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September 21, 2005
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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)

Rising Claims Plus Reduced Coverage Creates Disability Benefits Disconnect
Excerpt: "Research released this year ... finds that 32% of employers say short-term disability incidence has increased in the last year, and 27% say the same is true of incidences of long-term disability. At the same time, however, the number of employers offering long-term disability is down 3% to 88% since 2002, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Similarly, the number providing short-term disability coverage decreased 4% since last year alone to 77%." (Employee Benefit News)

Overview: Employee's Fiduciary Breach Claim Rejected; Employer's Open Enrollment Procedures Are OK
Excerpt: "While ERISA does not address open enrollment or provide any specific guidance on how open enrollment must be structured, open enrollment procedures are a fact of life for most employers, especially those with large workforces. Unfortunately, even careful procedures don't always protect against claims that can be costly to litigate, even if the employer ultimately prevails." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Overview: Employee Not Allowed to Sue State Agency for Violating FMLA's Self-Care Provision
Excerpt: "This decision is not surprising--the holdings of the Sixth and Tenth Circuits represent the prevailing view regarding the FMLA's self-care provision prior to Hibbs. Note that some states have enacted state family and medical leave laws that may leave them open to lawsuits by individuals. And in some cases, a state may have taken steps that effectively allows it to be sued by individuals." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Workplace and Worktime Flexibility Proves Profitable for Large Firms
Excerpt: "After ushering in workplace flexibility programs, 10 large employers have reaped sizeable economic gains this year. Programs such as teleworking, flextime and compressed workweeks resulted in decreased overtime, fewer unscheduled absences, increased productivity, and more efficient work processes." (Employee Benefit News)

Courts Aren't Finished with Complex Federal Employee Military Leave Case
Excerpt: "Like many other federal employment cases in which paid leave time is at stake, it boiled down to a definition: whether 15 days of leave for military training should be measured in calendar days or workdays." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

India's Fringe Benefit Tax Starts to Bite
Excerpt: "India's controversial Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) was introduced April 1, 2005. Hopes that the tax would be 'rolled back' following corporate lobbying have proved misplaced. Although the Government's agenda does include looking at pension taxation more holistically, FBT is here to stay for the time being, and employers in India are pragmatically learning how to adapt to it." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

New York City Mayor Vetoes Grocery Store Employee Health Coverage Mandate
Excerpt: "The mandate would have required that grocery stores with at least 35 employees or other retail stores with 10,000 square feet of food products contribute an amount equal to the prevailing employer contributions New York City grocers now make towards their employees' health insurance coverage ...." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

Overview: Business Records Showed that TPA Mailed COBRA Election Notice to Last Known Address
Excerpt: "The employer successfully defended this claim because its TPA's records demonstrated that the COBRA election notice had been properly and timely mailed. A plan administrator can delegate COBRA administration to a TPA but, in most cases, the responsibility for providing COBRA election notices will remain with the plan administrator ...." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Overview: HHS Extends Interim Final Rule on Imposition of Civil Money Penalties for HIPAA Violations
Excerpt: "That rule was set to expire on September 16, 2004, and the expiration date was later extended to September 16, 2005. Now, HHS has extended the expiration date again, to March 16, 2006 'to avoid the disruption of ongoing enforcement actions while HHS completes . . . rulemaking to develop a more comprehensive enforcement rule.'" (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Overview: Two Hurricane Katrina Bulletins on HIPAA Privacy and Disclosures in Emergency Situations
Excerpt: "The flexibility presented in the second bulletin will be appreciated by health plans and BAs serving those affected by Katrina. The second bulletin also is an important reminder of the need for BA contracts (and contracts between BAs and their agents) that accurately reflect the intent of both parties." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Summarizes Recent News Items on Employer-Based Health Insurance
Kaiser summarizes recently published news articles addressing employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and features. (Kaiser Family Foundation)

U.S. District Court Rules that Michigan Retiree Health Benefits Suit is Preempted by ERISA
Excerpt: "A Michigan federal judge has ruled that retirees can't sue their former employer in state court over a program requiring only younger retirees to pay part of their health coverage costs under a retiree health plan." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

