Human Resources MATTERS

Welcome to The Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Human Resources MATTERS Email.  I hope you will find the information useful and interesting.

If you would like more information about a specific topic, please feel free to contact me.

Marlene Price, PHR

Manager, Human Resources & Outreach

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In This Issue:

• Surveys and More

• Wage and Hour Proposes to Align FLSA Regs with Statutory Changes and Court Decision

• No Violation in Firing for Suspected Leave Abuse

• IRS Issues 2009 Contribution Limits for HSAs

• Education Programs Raise Participation in Wellness Plans

2008 WAGE & SALARY SURVEY

Thank you to the 110 participating members who supplied information for the annual Wage and Salary Surveys.  If you participated, your Survey results have been emailed to you. 

Companies with at least 25 employees are eligible to purchase the following surveys:

          Administrative & Office Support Positions – 30 positions

          Engineering, Scientific & Technical Support Positions – 26 positions

          Production, Maintenance & Service Positions – 74 positions

          Supervisory, Management & Professional Positions – 87 positions

Call Marlene Price at 610.376.6766 X 115 for more information.         

THE COMMUTING COST CRISIS:  WHAT’S AN EMPLOYER TO DO?

Join us September 17, 8:30 – 10:30 am to learn what other employers are doing concerning the Commuting Cost Crisis.  For more information click here.

ROUNDTABLE SERIES REGISTRATION

Our 2008/09 roundtable series begins in September.  Networking through established groups provides a unique opportunity for peers from different companies to share best practices, learn from the experience of others and test new ideas.

We offer the following roundtables to companies with 25 or more employees:

          CEO

          Customer Relations Managers

          Environmental/Safety Managers

          Financial/Administration Operations Managers

          Maintenance Managers

          Manufacturing Operations Managers

          Personnel Generalists

          Quality/Continuous Improvement Managers

          Senior Human Resource Managers (For companies with over 250 employees)

          Family-Owned Business

          Non-Profit CEO

Call Marlene Price at 610.376.6766 X 115 to join a roundtable, or enroll someone else.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

The 2008/09 Training Catalogs have been mailed.  If you didn’t receive one, or need additional catalogs, please call Marlene at 610.376.6766 X 115.  You can access all the training programs at www.GreaterReadingChamber.org.  The site provides program outlines, pricing information and registration instructions.  If you need additional information about training programs, call Marlene Price at 610.376.6766 X 115.

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 WAGE AND HOUR PROPOSES TO ALIGN FLSA REGS WITH STATUTORY CHANGES AND COURT DECISION

In a notice published in the July 28 Federal Register (73 Fed. Reg. 43,654), the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division is proposing changes to regulations promulgated under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Portal-to-Portal Act to reflect modifications mandated by subsequent legislation and court decisions. 

In the notice, DOL said the proposed revisions will “conform the regulations to FLSA amendments passed in 1974, 1977, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2007, and Portal Act amendments passed in 1996.” The FLSA, which was enacted in 1938, and the Portal-to-Portal Act, which was enacted in 1947, address issues of minimum wage and overtime pay.

Affected provisions include regulations dealing with tip credits, fluctuating workweeks, compensatory time for public employees, and the youth opportunity wage. Provisions affecting stock options, irrigation workers, and boat salesmen also are included. 

Tip Credit Changes Reflect Minimum Wage Increases 

The proposal would update the regulations regarding the tip credit to reflect increases in the minimum wage. Under the FLSA's tip credit provisions, an employer is allowed to pay an employee who receives tips only $2.13 per hour if that amount combined with the employee's tips equals the federal minimum wage. Otherwise, the employer must make up the difference. The tip credit is determined by subtracting $2.13 from the applicable minimum wage. 

Before 1996, the FLSA required an employer to pay its tipped employees a cash wage equal to 50 percent of the minimum wage. The 1996 amendment established the $2.13 amount by calculating half the existing minimum wage, which in 1996 was $4.25 per hour. In May 2007, however, Congress phased in a three-step minimum wage hike, which will culminate in a $7.25 minimum hourly wage on July 24, 2009. Under the statute, therefore, an employer may take a tip credit equal to the difference between the required minimum cash wage specified in paragraph 3(m)(1), which is $2.13, and the minimum wage, which is now $6.55. Thus, an employer currently may claim a maximum tip credit of $4.42 an hour, which is $6.55 minus $2.13. 

Effective July 24, 2009, the minimum wage required by Section 6(a)(1) of the FLSA will increase to $7.25 an hour, resulting in a maximum federal tip credit of $5.12 an hour. DOL's proposal would incorporate the 1996 amendment into the regulations to acknowledge increases in the minimum wage. The language of 29 C.F.R. 531.59 is updated to reflect the burden on the employer to prove the amount of the tip credit to which it is entitled. 

The proposed rule also would clarify the department's regulation at 29 C.F.R. 778.114 addressing the fluctuating workweek method of computing overtime compensation for salaried nonexempt employees. 

In situations where an employee's hours fluctuate from week to week, but the employee receives a fixed salary regardless of the number of hours worked, the current regulation allows an employer to pay overtime at a rate of one-half the regular hourly rate for the week, instead of the usual rate of one-and-one-half the regular hourly rate, because those hours already have been compensated at the straight time regular rate under the salary arrangement. 

