Author: Site Staff

Louis Green, CEO of the Detroit-based Michigan Minority Business Development Council, seeks to improve business opportunities for the1,311 minority-owned businesses and 450 corporations headquartered in Michigan that conduct $15.5 billion worth of business in America. Green said that while some local business leaders are pursuing diversity opportunities, for the region to “reach full potential economically, we’ve got to get everyone engaged.” How does a region become engaged? Follow the leaders—people who already champion diversity in their businesses and the community. Here are 10 examples of the region’s diversity champions and mentors. It is by no means a complete list, but it highlights the work at a variety of organizations, big and small.

Gail Sparks Pitts Controller, Oakland Community College Chairwoman, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants Volunteering to oversee activities in the 17,000-member Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants takes a big commitment in time and talent. Yet Pitts, 52, the first African-American woman to hold the position, believes she can use the combined clout to reach inner-city youths. “Every business needs a CPA. You do problem-solving, not just math,” said Pitts. Pitts said she seeks to raise awareness of the profession. Her organization helps sponsor a high school leadership conference where students have a chance to interact with professionals who encourage them to take math and science courses and achieve good grades. “Our youth see lawyers and doctors on television. We are real world. Every business needs a CPA or they won’t be in business long. The probability of employment is tremendous.”

Monica Emerson Executive director, Global Diversity Office, Chrysler L.L.C. Boards: Oakland University, Focus: Hope, Executive Leadership Council(Chrysler), board of advisers of nonprofit Catalyst Emerson, 58, is the executive director of the newly established globaldiversity office for Chrysler, which includes a facilitator role for the global diversity council comprised of the top leaders of the company. Her office also oversees six affinity groups representing diverse populations. Emerson said the corporation wants its team to reflect the car-buying public, which is increasingly diverse, and to be seen as an employer of choice by people of all its constituent groups. Emerson has been a frequent speaker at human resources and diversity conferences around the country and internationally. She encouragesmanagers to mentor young staff members and to mentor across differentdemographics and cultures. “I’ve had Asian employees that I’ve mentored and learned as much fromthem as hopefully they have learned from me. In any experience, you have two people growing together,” she said. Those experiences helped structure a mentoring program. She suggests having a network of mentors, one for balancing work and home, one for inching up the corporate ladder and another for individual skills.

Lawrence Almeda Shareholder and partner, Brinks Hofer, Gilson and Lione Ann Arbor office Boards: Governor’s Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs,U.S. Commission on Civil Rights As a patent attorney and shareholder in a 90-year-old law firm, Almeda, 40, seeks to expand his outreach by becoming active indiversity panels for the state and the region. The timing is ripe,Almeda said. “This is a global world,” he said. “High school students are studyingMandarin. They are gaining more awareness of Asians, but Asian historyisn’t taught in our schools.” Almeda’s parents emigrated from Manila in the Philippine Islands in1961. He grew up in Rochester Hills. “Asians are seen as the model minority, which is not a positive term.It means someone who doesn’t speak up, works hard and doesn’t complain. It maintains the bamboo ceiling,” he said. He hopes with civic involvement to help elect more Asian-American judges and politicians. He hopes he can make a difference in the fortunes of Chinese and Pacific Rim business owners coming to America.

Lisa Ip Founder and CEO, Uniforce Insurance Madison Heights Affiliations: Chinese Restaurant Association, Parkway Christian School Finding jobs—particularly for Asian-Americans—is the prime focus for Lisa Ip, 39, CEO of Uniforce Insurance. She recently formed a business partnership with Luther Ellis, a former defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, who is half Samoan. Together they expect to launch an insurance training institute and call center in Harper Woods. “We’re looking to recruit in the Hmong, Korean, Filipino and Eskimo communities. We plan to tap other ethnic groups as well because people tend to buy insurance from people who understand their culture and heritage,” Ip said. Ip was 9 years old when her father gave up his company called Uniforce in the Philippines and moved the family to Detroit. She worked her way through college as an insurance agent, earning so much in commissions she quit before graduation and opened her own agency in 1994. Uniforce became its name and her father its chief mentor. With a careful eye to details, she turned a $2,000 investment into a six-figure auto and home insurance agency. This month she is poised to double the size of the sales force and build out a call center for up to 250 people.