Generic Drug Sales to Soar Past Estimates, According to Projections from IMS Health
Excerpt: "Sales of generic drugs in the United States this year are expected to top $28 billion, nearly 65 percent more than previous estimates, according to new projections released yesterday by IMS Health, a leading drug industry research company." (The Star Ledger)

Skeletal Health Benefits in Doubt: Critics Say Cut-Rate Policies Offer Little Coverage in Need
Excerpt: "In a hearing Tuesday in San Francisco, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi explored the issue, gathering testimony from insurers, physician groups and hospital groups in an effort to determine whether tougher standards should be set for policies with so-called skeletal benefits." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Employee Benefit Managers' Control of Access and Communications of Voluntary Benefit Vendors
Excerpt: "Supplemental benefit vendors can be a source of valuable information - or unwelcome sales pitches. Increasingly, it is up to benefits managers to determine which messages are delivered through vendor's employee access." (Employee Benefit News)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of Regulations Extending COBRA, HIPAA, ERISA Timeframes for Persons Affected by Katrina (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "With respect to plan participants, beneficiaries, qualified beneficiaries, or claimants directly affected by Hurricane Katrina ... group health plans, disability and other welfare plans, pension plans, and health insurance issuers subject to part 7 of ERISA, must disregard the period from August 29, 2005 through January 3, 2006 when determining ... the 60-day period to elect COBRA continuation coverage ... [t]he date within which individuals may file a benefit claim ..." (Internal Revenue Service; Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Study Reports More G.ay-Friendly Employers in 2005
Excerpt: "More large US companies in more industries have g.ay-inclusive policies than ever before, according to Human Rights Campaign, a g.ay rights group. .... The group's fourth annual Corporate Equality Index turned up 101 companies with a perfect score when graded on their treatment of g.ay, les.bian, transse.xual, and transgender workers, according to Reuters." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

Overview: Avoiding Risk as a Plan Service Provider (PDF)
13 pages. Excerpt: "We live in a litigious society with a functional definition of ERISA fiduciary. A fiduciary is what a fiduciary does. Moreover, courts recently have been finding fiduciaries, non-fiduciaries, and even non-parties in interest to be liable in connection with prohibited transactions." (Gardner Carton & Douglas)

Overview: Human Resource and Employee Benefits Compliance Technology
Excerpt: "Regulatory compliance is a necessary evil for HR and benefits professionals. But it's possible to use HR technology in a way that brings financial returns from compliance, making the task much less bothersome, if not downright rewarding. Eric Pulaski, CEO of BindView, a Houston-based provider of compliance software, recommends making a business decision to achieve a return on investment from regulatory compliance, rather than treating it as an obligation." (Employee Benefit News)


Newly Posted Events

Circular 230, Tax Shelters and Plan 412i Plans
in California on November 17, 2005
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter

The New World of Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation After Section 409A
in California on October 20, 2005
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter


Newly Posted Press Releases

Study Shows Slight Gains in Retirement Plan Participation
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Invesmart Launches Bill of Rights for Retirement Plan Participants; Urges Retirement Industry to Embrace Bill
(Invesmart, Inc.)

Controller Westly Announces State Tax Benefits for Businesses and Employees Donating to Hurricane Relief; Innovative Program Allows Workers to Contribute Leave Time
(California State Controller's Office)

CPI Introduces AdviserSelect - The Answer to Full Fee Disclosure
(CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.)

RolloverSystems Announces Selection By TIAA-CREF To Provide Direct Rollover Services
(RolloverSystems)

The Budget-Conscious Way to Recruitment Software
(Swiftpro Ltd.)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Senior Plan Administrator
for WESPAC
in CA

Accountant
for 401(k) Advisors
in CA

Executive Advisory Services CRM Director
for Confidential
in NJ

Manager, FA Training & Education
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ

Small Market Business
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ

Benefits Project Specialist
for Aon
in MD

Retirement Analyst/Project Manager
for Aon
in MD




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