The proposed regulation provides that bona fide bonus or premium payments do not invalidate the fluctuating workweek method of compensation but that such payments must be included in the calculation of the regular rate unless they are otherwise excluded. The department's proposed clarification would eliminate any disincentive for employers to pay additional bona fide bonus or premium payments, the notice said. 

Section 7 of the FLSA requires that a covered employee receive compensation for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. In 1985, Congress added Section 7(o) to the FLSA to permit public agencies to grant employees compensatory time off instead of cash overtime compensation pursuant to an agreement with employees or their representatives. 

The department proposes to revise the current rule to adhere to court rulings handed down under the section. Its proposed Section 553.25(c) adds a sentence clarifying that Section 7(o)(5)(B) does not require a public agency to allow compensatory time on the day specifically requested but only requires that it permit use of the time within a reasonable period unless the use would unduly disrupt the agency's operations. 

Comments on the proposal (No. RIN 1215-AB13), due 45 days after the publication date, may be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov or by mail to the Wage and Hour Division, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. 

(Reprinted from BNA)
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 NO VIOLATION IN FIRING FOR SUSPECTED LEAVE ABUSE 

In Indiana auto parts manufacturer did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act by firing an employee for suspected abuse of medical leave that was granted because of her intermittent migraine headaches, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled July 21 (Vail v. Raybestos Prods. Co., 7th Cir., No. 07-3621, 7/21/08). 

Diana Vail worked at the Raybestos Products Co.'s Crawfordsville, Ind., manufacturing plant. She had migraine headaches, and in April 2004, the company approved her request to use intermittent medical leave when the migraines affected her ability to work. 

Raybestos officials were aware that Vail's husband ran a lawn-mowing business and that she helped her husband on a part-time basis. The officials also noticed that Vail's requests for leave were most frequent during the summer, when her husband's lawn-mowing business was at its peak. Suspecting that Vail was abusing the intermittent leave, the company hired an off-duty police officer to follow Vail. 

Raybestos had a collective bargaining agreement with Paper, Allied-Industrial Chemical and Energy Workers International Union that prohibited employees from accepting gainful employment or providing physical labor for any other business enterprise. Believing that the employee had violated the contract provision, Raybestos fired Vail. 

Upholding a lower court's ruling for Raybestos, the Seventh Circuit said that it has ruled that an employer can defeat an interference claim by showing that an employee did not use leave for its intended purpose. An employer is under no obligation to reinstate an employee who misuses disability leave, the court said, noting that such a discharge would not violate the FMLA.

Because Raybestos had an honest suspicion that Vail used medical leave when she was fit enough to mow lawns and was seemingly capable of performing her regular job, the company's decision to fire her did not violate the FMLA, the Seventh Circuit concluded.

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 IRS ISSUES 2009 CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR HSAs 

The Internal Revenue Service recently released the maximum contribution levels for health savings account and out-of-pocket spending limits for high deductible health plans connected to HSAs. 

The new amounts, which have been indexed for inflation, are for federal income tax purposes.  For 2009, the agency reports that the maximum annual HSA contribution for an eligible individual with self-only coverage is $3,000.  For family coverage, the maximum annual HSA contribution is $5,950. 

In addition, catch-up contributions for participants who are 55 or older will increase to $1,000 for 2009.   

The new guidance also explains that eligible individuals are allowed the full annual contribution, including a catch-up contribution, if 55 or older by year end, regardless of the number of months the individual was an eligible individual in the year. 

“For individuals who are no longer eligible individuals on that date, both the HSA contribution and a catch-up contribution apply pro rata bases on the number of months of the year a taxpayer is an eligible individual,” the IRS explains. (EBN) 

For 2009, the maximum annual out-of-pocket amounts for HDHP self-coverage jumps to $5,800, and the maximum annual out-of-pocket amount for HDHP family coverage is twice that, $11,600.  The minimum deductible for HDHPs increases to $1,150 for self-only coverage and $2,300 for family coverage. 

Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Health subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), launched a website to spotlight its recent hearing on HSAs and HDHPs.

(Reprinted by Employee Benefit News)

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 EDUCATION PROGRAMS RAISE PARTICIPATION IN WELLNESS PLANS 

Workplace education and physical activity programs can increase worker participation in wellness plans by at least 21 percent, according to a report released July 14 by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. 

The report, Engaging Consumers @ Work, followed a 10-week program designed to increase employee engagement with health and wellness programs. Health and wellness programs have been a growing trend among employers to help improve employee health and wellness by promoting programs that address areas such as disease prevention and management, smoking, and obesity. 

“We are very concerned about health and wellness, and we want our employees to be as well,” Pat Fulcher, vice president, associate services for Food Lion LLC, said at a briefing to release the report. Food Lion has partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina since 2002 and offers a wide variety of health and wellness programs for conditions from asthma to multiple sclerosis. 

Richard Lueders, director of compensation and benefits for DTE Energy, said at the briefing that prevention is a bigger key than treatment to a healthier workforce. 

“The only win-win situation is to … do the things you need to do to have a healthier workforce,” Lueders said. DTE offers a program called Energize Your Life that focuses on five key areas: awareness, health assessment, behavior change, consumerism, and chronic conditions. 

Improved Perception of Employers 

The report found that employee perceptions of their employer improved when physical activity programs, such as those that provide pedometers to measure walking, and wellness programs, such as those to quit smoking, were implemented. 

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