Angerine Jacqueline Gant Executive director, Native American Business Alliance Bingham Farms Member, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Michigan Minority BusinessAssociation and the National Association of Women Business Owners Harvard-educated Jackie Gant, 47, is weary of being asked what percentage of business affiliated with the Native American Business Alliance concerns the casinos. It waves a red flag to the executive director, who struggles for higher visibility in segments such as automotive, logistics and technology. “We don’t get the spotlight and recognition that other minority groupsmay get,” said Gant, whose job for the past four years is to work withcorporations and businesses for expanded procurement and jobpossibilities. With 300 company memberships and a database of 12,000 business people, her roster includes Rush Trucking, SystrandManufacturing, Choctaw-Kaul Distribution Co. and Arrowhead Logistics. But the bigger work is education, helping prepare entrepreneurs to compete in a global economy. The alliance is teaming with Michigan State University this spring for an on-campus business boot camp. Classes will include infrastructure development, accounting, management, patent and technology support, and a written businessplan.

Richard Schott II Executive director, North American Indian Association of Detroit Inc. Detroit Member, Kahnahwake Mohawk Territory, Quebec The door to diversity and opportunity is more perilous for American Indians than almost any ethnic group, according to Schott, 46, the executive director of the North American Indian Association of DetroitInc. With a seven-member staff, the oldest urban American Indian organization in the United States works daily to help clients overcomechallenges to job placement. “People leave the reservation, come to the city for a better way to take care of their families and experience a lot of shell shock,” saidSchott, noting that 30 percent of the 85 to 93 clients seen by his office face hurdles complicated by loneliness. With an office near Plymouth and Telegraph roads on Detroit’s west side, Schott and his team function as an open door. The 501(c)(3) charity funnels federal,state and municipal grants. It provides General Educational Development classes and job coaching for clients. Intake workers helproute top candidates to computer, trucking and skilled trades training classes or find resources for housing, substance abuse and medical needs.

Eric Cedo Co-owner, Brain Gain Marketing Troy Boards: Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs   Good mentoring has helped boost Cedo, 33, up the networking ladderwith his company, Brain Gain Marketing. The company conducts social media and Web-related business for Campbell-Ewald, the state of Michigan, ArtServe Michigan and other creative clients. Cedo said he would never have achieved $300,000 annual sales and sevenemployees without the groundwork of other Hispanic business leaders. Now he’s trying to pay it forward to up-and-coming workers. People who helped Cedo include Freddie Feliciano, president of theHispanic Business Alliance of Detroit; Maria Elena Rodriguez, president of the Mexicantown Community DevelopmentCorp.; and LizbethArdisana, CEO of ASG Renaissance. Cedo, the former director of Create Detroit, in the fall of 2006teamed with investors Robert Porcher, formerly of the Detroit Lions,and Aaron Alston of Candor Marketing to devise ways to keep young talent in Michigan. Cedo was included in a young diversity panel at the Detroit RegionalChamber’s Mackinac Conference in 2005, representing Hispanic interests. Mentor Ardisana suggested Cedo learn more about his PuertoRican roots so he could move with more fluency through Spanish-speaking cultures, so he took a trip there. Mentorship paybacks are fun for Cedo. He helps rising stars throughhis Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group by cell phone, suggesting the best social networking sites and job banks. “I believe that working together we’ll help this community grow and compete globally.”

Linda Forte Chief diversity officer and senior vice president, business affairs, Comerica Bank Detroit office Boards: Chairwoman, Michigan Women’s Foundation; president, Renaissance chapter of The Links, Detroit Economic Development Corp.;Women’s Caring Program; United Negro College Foundation; and others. This month, Forte, 53, the chief diversity officer of Comerica, takeshonors as one of three role models feted in a banquet sponsored by nonprofit Alternatives for Girls. She is the public face for the bankthat has received diversity awards from Hispanic, African-American and women’s organizations. She was listed among Crain’s Most Influential Women in 2007. She helped nurture an annual series of entrepreneurship seminars for females and minorities in tandem with the U.S. Small Business Association. Inside the bank, she helps monitor committees and affinity groups. What gives her the most satisfaction? Forte said it is the Young Womenfor Change program coordinated by the Michigan Women’s Foundation. Itprovides six groups of high school girls around Michigan a yearlong experience in philanthropy and leadership. “We are all responsible for making Southeast Michigan a more attractive place to be,” Forte said.

