Monday, August 3, 2009

HR Help For Your Business

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Summer 2009


The Positives of Personal Reinvention

A colleague of mine recently sent me the story of a gentleman who was a successful floor trader from the NYSE who lost his job during the economic downturn. He went from earning well over $300,000 per year to working as a maitre d' of an upscale restaurant where he and his co-workers often went for power lunches. His annual salary was reduced to $25,000 per year and the story went on to describe the ongoing struggle he and his family are experiencing with little or no hope for recovery. This story of "negative reinvention" while heart-wrenching and perhaps even commonplace, continues to perpetuate the message of gloom and doom that permeates our evening news and the front page headlines of our local newspaper. For those in career transition it continues to be a somber reminder of just how difficult it can be to find a new job. I believe my colleague was hoping that somehow this sad story would inspire and motivate the reader into a call to action when in fact it supports what I'll call the "woe is me factor". I'd have attached the full story to this article but I deleted it in a fit of disgust.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at an entrepreneurial forum attended by a group of displaced executives. While some of the attendees expected to land a new position in their respective disciplines, the majority of those in attendance were contemplating starting their own business. The power of their desire to positively reinvent themselves was absolutely energizing! As I listened to the former marketing executive discuss her plans to design a line of clothing and the finance executive formulate his intent to assume an Executive Director position in a non-profit organization, I was truly in awe at their confidence,hope and motivation to take advantage of this situation and do what they wanted to do not what they felt they had to do. I realized that each of these professionals had made a conscious decision to take control of their own destiny. Sure there was some apprehension and trepidation but overall their desire to succeed in their respective new ventures far outweighed any fear of failure.
So the next time someone forwards you a story about yet another casualty of the economic downturn feel free to share my experience with the group of new entrepreneurs who elected the route of positive reinvention. I welcome any of you to share your story with me as well so together we can eventually eliminate the "woe is me factor".


Have a healthy and happy summer!

Phil


Mini COBRA Law signed in PA

Last week Governor Rendell signed into law the state's Mini COBRA legislation. Essentially every employer now will be required to offer health insurance continuation post employment and also will be obligated to comply with the Federal subsidy of COBRA under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
This law, which becomes effective on July 10, parallels the federal in many ways and specifically has the following provisions:
-Requires employers who employ 2-19 employees and offers health insurance to offer COBRA
-Only applies to Medical Plans (does not include HRAs, FSAs, dental, or vision)
-To be eligible, an employee must have been on the employer's insurance for at
least 3 months prior to the qualifying event
-COBRA qualifying events remain the same as those under Federal regulations
-Eligible for COBRA coverage lasting up to 9 months
-Employers (or their designated administrator) are responsible for notification to eligible individuals
-Assistance Eligible Individuals are included in State COBRA
-Employers may charge up to 105% of the medical premium
-Timeline for getting out notices differs from federal COBRA
The state plan lacks the lookback feature of the federal COBRA Subsidy program in that only individuals terminated on or after July 10th will be eligible to participate. The federal program, enacted in February, allowed participation of individuals separated back to September of 2008.
If you offer health insurance to your employees, and you never offered COBRA before, this new law requires some immediate action on you part. You must provide proper notification, work closely with your insurance carrier and/or broker, know COBRA and ARRA law, create a system to handle premium collection, be aware of COBRA timelines, and understand everything else COBRA entails!

In the same signing ceremony as the Mini COBRA law, the Governor Rendell also enacted a law requiring continued health coverage for dependents until attainment of age 30. Most plans currently remove dependents at age 23 or 25.

While the final provisions and interpretation of this law are still pending, this regulation will allow uninsured, single, adult children up to age 30 to be covered by their parents' health insurance plan. Parents must pay the premiums and the coverage hinges on the employers' willingness to offer the benefit to parents. This bill will go into effect in six months and coverage will be available on a rolling basis after that as contracts are renewed.
Additional requirements for continuation are:

Is not married.
Has no dependents.
Is a resident of this Commonwealth or is enrolled as a full-time student at an institution of higher education.
Is not provided coverage as a named subscriber, insured, enrollee or covered person under any other group or individual health insurance policy or enrolled in or entitled to benefits under any government health care benefits program.

According to the 2008 survey by the Insurance Department, there are 383,298 uninsured Pennsylvanians between ages 19-29, which accounts for 40 percent of the total uninsured population. While not all of these Pennsylvanians would be able to be covered by a parent's policy, this will be an important step to increasing access to health care for this population.

Let HR Solutions help you navigate through this maze of new laws and regulations. Give us a call at 610-287-1162 for a free consultation.


The Case For HR Audits
The top employment attorneys across the country are unanimous in their warning to employers to conduct periodic human resource audits as a proactive defense against wage and hour violations and charges of unfair employment practices. This examination of a company's hiring and pay practices, employment policies and procedures and administrative recordkeeping process are crucial to the protection of businesses in this changing political climate. With the advent of the Ledbetter Pay Act, Employee Free Choice Act, a recently embarrassed Wage and Hour Division and highly labor friendly NLRB the top guns in employment law predict that those who take their human resource practices lightly are likely to subject themselves to costly penalties and investigations that could easily be avoided by simply having an HR audit conducted either internally or by an outside party.

HR Solutions specializes in providing our clients a customized review of your HR practices and procedures designed to insure your compliance with today's ever changing employment law landscape. Let us give you the peace of mind you need to focus on growing your business. Contact us at 610-287-1162 to learn more.



In This Issue

Mini COBRA Law Signed in PA
The Case for HR Audits
www.hrsolutionsonline.com
www.helpmypc.biz
www.hornerassociates.biz
www.streamlinepayroll.net

Put Us On Your "To Don't" List
Since 1995 HR Solutions has been helping business owners do what they do best....focus on running their business. We can be your human resource department and trusted HR advisor providing services and solutions that protect your company and your employees at a cost you can afford. You have plenty of things on your "to do" list so make a list of things to put on your "to don't" list and give us a call. Let us worry about the laws that may affect you, help you with discipline problems, create programs that let you recruit and retain top talent and most importantly, be there for you when you need our expertise.

Call us at 610-287-1162 today for a free consultation or e-mail me directly at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com. You have my personal promise that we will contact you within 24 hours to schedule your consultation. There is absolutely no obligation.

I look forward to hearing from you!


Sincerely,


Phil Brunone
President
HR Solutions, LLC
phone/fax-(610)-287-1162
phil@hrsolutionsonline.com
www.hrsolutionsonline.com