Sheila K

Deb: We generally request that the employee themselves come up with the first draft of the action plan. This allows us to review what the employee believes to be the problem. This action generally takes place after a suspension or if an employee is placed on probation for some reason. The employee and manager will then review the plan and make any modificiations to it. There is no "typical" format used here for these action plans, just that the problem be stated and a plan to alleviate the problem set out with goal dates and measurables. Good luck. Sheila K.

Sheralyn: My company has 350 employees, with only about 150 full-timers receiving benefits. We self-fund our insurance policy. It is difficult to keep our benefit costs under control with such a small group. We have used a broker for the past 4 years to do our shopping for us. He has access to our experience and can shop many vendors for us. It saves us an immeasurable amount of time. The size of your group and your experience makes a big difference in pricing too. Good luck! Sheila K

Our PTO plan (which encompasses both sick & vacation time) allows for 17 day/year for the first 2 years, an increase to 20 days/year at the beginning of the 3rd year, and then increases at 5,10 and 15 years. The maximum time is 29 days/year. Again, this includes both sick and vacation days. Good luck. Sheila K

I received this message in my personal e-mail. Any Marylandites willing to give it a shot??? My boss told me 2 days ago he is taking the next 8 days off of work. He is a surgeon. This means if he is away, I can't work. The whole O.R. staff doesn't get paid! What are my rights? I was hired as a full time employee 40 hours a week. Can we collect unemployment for that whole week? We can't use our sick time. And I'm not planning on taking my vacation until the end of August when I fly to California. This is very frustrating, had I been given notice I would have arranged my trip around the time my boss was away. Where can I find these questions out at? I live in the state of Maryland.

Our HR department is reviewing our recruiting and retention process. One of our main topics is Miscellaneous Benefits. Because basic security benefits are provided by most employers, the "other" perks are the ones that can make the difference to prospective employees. We are looking at discounted daycare, dry cleaning pick-up and other "service" related perks that we can supply with a minimum of cost or administration, but that would be viewed as valuable to busy employees. We have also had a "Fun" committee at work for over 2 months now, planning outside activities for employees and their families. We do not (generally) pay for the outings, but we have been able to negotiate for discounted admissions, etc for our employees. Our cost is the time paid for our committee members to serve on the committee. It has been very successful and each event is attended by more people. Good luck! Sheila K

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday (May 25) that companies may not unilaterally change provisions of their employee handbooks without the approval of covered employees and without compensating them for any entitlements they may lose. The decision could require Arizona companies to honor provisions of old handbooks, though they have been replaced by more current policies. It could prompt businesses to retroactively get employee sign-offs on past changes and somehow compensate them for the changes. "It creates a profound distincentive for employers to communicate openly and in writing with their employees," noted John Alari Doran, a Phoenix attorney who represented ITT Corp., the defendant in the case. According to Doran, the decision affests employee handbooks issued prior to 1996 when the Arizona Employment Security Act specifically stated that, unless otherwise designated, employment policy manuals do not constitute employment contracts. But, Doran noted the state's top court is now weighing the constitutionality of the act, and if it is thrown out, all handbooks could be subject to the ruling. Especially affected by this week's ruling are provisions in the handbooks that could be argued to grant an employee some kind of entitlement, such as vacation and holiday pay, medical benefits, sick time o other perks. "Employers will have to revisit how handbooks are written, what is contained in them and how they communicate with their employees," Doran said. Many may simply elect to do away with them. The case, known as Demasse vs. ITT Corp., involves six employees, including Roger Demasse, who worked for ITT in the Phoenix area from the 1960's until they were laid off about 1993, Doran said. The employees claimed they were illegally fired because provisions in th ecompany handbooks, dating from the time of their initial employment, outlined a seniourity system under which layoffs would occur. "These people believed the longer they stayed with the company, the more secure their jobs were," said Jack Levine, a Phoenix attorney representing the workers. "As a result, the didn't look for other work or take advantage of employment offers or other openiings elsewhere in the company." By the time the employees wee furloughed, the company had done away with the seniority protection in the event of a layoff and the policy had been eliminated from subsequent editions of the company's employee handbook. The employees argued that the handbooks at the time they were hired relfected contractual terms of their empoyment which they never agreed to change and therefore were still in place at the time they were fired. In 1994, the U.S. District Court for Arizona ruled that employers could change the conditions of employment outlined in their handbooks at any time without the approval of the employees and dismissed the case. Levine appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1996 and the case was remanded to the Arizona Supreme Court for a determination. The case was argued in October. The top court disagreed with the decision of the district court and concluded in the 3 to 2 ruling that the employment provisions in handbooks can represent binding contracts and cannot be unilaterally altered without the employees' consent and an offer of compensation to make up for any lost entitlement. "It holds an employer to a handbook that was published 30 years ago when there were different methods of production, different rules of competition and different wasy of doing busines," Doran said. "And the only way to change it is to engage in one-on-one with each employee in the company." Justice Frederick Martone, a dissenter, added the ruling "will create havoc with employer-employee relations" by subjecting employers to different obligations to different employees and by setting up potential conflicts between employees covered by different versions of a handbook. Not all handbook provisions can be considered binding as contract terms, Levine added. "It's got to be something that would make the reasonable person rely on it," he said. Justices Stanley Feldman, Thomas Zlaket and James Moeler (now retired) supported the decision with Charles Jones and Martone dissenting. (Reported in The Arizona Republic, May 27, 1999 by Max Jarman, with contributions by The Associated Press)

