The CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) requires employers offering group health plans to notify employees of their potential rights to receive premium assistance under a state’s Medicaid or CHIP program. You may combine this notice with other information (e.g., open enrollment materials). The requirement applies to employers with employees that reside in any of 40 states that provide premium assistance.
As of Jan. 22, 2010, the following states offer one or more programs that meet this standard: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Accordingly, if a group health plan provides benefits for medical care directly or through insurance to participants, beneficiaries or providers in one of these states, the plan is required to provide the Employer CHIP Notice, regardless of the employer’s location or principal place of business (or the location or principal place of business of the group health plan).
Employers are required to provide these notices by the date that is the later of (1) the first day of the first plan year after February 4, 2010; or (2) May 1, 2010. Civil penalties of up to $100 per day may be assessed on employers who do not provide the required notice.
The DOL plans to update the notice annually, with current information about which states are providing premium assistance programs.
Employers must track work related accidents (except first aid) during the year on Cal / OSHA Form 301 and complete the Cal / OSHA 300A report for posting February 1 through April 30th. The posting should be in an area accessible to all employees.
Need the documents? Go to http://www.californiaosha.info
In general, people want the workforce to be a “family” where managers and employees can talk about anything and everything. Unfortunately, there are some topics – like caregiving – that are best avoided, to protect an employer from lawsuits, says Christopher Leh, an attorney with Holland and Hart LLP in Colorado. What is the basis for a lawsuit? Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD)
Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD) is employment discrimination against workers based on their family caregiving responsibilities. Pregnant women, mothers and fathers of young children, and employees with aging parents or sick spouses may encounter FRD. They may be rejected for hire, passed over for promotion, demoted, harassed, or terminated – despite good performance – simply because their employers make personnel decisions based on stereotypical notions of how they will or should act given their family responsibilities.
The first level of prevention, says Leh, is to evaluate your own policies to be sure there is no distinction on the basis of race, sex, age, pregnancy, or other protected classes. In addition, he suggests:
- When evaluating employees, focus on objective qualifications and performance on job, not personal or family factors.
- Train employees on what comments are appropriate.
- Train supervisors to recognize problems, and then how and when to seek advice from HR.
- Develop an effective complaint mechanism.
- Instill in all employees the duty of reporting concerns about possible disparate treatment.
- Investigate all complaints and take appropriate action.
Do you need more information on FRD or help with your HR policies and/or practices to prevent FRD claims? Give us a call.
On Saturday, December 19, 2009, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act by a vote of 88-10. This federal spending bill included important provisions to both
- Extend and expand the COBRA subsidy program that was enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and
- Extend expanded unemployment benefits through February 28, 2010.
The House also passed this same spending bill on December 16, 2009 by a vote of 395-34. President Obama immediately signed this bill into law after Senate passage on December 19, 2009.
COBRA
The COBRA subsidy program extension in the DOD’s bill will:
- Expand the ARRA’s COBRA premium subsidy period from nine to 15 months
- Change the end date for eligibility for the subsidy from December 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010
- Provide a retroactive period of 60 days (commences upon enactment) for payment of premiums for eligible individuals whose subsidy period expired on November 30, 2009
- Require a special notice outlining these changes within 60 days to all eligible individuals on COBRA on or after October 31, 2009, or those who are terminated after this date
- Clarify the original COBRA subsidy program, noting that eligibility and notice are based on the timing of the qualifying event
Unemployment Insurance
The DOD bill also provides an extension and expansion of unemployment insurance benefits. These changes are outlined below.
- The period during which individuals may file applications for Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is extended from the current end date of December 31, 2009 to February 28, 2010 and the period during which individuals may claim and be paid EUC is extended from May 31, 2010 to July 31, 2010.
- The period during which individuals may qualify for the Federal Additional Compensation (FAC), the extra $25 weekly benefit amount on state and federal unemployment compensation, is extended from the current end date of January 1, 2010 to February 28, 2010 with weekly payment provided during the phase out period for weeks ending June 30, 2010 to August 31, 2010.
- The period during which 100% federal reimbursement for weeks of regular federal extended benefit payments for states opting to trigger federal extended benefits based on the Total Unemployment Rate is extended from the current end date of January 1, 2010 to February 28, 2010, with the state option to continue the extended period from May 30, 2010 to July 31, 2010.
