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Fresh off a new Congressional Budget Office scoring of their health care reform bill that drops the price tag from $1 trillion to just over $600 billion, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee members have returned to marking up the Affordable Health Choices Act with renewed enthusiasm — at least from committee Democrats.
As the recession drags on and employers continue to shed jobs, cut/freeze pay and reduce benefits, it can be easy for pros to hunker down in survival mode and forget all about the actual survivors. Remember them? The ones who continue to come in every day for you and your company? I'm not trying to say you've set layoff survivors adrift in their lifeboat without a second thought; rather, just reminding that they sorely need
I have to admit, at EBN we're pretty focused on 401(k)s when it comes to retirement planning. Let's face it it's the bigger, flashier retirement plan sibling to 403(b) plans. However, I often have to remind myself that there are thousands upon thousands of nonprofit organizations and school systems that use 403(b)s as their retirement savings option for employees.
Nominations are open for EBN's annual i-COMM Awards, which honor communication initiatives that advance the objectives of the benefits/HR department and the strategic objectives of the employer organization. I know it's been a tough year for you, pros, and that the messages you've had to communicate haven't always been positive, but here's a chance to share your success stories of turning lemons to lemonade. Click here to submit a nomination for yourself, a colleague
Remember about a year ago, when Guardian announced with a bunch of fanfare that soccer star Mia Hamm was going to be their new pitchwoman for increasing benefits understanding among employees? I thought it was a great idea but I admit that was mainly because I'm a big fan of Mia Hamm.
Turns out, older workers don't think Facebook is just for young'uns. Stats from Nielson Online (yes, the same Nielson that monitors TV ratings) show that from April of 2008 to April 2009, minutes on Facebook have multiplied by 700%, and the biggest surge is not among teens or college students it's among adults age 35-49, and a big jump also comes from 50-64 age groups as well.
Although the economy still is in rough shape, things seem to be looking up for many companies and organizations. A new Watson Wyatt survey finds that many employers that made deep pay and benefits cuts this year due to the recession may soon be ready to reinstate those programs.
I bring you good news on health care (because I know you sure could use it!) via the good folks at Segal: Health care costs will not skyrocket as originally anticipated with the arrival of the new Mental Health Parity Act. In fact, the costs will barely put a dent in the budget.
With a session title like 'Real-world planning without the BS,' how could I not attend? And Fiona Kennedy, emergency response manager for NBC Universal, did not disappoint. Her cool-as-a-cucumber disposition combined with her first-hand disaster response experience gave credibility to the 'real-world planning,' and her Irish background no doubt helped deliver on the 'no BS.'
Although the pace and size of layoffs at U.S. companies seems to be easing, employers still are shedding jobs by the thousands. Amid such a difficult economy and job market, some employers are adding to their offboarding procedures — conducting indepth exit interviews and offering benefits consulting for terminated employees.
Once, when Hunter Lott, director of PleaseSueMe.com, was on a plane, a fellow passenger asked him what he did for a living. 'The short answer,' he said, 'is I keep companies and managers out of court.'' 'Ohhh,' the passenger said knowingly, 'you're an attorney.' Lott: 'No, I'm in human resources.' The passenger, sneering, said 'Ugh. That's worse.'
"If there's only one compliance issue you pay attention to this year, please make it wage and hour," Hunter Lott, director of PleaseSueMe.com, advised SHRM '09 conference attendees on Monday. An at-a-glance list of his compliance tips: * Go to DOL.gov and look up treatment for exempt vs. nonexempt employees. And don't worry about having to download and read reams of material: "There's a movie! You don't even have to read anything, they have a
That was the blunt directive for SHRM '09 attendees regarding their HR/benefits policies from Hunter Lott, director of PleaseSueMe.com. Editor's Note: No, it's not Hunter Lott Day here at the Daily Diversion. The SHRM '09 speaker made several valid and valuable points I thought were important to pass along to you pros, and best to break up into several posts. (But if I'm wrong — as I admit I've been known to be — hit
One of the best things about hiring new grads is getting to tap their newly polished skills and fresh energy to make your organization more successful. One of the worst things, though, is new grads can be a benefits nightmare. They feel invincible and don't know what they don't know about the workforce overall and the specific offerings your company provides for their success and protection.
In a 7 a.m. session (yes, 7 a.m. that's how early I get up to serve you, DD readers!) at SHRM's 2009 conference & expo in New Orleans, Don Powell, president and CEO of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, offered his 'essentials' for successful wellness programming.
With lawmakers speeding toward completion of massive health care reform legislation, employers could make another full-time job out of keeping up with the latest developments. To help you stay up-to-date, the Campaign for an American Solution, www.americanhealthsolution.org, aims 'to build support for workable health care reform' and keeps track of everything from daily reform headlines to the latest in new proposals. The site also features an explanation of where the average American's health insurance
If you're like me, you may not know much about lupus, an autoimmune disorder characterized by pain and inflammation in the joints. However, it's important that you learn more about the disease, as just one affected employee could cost your company up to $60,000 per year in medical, absenteeism and short-term disability costs.
Hey pros, I think I may have found an area for savings to help fund health care reform. Data culled by AIS's Health Plan Week reveal that in 2008 the top dogs at 13 of the nation's largest health insurance companies raked in salaries totaling $118 million (yes, million) about $9 million each (yes, million).
Pros, I know you're busy keeping track of scads of acronyms — ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA — but one that may have sunk to the bottom of your alphabet soup is EGTRRA. Remember EGTRRA (Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act)? Enacted in 2001 after 9/11 to give some extra juice to the economy, it's the law that — among other major retirement plan changes — raised contribution limits for 401(k)s and IRAs and created catch-up
The public option has become the red-headed stepchild of the health care reform debate. It seems no one — save the president and his staff — is in favor of creating a Medicare-esque health plan as an alternative to private insurance. Employers and brokers all have voiced strong opposition, but the biggest critics seem to be carriers, for obvious reasons.