The only company I am familiar with that has this program is GTE. You might want to contact their HR department in Tampa, FL to find out how they administer this plan... Good luck. Sheila K.

To all: Norene is also hoping for some written policy on these subjects. I know that my employer does not have a written policy on any of our flexible scheduling. It will be especially helpful if you can offer some written policy along with your examples. Thanks in advance! Sheila K

Norene What type of information are you needing? Could you please be a bit more specific??? Thanks...Sheila K

Hello! I'm the moderator of the Miscellaneous Benefits area of this fine, fine message board. Now I'm in charge of looking for info on internet recruiting. Does anyone have any experience in this area? Please e-mail me at aburnsafcu@earthlink.net or reply to this post if you can help me out. Thanks so much. Sheila K

Okay, now it's my turn to ask for assistance. We are in need of a new network administrator and I wonder if any of you have done any internet recruiting??? If so, please contact me at aburnsafcu@earthlink.net to discuss.. Thanks...Sheila K

Most disability plans that I have seen pay 2/3 (or between 65-67%) of regular salary. The only plans that I have seen that pay higher than this are those negotiated by union contract, especially fire/police contracts. I know that in Phoenix, the police contract used to be for 100%, because so much overtime pay was lost if an officer went out on disability that paying 2/3 of regular salary would be a severe cut in pay. This was 3-4 years ago and a new contract may be in place, but that is the information I had at that time. Have you asked your HR department about the discrepancy or are YOU the HR department!!! Good luck. Sheila K.

I am posting our latest update to our employee handbook regarding PTO/RSB. This was implemented in Jan 99 and has been well-received. PAID TIME OFF Paid Time Off (PTO) is a benefit granted to employees to provide time to participate in activities unrelated to the performance of their jobs. Arizona Federal Credit Union’s PTO plan is provided to encourage planning and predictability of time off from work. PTO hours are also utilized for the first three days of an unscheduled absence. The PTO plan is not utilized for AFCU paid holidays, jury duty or bereavement leave. RESERVE SICK BANK A Reserve Sick Bank (RSB) is also provided and accumulates additional hours. (RSB) hours are used after three consecutive days of an absence for an employee’s extended illness or injury. RSB may also be used after the first three consecutive days for any certified Family Medical Leave of Absence (FMLA). In order to utilize RSB, a statement from the attending physician verifying the need for the absence and/or permitting the return to work or a completed FMLA certification is required. The RSB plan is not utilized for AFCU paid holidays, jury duty or bereavement leave. There is no maximum accrual for hours in the RSB. ACCRUAL The PTO and RSB plans provide an accrual each pay period for full-time and part-time employees.  PTO and RSB accruals begin the first pay period following the date of employment.  PTO and RSB accrued leave is granted to full-time and part-time employees only after they have completed six months of employment. For those employees hired from a “temporary” status, their “temporary” start date will be considered in satisfying their waiting period for the use of these hours.  PTO and RSB hours do not accrue for an employee on a leave of absence in a paid or non-paid status.  Accrued PTO balances will be reflected each pay period on the employee’s paycheck summary.  PTO and RSB accruals may only be used as they are earned.  In case of an unscheduled absence, if the employee does not have sufficient hours to compensate them from PTO or RSB hours, that time will be taken as non-paid leave. FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE PTO/RSB BENEFIT PTO hours accrue each pay period and are based on the number of years of service. The number of RSB hours remains constant for full-time employees for all years of service. Note: Part-time employees transferring to full-time status will automatically be converted to the full-time accrual rate. Hire thru 24 Mos. 5.23 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 25 thru 60 Mos. 6.15 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 61 thru 120 Mos. 7.08 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 121 thru 180 Mos. 8.00 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 181 Plus Mos. 8.92 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB Note: All full time employees are required to take a minimum of five consecutive working days (PTO hours) off during each calendar year. The five days may be inclusive of an AFCU holiday. PART-TIME EMPLOYEE PTO/RSB BENEFIT PTO and RSB hours accrue each pay period based on the total number of hours worked during that pay period. The percentage of PTO and RSB hours increase based on the number of years of service. Note: Full-time employees transferring to part-time status will automatically be converted to the part-time accrual rate. Hire thru 12 Mos. .016 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .008 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 13 thru 24 Mos. .039 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .016 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 25 thru 60 Mos. .058 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 61 thru 120 Mos. .066 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 121 thru 180 Mos. .075 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 181 Plus Mos. .084 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB SCHEDULING  In order to minimize disruption of Credit Union operations, requests for PTO hours should be pre-approved at least one week in advance except in cases of illness or emergency. When possible, RSB hours should be pre-approved as well.  Due to anticipated increases in member activity and operational demands, the Credit Union will not grant any PTO requests for the period beginning December 13, 1999 through January 14, 2000 ensuring the highest possible service levels to our membership during the century changeover.  To schedule PTO or RSB hours, e-mail is sent to the employee’s Supervisor listing the specific dates requested. The Supervisor either approves or declines the request in a return e-mail response.  Scheduling is based on the needs of the branch/department operations. Reasonable efforts will be made to grant time for periods requested.  Requests made for time off that exceed the PTO accrual balance will not be approved.  Time taken from work for medical or dental appointments will be deducted from the PTO accrual. If no time is available, the time will be unpaid.  Time off during the final two-week notice of separation will not be granted. PTO and RSB hours will not be paid to employees during their final two weeks of employment. If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me at smkafcu@aol.com Good Luck Sheila K

