House passes COBRA subsidy extension bill

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday that would extend the federal subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums for employees who are involuntarily terminated.

Embedded in H.R. 3326, a measure appropriating funds for the Department of Defense, the nine-month, 65% premium subsidy would be extended by six months to a total of 15 months. It would apply to those who lose their jobs through Feb. 28, 2010. Under current law, employees who lose their jobs after Dec. 31 are ineligible for the subsidy.

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Have a Respectful Holiday

Whether you are celebrating a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Eid ul-Adha, Happy Kwanzaa, an all-purpose Happy Holiday, Festivus, or nothing outside the deep discounts and sales available in relation to all of the above, it’s almost impossible to ignore the holiday season...

This is the time of year that has Human Resource professionals wringing their hands, worrying about offending one group and overlooking another in the mad scramble to honor cultural differences and remain politically correct.

The fairly generic greeting of “Happy Holidays” has gained in popularity over the recent years, serving as a neutral ground between the various observed holidays for your clients, vendors and business connections. A little more caution is due to your coworkers who might not celebrate anything at all around this time of year. Often, coworkers reveal their values in relation to holiday activities at work through everyday discussions relating to office coverage (who wants which holiday off or has no preference) or may feel comfortable enough discussing their family holiday traditions or religious beliefs openly in the workplace. When this occurs, it deepens the understanding coworkers have of the similarities and differences, but it shouldn’t be created artificially through forced “sharing.”

When decorating, private employers are allowed to display religiously affiliated decorations so long as they don’t favor one religion over another. Public employers are limited to secular decorations such as snowflakes and candy canes. If an employer bans decorations entirely to keep everyone happy, they must enforce the ban throughout the year; not allowing any red hearts to sneak in during February. A complete ban can also prevent heated discussions related to one holiday or another from flaring up and causing issues between employees. For instance, Thanksgiving, typically regarded in American culture as a day for giving thanks for our country’s founding and all we are grateful for in life, is regarding as a day of mourning in some Native American cultures.

It’s important for employers and employees to look at these concerns as holidays arise for different cultures throughout the year, resulting in requests for additional time off, accommodations for fasting, prayer or religious items in the workplace. In general, a focus on the individual, rather than the company’s policy, is crucial for respectful communication surrounding holidays. And while it can result in additional responsibilities, a diverse workplace brings value to its employees.

The Importance of Trust in the Workplace

By Brandon Laws

How often have we talked about someone when he was not around, worried ourselves silly about losing a job, or taken on a task because we felt someone else couldn’t get the job done the right way? In the workplace, these are not uncommon scenarios. Surveys indicate that trust has dramatically declined over the past few years.

One significant factor in the decline of employee and public trust has been highly publicized unethical business practices (e.g., Enron, AIG). Other contributing factors in the workplace include inconsistent communication, micromanagement, lack of collaboration and bureaucracy in systems and structures. Whether it is the relationship between employee and employer, coworker to coworker, or even within our personal relationships, we must realize that there are many costs associated with not having trust in ourselves and in others.

Time is wasted when there is a lack of trust; and time is money. A lack of trust usually stems from a lack of communication and a high rate of misinterpretation. Trust and communication are the two most significant organizational problems cited in employee surveys. In order to build and maintain a culture of high trust, there must be open and honest communication. Concrete action needs to take place. The steps to trust building are as follows:

Self
Before a person attempts to build trust with others, that person must first build trust within herself. So, how can a person build self-trust?

1. Be completely honest with yourself. It is impossible to gain the trust of others when you do not trust yourself. That person would be a hypocrite.
2. Reveal your own agenda. What are you setting out to accomplish? Is it possible to achieve the results desired? Does your agenda get in the way of others, possibly burning bridges along the way? Have your intentions clear in your mind and make sure your behavior is consistent with your intent.
3. Realize your own capabilities. A person needs the right amount of skill in order to accomplish anything; and if that person doesn’t, he may need to educate himself in a certain area in order to complete the project, job or task at hand.
4. Outline the results desired. It is difficult to accomplish something successfully without first imagining the desired results. Lay out what the end result should look like, and then follow it through to completion. Hold yourself accountable to these goals.

