What if we gave a party for the most talented and no one showed?

As human resource professionals, we are charged with finding the most talented candidates to fill the positions within our organizations. But what would you do if the most talented are not available to you? 

Dr. Richard Florida in his book, "Flight of the Creative Class" suggests that the talent assets are choosing to go elsewhere then this country. We are in the middle of reading the companion volume to the movie "Waiting for Superman" and in today's newspaper was an article from the The Atlantic entitled "Your Child Left Behind."

Each of these resources suggest that the educational system within the US is turning out substandard talent for our business environment. Let's leave your silo for a moment and say that they are correct, what are you going to do when you throw the party to attract the top quality talent for our human capital needs and you can't find them?

Unless you are living life as an ostrich , with your head in the sand, you know that as we come out of this trying economic times we are in, the better employee is going to consider leaving for supposedly greener pastures. If Your Child Left behind is correct the only state that comes close to being in the top 18 state or countries for 15 year olds performing at the advanced level in math proficiency was Massachusetts. This means as we search for replacement human capital we can't find them.

So as we begin the final week of 2010 and begin 2011, we as human resource professionals need to take the initiative to help our local schools gain the lead back for this country. There are many suggestions around on how to resolve this issue. But we would suggest that while dramatic changes are needed we need to do with reason in mind. The transition team for the new governor of the State of Florida has suggested letting parents remove their children from classrooms where the parent feels the teacher is being ineffective. Is this ineffective by actual data or based on the beliefs of the parent? We need to ensure that the talent of the future knows how to think critically about the issues confronting our organizations.

Here are some thoughts for consideration.

• As the vehicle for introducing talent to our organizations, we need to let the educational institutions know what the voice of the customer is, by informing them of the criteria for employment that our organizations have established.
• As Human Resource professionals we should actively work with local educators to ensure that the talent that they are producing know how to use the critical thinking skills that is required of our cross-functional teams in today's organizations.
• As Human resource professionals we are accustom to completing SWOT analysis of our policies and procedures. We should do the same thing  with the local educational programs as they relate to our talent needs. Following the SWOT it is imperative that we are not bystanders but forward thinking professionals by showing how the SWOT can improve our schools.
• We need to benchmark what our colleagues are doing in other sections of the country and use the data to guide our local schools to implement what is working with other corporations.
• If we have some concrete ideas about how to invent some break through strategies for improving the status of our students in the world of the future, we need to be prepared to share it with the world.

In final thoughts, we need to be bold about becoming involved int he future of our educational initiatives or we will be destined to throwing the party with no one in attendance.

Have some other ideas? Share them with us. Share them with your colleagues. Share them with your organizational management. Share them with your educational leadership. Be part of the solution not a bystander.

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Deoartment of Labor releases guidance on Lactation Rule

In a legal alert from Fisher and Phiilps :

The U.S. Labor Department has now published what it calls its "preliminary interpretations" and a request for information regarding the federal Fair Labor Standards Act lactation-break amendment we wrote about in April and July.  The deadline for submitting information and comments is February 22, 2011.  Employers should give serious consideration to weighing-in on these "preliminary interpretations".

The material says that the "reasonable break time" required should be evaluated according to individualized considerations of both the time spent expressing milk and "steps reasonably necessary" to that activity.  In DOL's view, the length of a required break will depend upon a variety of things, like:

•   How much time it takes to express the milk (DOL anticipates 15 to 20 minutes),

•   Time spent walking to and from the break location, and any time waiting to use the space,

•   Time spent retrieving, unpacking, and setting-up a pump and related supplies,

•   The efficiency of the pump,

•   Time spent in washing, in cleaning the pump and attachments, and in any related steps, taking into account whether there is a sink with running water nearby, and

•   Time spent storing the milk in a safe manner.

As for the frequency and number of breaks, DOL will consider factors such as:

•   The baby's age as this relates to the child's feeding needs,

•   The number of feedings in the baby's normal daily schedule,

•   Whether the baby is eating solid food, and

•   How often the baby usually nurses.

DOL anticipates that the number of necessary breaks will "typically" be two or three during an eight-hour shift (and possibly more for longer shifts).  Apparently, then, DOL would not consider total breaktime of, say, 45 to 90 minutes each workday to be out of the ordinary.  DOL also says that these breaks might not track the employee's regular break times or meal periods.

According to DOL, employers are required to make a suitable room available for use "where practicable" (although this room need not necessarily be a permanent space dedicated to that purpose).  If it is not "practicable" to do so, the employer must "create a space with partitions or curtains" that is also otherwise appropriate under the amendment.  DOL says that employers are not complying with the break requirement if the space is so far from the employee that it is "impractical" for her to take the breaks, or if the number of employees needing to use the space means that this "prevents" an employee from taking breaks or "necessitates a prolonged waiting time".

DOL continues to "interpret" the amendment to mean that:

♦   An employer allowing paid breaks must compensate a nursing employee in the same way it does others if she uses such a break in order to express breastmilk; and

♦   The break must be treated as worktime if the employee is not "completely relieved from duty" (apparently ascribing this to a non-existent "general requirement" in the FLSA itself).

For a variety of reasons, both the correctness of these positions under the FLSA and DOL's authority to propound them are subject to serious question.  Nonetheless, DOL clearly intends to impose them.

These "preliminary interpretations" touch upon and seek input with respect to other subjects also, such as:

•   Whether and under what circumstances managers' offices, locker rooms, utility closets, storage spaces, or anterooms or lounges associated with bathrooms might be adequate break spaces,

•   What approaches there might be to situations in which employees (such as drivers) do not perform their jobs at a fixed place of work,

•   How to comply with the requirement when an employee works at a client's or customer's place of business,

•   How the employer is to be notified about the employee's intention to take lactation breaks (including whether a "simple conversation" should suffice), and

•   How the under-50-employee "undue hardship" exemption will apply (indications are that DOL intends to construe it very restrictively).

Although this latest release is couched as a request for public comment for DOL's use in "formulating further guidance", there is some hint that instead it might actually be DOL's last pronouncement on the subject for the foreseeable future.  Moreover, DOL states that it does not intend to issue regulations "[a]t this time" (it is not apparent by what authority DOL would do so in the absence of any empowering language in the amendment itself).  Even so, employers ought to study these materials carefully and should submit their reactions and any suggestions or objections.  For one thing, a muted response risks a later argument that the "regulated community" tacitly embraced DOL's views in their entirety.

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Relocation Announcement

SunCoke Energy will relocate its headquarters from Knoxville, Tennessee, to west suburban Lisle, IL

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Talent Shortage is Real

Wolters Kluwer Employment and Law Business Notice today carried the following notice:

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Companies worldwide view talent as biggest obstacle to future growth, Towers Watson finds

As companies worldwide begin to position themselves for future growth in the face of an uncertain economic recovery, a new Towers Watson survey finds that concerns over their ability to attract and retain key talent, or to plan for an orderly replacement of talent, could thwart those efforts. The survey also found significant gaps in employers' capabilities to address talent management and succession planning issues. The Strategies for Growth survey of more than 700 companies globally, revealed that talent—finding it and keeping it—is the biggest potential workforce obstacle to achieving growth.

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Reflections on 2010 and perspective on 2011

The past year has been one of twists nad turns that has brought us to a diferent place then I have been in before. We thank our clients and partners for the path we have now finding ourselves walking. Give me the liberty of pondering verbally on some of these changes:

1) After a three year effort ot find a full time position, a number of organizations stated that I was not of interest because my background said consultant. We during the past six months made the decision that if I could not beat them then I might as well join them. In April we turned our efforts full time to becoming the very best consultant to our lcients that I could.

2) Along this path we have had the priviledge of meeting some phenomenol individuals who bring some really neat skills to the human capital arena. In advance I apologize if I miss anyone, but here are the individuals who really stand out in my quest:

Trisha MacFarlane - I had the privledge to meet Trish at the HR Florida conference. Trish is the owner of HR Ringleader which I look forward to reading each and every day for her insights on this great profession we have entered into. There has not been a single opportunity when Trish has not been willing to provide feedback on my social media efforts. The guidance is most appreciated.

Kathy Potts - Kathy conducts a program regarding how to play the game and being in control of the environment you function in. Kathy was willing to take time out of her busy schedule to sit down and review our marketing efforts and talk with us about what we needed to do to successfuly walk the new path we were beginning to tread down. Her advice has been right to the point.

Michael VanDevort - The social media guru who has been instrumental in opening some doors for us and been a sounding board on our own social media endeavors.

Barry Brown - I have known Barry and his wife Angel for many years and they both have been a source for guidance in areas of HR that I have not been involved in before. They have also been the source of mem bers of our client family. Barry and Angel than you for the years of being the support platform for our consulting practice.

Bill Mazurek - Bill began as our instructor for the six sigma black belt training and has become a valuable counselor and if I may take the liberty, a friend. We appreciate his efforts to take us to the next level in our work in the continous improvement field.

Larry Labelle - Larry during the past year has provided ongoing guidance about business intelligence and been a reliable resource to bounce ideas off.

Owner of My LinkingPowerForum Vincent has been a wealthof guidance into the way to grow our business and we treasure his advice and friendship.

3) One of our direction sis to provide a network of partners who can complement the services of DBAI with areas of expertise we don't have readily available. In the past year we have added several organizations to our partner list. We appreciate your contributions toour services package:

Suddath Van Lines - Part of the Unigroup company of moving companies, they have been both a partner but also a member of our client family.

BenePay Online - Working in the marketplace with small to medium sized organizations we knew that we needed a quality provider for electronic  benefit and payroll services. BenePay has been the perfect fit. They have a quality program and have already worked to make this a two way relationship by providing leads for organizations that might need our services. In addition we will be providing HR services to their clients as needed.

Alessandra and Associates - For a number of years we have been a distributor for the materials of Tony Alessandra who we highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a dynamic presentor for corporate meetings. In 2010, on our partner page we have provided a link to the online assessment catalog with over 40 assessments to improve corporate perofrmance.

4) The year 2011 is beginning to look promising for a very busy year. Our The Ultimate IMprovement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management is gaining some very strong interest nationwide with possible presentations in about five different cities. We intend to get mor einvolved with the Economic Gardening effort across the region, It is the route to get us out of the doldrums we are in.

No matter what your beliefs, may you celebrate the ned of one year and the beginning of a new one with joy and happiness for yourself and those closest to you. I look forward to more interaction between our organizations inthe coming year. If we can be of any assistance, please let us know.

Happy Holiday wishes

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Race to Nowhere

As I do typically every morning I watch a portion of the Today show before getting on the computer. This morning they had a segment with the documentary producer who create a film that is making a stir across this country. The premise behind the film entitled Race to Nowhere" is that we are loading our youth with so much pressure to get into this college or that college that they can never achieve the goal. They discussed a 13 year old girl who failed to get an A on a math test and was so stressed out over it that she committed suicide.

I took a moment to carry this out a little further and asked myself if we are doing this to our kids, then they must have gotten this "drive" from somewhere and the natural thought is that it is coming from peers, teachers and parents. If in fact it in part comes from their parents and teachers, then does this race carry over to the workplace?

We all are cognizant of the fact that we function in an ever increasingly competitive global workplace. I realize it is a fact of life. But in an effort to be better than everyone else, do we equally place this urge to race to nowhere on our employees? Do we as managers walk the walk,and talk the talk that every employee must reach this lofty goal which maybe unattainable?

While our organizations need to remain competitive, it is equally true that we as business owners and human resource professionals must recognize that not every employee is capable or wants to be in the "Harvard" of the business world. Some can make equally important contributions to the health of the organization without being in the ivory tower of the organization. The employee could be the one on the floor who sees that we are doing something that is not totally beneficial to the organization and alerts management to a better way of doing things. The employee could be the one who in exposure to our customers enhances the relationship by going the extra mile to solve a problem. The employee could be the one who by being active in the local community extends the brand name of the organization by showing that the organization cares about the community in which they thrive.

 Competitiveness for the sake of competitiveness may look good on paper but it is not necessarily good for the health of the organization or its greatest asset - your employees

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On the road to perfection have we lost our way?

Return for a minute with me to the late 60's. I know if you remember the period you were supposedly not part of the time period.But it was a time when the way we taught our next generation was different then today. I cam out of college in this era and taught for six years. I still correspond with one of my first students, 41 years later. In a recent chat session she made the comment that I was one of the first teachers who made her think about the reasons behind what we do and why.

Russ Moen of Express Personnel makes the argument that when the nature of the business world changed from one based on what we made to what we imagine, the nature of the employee changed from one of being an expense item to being a non-owned corporate asset the central part to success in business was dependent on collaboration and innovation.

I look at the push behind such things as NCLB and realize that today's educators while for the most part do a good job, they fail to teach the skills to enable our next generation of workers to be critical thinkers in the workplace. You can't instill innovation in an individual when you are "teaching" them to prepare for the state accountability exam. Instead we are teaching them to stay within very small parallel views. Where would we end up with a HP or an Apple or even Ford Motor if we told them that they can't operate from the garage as they developed their concept because it did not meet the testing criteria.

I was a bear of a teacher and I readily admit it. I took every opportunity to challenge my students to reach for that next higher level in what they did. We need to do the same with today's workers who come into the workplace by being unable to think beyond what is in front of them. We have not prepared our workplace to view the world from both a macro perspective and at the same time a micro perspective. When was the last time you had an employee come to you and suggest that there maybe a better way to complete a process? In many cases the reason is that they were never taught to think for themselves.

Dr. Richard Florida talks in his books about the role of the Creative Class in the workplace. He suggests that this country's standing in the world is going to be diminished because those who dream instead of producing end results believe they can find a greener pasture elsewhere. It is time we understand the new paradigm and change our educational system to meet the needs of your workplace not whether they performed well on some standardized test dictated by an accountability fanatic sitting in some office away from the workplace/classroom.

Innovation is the way to our recovery. Innovation is the way to the future of the workplace. Innovation is the way to produce contributing members of society. If we don't recognize how to challenge the assumptions made by organizations how do we expect to be innovators in the years to come. I would expect that the next generation will not be as productive as past ones due to the inability to look at problems with a critical mind.

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Are walking the walk and talking the talk?

A recent new article about the congressional gridlock gave me a moment to pause to reflect on what goes on in our corporate environments. Every year since September 11 we have held memorial events to honor those who lost their lives in the twin towers. On the face of it we are honoring not only the victims but the many first responders who came to the rescue of those at three sites. Last week the Congressional leaders defeated legislation  which would have covered some of the cost of the health care for those who went into the disaster sites. Are we honoring those who have passed away but not those who lived but were exposed to the debris?

Let's take a look at the corporate environment and see how many times we see a similar scenario happening. A friend of mine has recently taken a job with a company that is noted for its customer service. Management tells their employees that they believe in an open door policy but employees are labeled as a malcontent if they take a problem to the management. What is the affect when you ask your employees to become engaged with your organization, but then through your actions treat them as second class citizens. How do you respond to the employee, who you continual provide feedback telling them how valuable tot he organization they are, but you expect them to put in 70-80 hour weeks because that is the way we do things around here?

Does your actions match your message to not only your employees but your customers?

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IRS releases 2011 Mileage rates

IR-2010-119, Dec. 3, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 51 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs as determined by the same study. Independent contractor Runzheimer International conducted the study.

A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. In addition, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for any vehicle used for hire or for more than four vehicles used simultaneously.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

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Are we ready for the changed dynamics?

The Wharton School has published an article regarding the affects of the "silver Tsunami" as older workers change their views about retiring. The article can be found at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2644

 

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Have we missed the directions?

One of the business magazines I read religiously from cover to cover each month is the latest edition of Fast Company Magazine. Several years ago in doing so I read an article by Dr. Richard Florida and got hooked on his concepts. His latest book, the Great Reset is no exception.

Then I picked up the St Petersburg Times this morning and the front page contains a larger article across the middle of the page entitled " New Reality in The US: Forever jobless." This lead me to contemplate whether we have missed the direction in which we are headed.

The nature of the workforce has changed but many of our politicians are still walking around with rose colored glasses. Many of our human resource professionals are in the same boat.So how do we need to change direction to resolve the unemployment quagmire we are in?

First, we need to come to the realization that we are no longer in a workplace that is governed by what we make. It is ruled, whether you accept it or not, by what we dream. This means that our way of viewing available talent. There was a reason why the founders of HP and Apple began in their garages.They did so because traditional business did not recognize the value of their ideas.

Second, the current trend to negate the inclusion of candidates who are unemployed means that you may be eliminating the very person who has the concept in his or her head that will catapult your organization to the next level.

Third, Charles Handy in his book "The Age of Paradox" suggested that we would end unemployment by everyone being self-employed. If that is true we need to be concerned where the knowledge bank of our organizations is going reside. Your organization depends on developing that knowledge base and having it available as needed.

While jobs are important and we would not dispute that we need to get as many people back to work as possible, we would also contend that the effort to concentrate on passive candidates is not helping the unemployment issue nor your organization.

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Cooley Godward and Kronish post mimum compensation rates for 2011

Ther law firm of Cooley, Godward and Kronish posted on their legal blog the minimum compensation rates for the coming year:

2011 Minimum Compensation Rates

New Year Brings Few Changes in Minimum Compensation Rates

Employers should review compensation rates for both exempt and nonexempt employees to ensure compliance with current legal thresholds. Set forth below are rates at the federal level, and for some states and localities, that apply to the most common job categories.

The following minimum compensation rates are effective as of January 1, 2011:
JURISDICTION	EXEMPTION	MINIMUM COMPENSATION
FEDERAL	Nonexempt	$7.25/hour
	Executive	$455/week1 on salary basis
	Professional or Administrative	$455/week on salary or fee basis
	Computer	$27.63/hour (no change from 2010)
	Highly Compensated	$100,000 total compensation (including minimum $455 minimum weekly salary or fee)
	Licensed practicing medical doctor or attorney; teacher	None
	Business Owner (20% minimum equity and engaged in management)	None
	Outside sales	None
In the following jurisdictions, higher rates prevail as shown. Not all states are reflected.
CALIFORNIA	Nonexempt	$8.00/hour $9.79/hour (San Francisco) (increase from 2010)
	Executive, professional or administrative	$2,773.33/month on salary basis
	Computer	$37.94/hour, $6,587.50/month or $79,050/year
	Licensed Physician	$69.13/hour
COLORADO	Nonexempt	$7.36/hour (still proposed; not final) (increase from 2010)
MASSACHUSETTS	Nonexempt	$8.00/hour
NEW YORK	Nonexempt	$7.25/hour
WASHINGTON, DC	Nonexempt	$8.25/hour
WASHINGTON STATE	Nonexempt	$8.67/hour (increase from 2010)
	Outside Sales Exemption	guaranteed salary, commission, or fee

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HRCI approves Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management CE Credits for 2011

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The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management 

Welcome to the First Day of the Rest of Your Career

Gain Access to the Partnership Table through the Language of Business

Are you functioning as more than an administrative vehicle?  Unfortunately, for many of you the answer is no!  The corporate world is changing with a blink of an eye. You can either be part of that change or remain in the HR silo which is looked upon as an impediment to the progress of most organizations.

Fortunately, there is a better way.  Our 14-hour workshop, The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management, will help you identify those strategies to enable you to become part of the change effort within your organization.

The Ultimate Improvement Cycle is your direct route to:

► Understanding the language of business                         

► Identifying sources of non-value added

    activities within your HR process

► Identifying techniques for eliminating 

    non-value added activities

► Increasing your bottom line

► Ensuring that your processes are

    repeatable each and every time

► Choosing appropriate tools to solve

     problems

► Real Life examples of the six sigma

     methodology in action

The workshop materials include a take away workbook and a 30 day free trial to QI Macros, an Excel based cross platform program which contains the six sigma tool box.

Sponsored by the Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc and the

HCC Center for Continuing Education

Registration Fee: $499.00

                                                     

Session 1: February 21 and 23, 2011          HCC Collaborative Studio 8:30 to 4:00

Session 2: March 21 and 23, 2011  HCC Davis Island                    8:30 to 4:00

 

HRCI has awarded the course 13 strategic continuing Education Credits. Space is limited to 25 participants.

To register for the workshop visit:

http://www.tampatraining.com/training-courses/course-details.cfm?ID=1123

WORKSHOP LEADER:

Daniel T. Bloom SPHR, SSBB, SCRP is a human resource professional with over 30 years’ experience within the industry and the CEO of Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc. He has assisted both small and Fortune 100 corporations with their human capital issues. He is one of the few HR professionals in the country to be jointly certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and as a Six Sigma Black Belt.

For More information Contact:

Daniel Bloom at dan@dbaiconsulting.com or Bill Melendez at 813-259-6508

 Can’t make it to Tampa – Contact us about bringing the course to your location.

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What do You Believe?

On this day that we celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims to our shores eons ago, it is worthy of our time to stop and look at what is good in our lives. Despite the trails and tribulations that we have all gone through in these hard economic times, there is still plenty to be thankful for -- family, friends and the fact that we are still here. Take the time today to let those who are around you and who you care for, that we are thankful for their presence.

This is the start of the holiday season and Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc. wishes you the very best holiday season as we ring out 2010. May 2011 see an increase in those things we are thankful for.

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What are we telling our employees?

I was driving down the road on my way to drop off a donation to our local domestic violence shelter when I passed a sign on a medical clinic. The sign in very bold letters stated walkins welcome for express psychiatric care. As i continued on my way I began to think about what that kind of message would send to our human capital assets. We continually hear references to the fact that in order to achieve anything we need to avoid HR. This is true of recruiters as well as hiring managers.

So lets consider this in more detail. Is HR an asset to the organization, or are we providing the employee base with express HR care? Is the name of the game to see how fast we can solve an employee's issues and move on to the next one? Or is our goal to learn what the employee really wants and if so do we take the time to obtain the whole story?

HR professionals contunually lament that they are not part of the decision process, but when we consider our function as a silo within the organization and forget that we play a critical role in the success of the efforts of our business, we act like the express psychiatric care.

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Who am I? The role of human capital in a global workplace

I recently was approached by a professor at one of the local universities with an invitation to come speak to her leadership classes. She asked me to demonstrate for mostly financial background MBA students what the soft side of human resources, i.e., management,

As I began to prepare my presentation for the classes I chose to follow the human capital resources through each of the ages we have traversed since the 1770's. When we were primarily on the farm, we learned how to work in cross functional collaborative teams. It was part of the fabric of our lives that we looked to help the individual be successful in owning and operating the farm. It was a period when we saw the rise of the "Quaker Business Model" which believed that the role of the organization was to do what ever was necessary to see that the best came out in every individual. Diane Cadbury in her book The Chocolate Wars talked about how her family helped out the employees by encouraging them to continue their education, provided the first health insurance plans and other similar efforts to enhance the life they lived.

When we moved to the industrial age, the individual changed their relationship with the organization reverting to a mere number. The key was that they could now support their family by working within a big city. This philosophy has now extended to the way many organizations look at employees today. The economy tanks and instead of trying to see how to reinvent the processes we utilize, the strategy is to see how many human capital resources we can cut to bring costs inline with a subjective target. Never mind that those human capital resources represent the knowledge base of the organization. Never mind that few organizations take into consideration that cutting staff does not reduce the workload, in fact it escalates the load on the remaining staff.

By the beginning of the 21st century we have changed our paths so that the benefit from the organization is what we dream not what we produce or make. This change in focus also changes the role that human capital resources play within our organizations. One of the problems we see is that every day there is another story about organizations that are trying to enforce non-competition clauses on departing human capital resources. The difficulty is that our human capital are not number any longer, They are corporate assets that are free to wander as they choose. we in essence lease their services with the understanding that if we do not meet their needs they are gone to somewhere that will respect their value to our organizations.

This new paradigm calls for new strategies to utilize the human capital resources. This means we have to gain a better understanding of the importance of the role they play in the future of your workplace. These strategies can be divided into categories of expectations:

• The human capital must be engaged in their work environment on the basis that they want.
• The workplace must be designed around a system that provides the routes for the employee to enhance their learning of skills that will improve they way they deliver what is in their minds.
• What ever processes we put in place must have as its goal the manifestation that the efforts put forth by the human capital resources are appreciated by the organization, not just taken for granted.
• The organization needs to ensure that any conditions that lead to a hostile workplace are eliminated. This means free from harassment on the part of management, fellow employees and outside vendors.
• The organization needs to ensure that an employee can come to work and feel that will not be exposed to actions by others that can be classified as violent in nature. It also includes the organizational efforts to ensure that no one brings illicit drugs into the workplace.
• The human capital assets expect that they will be respected for who they are and what they contribute to the organization not having their growth stymied because of biases on the part of the organization as to what they can achieve.
• Finally it is absolutely that the top management efforts represent total buy in to the new paradigm, not just giving it lip service.

As a human resource professional within your organization, it is your task to see that the organization moves toward this new direction. Human capital resources are vital to the successes of our businesses. You make the decision as to whether your organization maintains the status quo or heads in the direction of the new paradigm.

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Enhancements to I-9 verifications

J.J. Keller in their HRClicks Newsletter reports that the I-9 program's capabilities expanded to include U.S. passport photo matching — enabling E-Verify to automatically check the validity and authenticity of all U.S. passports and passport cards presented for employment verification checks, as announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The identity of new employees who present a U.S. passport or passport card to E-Verify employers can now be verified by comparing the data to state department records. Approximately 10 percent of all E-Verify queries currently provide a U.S. passport to establish both identity and employment authorization in order to prove employment eligibility.

E-Verify has provided photo matching capabilities to employers throughout the nation to verify the identity of new employees when they presented employment authorization documents or permanent resident cards as proof of identity and work authorization for the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, since 2007.

DHS, in partnership with the Social Security Administration, operates the E-Verify web-based system which is now used by more than 230,000 employers at more than 800,000 worksites.

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Ford & Harrison issues Legal Alert regarding Health Care Grandfathered Plans

Legal Alert: Changes to Grandfathered Plan Rules Announced
 
11/16/2010
Daniel Sulton

 

 

The triple threat of federal agencies (Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, and Department of Health and Human Services) first published guidance in the form of interim final regulations on "grandfathered" health plans under the health care reform law (the "Affordable Care Act") on June 17, 2010. Since then the agencies have issued Frequently Asked Questions on September 20, 2010, October 8, 2010, October 12, 2010 and October 28, 2010, each containing responses to questions regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including clarifications on rules related to grandfathered plans. On November 15, 2010, the agencies released an amendment to the interim final regulations providing some relief to fully insured group health plans.

Amendment

In response to comments received on the interim final regulations, the agencies determined that an amendment is necessary to the grandfathered plan rules. Under the interim final regulations, a fully insured group health plan would lose its grandfathered status if it changed issuers or policies after March 23, 2010 regardless of whether or not the benefits or terms under the policy had actually changed in any significant way. The amendment to the interim final regulations removes this restriction and allows a group health plan or employer to enter into a new policy, certificate or contract of insurance without the plan losing its grandfathered status if certain conditions are met. This amendment, like the interim final regulations, applies separately to each benefit package under the health plan. However, it does not apply to individual policies.

In order for a fully insured group health plan to maintain its grandfathered status after a change in insurer or policy, the plan must not make any other changes that would result in a loss of grandfathered status under the interim final regulations (e.g. any increase in a percentage cost-sharing requirement such as coinsurance, etc. Please see our Legal Alert, Anticipated Health Care Reform Grandfathered Plan Regulations Released," dated June 23, 2010, available on our web site at http://www.fordharrison.com/shownews.aspx?Show=6300, for a complete list of changes that will result in a loss of grandfathered status.) Additionally, the group health plan must provide any new insurance company with documentation of the prior health plan coverage sufficient to determine if any change in the new policy, certificate or contract of insurance is being made that would result in a loss of grandfathered status.

Effective Date

The amendment applies to group health insurance changes which become effective on or after November 15, 2010. Therefore, any change of insurer or policy that became effective prior to November 15, 2010 will not be subject to the amendment and would result in a loss of grandfathered status.

Employers' Bottom Line

This amendment is a welcome change for employers with a fully insured group health plan or with any fully insured benefit options under its health plan. It allows flexibility to change insurance carriers or insurance policies without the loss of grandfathered status as long as such changes do not result in one of the six prohibited changes under the interim final regulations for grandfathered health plans. Employers with fully insured plans who avoided making certain insurance policy changes (other than the 6 prohibited changes for grandfathered plans) that would reduce cost but result in a new policy being issued, may want to revisit those decisions in light of this amendment. Unfortunately, this amendment may have come too late, as a practical matter, for calendar year plans to make any changes for the 2011 plan year.

If you have any questions regarding this Alert, please contact the author, Daniel Sulton, dsulton@fordharrison.com, any member of Ford & Harrison's Employee Benefits Practice Group, or the Ford & Harrison attorney with whom you usually work. You may also visit the health care reform section of the Ford & Harrison website, http://www.fordharrison.com/HealthcareReform.aspx, for more helpful resource§s and tools on health care reform.

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New Twist in Social Media

Many of the pundits of Social Media in the workplace have had differing views on what has to be in a social media policy. They have also questioned the ownership of the relationships developed on the social media venue. In a case out of Connecticut, an employee placed disparing comments about her boss and the company on Facebook, The organization in turn fired her. The National Labor Relations Board has entered into the fray and stated that she was dismissed illegally because what she said was covered by the right to free speech.

What does your social media policy say in this regard? Are you ensuring that both sides of the equation's rights are being protected? NLRB says that what she said was no different than talking around the water cooler. Is that not what social media is all about?

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Do we really know what the answer is?

I was driving around doing errands over the weekend, when suddenly in front of me was a car with a bumper sticker that resonanted with the current economic environment and workplace environment we live in. The bumper sticker was in this case black and white but the statement was short and to the point.

It stated " Don't Believe What You Think."

Reading the bumper sticker made me take a moment and consider question as to how often do we in human resources (or the business environment for that matter) find ourselves facing a problem and because we think we know the answer, we jump to a solution. Do we provide a correct solution in these cases?

The six sigma methodology teaches us to ask the "5 Whys" when confronted with a problem. The premise is that the first answer we receive when we question what we think is usually not the real answer we are looking for. To get to the root cause of the problem takes questioning it five times. So if this is true, when we belive what we think is the solution to a problem are we solving the problem correctly?

If you like we would be open to examples on both sides of the question.

 

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Relocation Announcement

Alvarion is moving its north American headquarters from the Silicon Valley to Montgomery County, MD by 2013.

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Cut Hours or Reduce Staff - Is that all there is?

In his daily post for TLNT, Larry Haun suggested that the question before many organizations in time of economic hardship is whether you cut hours or reduce staff? Larry Haun, who is the community director for ERE.net makes some very good points. The difficulty here is that the response is based on an employee being just another number on the expense sheet.

We would suggest that if you take an alternative view of the role of the employee to be that of a non-owned capital asset that is one of the reasons you are still functioning as an organization then there is a third alternative. If we take a page from GE and change the view of the HR process to be one of continuous process improvement we can offer a third alternative. By removing the process steps that are non-value added (they are not requested by our customers) and ensuring that our processes are repeatable every time we conduct them, then the alternative is we can raise revenues by removing the non-value added steps.

James Womack in his book Lean Thinking suggests that unless the organization is close to bankruptcy, then lean or lean six sigma efforts should not call for layoffs. They should actually enhance the worklevels of the employees due to the opening of opportunity in other departments and through the introduction of new products and services.

Are you stuck in the silo of employees as an expense or have you realized they are a valuable asset and maximizing your human capital?

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HRCI approves Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management CE Credits

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In conjunction with Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc.. the Corporate Training Centers at Hillsborough Community College will be offering the first of its kind in the United States a 14-hour training program for HR professionals on how to apply the six-sigma methodology to your hr processes. The course will contain both technical and real life experiences with the various tools and how they apply to HR.

HRCI has approved this course for 13 strategic business recertification hours.

The course is scheduled to be presented November 18 and 23 and again March 21 and 23. The instructor will be Daniel Bloom SPHR, SSBB the CEO of Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc and one of the few individuals in the country to be certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and a Six Sigma Black Belt.

