Author: Site Staff

Essential to your well-being in the workplace is a strong sense of where you are, what’s required, where you’re headed—and if where you’re headed is where you want to go. Once you determine these things, you’ll be well on your way to finding and eliminating sources of stress. A key strategy is developing awareness of:

• Your job duties, authority and responsibility and their importance.

• Your own skills, needs and abilities.

• How you currently allocate your time on the job.

You can heighten this awareness by keeping daily and weekly logs of your activities, with detailed analysis of what, who, where and how much time is involved in each. Another technique is reviewing your job description and its real meaning with your supervisor and other work colleagues. Use a self-analysis of your skills, abilities and goals to make sure what you’re working for is what you really want.

SOURCE: Randall S. Schuler. Copyright © December 1979, ACC Communications/Personnel Journal. All rights reserved.

Issue: Your company’s health plan offers coverage for mastectomies. Last year, you heard about a new law that requires you to tell your employees about their rights relating to post-mastectomy coverage and you did so during open enrollment. What, if any, notice obligations do you have during open enrollment season this year?

Answer: Under recently issued guidance, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services (DOL/HHS) have clarified what type of annual notice group health plans need to provide for employees under the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 (WHCRA). Under WHCRA, health plans that offer mastectomy coverage must also offer coverage for post-mastectomy reconstructive surgery. The WHCRA also requires employers to notify employee participants of their rights under WHCRA at the time of enrollment in the plan as well as every subsequent year.

How to provide notice.
According to the DOL/HHS, when providing the annual notice, employers must use measures “reasonably calculated to ensure actual receipt of the annual notice by plan participants.” Notice must be sent by a method, such as first-class mail or via e-mail, that is “likely to result in full distribution.”

The annual notice under WHCRA may be sent by itself or it may be included in another plan mailing such as open enrollment materials, a union or benefits newsletter, or official plan documents (such as the summary plan description, summary of material modifications, or a summary annual report). Annual notice can be delivered to employees at any time during the plan year.

To avoid duplicate notices, an employer/group health plan can satisfy the annual notice requirements by contracting with another party, such as an insurance company or HMO, which then provides the required notice.

Contents of notice.
Although WHCRA does not require employers to use the same notice to meet its enrollment notice obligations and its annual notice obligations, they may satisfy the annual notice rule by using the enrollment notice and delivering it to participants annually. Instead of distributing the enrollment notice annually, however, employers may choose annually to distribute a notice informing participants of the following:

• availability of benefits for the treatment of mastectomy-related services, including reconstructive surgery, prosthesis, and lymphedema under the plan; and

• information (such as telephone number or Web URL address) on how to obtain a detailed description of the mastectomy-related benefits available under the plan.

Sample model annual notice under WHCRA.
Language such as the following may be used to alert employees annually to their rights under WHCRA.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS UNDER YOUR GROUP HEALTH PLAN
Did you know that your plan, as required by the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, provides benefits for mastectomy-related services including reconstruction and surgery to achieve symmetry between the breasts, prostheses, and complications resulting from a mastectomy (including lymphedema)? Keep this notice for your records and call your Plan Administrator [insert phone number] for more information.

Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.

You’re asking questions about managing a workforce in a way that will help your organization. The following companies are joining Workforce.com in answering them.

• Benchmark HR Solutions, Inc, Salem, N.H., is the nation’s only professional services firm wholly focused on providing integrated, outsourced employee recruiting and retention services to high-growth technology companies in the communications, software, Internet and professional services markets.



• Deloitte and Touche, New York. Deloitte & Touche International Assignment Services supports the cross-border movement and management of their clients’ global employees.



• The Herman Group, Greensboro, NC, a firm of Certified Management Consultants that helps organizations attract, optimize and hold their good workers by helping them embrace the emerging corporate culture and become Employers of Choice.



• Personnel Decisions International (PDI) is a global management and human resources consulting firm. Since 1967, PDI has been helping organizations accelerate individual success, build talent, and improve decisions to achieve their business goals.



• PricewaterhouseCoopers, Boston. Helps companies design, build and run cost-effective, targeted HR strategies.



• The Segal Company, New York. Private, independent, national consulting firm, founded in 1939, whose Human Resources Innovation practice uses a multidisciplinary approach to HR strategies and solutions.