Working with a variety of clients, I have learned of the numerous challenges their accounting staff has in dealing with inventory shortages, cash shortages and other discrepancies in the thousands of figures that they work with every day. Many of those challenges require the staff to call employees for an explanation or clarification. A situation was shared with me where a credit card payment was not processed timely due to broken equipment. The employee didn’t seem concerned about getting the equipment fixed right away. In the meantime, the bank didn’t give the client their money until the situation had been discovered and resolved. It got me thinking about how employees can often misunderstand their employer and Company’s funds.
You see, it’s easy to see sales transactions, products and company expenses as someone else’s money (and someone else’s problem!). So, one could easily think, “Who cares if I’m short a few [products, cash] or the credit card didn’t go through? It isn’t my money!” The thing is, it IS your employees’ money!! Every sale, every return, every stolen item or fraudulent act that isn’t caught costs THEM earnings in their paycheck because it hits the bottom line. Sometimes it’s a positive figure. Sometimes it’s a negative figure. Regardless, it’s a figure that affects them.
I’ve spent part of my career in retail at some of the finest stores. When a retailer has losses due to missing inventory, cash shortage, theft, or any other “cost” of doing business, it hits the bottom line and that impacts employees’ base pay, their benefits and the company’s success. Do your employees know that, as consumers themselves, they pay more for some of the goods they buy because the retailer has to increase their markup to cover the cost of loss, theft, mishandling of cash, etc? That’s why it is so important for all employees to care about inventory, to be accurate with cash handling, and to follow procedures and make sure that there are no losses of any kind.
I know my clients’ management and owners. I know that they care about their employees and their financial well-being as well as the enjoyment in working at their place of business. I know that this economy is painful for everyone from the President to the most recently hired employee. I encourage employees to change their thinking and see their employer’s business as their business and their money and make sure that they are careful in following procedures, watching for theft, reporting broken equipment, or whatever it takes to make them and their employer succeed!
This just in from the EDD and retroactive for the tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2009…
The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act amends the Servicemember Civil Relief Act to include the same privileges to a military servicemember’s spouse. This Act amends among other tax administrative items, the elimination of the servicemember spouse’s burden of filing multiple part-year and nonresident income tax returns when they earn wages in California under the following conditions:
- The servicemember is in California on military orders; and
- Is legally married to the spouse; and
- The spouse is in California solely to live with the servicemember.
The Act grants several new privileges to the spouses of military servicemembers, including but not limited to, changes to the spouse’s tax domicile for individual income tax purposes. The new law allows a military servicemember’s spouse to keep a tax domicile throughout the marriage, even if the spouse moves into California, so long as the spouse moves into California to be with a servicemember who is in the state because of military orders.
The military spouse employee needs to file a new Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (DE 4) for the income tax exemption, available on-line for employers and military spouse employees at http://www.edd.ca.gov
Happy Holidays!
I know I’m not alone when I say that this year flew by at an accelerated speed. As much as it was a whirlwind of activity, it’s been so much fun meeting the needs of our clients and dealing with the continuous HR challenges that businesses face daily. As we say goodbye to 2009, we want to thank you SO much for your business. It has been an honor and a blessing to serve you.
Have a Blessed Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
~ Terri Olson Spreen
If your business is fortunate enough to afford a holiday celebration, please consider our advice to make sure the event is memorable (in a good way!)
We love those company parties, but sometimes at least one person gets out of control when there is an open bar. The “aftermath” results in headaches for the employer. For example, employees lose respect for supervisors/managers if they witness unprofessional behavior from over indulging of alcohol. Sexual harassment is another issue that results from people drinking and socializing with co-workers. Even at a social event where employees participate voluntarily, the company can be at risk for complaints and lawsuits resulting from offensive behavior by management employees, non-management employees and guests. Generally, employees are more relaxed and uninhibited which can - and has from our experience - led to kissing, groping or worse. Gossip of “who did what” at the company party can also create distraction and/or a lack of respect for those who partied too hard and/or acted unprofessionally when back at the office.
What does HR Prescriptions recommend?
- Have your event during the day and preferably at your office where all rules and policies still apply.