For more information contact Bill Melendez at HCC at 813-259-6508

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Is the glass half empty or half full?

Every generation has been confronted with this question and with the question which came first the chicken or the egg. If we listen to the political pundits going into tomorrow's elections we can see the same picture developing. 

The tea party candidates are telling us how really bad things are. How all the strategies created to combat one of the worse recessions in this country were all bad. But is that really true? Consider the headlines out of the paper recently.

• The TARP funds were the sign that our priorities were out of place. And yet a local CPA appeared on the local FOX news station and pointed out that many of the banks that have already paid back their loans have done so with a premium coming back. AIG announced today that it already has 37 billion dollars ready to come back to the US Treasury.
• Manufacturing output exceeded the projections of most economists for the last reporting month.
• Many of the corporations that have laid off employees are beginning to recall them back including GM and Delta Airlines.
• Corporations are in the process of returning some customer service positions back to the US because economically it made more sense.This includes Radio Shack, AT&T and others. I was in attendance at a conference recently where the  speaker indicated that he was working with an India based Information Systems firm which was opening a call center in Wisconsin because it was cheaper to run it here.

How does this apply to human capital? I hear the same kind of rhetoric coming from the business community. Have you ever practiced the philosophy that there is no sense in training our employees because they would just leave? Have you ever told your hiring resources not to provide you with the names of candidates because they are in transition due to circumstances that are beyond their control? Have your ever expressed the belief that if a candidate was let go and did not find employment quickly they are worthless?

We as human capital managers have the ability to look at the glass as being half full or half empty. Look at the available talent for who they are not what you envision them to be. You maybe surprised based on the changed attitude. Many of the in transition executives have taken this time to increase their levels of education but you are excluding this because you believe the glass is half empty.

So as you enter the voting booth tomorrow (we hope you all will one way or another) and as you go forward in your managerial efforts consider whether the glass is really as empty as you think it is. Pundits have been wrong in the past. Be sure you are not a victim to the wrong attitude.

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USERRA Rights might start earlier then you expected

From Wolters Kluwer Employment Blog

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Army reserve member’s USERRA claims against Wyeth partially reinstated

Finding an army reserve member raised sufficient evidence that his performance improvement plan was improperly extended due to his military leave, the First Circuit reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of his USERRA claims against his employer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Vega-Colon v Wyeth Pharm, 1stCir, October 28, 2010, Thompson, OR). The direct court properly granted summary judgment to the pharmaceutical company on the reserve member’s numerous other USERRA discrimination and retaliation claims, however, the appeals court ruled.

Background. The reserve member, a package equipment supervisor who worked for Wyeth in Puerto Rico, alternated between active and inactive status during his employment with the company. The first assertedly actionable incident was a poor performance evaluation, allegedly his first. Shortly thereafter, he was denied a reliability engineer position that he applied for, and he filed a discrimination complaint with the DOL’s Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS). VETS initially found no merit to his claim and denied the complaint, but it was later reinstated when the employee presented additional evidence. At any rate, the employee eventually voluntarily withdrew his VETS complaint.

After his negative performance evaluation, the employee had requested that Wyeth conduct a formal investigation. At a meeting to discuss the investigation, the employer alleged that the employee made a threatening comment, suggesting to the facility’s site director that he “made it easy for one to understand why massacres like the one at Virginia Tech take place.” After this comment — which the employee denied — his access to the plant was restricted, although he continued to receive his salary and benefits. At some point, he returned from military leave with his access to the plant restored. Next, he was placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) pursuant to a Wyeth policy in which all employees who receive low performance evaluations are placed on a PIP. He timely completed the objectives established under the PIP within the required 90 days, yet he was informed nonetheless that the PIP would be extended for other reasons until he returned from military service. His reserve unit was mobilized that month.

The employee filed suit, alleging several claims of discrimination and retaliation based on his military service under USERRA and Puerto Rico law. He claimed the discriminatory and retaliatory actions taken by Wyeth were the result of his decision to return to active duty. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Wyeth on all claims, and the employee appealed.

USERRA coverage. Wyeth argued that because he did not return to active duty until February 2007, the employee was not protected under USERRA until this date. However, the appeals court held the employee “applied to perform” active duty service, for purposes of USERRA, once he informed his supervisors. “While informing a supervisor of one's intent to return to service is not strictly speaking an application for service; it is only logical that USERRA coverage would be triggered at the point in time in which an employer has information about an employee on which it could base discriminatory treatment,” the appeals court wrote. “To deny an employee who has expressed such a definite intention the protection of USERRA until his literal application for service is signed and delivered would be contrary to the stated purposes of USERRA. This conclusion is further supported by the principle that USERRA should be broadly construed in favor of military service members as its purpose is to protect such members.”

Because his April 2006 application for the reliability engineer position was the earliest action related to his claims, any alleged improper conduct by Wyeth necessarily took place after USERRA was triggered, the court reasoned.

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Relocation Announcement

Scripps moving headquarters from Cincinnati to Knoville, TN

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What are we leaving to our business organizations?

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• What are we leaving to our business organizations?
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Growing up I had the opportunity to graduate from one of the top high schools in the country at the time (Mamaroneck HS class of 65) and I have to say that the education gained there went along way in providing a pathway fro the rest of my career. I went on to earn a degree in Education and before entering the business world taught for six years. This is not a bio on Daniel Bloom but rather laying the ground work for a real concern that hit home in the past week.

To keep my teaching skills up to date and to give back to the community I periodically serve as a substitute teacher in the local school districts. Recently I covered for a 6th grade social studies class and was taken aback by the interaction in the classroom. There were students who did not even try to do the worksheet assignment the teacher had left, there were other students who complained that they could not understand what the teacher wanted done and still others who complained that it was too difficult. I talked with one of the school administrators about my concerns and was told that this is the name of the game these days. He further stated that if he taught today's students the way he taught students 20 years ago, he would have to fail every student in the class.

So here is my concern on this nice fall day in the sunny tropics (temperatures are actually not supposed to get over 80 today and low's in the 50's tonight). I read on a fairly regular basis that the rank of this country in regards to competitiveness is slipping compared to other countries. Have we brought this on ourselves? Did the parents of this generation who insisted that they get a gold star for showing up or the trophy for playing on a saturday morning sports team because every else did do a disservice to our business organizations?

Granted that day in the class room I saw sign of teamwork and collaboration. ON the other hand what I envisioned was a group of employees in a workplace who when confronted with a project with a specific deadline, would not know where to begin.

