| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
May 1, 2001
Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Webcast (click)
Webcast coming up May 30! FMLA: The Family and Medical Leave Act -- "It's Not Getting Any Easier." Instructor: Christine E. Howard, Esq. and Jennifer B. Sandberg, Esq., Fisher & Phillips LLP. Presented by Human Resource Consultants. Click to register and purchase this webcast through BenefitsLink!
Judge Enjoins City of Chicago From May 1 Increase for Retiree Healthcare Premiums
Excerpt: "In litigation spanning nearly fourteen years so far, Circuit Court Judge Lester B, Foreman entered an order enjoining the City of Chicago from going forward with May 1 increases in retirees' healthcare premiums, amounting in some cases to 100% increases." (PRNewswire via Excite News)
District Court Did Not Err In Awarding LTD Benefits To Plaintiff: Eleventh Circuit
A federal district court did not err when it awarded long term disability benefits to a plaintiff rather than remanding the issue of eligibility for and the amount of benefits to the LTD plan administrator. This was the ruling of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Levinson v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (No. 00-11187). (SpencerNet)
Is Corporate Loyalty a Thing of the Past?
Excerpt: "For starters, the notion of loyalty at the office has forced us to face bigger questions about our priorities: What happens when obligations to your boss or co-workers conflict with loyalties at home? Does loyalty mean you have to stick with a job, no matter what? And what about your own interests and career goals -- is it disloyal to put them ahead of the needs of your colleagues?" (CareerJournal.com)
North Carolina May Halt Mandated Benefits for a Time
Excerpt: "In a move hailed by business interests, state lawmakers are considering bills that would place a two-year moratorium on any new benefits insurance companies would be required to offer. At issue are state mandates that require insurance companies to include certain kinds of coverage if they do business in North Carolina. The mandates do not apply to companies that self insure." (Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area)
Benefits Costs Continue To Outstrip Wages, BLS Reports
The most recent Employment Cost Index released by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that benefits costs in private industry continue to rise. According to the BLS's Employment Cost Index-March 2001, benefits costs for private industry workers increased 5.0% for the year ended March. 31, 2001, a slight decrease from 5.5% as of March. 31, 2000. (SpencerNet)
Survey Finds Fear of Rising Healthcare Costs, Ignorance About Managed Care
Excerpt: "Many Americans, especially women and people in poorer health, are worried that they will not be able to afford medical care in the future, according to survey findings released today by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI). Forty-one percent of Americans are not too or not at all confident in their ability to afford healthcare in the future ..." (Medscape; free registration required)
In Social HMOs, a Model For Healthcare Reform
Excerpt: "Mrs. Castoria is on Medicare - and the extra services she receives, in the long run, actually end up saving the government money. She's a member of an experimental project called Elderplan, which pays for her home care as well as her healthcare. It is one of four so-called 'social HMOs' in the country." (Christian Science Monitor)
CalPERS 2001 Long-Term Care Program Application Period Opens to Large Response
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) announced today that more than 2,000 applications have been received for the System's Long-Term Care (LTC) Program. The program is designed to help pay for extended care should members be faced with a catastrophic injury, chronic illness, or old age and require help with basic day-to-day activities. This year's application period began on April 1 and ends June 30, 2001." (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
New Webcast Available May 30: the Family and Medical Leave Act - "It's Not Getting Any Easier"
Instructors for the webcast are Christine E. Howard, Esq. and Jennifer B. Sandberg, Esq. of Fisher & Phillips LLP. Excerpt: "Join us for an informative webconference on the Family and Medical Leave Act and learn how you and your company can efficiently manage the day-to-day ... The webconference also will include a review of basic FMLA criteria, the definition of 'serious health condition,' the various notice and record requirements, and coordination with other laws." (Human Resource Consultants)
Graef Crystal: Who Wants to Be a Billionaire? Cendant's CEO
Excerpt: "Cendant Corp.'s chief executive, Henry Silverman, seems bent on becoming a billionaire whether or not his shareholders prosper. Silverman almost made it at the end of 1997, when he was shown to be holding fully exercisable options on 46.3 million shares -- and had a paper profit of $833 million. Almost as a complement to owning so many options, he was also shown to be holding not a single actual share of his company's stock." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
Stock Options and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
This article explains the AMT issues that may arise for employees who exercise incentive stock options (ISOs). (The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Qualified Retirement Plans Manager | for Arthur Andersen, Human Capital Consulting in IL |
| Retirement Plan Administrator | for Keiter, Slabaugh, Penny & Holme, LLC in VA |
| Senior Benefits Consultant | for CB Richard Ellis in CA |
| Defined Benefit Manager | for JELD-WEN in OR |
| Pension Education Specialist | for Diversified Investment Advisors in AR, OR |
| 401K Product Manager | for 401Konnect.com, Inc. in CA |
| 401(k)/Pension Administrator | for Great Lakes Pension Administrators, Inc. in MI |
| Manager-Issues Resolution Unit | for ICMA Retirement Corporation in DC |
| 401(k) Administrator, Daily Valuation Plans | for CNA TRUST in CA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| The New Required Minimum Distribution Rules | in FL on May 8, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Council of Central Florida |
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