• StressDoc.com, Washington, DC. Mark Gorkin’s Stress Doc.com contains his syndicated “Online Psychohumorist” writings and information on “Practicing Safe Stress” programs, conflict, change, and team building–with humor.



• T. Williams Consulting, Collegeville, PA. A national strategic staffing consulting firm. Michael A. Sweeney is managing director, project staffing.



• Work|Life Benefits. Helps companies increase employee productivity, retention and morale through customized, integrated work/life strategies.

The fundamental elements of a total compensation system, put together by Strategic Pay Partners of Pasadena, California.

 

Compensation Philosophy	Identifies target market position for competitive pay levels and articulates the company s commitment to motivating, and rewarding employee contribution and performance through the various elements of the company s total pay system.
Base Pay	Pays for standard job duties, skills and results. Should be designed to reflect competitive rates for comparable jobs within identified marketplace.
Performance Based Variable Pay	Designed to reward achievement of specific company and/or individual performance objectives. Payouts vary based on company and/or individual achievement. Types of variable pay plans include: Skill pay Incentive pay/bonus plans Commission Gain sharing/results sharing
Long Term Incentive Compensation	Designed to reward long term company performance. Individual job level/performance may impact eligibility to participate. Can be an effective retention tool.
Benefits	Broad range of practices including health insurance, vacation, leave policies, and retirement and savings plans. Designed to address health and welfare needs of employees. Can send strong messages about company culture and values.
Perks & Non-Cash Rewards	Used to recognize exceptional contribution, performance, commitment to culture and values. Variety of methods including additional time off, tickets to events, trips, dinners, public recognition, etc.
Intrinsic Rewards Performance Feedback Management Development Opportunities Work Environment	Processes used to communicate and align employee behaviors with business priorities and company values to achieve desired results. Play a significant role in successfully engaging full scope of skills and abilities within the workforce. Critical in retaining key talent.

Issue: Losing a career service employee at retirement is never easy. Valuable expertise and knowledge walk out the company doors when the employee retires, and the retiree is abruptly faced with the prospect of having nothing but time on his or her hands. In recent years, however, employers have begun to look at the advantages of phased retirement programs. Under phased retirement arrangements, job responsibilities and work hours are gradually reduced at the end of an employee’s career, giving the employer and employee the opportunity to adjust to the eventual separation of service. With increased pressures on recruitment and retention, what do you need to know to determine whether phased retirement is right for your company?

Challenges presented.
Phased retirement arrangements are not implemented without challenges, however. According to a Watson Wyatt Worldwide study three important questions employers should ask are:

1. How will the arrangement tie in with existing employee benefit programs?
2. How will eligibility be determined?
3. What specific arrangements should be made available to employees?

For instance, with respect to pension plans, Bethesda, Maryland-based consulting firm Watson Wyatt cautions that IRS rules prohibit a qualified pension plan from making distributions to employees before the plan’s normal retirement age. Yet employees working in a phased retirement arrangement may need the extra income to supplement reduced pay. One solution may be to reduce the plan’s normal retirement age. Employers will also have to decide whether phased retirees should be allowed to participate in the company’s general health plan or a retiree health plan.

Eligibility.
A phased retirement program will undoubtedly attract employees. How should eligibility be determined? According to Watson Wyatt, many employers (45 percent) choose to base eligibility on job level or position. A small percentage (24 percent) use length of service, with 10 years of service being the most common determinant.

Which works best?
An employer can choose from a host of phased retirement arrangements. The most popular arrangement is using phased retirees as temporary or part-time workers. However, consider these options:

• Hire retirees as consultants.

• Provide extended leaves of absence.

• Offer job transfers.

• Offer reduced workdays, workweeks or both.

• Offer job sharing arrangements.

• Hire for seasonal help.

Future of the program.
The programs are a welcome addition to the labor market. The Watson Wyatt survey showed that 16 percent of employers now offer some type of phased retirement arrangement—and three out of four employees would prefer to reduce work hours gradually rather than abruptly. And, despite the challenges, Watson Wyatt predicts that phased retirement arrangements will only increase in popularity in the upcoming years—with at least half of employers having such programs in place within a decade.

Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.

Issue: Eli Lilly and Co. recently was recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor for its success in placing women and minorities into management positions. After reading about this award, your boss has asked you to look into the policies and programs that worked for Eli Lilly. What can you tell him or her?