If you would check the posting here under Miscellaneous Benefits: Paid Time Off (PTO), I have listed the current policy which we adopted in January 1999. It has been very successful for us to date! If you need additional information, please email me at smkafcu@aol.com. You may need to change your settings to look back 60 days in order to see this topic, but it is still on the board! Good Luck. Sheila K [Note: This message has been edited by Sheila K]

I am posting our latest update to our employee handbook regarding PTO/RSB. This was implemented in Jan 99 and has been well-received. PAID TIME OFF Paid Time Off (PTO) is a benefit granted to employees to provide time to participate in activities unrelated to the performance of their jobs. Arizona Federal Credit Union’s PTO plan is provided to encourage planning and predictability of time off from work. PTO hours are also utilized for the first three days of an unscheduled absence. The PTO plan is not utilized for AFCU paid holidays, jury duty or bereavement leave. RESERVE SICK BANK A Reserve Sick Bank (RSB) is also provided and accumulates additional hours. (RSB) hours are used after three consecutive days of an absence for an employee’s extended illness or injury. RSB may also be used after the first three consecutive days for any certified Family Medical Leave of Absence (FMLA). In order to utilize RSB, a statement from the attending physician verifying the need for the absence and/or permitting the return to work or a completed FMLA certification is required. The RSB plan is not utilized for AFCU paid holidays, jury duty or bereavement leave. There is no maximum accrual for hours in the RSB. ACCRUAL The PTO and RSB plans provide an accrual each pay period for full-time and part-time employees.  PTO and RSB accruals begin the first pay period following the date of employment.  PTO and RSB accrued leave is granted to full-time and part-time employees only after they have completed six months of employment. For those employees hired from a “temporary” status, their “temporary” start date will be considered in satisfying their waiting period for the use of these hours.  PTO and RSB hours do not accrue for an employee on a leave of absence in a paid or non-paid status.  Accrued PTO balances will be reflected each pay period on the employee’s paycheck summary.  PTO and RSB accruals may only be used as they are earned.  In case of an unscheduled absence, if the employee does not have sufficient hours to compensate them from PTO or RSB hours, that time will be taken as non-paid leave. FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE PTO/RSB BENEFIT PTO hours accrue each pay period and are based on the number of years of service. The number of RSB hours remains constant for full-time employees for all years of service. Note: Part-time employees transferring to full-time status will automatically be converted to the full-time accrual rate. Hire thru 24 Mos. 5.23 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 25 thru 60 Mos. 6.15 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 61 thru 120 Mos. 7.08 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 121 thru 180 Mos. 8.00 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB 181 Plus Mos. 8.92 hrs per pay period/PTO 2.46 hrs per pay period/RSB Note: All full time employees are required to take a minimum of five consecutive working days (PTO hours) off during each calendar year. The five days may be inclusive of an AFCU holiday. PART-TIME EMPLOYEE PTO/RSB BENEFIT PTO and RSB hours accrue each pay period based on the total number of hours worked during that pay period. The percentage of PTO and RSB hours increase based on the number of years of service. Note: Full-time employees transferring to part-time status will automatically be converted to the part-time accrual rate. Hire thru 12 Mos. .016 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .008 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 13 thru 24 Mos. .039 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .016 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 25 thru 60 Mos. .058 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 61 thru 120 Mos. .066 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 121 thru 180 Mos. .075 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB 181 Plus Mos. .084 x hours worked in pay period/PTO .023 x hours worked in pay period/RSB SCHEDULING  In order to minimize disruption of Credit Union operations, requests for PTO hours should be pre-approved at least one week in advance except in cases of illness or emergency. When possible, RSB hours should be pre-approved as well.  Due to anticipated increases in member activity and operational demands, the Credit Union will not grant any PTO requests for the period beginning December 13, 1999 through January 14, 2000 ensuring the highest possible service levels to our membership during the century changeover.  To schedule PTO or RSB hours, e-mail is sent to the employee’s Supervisor listing the specific dates requested. The Supervisor either approves or declines the request in a return e-mail response.  Scheduling is based on the needs of the branch/department operations. Reasonable efforts will be made to grant time for periods requested.  Requests made for time off that exceed the PTO accrual balance will not be approved.  Time taken from work for medical or dental appointments will be deducted from the PTO accrual. If no time is available, the time will be unpaid.  Time off during the final two-week notice of separation will not be granted. PTO and RSB hours will not be paid to employees during their final two weeks of employment. If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me at smkafcu@aol.com Good Luck Sheila K

