If the headlines in this newsletter aren't clickable for you,
please use the online, clickable version at:
https://benefitslink.com/2004/2004_04_09_welfare.html
(click or copy-and-paste the above address into your web browser)

BenefitsLink
Welfare Plans
Newsletter		To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

April 9, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

Spring 2004 Information Sessions
Learn about the nation’s only LL.M. degree program in employee benefits law.
18-course curriculum includes:
Pension, Profit-Sharing and 401 (k) Plans
Executive Compensation
Health and Welfare Benefit Plans
ERISA Litigation
Full- or part-time joint J.D./LL.M programs available
Information sessions on degree programs in tax law or employee benefits
law: Monday, April 12, noon to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m.
Contact the Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits at 312.987.2380 or
visit our website.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Has Obesity Met Its Match?
Excerpt: "The French pharma Sanofi is getting positive results so far with a drug that suppresses appetite. And it may have cardiac benefits, too." (Business Week)

To Fix Health Care, Hospitals Take Tips From Toyota
Excerpt: "The Toyota system emphasizes the smoothest possible flow of work -- accomplished by, say, mapping out work processes and eliminating unnecessary steps, and using teamwork to identify and fix problems as soon as they crop up." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Caregivers Want More Support From Employers
Excerpt: "Employers often turn a blind eye to challenges workers may face at home in providing long-term care to a loved one. Fully 62% of respondents to a recent BenefitNews.com QuickPoll claimed ignorance about how many employees double as family caregivers because, they said, it wasn't their business to know." (BenefitNews.com)

Healthcare Costs for Coverage of Buffalo's City Retirees Will Exceed Costs for Active Workers
Excerpt: "City Hall will make unwelcome history this month and at no small cost to taxpayers. For the first time, Buffalo will spend more on health benefits for retirees than it will on health benefits for active workers." (Buffalo News)

California Health Care Market Report 2004
Excerpt: "According to this annual market study of California's health plans, hospital systems, and physician organizations, there has been a fundamental change in health care business relationships and in how economic power is held and used. This report presents a comprehensive picture of the organizations that finance, deliver, and organize health care for most Californians." (California Healthcare Foundation)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Seventh Circuit Upholds Award of $35,050 In Penalties For Plan's Failure To Provide Documents
The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld an award of $35,050 in statutory penalties imposed against a retirement plan that failed to comply with a beneficiary's request for plan documents. The case is Lowe v. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., et al. (Nos. 03-1888 and 03-1954). (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Same-Sex Marriage Legal In Massachusetts-- What Consequences for Employers In or Out of State?
Excerpt: "[I]nside and outside of Massachusetts, same-sex marriages are simply not recognized as 'marriages' and same-sex couples do not qualify for 'spousal' benefits under federal laws. Federally regulated employment benefits include retirement plans and self-insured health and dental plans. However, employers are reminded that nothing in many federal laws prevents employers from voluntarily providing more generous benefits than required by federal law ..." (Littler Mendelson)

United Nations Rejects Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
Excerpt: "The General Assembly rejected a policy change Thursday that would have allowed same-sex partners of U.N. staffers to receive family benefits and asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review it." (Los Angeles Times via Salt Lake Tribune)

Opinion: Homose.xual Parenting: Is It Time For Change? Physician Group Argues No
Excerpt: "Policymakers, social scientists, the media, and even physician organizations ... are now asserting that prohibitions on parenting by homose.xual couples should be lifted. In making such far-reaching, generation-changing assertions, any responsible advocate would rely upon supporting evidence that is comprehensive and conclusive." (American College of Pediatricians)

Newly Posted Events

Evening Course Offered: PN915C - Tax Aspects of Retirement Plans
Nationwide on April 26, 2004
presented by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Evening Course Offered: PN940C - Funding and Administration of Health and Welfare Benefits
Nationwide on April 22, 2004
presented by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Evening Course Offered: PN974C - Employee Benefits Plan Fundamentals
Nationwide on May 18, 2004
presented by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Employee Benefits Breakfast Series -PN990C
Nationwide on April 22, 2004
presented by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Evening Course Offered: PN903C - Retirement Plan Law
Nationwide on April 13, 2004
presented by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Evening Course Offered: PN906C - Reporting and Disclosure Aspects of Retirement Plan Administration
Nationwide on April 28, 2004
presented by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Cafeteria Plans
in California on May 26, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

401(k) Plans
in California on May 25, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Minnesota on May 7, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Minnesota on May 6, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Ohio on May 14, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Ohio on May 13, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in California on May 28, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in California on May 27, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

401(k) Plans
in Minnesota on May 4, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Minnesota on May 6, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
in Minnesota on May 5, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

401(k) Plans
in Ohio on May 11, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Ohio on May 13, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
in Ohio on May 12, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in California on May 27, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

How to Handle Psychiatric Disabilities in the Workplace -- 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on April 27, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive

Critical Topics Under the FLSA: 2004 Spring Update -- 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on April 21, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive

Same-Gender Marriages: Anticipating the Impact on Employee Benefit Programs -- 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on April 30, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive
Newly Posted Press Releases

Federal Pension Insurer Will Pay Benefits at Top-Flite Golf Co.
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Ceridian Strengthens Benefits Services Through Acquisition Of CIGNA's COBRA Business
(Ceridian)

Council applauds Senate passage of H.R. 3108, urges President to sign legislation into law
(American Benefits Council)

Pechanga Resort & Casino Saves 30 Percent By Switching to a 401(k) Plan with Open Architecture
(TRI-AD)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Associate Administrator
for Independent Pension Consultants, Ltd.
in MN

Pension Administrator
for Benetech, Inc.
in CA

Stock Plan Manager
for Exult, Inc.
in NC

Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Attorney
for Verrill & Dana, LLP
in ME

Retirement Plan Bilingual (Spanish-English) Enroller (Part-Time)
for Standard Insurance Company - Retirement Plans Division
in CA, NV

Sales Assistant
for Great-West Healthcare
in NJ

401K Administrator
for Pulte Homes
in MI

Handy Links:
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.

Published by:

BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151

Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.

Housekeeping: