  The decision is available on the NLRB website here.

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer at 8:00 AM | TrackBack