August 11, 2003 - 8,429 subscribers Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc. (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) “Coordination of Leave Strategies” 8/18/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET Do you have difficulty appropriately responding to leave requests? You are not alone! Many employers find recalling all the requirements of the seemingly overlapping leave laws to be both taxing and complicated. Luckily, we can help! Register for this exclusive audio conference and in just 90 minutes, and without leaving your desk, you can learn strategies to identify and avoid potential problems in handling employee leave requests. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Survey Shows Schedule Flexibility Linked to Job Satisfaction Excerpt: "Giving employees something to smile about at the office may be as simple as offering them more control over their time, a recent OfficeTeam survey suggests. One-third (33 percent) of workers polled said greater schedule flexibility would result in increased job satisfaction." (SmartPros) Firms Fight Obesity To Control Health Costs Excerpt: "The Washington Business Group on Health, or WBGH, estimates that employers lose about $12 billion a year on health care costs and absenteeism because of overweight and obese workers. And Rand, the nonprofit research institution in Santa Monica, last year released a broader research report showing obesity contributes more to higher costs for medication and health care services than smoking or alcoholism." (East Bay Business Times via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Consumer-Directed Health Option an Early Hit for Many in Cincinnati Area Excerpt: "A new health insurance option could become the silver bullet that helps employers cap skyrocketing costs and put an end to nearly five years of double-digit premium increases... Early results are tantalizing. In a world where the average health plan increase is 15 percent, consumer-directed plans are cutting annual increases in half." (Cincinnati Business Courier via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Opinion: Canada's Free Ride On Prescription Drugs Excerpt: "As the issue of prescription-drug pricing heats up south of the border, two questions come to mind. First, why should U.S. patients pay exorbitant prices for their medicines while heath-care systems in other developed countries ... get their medications at cut-rate prices, and thereby avoid paying their fair share of drug R&D costs? Second, why would U.S. drug companies continue to ship us their pills, capsules and serums if those products are then being 'reimported' ..." (The [Canadian] National Post) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Opinion: Tax Shelters Not So Protected Any More Excerpt: "Of course, the line between abusive and responsible tax planning can be indistinct. But like the now much-quoted Supreme Court pragmatic definition of obscenity (and there is more than a little obscenity in some of the shelters promoted by some of the biggest names in the tax business), one can usually know abuse when one sees it." (Alvin D. Lurie) Overview: IRS Issues Final Golden Parachute Regulations (PDF) 5 pages. Excerpt: "These regulations, which are generally effective with respect to payments made in connection with changes of control that occur on or after January 1, 2004, generally implement the rules set forth in the proposed regulations issued last year. The final regulations do, however, contain some clarifications and changes, most of which make the rules more flexible." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan) The Changing Face of Global Stock Plans (PDF) 21 pages. Excerpt: "[T]o assist you in this changing environment and to provide you with a framework for quickly assessing the potential impact of the use of restricted stock in various countries, we have created this newsletter as a means (1) of highlighting certain tax consequences associated with offering stock awards in 20 countries, and (2) to demonstrate the World Law Group's commitment to the global stock area and our ability to rapidly respond to any questions that you may have." (Gardner Carton Douglas LLP) Valuation of Employee Stock Options: Summary of Views from FASB's Option Valuation Group (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "This letter summarizes the majority views of [FASB's Option Valuation Group (OVG)] in terms of estimating the model assumptions that are key in reflecting the differences between employee stock options and exchange-traded options." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Project Manager - New Business Installation for Transamerica in CA Vice President, Product Management, Benefits and Lifeworks Services for Ceridian in FL Senior Actuarial Analyst for Invesmart, Inc. in MA Litigation Associate for Trucker Huss, A Professional Corporation in CA DC/401(k) Administrator for Retirement Plan Services, L.L.C. in MO Team Leader for AMVESCAP Retirement, Inc. in GA, RI Daily Processor for McCready and Keene, Inc. in IN Retirement Plan Specialist for Diversified Investment Advisors in MN Qualified Plan Administrator for Pension Advisory Group, Ltd. in IL DC\401K Administrator for North Suburban Chicago Firm in IL Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!) IRS Update: Newly Released 457 Regulations on October 7, 2003 presented by National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc. (NAGDCA) Newly Posted Press Releases (Post Yours!) CNA Trust Makes Strong Showing in Full-Service Outsourcing Survey (CNA Trust) Handy Links:
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