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October 13, 2003 - 8,548 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
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“Complying With the Wage-Hour Requirements of the Service Contract Act” A 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference – Thursday, October 23, 2003 * 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time During this 90-minute interactive presentation, employment law attorneys Dan Abrahams and Shlomo Katz will address the basic requirements of the SCA, to include: prevailing wages, fringe benefits, conformances, the Successor Contractor rule and price adjustments. They will also discuss how the SCA can/should affect contractors’ proposals to the government, and more. Register today!
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Medicare Negotiators Want Companies To Keep Retiree Health Benefits
Excerpt: "Options under consideration include subsidies or tax breaks for companies, beyond money contained in legislation that passed the House and Senate earlier this year, congressional aides said." (AP via the Boston Globe)
Medical Supplies Such as Bandages and Crutches Constitute Medical Care
Excerpt: "In this Information Letter, the IRS responds to an inquiry as to whether an employer-sponsored flexible spending account could be used by an employee for 'large quantities of wound care supplies'--she had been advised that such coverage could not be used to 'purchase' such supplies (although the Letter is unclear, presumably this means that her health FSA would not reimburse such expenses)." (EBIA)
Full Text of Brief to Supreme Court Filed by General Dynamics in 'Reverse Age Discrimination Case' (PDF)
62 pages. Excerpt: "QUESTION PRESENTED: Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding, contrary to decisions of the First and Seventh Circuits, that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634, prohibits 'reverse discrimination,' i.e., employer actions, practices, or policies that treat older workers more favorably than younger workers who are at least forty years old." (Published online by the American Bar Association)
Full Text of Response Brief Filed by Employees in 'Reverse Age Discrimination Case' (PDF)
62 pages. Excerpt: "QUESTION PRESENTED: Whether the plain meaning of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634, prohibits General Dynamics from withdrawing retirement health benefits from workers solely because of their age." (Published online by the American Bar Association)
Full Text of Reply Brief of General Dynamics in 'Reverse Age Discrimination' Case
27 pages. Excerpt: "Neither respondents nor the United States point to anything in the ADEA's language or structure, or in its policies or purposes, that justifies the counterintuitive conclusion that § 4(a)(1) should be extended to prohibit the disparate treatment of such employees based on their relative youth." (Published online by the ERISA Industry Committee)
Impact of Including Unaltered Model Statement of ERISA Rights in Plan's SPD
Prescott v. Little Six, Inc. (D. Minn. 2003). Excerpt: "We found this trial court decision interesting because it illustrates the important but unintended consequences that can result from including the DOL's model statement of ERISA rights in a plan's SPD.... Holding that the SPDs were legally operative documents, the court said that the references to filing suit in federal court constituted a valid waiver of the tribal entity's sovereign immunity." (EBIA)
Are ERISA Welfare Plans Required to Have an Annual Open Enrollment Period?
Excerpt: "QUESTION: Our company maintains several ERISA welfare plans for employees, including an insured group health plan, an insured LTD plan, and a health FSA. Are we required to offer an annual open enrollment period for each of these plans? ANSWER: Generally, no, at least not under federal law." (EBIA (Question of the Week))
Payroll Cards Serve Unbanked Employees
Excerpt: "Fifty-six million Americans do not have a traditional banking relationship, a fact that is driving increasing numbers of employers to help their 'unbanked' employees establish financial partnerships through payroll cards." (BenefitNews.com)
Aon's Fall 2003 Health Care Trend Survey
Excerpt: "Each Spring and Fall, Aon Consulting provides you with updated health care trend data. The Fall 2003 survey is complete and the results can be found in the report below. We hope this information will assist you as you evaluate health insurance premium renewals and develop self-funded health plan claim projections." (Aon Consulting)
California Business Group Seeks Referendum on Law Mandating Health Coverage
Excerpt: "The California Chamber of Commerce took the first step Thursday to let voters decide whether to stop a law that would require many businesses to provide their employees with health insurance." (AP via Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Overview: Pay or Play in California? (PDF)
2 pages. (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
Pharmaceuticals Trade Group Lobbies Hard Against Federal Drug Importation Bill
Excerpt: "The pharmaceutical industry's trade group spent $8.5 million in lobbying this year as it worked against a bill to allow importation of government-approved drugs." (AP via Las Vegas Sun)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: Split Dollar Policies Get Hammered; What to Do By 12/31/2003
3 pages. Excerpt: "New IRS regulations virtually eliminate the highly favorable tax treatment historically accorded the life insurance policies underlying SDAs. Our regulatory experts outline strategies to cope." (HayGroup; one-time registration required)
Disclosing Pay of Executives Often Leads to Raises
Excerpt: "Though shareholder advocates have often campaigned for disclosure, thinking that executives would be shamed by the airing of their excesses, pay has continued to rise. Disclosing pay has had the unintended consequence of creating a spiral driven upward by competition." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
NYSE Top Execs Due $22M Upon Retirement
Excerpt: "The top two executives at the New York Stock Exchange are due $22 million each when they retire, the NYSE's interim leader said, delivering on a promise of greater openness following Dick Grasso's resignation." (Washington Post)
Opinion: Can Corporate America Curb the Monster?
Excerpt: "Boards made certain that there was no downside for CEOs by granting lavish pay apart from options -- salary, bonus, long-term incentive, 'other,' even 'all other.' The adoption of multiple pay categories inflated compensation totals even as it obscured what those totals were." (Washington Post)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in AZ
Retirement Plan Specialist (Part-Time)
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in TX
Actuary
for Swerdlin & Company
in GA
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Jones & Roth P.C.
in OR
Retirement Plan Specialist Team Leader
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in FL
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Health FSAs and Over-the-Counter Drugs
on October 20, 2003
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America, LLC (EBIA)
Split Dollar Arrangements Under the Final Regulations and Notice 2002-8
on October 23, 2003
presented by American Bar Association
Challenges Facing the Medicaid Program in the 21st Century
on October 8, 2003
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Women, Work, and Family Health: A Balancing Act
on October 8, 2003
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Over-The-Counter Drug Reimbursement - FSA/HRA
on October 16, 2003
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
What's New With COBRA?
in ALL STATES
October 16, 2003
American Bar Association-Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Split Dollar Arrangements: What Now?
in ALL STATES
October 28, 2003
American Bar Association-Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
49th Annual Employee Benefits Conference
in CA
November 7, 2003
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Year-End Reporting - What To Be Prepared for in Pension Disclosures
in ALL STATES
October 21, 2003
FEI - Financial Executives International
HIPAA and Other Health Laws: North Carolina Compliance Assistance Seminar
in NC
October 28, 2003
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the North Carolina Department of Insurance
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
eePulse/U of M Study-Employment Projections Up 10 Percentage Points In September
(eePulse, Inc.)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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