Answer: Eli Lilly and Co. received the Opportunity 2000 award from the Secretary of Labor on October 7, 1999. The Opportunity 2000 award is the top award presented annually by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The OFCCP regulates and enforces the equal employment opportunity and affirmative action requirements applicable to companies with federal contracts.

According to the OFCCP, the Opportunity 2000 award honors a federal contractor for the successful implementation of a significant multifaceted program ensuring equal employment opportunity and affirmative action within its organization, and for supporting these goals in the community. Eli Lilly won the OFCCP’s highest award, in part, for its efforts to promote women and minorities to management positions.

In 1997, Eli Lilly tripled the number of African Americans promoted or hired as managers. The percentage of minority executives increased from 3 percent in 1993 to 11 percent in 1998. By 1998, women made up 31 percent of all Eli Lilly managers, 20 percent of all new directors and 27 percent of all new vice presidents. Between 1997 and 1998, the company hired 500 Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American and African American employees.

The company has achieved this success through the use of development programs and a succession process.

• Development programs.
  The flow of women and minorities into management positions has been possible in large part due to a broad range of development programs at Eli Lilly. An assisted education program trains high potential employees who have decided to pursue advanced degrees. A woman’s network established in 1994 reaches more than 350 women in management-level positions. In 1998, Eli Lilly reimbursed employees $950,000 for tuition in classes that were both non-job and career-related.

• Succession management process.
  Eli Lilly’s succession management process identifies women and minorities with potential and prepares them for management positions. With each management opening, the next “most ready” women and minorities are identified as qualified candidates. There are more than four times as many women identified in the talent pipeline today as in 1996, when succession management began, and the number of minorities in the pipeline has nearly doubled.

Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.

Cover Story

employeechat.com: Bashing HR on the Web
By Shari Caudron
Thanks to the Internet, employees can share information in a highly public—albeit anonymous—fashion. In the process, they have the potential to undermine everything HR does.

Features

Stock Options Have Their Ups & Downs
By Samuel Greengard
Employers love stock options because they don’t cost a cent. But HR is finding there are many potential problems that come with this increasingly popular form of compensation.

Do Non-compete Agreements Really Protect You?
By Bradley T. Adler
The use of non-compete agreements has dramatically increased to protect employers from unfair competition. You should know when they’re appropriate and how to apply them correctly.

Job Offers: Closing the Deal
By Jennifer Laabs
Closing an employment deal involves writing offer letters, negotiating employment terms and getting new employees oriented to their new jobs and firms. There are some new twists on these basic steps that can give you an edge in today’s tight employment marketplace.

Who’s Investing in HR?
By Linda Davidson
A tight labor market has forced companies in every location and industry to spend more money on “people issues.” A new survey asks HR professionals about the real worth of human resources in Corporate America.

HR 101

Compensation
In this month’s issue, HR 101 covers fundamentals and best practices of compensation, as well as tips for a more organized spreadsheet.

Departments

Putting It Together
Reality Doesn’t Have a Job Description

News Angle
Boeing Extends Health Plan to Domestic Partners

The Buzz
   Working Wounded: How Do You Avoid Lawsuits?
   On the Contrary: Bottom-Line Confessions
   The Leading Edge: Our Future Needs Collaborative Leadership

InfoWise
Technology Is Changing Expatriate Training

Forté
Disaster Volunteerism Builds Companywide Spirit

Legal Insight
Create Policies to Temper Employees’ Rights to E-Privacy

Money Matters
Is Your Company’s Rewards Package Out of Sync?

Crossfire
Should Unreported Absences Result in Termination?

Why don’t companies manage mergers and acquisitions well? According to a study of Fortune 500 companies that have recently merged or been acquired, “people problems” represent the top failure. Many people factors relate to the way communication is managed throughout the process. Communication during a merger or acquisition isn’t only about keeping people informed—it’s also about keeping performance high when a company and its employees are in vulnerable positions.