Relationships
Once an individual is confident that he is a person that can be trusted, he is then more able to extend and receive trust from others. Trust building behaviors center around accountability, empathy and effective communication. Use these tips for improving trust in your relationships:

1. Get to the point. Do not beat around the bush. Talk straight, but not to the point of being rude.
2. Respect others. Demonstrate respect for others, and they will give it right back.
3. Reveal agendas. Clearly define the agenda. Revealing (or discovering) a hidden agenda can be the ultimate trust killer.
4. Admit when you are wrong and learn from it. Disputes can end immediately when you admit fault and move on. A person will likely learn from past mistakes, which minimize future mistakes with the same problem.
5. Express loyalty. Talk about the good qualities in a person or organization, not the bad qualities. When a person praises someone in front of others, others can then assume that same person would talk similarly about them when they are not present.
6. Finish. Conclude tasks, projects or jobs in complete form when you say you will and do so in a quality manner. Completing projects with half effort can lead to a reputation that you would finish any and all projects in the same manner, possibly resulting in being overlooked for the next big project.
7. Increase capabilities. Be a continuous learner, train, spend time around the right influences and willingly take on new roles to learn new skills. This will ultimately make you more of an asset to a team.
8. Embrace reality. Be realistic about things; analyze the situation and change your approach if need be
9. Clearly define all expectations. Most miscommunication happens when expectations are not clear. Define the ultimate results desired upfront; this will save headache and confusion down the road.
10. Hold yourself and others accountable. Take responsibility and hold yourself to the task. Hold others accountable as well, but never put the blame on someone else.
11. Listen before you speak. Most ideas and information are missed due to poor listening. You might have been preparing to respond or not paying full attention to what others were saying. Key information may have been missed that results in severed trust between two people. Listen fully before responding, and you will gain the trust of others during conversation.
12. Make commitments and keep them. Surprise, surprise! The more commitments a person makes and keeps, the more likely others will be to trust in that same person to keep future commitments. Keep even the small promises like taking a moment to meet with your employee.
13. Extend trust to others. Let people know you trust them to do a task, get the job done or perform a certain way. They will be more likely to gain confidence when they know they have support from others.

Relationships and business are damaged by a lack of trust. By increasing the level of trust, teams and organizations work better and more effectively together. Great relationships create great teams, and great teams result in great organizations. We are all better off working together versus going at it alone – TRUST ME!


Source: “The Speed of Trust” by Stephen M.R. Covey.

For more information on building trust in the workplace, contact Xenium HR at 503-612-1555 or visit www.XeniumHR.com. The staff at Xenium HR contributed to this article. It is intended as information only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Xenium HR is a professional employer organization specializing in strategic HR partnership with small and mid-sized businesses.

IRS Announces 2010 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Retirements Plans

The IRS has spoken! There will be no cost-of-living adjustments to qualified retirements plans in 2010. This announcement comes in an unsteady economy, which has shown a slight decrease in the relevant cost-of-living index from September 30, 2008 to September 30, 2009.

So what does all this mean? Here are some important retirement plan facts for the 2010 plan year:

• During the 2009 retirement plan year, the annual Elective Deferral Contributions limit to Section 401(k), Section 403(b) annuity contracts and eligible Section 457 plans was set to $16,500. In 2010, these limits will remain the same.
• If an individual is over the age of 50, this person is allowed to elect up to $5,500 on an annual basis in Catch-Up Contributions. This means that although the annual elective deferral contribution is limited to $16,500, when an individual is over 50, their limit is raised to $22,000 for that plan year.
• In 2010, the Annual Compensation Limit remains at $245,000 under the 401(a)(17).
• Any one person, during the 2009 plan year, making more than $110,000 will be treated as a Highly Compensated Employee and subject to additional testing/criteria in 2010.
• Also remaining the same in the 2010 plan year is the Defined Contribution Annual Addition Limit (the limit on aggregate annual additions), which is $49,000.

See below for other qualified plan limits in 2010:

Plan Limits 2010
Compensation Limit	$245,000
401(k)/403(b) Elective Deferrals	$16,500
401(k)/403(b) Catch-Up Contributions	$5,500
457 Deferrals	$16,500
457 Catch-Up Contributions	$5,500
SIMPLE Plan Employee Deferrals	$11,500
SIMPLE Plan Catch-Up Contributions	$2,500
Annual Defined Contribution Limit	$49,000
Annual Defined Benefit Limit	$195,000
Highly Compensated Employee Threshold	$110,000
Key Employee/Officer Threshold	$160,000
Social Security Taxable Wage Base	$106,800
SEP Minimum Compensation	$550

For the full publication on the 2010 limitations from the Internal Revenue Service, please go to www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=214321,00.html.

