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March 2009
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HMK Associates,
Inc. Newsletter
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Dear Holly,
The role of human capital in corporate
strategy continues to be one of the most important issues facing
employers today. Recruiting and retaining an energized and
talented multigenerational workforce is more challenging than ever,
as budgets are slashed and we all have to "do more with
less." We are here to help.
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Our Clients Say It Best
Lee Hecht Harrison (www.lhh.com) is a global leader in creating and
delivering customized human capital solutions to help maximize
performance. Jim Mitchell, Managing Director at LHH, was
looking for an experienced General Manager to lead the next phase of
growth for the Pittsburgh office, and hired us to find that
person. In four weeks, we recruited and presented a group of
talented and experienced executives who met the specifications for
the position, and a great hire was made. As Jim pointed out,
"Holly's personal involvement in the search process ensured that
we hired the best candidate. I am very pleased with the
results."
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Good News
Here are a few tidbits of good news we've
found to share with you in these challenging times:
- Personal spending went up 0.6 percent in
January after falling for the previous six months.
- The savings rate hit 5 percent in January,
up from 3.9 percent in December
- 52% of large US employers have laid off
employees; however, the number of companies still planning
layoffs fell from 23% to 13% in February 2009 (Source:
Watson Wyatt)
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New HR
Legislation
A few important pieces of legislation have
been passed recently. Please keep in mind that this is not
intended to be a legal summary, nor it is intended to be
all-encompassing. Please see the websites indicated below for
more detailed information.
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FMLA
Employers with over 50 employees who are
subject to the Family Medical Leave Act will be impacted by January
2009 amendments which allow qualified employees with a family member
with a short notice military deployment to take up to 12 weeks of
leave in a 12 month period for child care, financial/legal
arrangements, counseling, rest and recuperation, and other post
deployment activities. Caregivers of service members (a spouse,
son, daughter, parent or next of kin) can take up to 26 workweeks of
leave in a 12 month period to care for a service member.
Employers who are eligible for coverage under FMLA should post the
notice and/or include it in their employee handbook, regardless of
whether there are employees covered.
For more information, visit the Department of Labor website: www.dol.gov.
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Employers with over 20 employees who are
subject to COBRA legislation will be impacted by the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which provides a 65%
COBRA subsidy for eligible employees for up to nine months for
workers who have been involuntarily terminated between 9/1/2008 -
2/17/2009. Employers will be reimbursed for the subsidy through
a credit against their obligation to make deposits of payroll
taxes. Employers need to notify all employees terminated after
August 31, 2008 of the subsidy by April 18 even if they did not sign
up for COBRA, since they are eligible for a retroactive
credit. Employees who will have already paid
premiums for March and April are eligible for a 35% rebate or future
credits. To find more information on this legislation, go to
the Department of Labor website: www.dol.gov.
Employers should notify employees by 4/18/2009 (a sample notification
letter will be issued by the Department of Labor by 3/19/2009) and
set up recordkeeping systems to track eligible employees,
address/payroll information, receipt of premium payments, and
receipts to show date/address to which the notification was
delivered.
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The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
changes the way that the statute of limitations is applied with
regard to a variety of employment laws. The statute of
limitations for filing a charge now begins anew with each paycheck,
rather than the previous 180 day limit after the discrimination
occurs. Remind managers that it is more important than ever
that the decisions they make now with regards to compensation should
be objectively supported and documented, for these decisions could
have implications for fifteen years. Audit your compensation
practices to ensure that accurate and complete documentation of the
rationale behind employment decisions are being maintained.
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News to
Use
- Average merit pay planned for
2009 (as of March): 1.7% (down from 3.71% predicted in
June) (source: Watson Wyatt)
- 20% of workers say they
arrive late to work at least once a week, up from 15 percent
last year, according to a November 2008 survey of 8,000 workers
by CareerBuilder.com. Traffic was the most frequently
cited reason for being late to work (33 percent), followed by
lack of sleep (24 percent).
- Workplace discrimination
complaints filed with the EEOC increased 15% during 2008.
Charges based on age and retaliation saw the largest annual
increase.
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Quote of
the Month
"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn
hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn
will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give
up."
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