Frank Jonna CEO, Jonna Cos. Southfield Boards: Chaldean America Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Central High School and the Henry Ford Health Foundation The Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce is on a mission to attract 1,000 members to its ranks in 2008, drawing upon an emerging number of physicians, software developers, legal professionals, hospitality workers and developers, according to Jonna, 58, vice chairman and CEO of the Jonna Cos. in Southfield. “Until the 1980s and 1990s, most of the Christian immigrants from Iraq worked in retail trades. Slowly the community evolved to different fields,” said Jonna. His brother, James, now chairman of the board, started Jonna Construction in 1965. Today, the company employs 20 people in its headquarters and 20 in the field and works on construction projects worth $30 million annually. Jonna’s wife, Judy, oversees the property management division. Jonna also gives generously to charities funneled through the Chaldean chamber.

Molly Padovini General manager, Jaguar-Land Rover Lakeside Macomb Township Boards: Former president and one of the founders of the Automotive Women’s Alliance At a recent Land Rover dealer meeting, Padovini, 47, was one of 10women among 120 people in the room. She takes pride in overseeing the2007 construction and grand opening of a $15 million, 45,000-square-foot dealership featuring both Jaguar and Land Rover showrooms under one roof in Macomb Township. Padovini, general manager of the Jaguar and Land Rover campus at Halland Romeo Plank roads, plays a pivotal role in the Elder Automotive Group run by CEO Irma Elder. The $480 million operation includes 10 dealerships in locations such as Troy, Tampa and Macomb Township. Shegot her start as a saleswoman, moving up to service manager in the early 1990s—one of the first women in the Detroit area to command the post. Recognizing the need to bring other women into management ranks asElder had helped her, Padovini became part of a team that incorporatedAutomotive Women’s Alliance in 2001 and helped it grow to more than 200 members before stepping down to oversee the dealership construction. Working for Elder, the first female owner of a Ford dealership who isknown internationally for breaking the gender barrier, has been exciting for Padovini. “I work for an awesome family that is dedicatedto its employees and its customers. They have allowed me to learn a lot and to mentor others along the way.”

According to the 2006 Diversity Survey by the American Society of Employers, 22 percent of the 113 Detroit area companies that were surveyed report having a formal diversity policy in place. Of this 22 percent:

• 81 percent have diversity recruitment.
• 73 percent have diversity training for managers.
• 62 percent engage in outreach with local diversity organizations.
• 58 percent have diversity training for their employees.

Two cities have been selected as test sites for a health care payment model based entirely on evidence-based medical guidelines.

Prometheus Payment Inc. has selected Rockford, Illinois, and Minneapolis as the initial pilot test sites. It will work with local health care coalitions and existing health plan payment systems. Two other locations will be announced soon and the experimental payment system will be implemented in all four locations by January 2009.

The payment model, which was developed by a group of experts in health care economics, law, policy, health plan operations and performance measurement, has also received a $6.4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which will help fund the pilot program.

Washington-based Prometheus Payment will pay providers based on what it costs to deliver only the care that it says science has proved to be appropriate for specified conditions. This differs from traditional fee-for-service, which critics say encourages high volumes of service, and capitation, which can induce health care insurance providers to limit access to care.

For more information, visit www.prometheuspayment.org.

Filed by Joanne Wojcik of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited United Airlines for multiple “serious, willful and repeat violations” of federal workplace safety laws, proposing fines totaling $192,500.

The 44 violations announced Tuesday, May 20, were discovered during a November inspection of the Chicago-based carrier’s operations at O’Hare International Airport. Violations included a failure to conduct an asbestos survey, improper design of flammable liquid storage cabinets and rooms and inappropriately labeled containers of hazardous chemicals.

“These violations should not exist at any work site,” Diane Turek, director of OSHA’S Chicago office, said in a statement. “They are problems that can be avoided if an employer is dedicated to protecting employees. Employers must remain dedicated to keeping the workplace safe and healthful or face close scrutiny by this agency.”

“There is nothing more important than the safety of employees and customers, and United considers this assessment an opportunity to focus on strengthening key areas of workplace safety,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.