- Cut out the alcohol which not only significantly reduces your costs, but cuts your liability (and all the other problems caused by drinking).
- Send a memo to all employees reminding them of appropriate behavior at company-sponsored functions and, if serving alcohol, the limitations on their consumption. (Drink tickets come in handy, but those who don’t drink will just give them to those that do, so you may want to hand out tickets only to those who will personally use them.)
- Be prepared to pay a cab for a “tipsy” employee to get home safely.
- If your party is at a hotel, you may want to have a couple of rooms available should someone be too intoxicated to know their way home (i.e., can’t tell the cab driver their address).
We hope YOUR event is a safe and wonderful success!
Has the spread of flu, including H1N1, had an impact on your business? The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has provided some guidelines on protecting the spread of infection at work, such as Swine Flu. Adopting these practices may prevent disruption of your business, including office closure, due to illness.
- Q: During a pandemic, may we require our employees to adopt infection control practices?
- A: Yes. Requiring infection control practices, such as regular hand washing, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and tissue usage and disposal, does not implicate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Q: May we require our employees to wear personal protective equipment (e.g., face masks, gloves, or gowns) designed to reduce the transmission of a pandemic virus?
- A: Yes, an employer may require employees to wear personal protective equipment. However, where an employee with a disability needs a related reasonable accommodation under the ADA (for example, non-latex gloves, or gowns designed for individuals who use wheelchairs), the employer should provide these unless doing so would involve undue hardship.
- Q: May we encourage or require our employees to telework (i.e., work from an alternative location such as home) as an infection control strategy?
- A: Yes, an employer may encourage or require employees to telework as an infection-control strategy, based on timely information from public health authorities about pandemic conditions. Telework also may be a reasonable accommodation. Of course, says the EEOC, employers must not single out employees either to telework or to continue reporting to the workplace on a basis prohibited by any EEO law.
Swine flu is just one of many challenges in managing time off. If you’re facing one of those challenges and need expert advice, we’re just a phone call or away.
It is not uncommon to have a pregnant employee placed on PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave) early for bed rest due to complications. The question we’ve been asked often is what her FMLA/CFRA eligibility status would be if she has less than one year of employment, yet still has not given birth by the time she exceeds her 16 weeks of PDL.
If the employee’s child has not been born by the time she utilizes four months of PDL, but her health care provider determines that a continuation of leave is medically necessary, the employer may, but is not required to, allow an otherwise eligible employee to utilize CFRA leave. Even if you permit the employee to take such a leave, however, you do not have to grant the employee more CFRA leave, i.e., longer than the equivalent of 12 work weeks, than she would otherwise be entitled to.
Unfortunately for the employee, the law requires that she be granted a maximum of four months pregnancy disability leave. If she is only four months into the pregnancy at the time she experiences complications, you cannot be forced to allow her to take a CFRA-qualifying leave at the end of that period, even though she will not yet have given birth. Under these facts, you would be encouraged to permit the otherwise eligible employee to utilize CFRA leave to cover the remainder of her pregnancy, delivery, and recovery. However, you might be able to lawfully terminate her employment at the conclusion of the four-month pregnancy disability leave due to her inability to resume performing the essential functions of her position. In most cases, you may not want to do that, but if you do, consider these issues:
- How does the company deal with employees who are temporarily disabled for reasons other than pregnancy?
- What is the maximum duration of leave granted to such employees?
- Have any other employees experienced complications from pregnancy which caused them to be off work for more than four months?
- How did the company handle those situations, if any?
- Was additional leave granted?
- Is there an applicable collective bargaining agreement and, if so, what provision(s), if any, might be applicable?
More questions? Give us a call…
Are you considering a company closure during the holidays or for economic reasons? If so, you need to know how to pay your exempt employees without violating wage and hour law. Our employment attorney, Eric Sohlgren of Payne & Fears LLP, offers his expertise on this topic:
“In order to avoid a payment obligation to exempt employees during a business closure, the business must close down for the entire workweek. This is because the California Labor Commissioner says that employers cannot dock the wages of exempt employees (who are ready, willing and able to work) if they work a partial week and cannot work the remainder of the week due to the employer’s action in closing the business. In this case, the employer must pay exempt employees for the entire week even though they only worked a partial week. This may defeat the financial benefit of the closure.