Here are five tips that business leaders can use to manage communication and performance through a merger or acquisition:

1. Strategize. Build an employee communication strategy into the overall M&A process from the very beginning. One company has developed a 13-step process that guides all their M&A activities. Communication management is in all 13 steps. Integrate the employee communication strategy with the communication strategy for other stakeholders—customers, suppliers, government leaders and the community. If you already have a solid, well-managed communication process, use it. If you don’t, use the merger or acquisition to build one.
2. Do what you say. Manage your “say” communication and “do” communication together. Remember it’s not just what you say that communicates. It’s what you do as well. Don’t say you’re creating a merger of equals when one company will clearly dominate—or even will appear to dominate.
3. Listen. Listening is more than half of the communication process. Telling people what’s going on is important. But asking people about communication gaps that prevent them from being the best they can be is just as important, especially when you respond quickly and appropriately. During most mergers and acquisitions, business leaders don’t listen enough.
4. Focus on key employees. Focus a disproportionate amount of your communication management on people or groups who have the greatest influence on business performance—people you absolutely can’t afford to lose or people who are critical to maintaining high performance levels. If you have key leaders or scientists in either company that you can’t afford lose, focus on them. If your sales force is critical to keeping valued customers, focus on them. If you’re an insurance company and your claims operation helps make or break your business, focus on the people there.
5. Tell the truth. Fibs and half-fibs told during the M&A process kill leadership credibility. It makes it tough to inspire people whose productivity you need to be committed and engaged in the business, its vision and goals.

Cite: Towers Perrin News, Mergers and Acquisitions Foster “Cool Hand Luke” Syndrome; “What We Have Here Is Failure to Communicate,” October 28, 1999.

Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice.

Issue: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires group health plans to furnish certificates of creditable coverage to individuals. ERISA and the Public Health Service Act put the burden on both group health plans and health insurance issuers offering coverage; however, a plan complies with the requirement to provide certificates of creditable coverage if the health insurance issuer provides the certificates. All three laws and supporting regulations define the information that must be in the certificate of creditable coverage and the timing for issuing it. Since certificates of creditable coverage may be issued more than once and since there may be liability for failing to issue certificates, how can employers be certain that proper certificates are issued in a timely manner?

Answer: It is not enough for an insured health plan to ask the insurance company to issue certificates.
Regulations require that there be an agreement between the issuer and the health plan spelling out this arrangement. If the issuer sends a certificate that is correct and on time, the plan has no liability. However, only if there is an agreement can the plan hope to avoid responsibility if the issuer fails to provide certificates of creditable coverage.

Having an agreement with an insurance company (issuer) to provide certificates may not end a plan’s duties.
An issuer is only responsible for certificates for periods of coverage provided by it. A change of health coverage (for example, at annual open enrollment, an employee switches from an HMO to an indemnity medical plan) does not require issuing a certificate of creditable coverage, but it may end coverage by a health issuer. The former health issuer must provide adequate information to the plan to prepare a certificate of creditable coverage including this period of coverage. In doing so, the issuer has satisfied its obligations so long as it cooperates with the plan in responding later to inquiries regarding the participant for the period when the issuer provided coverage.

The law is specific about the information to be included in the certificates. In the example above, an issuer may not have information to provide a certificate that contains accurate information for the entire coverage period of the individual without input from the employer. The group health plan bears responsibility for the entire period of coverage.

Multiple certificates may be required.
Certificates of creditable coverage must be issued when a covered employee or dependent has a COBRA qualifying event or otherwise ceases to have coverage under the employer-sponsored health plan, when COBRA coverage ends, and upon request within 24 months after coverage ceases. Sending a certificate of creditable coverage one time, therefore, may not be all that is required for a covered individual.

Certificates must be sent first class within a reasonable time.
Sending certificates using first class mail to the last known address is considered compliance. Thus, an issuer or a health plan must have access to address information and procedures to document that the certificate was mailed first class.

Time limits for certificates vary.
Although regulations specify timing for providing certificates of creditable coverage, the time limit varies depending on the reason for sending the certificate. Within 14 days of notification of the plan administrator of a COBRA qualifying event, the plan must issue a certificate. When COBRA coverage ends, the plan must provide a certificate within a reasonable period of time or after the expiration of a grace period, normally 30 days. However, the requirements are “within a reasonable period of time” for other cessation of coverage and “by the earliest date that the plan can, acting in a reasonable and prompt fashion” when a certificate is provided upon request.