The best way to be sure is to contact your Plan Administrator. We have used two different plan administrators since I've been here. One would take a receipt only, the other required more information. They should be able to tell you exactly what you need to send to them to get your claim paid! Good Luck. Sheila K

William: If you check out the Chamber of Commerce website (www.chamberofcommerce.com), they have a "Contact Us" button. Might as well go to the source and ask them if the results are posted on the web somewhere!! Let us know if you find them, as I'm sure we're all interested.. If someone else knows directly how to access this info, please post here. Good luck Sheila K

Cheryl: At our company, we reimburse tuition up front, upon proof of payment. HOWEVER, if the employee leaves within 6 months after completing the course, we do require that the tuition be repaid at 100% from their final pay check. Is this what you mean, or are they actually requiring some type of contract??? Sheila K

Lynn: I can't stop laughing!!! I'm sure the HR/Benefits people are all pulling for you to take the "pro" side of this, while all the bean counters are saying "no". However, as a non-benefits HR person, I have to say that benefits are TOTALLY worth it. We are a 340+ employee financial institution with 15 branches in two separate cities (Phoenix and Tucson). With unemployment at an all time low, it is VITAL to provide benefits to our employees to recruit and retain them. I have lived through several benefit changes here in 9 years and I can tell you that if we have a bad provider, our employees LET US KNOW. The only thing worse for most employees than poor benefits is NO BENEFITS!!! Good Luck!!! Sheila K ------------------

Dana: We are a 300+ credit union with 15 locations...we just instituted a PTO policy, as well as a separate absenteeism policy. Please e-mail me (smkafcu@aol.com) if you would like me to fax or e-mail you a copy of these new policies!!! So far, they have been very successful and we do not anticipate any changes. Good Luck. Sheila K

Karen: Although we just switched to a PTO system, we previously had a floating birthday holiday. The day had to be taken during the MONTH of your birthday-no exceptions (unless EXTREME scheduling problems) and it was a use it or lose it holiday. It was very popular and we did include that time in our PTO plan as well. We are a financial institution, so it is vital that our scheduling be up to par for our members! Making the ee's take the time in their birth month limited the number of requests we would have in any given month. Good Luck!!! Sheila K ------------------

Kim: We have 350 employees, 150 FT/200 PT. We have one full time benefits administrator and another person cross trained to assist if necessary. Good luck. Sheila K

JStyer: Here are some places to start looking for Benefit info. I don't know of just one place to look, but these sources have worked well for me in the past. Also, you may want to use an on-line search engine (yahoo.com, search.com, etc.) and search on benefit laws or other combinations of words. Good luck. Sheila K http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/ http://www.smartbiz.com/sbs/cats/hire.htm http://www.w-p.com/wessels/library.htm http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/ http://www.auxillium.com/contents.htm

BJG: I don't know where your "local" area is, but AMG has a speaker's bureau. You may call Mike Gedris @ 602 631-7189 or email at mgedris@cskauto.com. One of our VP's here mentioned the topic to Mike and he thought he had someone who might fit the bill. We're in AZ, but I'm not sure how much territory AMG covers (mostly since I have NO IDEA what it stands for!!!!) Anyway, might be worth a call... Good luck. Sheila K. ------------------

Tom: As long as your employer applies this rule to all employees equally it is perfectly legal. Employers do not even HAVE to give paid vacation time...it truly is a benefit. You may want to ask about implementing a program of sell-back for 50-75 cents on the dollar. This would allow you to benefit from the vacation time, even if you don't take the time off. Our company does this annually. We allow only 80 hours to carry over annually. The balance of the time must be paid out at 75%, donated to the donation bank (for employees with catastrophic illnesses or injuries) or transferred to their reserve sick bank (we use a PTO system). Good luck... Sheila K