This is the second time this month that United has run afoul of OSHA regulations. The Chicago-based carrier was cited on May 2 for 44 violations that carried proposed fines totaling $215,000.

Filed by Lorene Yue of Crain’s Chicago Business, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act into law Wednesday, May 21.

The new law prohibits employers from firing, refusing to hire or otherwise discriminating against workers on the basis of genetic information. It also bans health insurers or group health plans from basing eligibility determinations or adjusting premiums or contributions on the basis of genetic information, and it forbids the disclosure of genetic information.

The new law “protects our citizens from having genetic information misused, and this bill does so without undermining the basic premise of the insurance industry,” President Bush said in a statement released by the White House shortly after he signed the bill.

The president of America’s Health Insurance Plans issued a statement praising the action.

“With this landmark bipartisan legislation, Congress and the president have taken strong action to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s genetic makeup and to protect patients’ privacy as they pursue genetic evaluations,” said AHIP president Karen Ignagni. “This legislation also ensures that patients can continue to benefit from health plans’ innovative early detection and care coordination programs that improve the safety and quality of care.”

A longtime proponent of the law said its enactment would promote better disease management.

“Individuals no longer have to worry about being discriminated against on the basis of their genetic information, and with this assurance, the promise of genetic testing and disease management and prevention can be realized more fully,” Sharon Terry, president of the Coalition for Genetic Fairness, said in a statement.

The legislation prohibiting genetic discrimination has been in the works for nearly a decade.

Filed by Mark A. Hofmann of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

American Airlines announced Wednesday, May 21, that it is cutting domestic capacity by up to 12 percent and will lay off thousands by the fourth quarter.

American Airlines executives say it’s too soon to tell how many employees will be laid off and where, and declined to reveal where flight capacity would be cut the most, saying only that unprofitable routes will be the first to go.

The sputtering U.S. economy and surging oil prices suggest the industry is once again headed for a rough ride, after enjoying the two best years of the decade in 2006 and 2007.

The capacity cuts did not surprise airline analysts.

“The industry has been chipping away at its schedule,” said Joe Schweiterman, a transportation expert and professor at DePaul University in Chicago. “There’s been a massive downward shift in supply. The airlines’ business model of operating a massive hub-and-spoke system is threatened by these kinds of spectacular oil prices.”

Oil prices topped $130 a barrel for the first time Wednesday and kept heading upward.

In a sign that nickel-and-diming in the industry just went from bad to worse, the carrier also announced a $15 charge for the first checked bag, starting with flights purchased June 15. It’s the first airline to charge such a fee—so far, most have been levying fees only on the second bag and beyond.

During the past two years, most U.S. airlines have cut capacity on less profitable domestic routes while introducing charges for checking bags to try to offset rising fuel costs and deal with intense competition.

In April, Delta Air Lines, the No. 3 U.S. carrier, and Northwest, the fifth largest, finally hammered out a merger agreement last week that would create the world’s largest airline. The other major airlines—American, United, Continental and USAir—are also likely looking for merger partners.

Delta Air Lines said in March that it will eliminate 2,000 jobs while reducing domestic capacity by 5 percent, in addition to a 5 percent cut that was already planned.

Filed by Hilary Potewitz of Crain’s New York Business, Lorene Yue of Crain’s Chicago Business and Andrew Osterland of Financial Week, sister publications of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

Legislation approved Tuesday, May 20, by the House of Representatives would allow individuals called up from the reserves for active military service for at least six months to take unused balances in their health care flexible spending accounts as a taxable distribution.

The legislation, H.R. 6081, which was approved on a 403-0 vote, deals with the forfeiture of unused balances in FSAs when employees are called up for military service.

That can happen because the individuals and their families typically give up their employer coverage—including their FSA—and enroll in TriCare, a Department of Defense health care program that has very low cost-sharing requirements. Under the legislation, employees could receive a taxable distribution of their account balance.

“For those called to duty late in the year and who have not incurred many claims up until that point, this could be very beneficial to them since they would otherwise have to forfeit the funds,” said Scott Sims, a legal consultant in the Falls Church, Virginia, office of Hewitt Associates.

The Senate could take up the legislation, which includes other tax breaks for military personnel, later this week.