For all other questions or concerns regarding employer plans, contact Xenium at 503-612-1555 or go to www.XeniumHR.com for more information.

Outsourcing firms struggle with declining client base - Portland Business Journal:

Xenium's own President, Anne Donovan was recently quoted in the Portland Business Journal after being asked about the current economy and how it has impacted the outsourcing industry.

Excerpt from the PBJ:

Having staved off the worst of the recession, local PEOs are looking forward to a gradual recovery.

Anne Donovan, president of Tualatin-based Xenium Resources, said her company has added new customers to replace many of the small business clients that have either been acquired or folded in the past year.

Donovan expressed excitement about 2010, seeing growth potential for the company's PEO business and its human resources consulting services.

"We're not looking for big, steep inclines, but there's a lot of opportunity out there," she said.

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Outsourcing firms struggle with declining client base - Portland Business Journal:

How Do You Manage Your Unemployment Claims?

The Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program provides financial aid to eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own, as determined under state law. Businesses carry mandatory unemployment insurance to cover the cost of this benefit, and state unemployment tax rates vary depending on past claims against the business. Businesses today are concerned about rising unemployment insurance rates after an influx of claims during an economy which has resulted in eliminated positions and staff cutbacks.

Although laws vary by state, generally employees that quit are not eligible for unemployment benefits, while those who are involuntarily terminated are eligible. Employees may not be eligible if they are discharged for misconduct involving disregard of the employer’s interest, deliberate violation of employer’s known rules, failure to meet normal expectations of behavior or wrongful intent.

There are several ways businesses can proactively protect their unemployment rates.

1. Choose to dispute unemployment claims that you feel are not reasonable or within state law. When missing hearing dates or response deadlines, the state will often favor the claimant.
2. In order to determine which unemployment claims are legitimate, you will have to educate your managerial staff on applicable state and federal laws regarding unemployment benefits. Make clear your processes for unemployment benefits within your company, and identify a human resource staff member to whom they should direct questions. It is expected that the direct manager of the employee in question, in addition to your human resource representative, will sit in on the proceedings of any unemployment disputes. Additionally, first-hand witnesses must be present on telephone hearings in order for your company to have a believable case.
3. Publicize your company policies. You can only prove that employees have broken rules if it is clear the employee is aware of and understands the rules of your company. Create a simple document for each employee to sign that states the employee received and understands the employee handbook. Make sure to get new signatures as the handbook changes over time and as you hire new employees.
4. Document misconduct. It is the employer’s obligation to prove misconduct occurred. Keep record, with employee signature, of any discipline between manager and employee. Keep phone records, copies of e-mails or other items that will serve as supporting evidence. Document issues as they occur so you do not need to rely on memory. Improperly documented or undocumented issues could be considered hearsay and may not support your case.
5. Be consistent when enforcing policies. You will have a difficult time convincing the state that an employee engaged in serious misconduct if another employee exhibited the same behavior without consequence.
6. Inform your employees that termination could be a consequence of certain behaviors. If the employee knows rules and consequences but chooses to act anyway, deliberate violation or disregard can be proved. Your handbook or disciplinary actions should utilize the language “discipline, up to and including discharge”.
7. Terminate the employee within a reasonable time frame. If a significant amount of time passes between the misconduct and the termination, it may be perceived that the misconduct was not the true reason for termination.

Putting these measures in place will make fighting illegitimate unemployment claims simple and will help protect your company’s unemployment insurance rates.

For more information on your state unemployment laws, visit the United State Department of Labor website.

For more information on managing unemployment claims, contact Xenium HR at 503-612-1555 or visit www.xeniumhr.com.

The staff at Xenium HR contributed to this article. It is intended as information only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Xenium HR is a professional employer organization specializing in strategic HR partnership with small and mid-sized businesses.

Trick or Treat: Taking the scariness out of Halloween

(from Barran Liebman eAlert Volume 12, Issue 37 October 26, 2009)

With Halloween upon us, Barran Liebman offers the following advice on hidden landmines that may give rise to legal issues in the workplace:

Costumes: Although it might sound like an innocent idea to permit or encourage employees to wear Halloween costumes to work, there are potential risks:

• Workplace Injuries: Allowing costumes may increase the likelihood of workplace injuries. An employee may trip and fall because his or her costume gets in the way or perhaps run into something or someone because he or she has poor visibility through a mask.
  
• Discrimination/Harassment: An employee's poor judgment may result in a costume that offends co-workers or customers based on the way that the costume portrays...

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