There is also another aspect to this scenario. We in the business world know or should know that the key to our being successful in the global marketplace is both innovation and collaboration. Part of that comes from individuals being able to share ideas and concepts. With the ever increasing push for "purity" in ideals and philosophies in our political arenas, are we going to come to the day where those keys to innovation disappear from our jobs. Does that push for sameness mean that the respect for our collaboration is demeaned? Does it mean that we have forgotten the lessons from history in which those who have tried this purity route before have eventually failed in their goals?

I will agree with come commentators that the push for success on standardized tests has diminished the education level of our students. The believe that everyone has to be at the same level to succeed means that we have lost the ability to present real hands on challenges to the next generation because our teachers are too busy teaching to the test rather than the material. I can tell you that if I was coming out of college today with a degree in education I would have second thoughts about going into the classroom.

So what is our recourse? We need to move to a program that actually prepares our students for the real world not some contrived test that supposedly teaches skills, even if they turn out new employees who can't read, can't write and more important can't think. My mother used to tell the story of one of her teachers who challenged her students by asking them "How do you know you think?" Is the answer we are giving them, that you don't need to know how to think.

Our businesses are confronted with major problems toady. Many of them stem from the altered society views on the world we live in. Some of this we brought on ourselves. Others have come about because we have changed the nature of the education we deliver to them as they prepare to enter the workforce. We need to do something now not later to return to those days when we went to school for a reason not because the law says we have to until we turn 16. I just came across a website yesterday that is trying to make those changes. Take a look at http://www.donewaiting.org

It is not too late, we can make a difference for the business organizations we work for to ensure their survival. But we also can't sit back on our sofas and say it is not our problem. Everyone has to get involved.

This post originally appeared on my blog on Bestthinking.com

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Important relocation issue response to Wall Street Journal

 
Arlington, VA — The workforce mobility industry reacted Tuesday to an October 25 Wall Street Journal article by Joann Lublin, “Shareholders Hit the Roof Over Relocation Subsidies,” which noted that new federal laws have made relocation costs for senior executives public information, and robust home-loss provisions for senior corporate executives are drawing concerned investor criticism.

Peggy Smith, CEO for Worldwide ERC®, the workforce mobility association said, "Worldwide ERC® members understand that these cost figures become relevant only when measured against common business metrics such as return on investment, productivity, and company focus, which are legitimate shareholder concerns. Our industry absolutely supports the effective and consistent governance of resources and accountability to all stakeholders as companies make an investment in top talent. We also firmly believe that global and economic growth is rooted in the continued worldwide mobility of talent, and would be troubled to see newly re-emerging mobility activity fettered by this news.”

Smith said, “We need to look at all of the issues in the mobility industry to get a clear picture of what’s happening. First, organizations continue to report growing U.S. employee reluctance to relocate, with difficult housing markets directly implicated as the reason. Second, we can see that companies have made shifts in their policies to address additional assistance to respond to the housing market. Seventy percent of companies reported having made at least one change to their relocation policies in the past two years, and they continue to revolve around solutions to address homesale challenges. Some of those policy changes cited ‘other’ types of changes, such as the addition of a repayment agreement. At this juncture, 90% of our members have a new-hire payback agreement in place.”

Shareholder concerns over executive compensation are only one part of the picture, as high-level executive talent represents a very small amount of all the transfers that are occurring in the workforce mobility space. “It is crucial not to paint all relocations with the same brush, because a company’s talent management strategy is ever more closely linked with its mobility program,” said Smith. “Applying terms like ‘ill-gotten gains’ with regard to housing loss policies, and using executive compensation to represent the many middle-management transfers that are in process can bring some unfavorable, unintended and longer-term implications. Worldwide ERC® members are committed to efficient, cost-effective workforce mobility, and to the concept that dynamic talent management is essential to economic recovery. Companies are working toward this imperative: to strike the right balance of transparency, governance, and strategy to meet their talent mobility and business goals.”

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Is perception reality?

At the recent HR Florida conference as I have previously discussed, a peer asked a panel of social media guru's when his employees were collaborating if they were constantly on Facebook and Twitter? Now I open the paper this morning and find an article about a social studies teacher at Clearwater HS. At the beginning of the school year Clearwater HS became the first high school in the country to issue all of their students Kindles and have eventually all their textbooks on the tablet. Well it seems that this social sciences teacher was in the middle of a lecture when she noticed that a majority of the students were seemingly paying more attention to their kindle then her. Thinking that they were spending more time surfing the web then paying attention in class, she stopped the class. Reality set in. Turns out the students were using the kindle unit to keep their class notes on rather then pulling out a piece of paper or a notebook. In fact the artice said they were keeping better notes then before the kindles were issued.

So my question to you is what is your perspective on the use of technology by your employees? Are they using social media as a way to back away from their required responsibilities or they actually collaborating more with colleagues to get the job done? Are you ready to accept the new paradigm?

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Relocation Announcement

Swebo taps Maryland for new U.S. headquarters

Swebo Bioenergy, a Swedish bioenergy firm said it is planning to open a new Annapolis, Maryland, office, as its base of U.S. operations, after the state lobbied it to bring its business there. Swebo Bioenergy, which produces and sells bioenergy systems that include everything from pellets to chips, wood and solar energy, said yesterday that manufacturing operations would most likely follow. The company said it plans to initially hire a handful of employees, followed by another 20 upon starting U.S. manufacturing.

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The Corporate Training Centers of Hillsborough Community College to Offer Unique Instructional Opportunity

In conjunction with Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc.. the Corporate Training Centers at Hillsborough Community College will be offering the first of its kind int he United States a 14-hour training program for HR professionals on how to apply the six-sigma methodology to your hr processes. The course will contain both technical and real life experiences with the various tools and how they apply to HR.

The course is scheduled to be presented November 18 and 23 and again March 21 and 23. The isntructor will be Daniel Bloom SPHR, SSBB the CEO of Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc and one of the few individuals in the country to be certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and a Six Sigma Black Belt.

For more informatiopn contact Bill Melendez at HCC at 813-259-6508

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What are we leaving for the next generation workplace?

Growing up I had the opportunity to graduate from one of the top high schools in the country at the time (Mamaroneck HS class of 65) and I have to say that the education gained there went along way in providing a pathway fro the rest of my career. I went on to earn a degree in Education and before entering the business world taught for six years. This is not a bio on Daniel Bloom but rather laying the ground work for a real concern that hit home in the past week.