If passed, the FSA provision would apply to distributions taken after enactment.

Filed by Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

Massachusetts regulators plan to clarify final rules soon on the design requirements of health plans state residents must be enrolled in to avoid financial penalties.

On January 1, 2009, under the state’s landmark health care reform law, most state residents will have to be covered in plans that meet minimum “creditable coverage criteria.”

Under rules finalized last June by the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority—the state agency in charge in implementing key portions of the 2006 reform law—plans considered offering minimum coverage can’t, among other things, have annual deductibles greater than $2,000 for individual coverage or $4,000 for family coverage.

Additionally, in order for the enrollees to have creditable coverage, a plan cannot impose an overall annual benefit limit or a per illness annual maximum benefit for covered core services. The bulletin will provide more clarification of what are considered covered core services, a spokesman for the Connector Authority said.

The bulletin itself will be issued in about a week, said Jon Kingsdale, executive director of the Connector Authority, who spoke Monday at a briefing in Washington sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Since enactment of the Massachusetts law, about 340,000 previously uninsured state residents have obtained coverage, with the largest number of the newly insured enrolled in a program whose premiums are heavily subsidized by the state.

Filed by Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

The defined-benefit pension plans of S&P 500 companies returned to overfunded status in 2007, according to Standard & Poor’s.

According to a new study, as a group, the defined-benefit plans of the companies in the index were overfunded by $63.4 billion for 2007, compared with an underfunded status of more than $40 billion in 2006. Funding improved to 104.4 percent in 2007, from 97.3 percent in 2006, but remained well below the 128.2 percent peak in 1999, at the end of the bull market.

The number of companies in the index that had fully funded pension plans rose to 127 in 2007, up significantly from 85 in 2006 and 47 in 2005. Last year was the first time since 2001 that the S&P 500 DB plans were overfunded as a group.

Good news, but other post-employment benefits, or OPEBs—primarily medical and drug plans—remain severely underfunded.

Within the S&P 500, the aggregate OPEB underfunding declined from $293.7 billion in 2006 to $269.1 billion in 2007. While the 26.2 percent funding level last year was an improvement, it pales in comparison to the 104.4 percent funding for pensions.

More worrisome, of the 310 companies in the S&P 500 that offer other post-employment benefits, only six have overfunded OPEB plans.

“The situation for OPEBs continues to be bleak as global pressures are forcing U.S. companies to scale back benefits to remain competitive in markets where many of their peers do not have these expenses,” explained Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s and author of the report.

Standard & Poor’s expects the pullback in benefits to continue as companies increase co-payments and premiums, cover fewer employees and shift a greater portion of the expense to workers and retirees.

As for DB plans, several elements contributed to the overfunded pension position of the S&P 500 companies in 2007. Silverblatt pointed out that plan sponsors invested heavily in international markets, especially emerging markets, last year. Gains abroad helped offset a subpar year in the U.S. markets.

Liabilities also were kept in check because of higher discount rates, fewer covered employees and fewer payments to those who were covered.

Accounting rules played a role too, now that companies must show pension funding on their balance sheets. “Combining all of this with the desire of companies to add contributions to show improved numbers, you have an overfunded pension situation,” Silverblatt wrote.

For this year, Silverblatt indicated that pension funds are running more than $100 billion short of the 8 percent return they had projected for 2008. Cautious optimism has returned, however.

“Based on our projections, Standard & Poor’s expects to see 2008 pensions remaining fully funded on an aggregate level, with companies contributing a bit more than they are currently expecting to,” he said.

Filed by John Goff of Financial Week, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

California’s A.B. 2360 would require that employers bidding on state contracts provide their employers with one or more wellness or fitness benefits, including, but not limited to, the following:

● A facility used exclusively for the purpose of promoting physical fitness of employees, including a gymnasium, weight training room, aerobics workout space, swimming pool, running track or any indoor or outdoor court, field or other site used for competitive sports events or games.

● Financial support to an amateur athletic team that is under the sponsorship of the prospective bidder, if the team consists entirely of its employees.

● Subsidies of employees’ membership in a health studio or health club.

● Classes or presentations on the employer’s premises by a qualified person or organization providing information and guidance on subjects relating to personal and family health and fitness.

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Filed by Joanne Wojcik of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.