Despite an agreement shifting the burden, health plans may still be legally responsible.
Group health plans, whether insured or self-insured, have a responsibility for issuing certificates of creditable coverage. If a third party issues certificates for the plan with accurate information in a timely manner, the plan has no further liability. However, even if a plan negotiates with a third-party administrator to provide the service for the plan, it may not be fully protected from liability if the third party fails to provide proper certificates in a timely manner with accurate information. If the health plan is insured and the agreement places the burden on the issuer, the plan should not have liability for the issuer’s failure. A self-insured health plan may not be able to negotiate a complete transfer of liability to a third party, however. In any case, vigilance and oversight on the part of the health plan is recommended.

What you should do:
Employers, as administrators of health plans offered to employees, must work closely with insurance companies providing insurance or with third-party administrators to define the responsibility for providing HIPAA certificates of creditable coverage. This includes:

• Determining who will provide the certificates each time a certificate is required

• Agreeing in writing concerning who bears responsibility and legal liability for issuing certificates and their accuracy

• Developing procedures for compliance with all aspects of providing certificates, including mailing, adequacy of information, and cooperation with other employers or issuers concerning prior coverage

• Being specific about time periods so that “reasonable time” and “earliest date” have a number of days associated with them

• Establishing a means to verify that procedures are consistently followed and documented

• Identifying data needed for records concerning employees and dependents and the responsibility for storage of that information

• Developing communication strategies for information-sharing between the employer/plan and all administrators or health insurance issuers, especially following open enrollment, employer selection of new carriers, and employee status changes and events triggering HIPAA certificates

Cites: Code Sec. 9801(e), ERISA Sec. 701(e), and PHSA Sec. 2701(e); IRS Reg. Sec. 54.9801-5T, ERISA Reg. Sec. 2590.701-5, and PHSA Reg. Sec. 146.115.

Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.

This is a case study without a named employer, employee, or counsel, because all are protected by confidentiality laws as part of a U.S. Government submission.

Each year the United States allows a defined number of non-citizen, non-agricultural workers to work within the U.S. on a temporary, three-year basis via an H-1B visa. This work visa may be renewed one time only (for a second three-year period).

The process of hiring a non-citizen (“alien”) is most often a four-way effort involving the employer, the prospective employee, an attorney, and the U.S. and state governments. Paperwork requirements and complicated regulations often necessitate the involvement of an attorney who specializes solely in immigration law.

After making an offer to an alien, the H-1B visa process begins. An important part of that process is documentation that the employer will be paying at least the “prevailing wage” as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor for that position in that specific geographic area.

In late 1997, the U.S. Department of Labor redefined the definition of “alien prevailing wage” with the release of General Administrative Letter 2-98 and the redesign of the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program which was reconfigured to incorporate a survey of salaries. Since that time, most State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) have used this survey to ascertain alien prevailing wages, and for employers, this survey s values are safe harbors.

The OES survey is a restatement of a “head count”/employment survey and not a traditional salary survey. All U.S. jobs are forced to fit within ~850 job classes, Level II rates (those most often used) are always set above the weighted average of all employees in the job class. In addition, supervisors and paraprofessionals are often combined within a profession s job description. (See erieri.com/doltrends for a more thorough discussion.) Most often, these factors weigh against an employer that might wish to pay the going market rate. Fortunately, the aforementioned GAL 2-98 allows the use of alternative salary surveys and/or “other wage data” in place of OES wage data.

Employers who don’t use the latter (employer provided surveys) request the State Employment Security Agencies make the prevailing wage determination. The influx of requests has created a backlog amounting to as much as six months in some states and always places the employer in a position of accepting the SESA’s wage rate, no matter how high it is above the market average.

An alternative exists for employers who might wish to use other survey data pay the market rate or shorten the application process. Baker, Thomsen Associates (BTA), a compensation consulting firm, provides outsourced research of all publicly available salary surveys (e-mail info@btabta.com or call 800/546-4015). These studies result in reports with values used today by many immigration attorneys in the preparation of their applications.

Employers and their attorneys have a choice:

Option	Cost	Contact
Use a consultant research specialist to research all surveys.	$389/report	BTA at 800/546-4015 or e-mail info@btabta.com
Use a consultant to produce a report consisting of OES data and position category description	$189/report	BTA at 800/292-2881 or e-mail info@btabta.com
Do it yourself using the infinite studies possible via ERI s Geographic Assessor.	$689/year	ERI at 800/627-3697 or e-mail info@erieri.com
Rely upon the State SESAs	N/A	N/A

Penalties, interest, and back-pay charges await those employers who ignore this process. Salary survey results are now critical in the immigration application process.