To keep my teaching skills up to date and to give back to the community I periodically serve as a substitute teacher in the local school districts. Recently I covered for a 6th grade social studies class and was taken aback by the interaction in the classroom. There were students who did not even try to do the worksheet assignment the teacher had left, there were other students who complained that they could not understand what the teacher wanted done and still others who complained that it was too difficult. I talked with one of the school administrators about my concerns and was told that this is the name of the game these days. He further stated that if he taught today's students the way he taught students 20 years ago, he would have to fail every student in the class.

So here is my concern on this nice fall day in the sunny tropics (temperatures are actually not supposed to get over 80 today and low's in the 50's tonight).  I read on a fairly regular basis that the rank of this country in regards to competitiveness is slipping compared to other countries. Have we brought this on ourselves? Did the parents of this generation who insisted that they get a gold star for showing up or the trophy for playing on a saturday morning sports team because every else did do a disservice to our business organizations?

Granted that day in the class room I saw sign of team work and collaboration. ON the other hand what I envisioned was a group of employees in a workplace who when confronted with a project with a specific deadline, would not know where to begin.

There is also another aspect to this scenario. We in the business world know or should know that the key to our being successful in the global marketplace is both innovation and collaboration. Part of that comes from individuals being able to share ideas and concepts. With the ever increasing push for "purity" in ideals and philosophies in our political arenas, are we going to come to the day where those keys to innovation disappear from our jobs. Does that push for sameness mean that the respect for our collaboration is demeaned? Does it mean that we have forgotten the lessons from history in which those who have tried this purity route before have eventually failed in their goals?

I will agree with come commentators that the push for success on standardized tests has diminished the education level of our students. The believe that everyone has to be at the same level to succeed means that we have lost the ability to present real hands on challenges to the next generation because our teachers are too busy teaching to the test rather than the material. I can tell you that if I was coming out of college today with a degree in education I would have second thoughts about going into the classroom.

So what is our recourse? We need to move to a program that actually prepares our students for the real world not some contrived test that supposedly teaches skills, even if they turn out new employees who can't read, can't write and more important can't think. My mother used to tell the story of one of her teachers who challenged her students by asking them "How do you know you think?" Is the answer we are giving them, that you don't need to know how to think.

Our businesses are confronted with major problems toady. Many of them stem from the altered society views on the world we live in. Some of this we brought on ourselves. Others have come about because we have changed the nature of the education we deliver to them as they prepare to enter the workforce. We need to do something now not later to return to those days when we went to school for a reason not because the law says we have to until we turn 16. I just came across a website yesterday that is trying to make those changes. Take a look at http://www.donewaiting.org

It is not too late, we can make a difference for the business organizations we work for to ensure their survival. But we also can't sit back on our sofas and say it is not our problem. Everyone has to get involved.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Becareful what you think sounds filled with common sense

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Steel Corporation for violating the law when it began requiring probationary employees to take random alcohol tests. The company fired an employee as a result of one of the tests.  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides that once a person has been hired and started work, an employer generally can only require a medical exam such as an alcohol test if the employer has reason to believe the employee would not be able to perform a job successfully or safely because of a medical condition. Medical tests or exams are allowed if the employer needs medical documentation to support a request for an accommodation.

“Although an employer may, of course, prohibit the usage of illegal drugs and alcohol in the workplace and hold all employees to the same conduct and performance standards, the ADA strictly restricts workplace medical examinations, including breath alcohol tests,” said Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office.  “An employer can only require an employee to submit to a medical examination such as an alcohol test if the examination is job-related and consistent with business necessity..."

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From Ogletree Deakins Attorneys: IRS releases W-2 Guidance on Healthcare Reform

IRS Delays Form W-2 Reporting Requirement Under PPACA 10/13/2010

by C. John Wentzell, Jr., Ogletree Deakins (Greenville Office) On October 12, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that employers will not be required to report the cost of employer-sponsored group health coverage on Forms W-2 issued for 2011. The IRS guidance provides welcome relief to employers facing the administrative burden of determining the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored health coverage and establishing procedures to track the coverage by the end of 2010.   Background The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) amended the Internal Revenue Code to require, beginning January 1, 2011, that employers report the aggregate cost of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” on Forms W-2 issued to employees.    Interim Relief In Notice 2010-69, the IRS explained that the Form W-2 reporting requirement is not mandatory for Forms W-2 issued for 2011, and an employer will not be subject to penalties for failure to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored coverage on Forms W-2 issued for 2011.  The IRS explained that “[T]he Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that this relief is appropriate to provide employers with additional time to make any necessary changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with the reporting requirement.” Also, the IRS continues to stress that the Form W-2 reporting requirement is intended for informational purposes only to provide employees with greater transparency into overall health care costs, and that the amounts reportable are not taxable. Form W-2 Reporting Requirement in General The Code, as modified by PPACA, requires an employer to report on an employee’s Form W-2 the aggregate cost of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage,” excluding: (1) the amount contributed to an Archer MSA of the employee or the employee’s spouse, (2) the amount contributed to a health savings account of the employee or the employee’s spouse, and (3) the amount of any salary reduction contributions to a flexible spending arrangement. Prior to the IRS’ issuance of interim relief, this requirement was scheduled to become effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.   “Applicable employer-sponsored coverage” is generally defined as coverage under any group health plan made available to an employee by an employer that is excludable from the employee’s gross income under the Code. Applicable employer-sponsored coverage includes the entire cost of the coverage, without regard to whether the employer or the employee pays for the coverage. The aggregate cost of coverage is determined under rules similar to those for determining premiums under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) – excluding the 2% administrative charge that may be applied to COBRA coverage. Applicable employer-sponsored coverage excludes: coverage for long-term care; coverage only for accident, or disability income insurance, or any combination thereof; coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance; liability insurance, including general liability insurance and automobile liability insurance; workers’ compensation insurance or similar insurance; automobile medical payment insurance; credit-only insurance; other similar insurance coverage, specified in regulations, under which benefits for medical care are secondary or incidental to other insurance benefits; coverage for a specified disease or illness, hospital indemnity, or other fixed indemnity insurance, if the coverage is offered as an independent, noncoordinated benefit the payment of which is not excludable from income, and no deduction is allowed; and coverage under a separate policy, certificate, or contract of insurance that provides dental or vision benefits. Additional IRS Guidance Expected Soon Notice 2010-69 also explains that the Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate issuing guidance further explaining the Form W-2 reporting requirement before the end of 2010. Should you have any questions about this interim relief, contact the Ogletree Deakins attorney with whom you normally work or the Client Services Department by phone at (866) 287-2576 or via e-mail at clientservices@ogletreedeakins.com.  Note: This article was published in the October 13, 2010 issue of the Benefits eAuthority.

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