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August 2, 2004
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Man Bites Dog? Halliburton Sues Retirees Over Health Benefit Cutback
Excerpt: "Halliburton spokeswoman Zelma Branch commented by e-mail that the Halliburton Company Benefits Committee filed the suit 'to provide prompt resolution concerning the validity of the program amendments so that the program participants could arrange for other medical coverage, above what they receive through Medicare, if desired.'" (Houston Chronicle)

High-Impact Perks for Low-Wage Workers
Excerpt: "Some companies have decided their low-wage employees don't have to be disposable. They use such incentives as performance bonuses, child care or educational opportunities to increase loyalty and save on hiring and retention." (Workforce.com)

Meaningful Tokens of Appreciation for Employees
Excerpt: "Getting a mug with the company logo on it probably isn't enough to keep an unhappy employee from quitting. But small tokens of recognition presented with the right message and style can make employees feel appreciated, while at the same time underscoring a company's values." (HR Magazine)

No Quick Fix for Spiraling Cost of Prescription Drugs
Excerpt: "Increases of 14.4 percent in the cost of prescription-drug benefits are likely this year. A key to reining in costs lies with education for both patients and doctors on the value of generics and the pernicious effects of direct-to-consumer advertising." (Workforce.com)

Not All Employers Like Consumer-Directed Health Insurance
Excerpt: "Teresa Haines, Voss's human resources benefit administrator, said the company worries the concept will be too much of a change for employees who are used to first-dollar coverage. 'It's away from the traditional, and you don't know how the employees will react,' Haines said. A new national study from researchers at the Center for Health Systems Change shows Haines' reaction is fairly common." (Dayton [OH] Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)

Update on Individual Health Insurance, August 2004
Excerpt: "This report provides information about the individual health insurance market using data from the largest vendor of this type of insurance, eHealthInsurance. The report includes who is buying individual insurance, what they are actually paying for the insurance, and buying patterns." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Humana Combines Rx Tiers With Consumer-Driven Health Financial Incentives
Excerpt: "The product ... combines a tiered pharmacy benefit with elements of a consumer-directed plan. The plan groups pharmaceuticals into four tiers (A, B, C and D), and provides enrollees with an allowance for the first three prescription tiers. RxImpact tends to be less costly for employers when compared to more traditional pharmacy benefits ..." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)

How Economics of Middle Class, Including Health Costs, Could Affect Election
Excerpt: "The New York Times on Sunday examined how middle-income U.S. residents' perceptions of whether they are economically 'squeezed' will affect the upcoming election, with health care costs and health insurance playing a central role in the debate." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Need Help at Work? Mom and Dad Are for Hire
Excerpt: " As more retirees say they want to return to the workplace, and as more of their children operate small businesses in need of sporadic -- and preferably free -- labor, what was once a rare role reversal is becoming more common and desirable, say some experts who work with retirees and family businesses." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Ten Current Trends In U.S. Equity Compensation
Excerpt: "Among firms replacing lost option value, restricted stock was the primary replacement vehicle used across all employee groups." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)

IRS and Congress Plan Investigation of Nonprofits Paying Excessive Compensation (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Last month, the IRS announced that it will begin auditing hundreds of public charities and private foundations in what the IRS calls an 'aggressive program' to scrutinize compensation arrangements paid to nonprofit executives. The IRS intends to audit charities both in-person and by mail and has already identified approximately 100 to 200 charities whose compensation arrangements exceed the $1 million mark." (Gardner Carton & Douglas)

CEO Gets $2.5 Million Salary, Benefits Behind Bars
Excerpt: "[Andrew] Wiederhorn insisted that his case is different from Enron or Stewart because he relied on the advice of attorneys and accountants to make decisions that ultimately resulted in his convictions. Unlike [Martha] Stewart, convicted of lying to federal investigators, and Enron founder Kenneth Lay, accused of fraud and conspiracy, Wiederhorn says that he was guilty only of technical violations without the criminal intent required of those felonies." (StatesmanJournal.com)

In Notice 2004-55, IRS Seeks Comments re Possible Changes to Employee Stock Purchase Plan Regs (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department have received questions concerning whether the final regulations concerning options granted under an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) should be interpreted consistently with the proposed ISO regulations. The Service and the Treasury Department are considering whether to amend the final regulations under ยง 423 of the Internal Revenue Code." (Internal Revenue Service)

Overtime Compliance Guide and Audit (PDF)
21 pages. Excerpt: "The Department of Labor recently amended the regulations governing and defining the scope of the 'white collar' exemptions (those applying to executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, computer, and highly compensated employees) to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. To assist compliance efforts, this audit outlines and summarizes the new FLSA regulations." (Snell & Wilmer)

Opinion: the Marriage Debate and Polygamy
Excerpt: "There is no single, wise answer as to what will serve society and citizens best in this arena. With each state free--within the state's own constitutional requirements--to have its own public debate about what serves society, and what does not, there is the possibility that there will be 50 simultaneous experiments - and that is much to be encouraged." (Marci Hamilton on FindLaw.com)

The Interplay of DOMA, ERISA and Other Federal Laws
Excerpt: "Recent events in Massachusetts regarding marriage have spawned a plethora of law firm publications on the implications of same-gender marriage as it relates to benefit plans." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier on BenefitsBlog.com)

Aon Facing Class-Action Suit Over Contingent Commissions
Excerpt: "A Chicago judge this week approved a class-action lawsuit against Aon Corp. alleging that the insurance brokerage breached its fiduciary duty by taking contingent commissions from insurers without disclosing them to policyholders.... Describing last week's ruling as 'purely procedural,' Aon said in a statement that it 'strongly disagrees' with it and will appeal. 'We believe that plaintiffs' claims are completely without merit.'" (Business Insurance)

BenefitsLink Now Hosts a Wiki; New Free Collaborative Tool for You
Did you see the Wall Street Journal article about companies using a 'wiki' to facilitate in-house collaboration among their staff? A wiki is an easy way to create web pages or edit existing pages. We're happy to roll out a free wiki for BenefitsLink readers! Bookmark the wiki's home page (https://benefitslink.com/wiki) and check it from time to time for new collaborative projects, which we'll list there. Or create a new UserPage on the wiki now and tell us a bit about yourself! (BenefitsLink.com, Inc.)

Newly Posted Events

Central and Mountain States Benefits Conference
in Colorado on September 13, 2004
presented by ASPA (American Society of Pension Actuaries)

Employee Benefits Programs at the ABA Annual Meeting
in Georgia on August 7, 2004
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

ERISA Update Seminar
in Hawaii on November 16, 2004
presented by Sal Tripodi
Newly Posted Press Releases

Alliance Benefit Group Rolls Out Employer Driven Health Savings Accounts
(Alliance Benefit Group)

Stock option planning specialist announces an innovative means of improving the ROI on equity compensation programs
(Metrics Partners)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Client Relationship Manager
for TPA Firm in Southeastern MI
in MI

Retirement Plan Specialist
for Benefit Consultants Group
in NJ

DB Calc Eng Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in CT

Regional Manager
for Great-West Healthcare
in VA

Client/Pension Services Manager
for Trinity Financial Partners
in CA

401k Internal Wholesaler
for ADP Retirement Services
in NJ

Retirement Services District Manager (East Bay)
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA

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Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can reprint this newsletter in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.

Published by:

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

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