A rash of calls recently from clients with a common question brings about this post.
If you have an employee who does not return to work after a leave of absence, and that employee is considered terminated from employment when that occurs, then the employee is entitled, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, to elect the COBRA premium subsidy as provided by the ARRA.
And yes, IRS Notice 2009-27 does state, "An involuntary termination means a severance from employment due to the independent exercise of the unilateral authority of the employer to terminate the employment, other than due to the employee’s implicit or explicit request, where the employee was willing and able to continue performing services." While the "willing and able to continue performing services" appears to conflict with a situation facing an employee who does not return from a leave of absence, nonetheless, the employee is an assistance eligible individual.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
[UPDATED] A gentle reminder. . .
Hey, where have you been? Okay, okay--it's more like where have we been. Sorry for the lack of posts in the month of February.
This is a quickie: remember that if you are not covered by federal COBRA (20 or more employees), you may still have obligations under your respective state's "mini-COBRA" law. For example, in Tennessee, employees can get three months of health insurance continuation if their employer is not covered by federal COBRA.
One other quickie: the federal COBRA subsidy that was in effect under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expired on February 28, 2010. The President and Congress have implemented a stop-gap measure extending the subsidy to March 31, 2010--the Temporary Extension Act of 2010.
This is a quickie: remember that if you are not covered by federal COBRA (20 or more employees), you may still have obligations under your respective state's "mini-COBRA" law. For example, in Tennessee, employees can get three months of health insurance continuation if their employer is not covered by federal COBRA.
One other quickie: the federal COBRA subsidy that was in effect under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expired on February 28, 2010. The President and Congress have implemented a stop-gap measure extending the subsidy to March 31, 2010--the Temporary Extension Act of 2010.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Speaking of giving . . .
The U.S. Department of Labor requested $117 billion for its fiscal year 2010 budget. Most of the money is to be used for unemployment insurance funds and job restructuring initiatives, but it shouldn't be overlooked what the DOL is requesting for its own staff: more than 350 new hires, including 177 investigators and enforcement staff. The DOL will emphasize hiring bilingual staff members "to better communicate with employees in the changing workplace."
The allocation request breaks down to half a billion for OSHA, and $244 million for Wage & Hour (with funding earmarked for 90 new investigators in that division), with $25 million of that for a Misclassification Initiative aimed at looking more closely into whether an individual is an employee incorrectly classified (hence, the name) as an independent contractor.
One carrot for States: a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund to "encourage" states to apply for competitive grants to launch paid-leave programs and offset start-up costs.
The allocation request breaks down to half a billion for OSHA, and $244 million for Wage & Hour (with funding earmarked for 90 new investigators in that division), with $25 million of that for a Misclassification Initiative aimed at looking more closely into whether an individual is an employee incorrectly classified (hence, the name) as an independent contractor.
One carrot for States: a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund to "encourage" states to apply for competitive grants to launch paid-leave programs and offset start-up costs.
A time for giving
Recent natural disasters have caused several clients to revisit their non-solicitation policies--particularly when the policies are an absolute ban on soliciting for causes. With the continued, albeit greatly diminished, life of the Employee Free Choice Act, by no means are we encouraging anyone to eliminate the policy altogether.
Yet in times when the devastation in Haiti is front and center on the news and websites; when the snow storms in the Midwest have left so many without power; the rock and mud slides and various disasters on the West coast have left many homeless; it is a natural instinct for those of us with so much to ask, "What can I do?"
We caution our clients about making exceptions to their policies. When an exception is real and easily defined, though, then bending the policy a bit becomes more easily explained should the exception be challenged in the future. Likewise, some clients are considering implementing new policies on a temporary basis, such as a temporary leave of absence policy for those employees who want to travel for relief efforts on their own time and money. If you are one of those businesses that is either recovering from the economic downturn or found yourself fortunate to not be hit in the gut, you may be considering even sponsoring a relief team for any number of charitable causes.
Whatever your situation, document. If you make an exception, delineate the who, what, when, where and why. If you allow for the leave of absence, be clear on your expectations. For example, if there are times of the year/production cycle when you just can't allow the absenteeism, let the employees know that upfront.
And if you simply want to open the break rooms, e-mail and intranet for solicitation of worthy causes, well, lather, rinse, repeat: document, delineate the exception, and be clear on your expectations.
Yet in times when the devastation in Haiti is front and center on the news and websites; when the snow storms in the Midwest have left so many without power; the rock and mud slides and various disasters on the West coast have left many homeless; it is a natural instinct for those of us with so much to ask, "What can I do?"
We caution our clients about making exceptions to their policies. When an exception is real and easily defined, though, then bending the policy a bit becomes more easily explained should the exception be challenged in the future. Likewise, some clients are considering implementing new policies on a temporary basis, such as a temporary leave of absence policy for those employees who want to travel for relief efforts on their own time and money. If you are one of those businesses that is either recovering from the economic downturn or found yourself fortunate to not be hit in the gut, you may be considering even sponsoring a relief team for any number of charitable causes.
Whatever your situation, document. If you make an exception, delineate the who, what, when, where and why. If you allow for the leave of absence, be clear on your expectations. For example, if there are times of the year/production cycle when you just can't allow the absenteeism, let the employees know that upfront.
And if you simply want to open the break rooms, e-mail and intranet for solicitation of worthy causes, well, lather, rinse, repeat: document, delineate the exception, and be clear on your expectations.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Down, set. . . wait, wait just a minute.
Sports can provide some of the best HR analogies. Take for example the NFL playoffs and the contemplated future of two of the games iron horses: Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals and Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings.
At the conclusion of the last several seasons, much of the buzz with these two gentlemen centers on whether they will retire. The question gets asked in the press conference immediately following the game that ends the season for them, and the QBs consistently give a "I'm not sure what I want to do right now" response as they flex their appendages with huge ice bags taped to them and grimace from the internal bleeding they have surely suffered at the hands of opposing defenses. And when pressed to give a more definite answer, again usually during that same press conference, Warner and Favre have more recently said they probably won't be back.
Of course, if they stuck with that decision, then this blog entry wouldn't have any use. What those players realize, and what we teach our HR clients to practice, is that decisions with an emotional tilt to them shouldn't be made in haste. More importantly, they shouldn't be made in close time to the event that spurned the need for a decision.
When our clients encounter an HR decision that will have a reverberating effect, we encourage them to take a few steps back before deciding on the proper course. Thinking with a clearer head and cooler emotions will often place the event in perspective and even create opportunities for alternative courses that might be more appropriate. If my husband, a head coach, has one golden rule for his players and parents, it is that his door is always open except immediately after a game. You put so much time, energy and emotion into that setting that level-headedness often takes a back seat to knee-jerk reactions. Creating space from the event is the best way to ensure HR is making a decision based on the facts and not the heart.
Unlike sports, you luckily have unlimited time outs. Use them to your advantage.
At the conclusion of the last several seasons, much of the buzz with these two gentlemen centers on whether they will retire. The question gets asked in the press conference immediately following the game that ends the season for them, and the QBs consistently give a "I'm not sure what I want to do right now" response as they flex their appendages with huge ice bags taped to them and grimace from the internal bleeding they have surely suffered at the hands of opposing defenses. And when pressed to give a more definite answer, again usually during that same press conference, Warner and Favre have more recently said they probably won't be back.
Of course, if they stuck with that decision, then this blog entry wouldn't have any use. What those players realize, and what we teach our HR clients to practice, is that decisions with an emotional tilt to them shouldn't be made in haste. More importantly, they shouldn't be made in close time to the event that spurned the need for a decision.
When our clients encounter an HR decision that will have a reverberating effect, we encourage them to take a few steps back before deciding on the proper course. Thinking with a clearer head and cooler emotions will often place the event in perspective and even create opportunities for alternative courses that might be more appropriate. If my husband, a head coach, has one golden rule for his players and parents, it is that his door is always open except immediately after a game. You put so much time, energy and emotion into that setting that level-headedness often takes a back seat to knee-jerk reactions. Creating space from the event is the best way to ensure HR is making a decision based on the facts and not the heart.
Unlike sports, you luckily have unlimited time outs. Use them to your advantage.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Holiday expansion
Most of us think of the holidays as a time to celebrate, be with the ones we love, and, unfortunately, put on a few pounds. This year, thanks to our Executive and Legislative Branches, any waistline gain wasn't the only expansion going on.
On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed a bill that allows the COBRA premium subsidy law to continue beyond its original sunset date of December 31, 2009. In the course of passing this extension, provisions were also added which expands the group of Assistant-Eligible Individuals ("AEIs").
Some highlights:
On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed a bill that allows the COBRA premium subsidy law to continue beyond its original sunset date of December 31, 2009. In the course of passing this extension, provisions were also added which expands the group of Assistant-Eligible Individuals ("AEIs").
Some highlights:
- The subsidy period is increased from 9 to 15 months
- A qualifying event for the subsidy is now covered by the period of September 1, 2008 through February 28, 2010.
- If a former employee is now an AEI due to this amendment, that former employee has a transition period.
- If you have an AEI who (1) did not timely make a COBRA premium payment prior to the passing of this amendment or (2) paid a full premium when now it could be a subsidized premium, you must give that AEI a notice of the new law. This notice is to be issued within the first 60 days of the AEI's transition period.
- If you have a former employee who became an AEI after October 31, 2009, you must provide that former employee with the new notice.
The amendments include other provisions which will be of interest to employers. Employers should consider contacting their third-party administrators or legal counsel to discuss how the amendments might impact them.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Christmas party--a ghost of Christmas past?
Does your company still host a Christmas party? I hear more clients asking about what type of backlash they think it would cause to cancel the Christmas party. My first question is always: "Is this about the money?" The answer is usually yes, but probably not why you would think. It is about the money, but not because the company doesn't have it to spend. Rather, it's about redirecting the use of those funds. For example, some companies now make donations in honor of their employees to charities (usually selected by a vote of the employees) in whatever amount has been budgeted for a Christmas party.
For some companies, donating instead of partying also makes sense because employee attendance has wained. That, in and of itself, creates an opportunity for self-exploration, but not something that we'll talk about in this post. For other companies, the donation means the likelihood of poor and unprofessional behavior is reduced, as well. Again, fertile ground for a post that will finds its way here inevitably.
Finally, some companies are doing away with parties because of economic times. And perhaps it isn't a moratorium, but rather reducing the flare, length, menu, etc of the party. In other words, it is scaled down to match the economic times.
So think about it--not having a party doesn't mean you've gone all Scrooge on your employees. And it will give them yet another reason to be proud to work for your company.
Cheers, and happy holidays!
For some companies, donating instead of partying also makes sense because employee attendance has wained. That, in and of itself, creates an opportunity for self-exploration, but not something that we'll talk about in this post. For other companies, the donation means the likelihood of poor and unprofessional behavior is reduced, as well. Again, fertile ground for a post that will finds its way here inevitably.
Finally, some companies are doing away with parties because of economic times. And perhaps it isn't a moratorium, but rather reducing the flare, length, menu, etc of the party. In other words, it is scaled down to match the economic times.
So think about it--not having a party doesn't mean you've gone all Scrooge on your employees. And it will give them yet another reason to be proud to work for your company.
Cheers, and happy holidays!
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