Down_the_Middle
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I personally like the definition provided by the NLRA which is used to determine ones exclusion from any bargaining group. Having authority, in the interest of the employer... This definition has served me well for many, many years.
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While I agree with Theresa, I might also consider obtaining a 2nd opinion to confirm not only the diagnosis, but the seriousness of the situation. Many people suffer from depression that varies from having "blue days" to incapacity. I'd want to de…
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In addition to cost-shifting, you might think about creating a supplemental (pre-tax) benefit program that enables employees to "supplement" their current benefit package with what you offer. In addition to offering them more CHOICE, you can save t…
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GLC: I don't believe the IRS permits any type of "summer camp" expenses unless the time is an actual extension of classroom instruction where an educational focus is given. In the absence of that, summer camp is merely a fun time for children that …
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pregnantEE: Sorry to hear about your recent employment loss. While it is true that dep care $'s cannot legally be reimbursed to you UNLESS that care allows you to work or search for work, you are in a tough spot with your current bed rest situation…
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Paige: What you're considering is offering a flexible compensation program to a single individual and may be more problems than it's worth. I'm assuming you work for a relatively small employer (otherwise this option would clearly be problematic fo…
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Janet: While I sympathize with your change of circumstances, you should not be permitted to change your deduction amount for only the reason you state. The law requires a "qualifying condition" to occur and unless you're also experienceing one of t…
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You don't mention how your benefit plans are structured.... Does the departing employee lose coverage on the last day of work or at the end of the month in which they terminate????? Unless there is more to this than you've stated, I would say P…
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This happens occasionally to us (with a $40M DB pension trust) and after reasonable efforts to locate the former employee have failed, the $'s remain in the fund. There's no distribution to anything/anyone.
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I do not believe you are obligated to pay the "accrued" time UNTIL the person has satisfied the eligibility period of 90 days. It is at that point that the accrued time is vested to the employee. Anything earned prior to the 90 days does not belon…
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I think the short answer is YES----if the employee's military obligation extends beyond 30 days the employer cannot deny COBRA access.
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It can be done if you lower your threshhold for fulltime benefits to ALL employees 20+hrs per week, or develop a benefit pkg for those 20-29 hrs that virtually matches the benefits offered to fulltimers. I would be very cautious about giving the fu…
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It's unclear about whether the person on lay-off status was still an inactive employee or was termination due to RIF. If the latter, then doing what you normally do for new hires would seem appropriate. If the former, then your org must have a pol…
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Pain: Be careful about trying to use someone else's plan as a template. Sec 125 plans are different and usually employer specific. Trying to use someone else's plan may give you more PAIN than you're now experiencing. Your TPA or a benefits consu…
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The IRS requires that employer provided life insur which exceeds $50,000 is taxable to the employee. The IRS has a table from which you "impute" the income by calculating the excess insurance times the rate. i don't have the exact web address hand…
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Seems to me that's a departure from your current policy if it only applies to this person; to which my question to you is: What if the employee raises the question of why........ might be penny wise and pound foolish to continue that practice.
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Aside from being the "right thing to do" as suggested by the others, remember what FLSA says about this type of training. It is compensable if: done within normal working hours; is related to the employees job; is required by the employer; and con…
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I think this is a great example of how HR gets it's nickname of being the "policy police". Seems to me this verbiage is too restrictive and may obligate you to create all kind of hoops for employees to jump thru. You might consider replacing the w…
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You may not be appreciating the importance of using a local EAP in your area---at least a local office. Try checking with other organizations in your area for potential vendors. Try the phone book or your local SHRM chapter. While I may be very …
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I don't see any relief for you during this contract period. The "mutually agreeable" language probably obligates you to preview hlth plans with the bargaining unit b/4 accepting it. I'd certainly try to negotiate that language out of the next cont…
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We offer a PPO plan---------Chiropractic care is much more of a geographic issue than you might believe, but we offer DC care at 80% (for in network providers) after the $250 deductible. Out of network is paid at 50% after deductible. No limit on …
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I can't speak to CA law, but it's unclear whether you've followed fed requirements. Terminating employees have 60 days to make a decision on whether to accept COBRA continuation. Once the election is made, employees have an additional 45 days in …
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The fact that you pay this out of A/P makes me question why it isn't income to the exec. I used to do this in a former position, but the health plan handled most of the expenses and we reimbursed the exec for all out of pocket and non-covered expen…
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Seems to me this is a recruitment tool for you to attract & retain staff at the corp office. Not sure why an explanation is necessary since this is a compensation issue that pertains to a smaller group of employees, but if it's deemed necessa…
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This is a very common situation in healthcare with 98% female population and we almost always try to determine what the employee CAN do and then offer a light duty situation to enable the person to continue working. Treating this persons "disabilit…
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Seems to me the primary reason would be for retention. If no retention problem, then throwing money at them doesn't seem prudent. Replacing annual merit increases with longevity may be an answer, but doing it for no sound reason seems wasteful of …
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Apply the premiums, how???? Pre-tax??? Is the COBRA coverage continuation of your health plan or another, unrelated employer??
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Whoah!!!! Suggesting way to achieve world peace might be easier.. I'm "thinking" about the deferred comp concept of offering $'s for employees to buy what they want on the open market, thereby avoiding the exponential increased cost each year. M…
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Aside from the obvious employee relations issue of giving employees sufficient notice to plan for an increase in premiums, I don't believe there's any statuatory requirement for announcing a premium increase.
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I think the advice for legal counsel is valid. More often than not, I think you'll find that if any ambiguity arises between the employers printed material and the actual insurance contract, the contract prevails.