“However, if a business is closed for a full workweek, the employer need not pay any salary to exempt employees for the workweek, providing that they do not perform any work during that week.
“Further, the Labor Commissioner has said in an opinion letter that an employer may not force an employee to take vacation or Paid Time Off if the work is unavailable due to the employer’s action. What an employer can do, however, is to give exempt employees a choice: either take no salary for the week shutdown, or at their option, they can charge vacation or PTO.”
So, in order to avoid a payment obligation to exempt employees during a business shutdown, HR Prescriptions recommends that all of the following be put in place:
- Shut down for the entire workweek.
- Instruct exempt employees in writing not to work, and take steps to make sure that they don’t. For example, you may want to close remote e-mail access or advise clients in advance that the company will be closed. You may want to designate one or two people to field client questions if necessary, but those employees would need to be paid for the entire week if they work any part of it.
- Give exempt employees the choice of taking no salary or charging PTO for the week.
Do you have any questions? Give us a call at 714-441-2422 or send us an e-mail!
First Major Civil Rights Bill of the New Century - All Employers Must Comply
What is GINA? GINA stands for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. It is a federal law that prevents employers from collecting or using an employee’s genetic information when making hiring, firing, job placement or promotion decisions. The new language is included in the body of the Federal EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) notice. All employers with 15 or more employees must post the revised Federal EEOC notice that includes the new mandatory GINA provisions. Employment provisions in Title II of GINA will apply to the same covered entities as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 whether or not the employer conducts genetic testing.
EEOC Updated Poster - The EEOC has published the final rule and language and it is available by clicking here. If you have ordered your State/Federal poster from HR Prescriptions in the past and want a new, updated poster, please let us know. Otherwise, using this supplemental poster is acceptable to remain in compliance.
President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647). This new law includes an expansion of the recently-enacted exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
In January 2008, Congress amended the FMLA to provide:
These previsions are effective upon enactment. Remember that an employee is only eligible for FMLA if you have 50 or more employees and the employee works at least 1,250 hours in a 12-month period.
Sun Coast General Insurance Agency has been our client since we began in 2000. However, their Laguna Hills agency has been around since 1980 and is still going strong. Under the ownership of David Yeskin, Sun Coast is a full service general agency offering competitive (Admitted & Surplus Lines) products for the professional Independent Insurance Agent / Broker marketplace, including Automobile, Homeowners, Boats and Personal Watercraft, Ocean Marine, and Commercial Lines.
Human Resources Manager, Lori Barker, says Sun Coast’s success is based on providing a variety of insurance products and services to their clients, as well as strong customer service to both agents and insureds alike.
Beyond Customer Service, their staff would be the true key for their longevity and success - 27% of the staff has been employed with Sun Coast General 20+ years; 38% between 10 and 20 years and the remaining staff employed under 10 years. Having flexibility with their staff has resulted in loyalty, longevity and that warm “family” feeling at the end of the day.
Lori kindly added, “Sun Coast General Insurance appreciates the services of Terri Olson and HR Prescriptions for their HR guidance over the years. Even a senior, experienced company, such as ourselves, can benefit greatly from the HR regulations necessary to maintain compliance in today’s tough business environment.”
Thanks to Lori and the rest at Sun Coast...We love you guys! 
Employers should not distribute any medications, even over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, directly to employees. Most of us know that over-the-counter medications also have health risks and side effects that can be serious or even fatal. What if the amount of OTC medication you provided (or suggested) to an employee was the wrong dosage for them? What if the medication you handed the employee causes drowsiness resulting in a workplace accident? What if they get in a car accident on their drive home? Employers should not take on the risks and liabilities of managing employees’ medical conditions.
Another option is for employers to actually add one or two basic OTC medications to the first-aid kit supplies available to employees. Many resources - HR Prescriptions included - advise against this option because of concerns of overuse, improper use and pilfering of these supplies. Your organization should proceed only after consultation with legal counsel and management. If your company chooses to include OTC medications in a first-aid kit, it is imperative that you provide only single-dose packages that are properly labeled as regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, including a tamper-evident package. Do not purchase any product that contains ingredients that are known to cause drowsiness. With proper labeling, employees are then able to self-select if available OTC medications are right for them.
