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October 1, 2007

Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy.


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Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press

The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers.

(a) New Guidance Documents

(None today.)

(b) News

UAW Wins Job Security Pledges in GM Deal
Excerpt: "Local union leaders . . . endorsed a tentative agreement between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers that requires GM to pay out at least $35 billion for retiree health care, establishes lower wages for thousands of new employees and offers an unprecedented number of promises for future work at U.S. plants, according to a summary of the agreement provided by the UAW." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)

Wall St. Smells a Bonanza in VEBA -- UAW-Run Health Plan May Mean Billions to Manage
Excerpt: "'The UAW is taking on a big job here -- they're now responsible for overseeing a large part of the livelihood of their retirees,' said Bob Bowman, Michigan's treasurer from 1983 to 1991 and then sole fiduciary of the state pension system. 'They're going to want to find the very best talent.' If Ford and Chrysler both get similar health care trust agreements, auto experts say the UAW could be turning to banks, financial-service firms and investment companies to manage about $70 billion for the Detroit Three's retirees." (Detroit Free Press)

Some GM Workers Uneasy About Health-Care Shift
Excerpt: "The VEBA is under attack from a small group of UAW activists. They think it would be significantly underfunded. 'They'd have to get Warren Buffett to manage this when its underfunded by 30 percent to beat health-care inflation,' said Gregg Shotwell, a worker at a GM parts warehouse in Lansing, Mich., and a leader of the UAW Soldier of Solidarity opposition group. Soldier of Solidarity is urging workers to vote against the contract. 'It's too much for the rank-and-file to swallow,' he said." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Court Dismisses COBRA Notice Suit
Excerpt: "A federal judge in Indiana has thrown out a lawsuit by two former Indianapolis hospital system employees over not being notified of their continuing health care coverage rights." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Study Shows Active Company Health Plan Managers Enjoy Lower Cost Increase
Excerpt: "A press release about Towers Perrin's annual Health Care Cost Survey says 'high-performing companies' will see annual per-employee costs of about $1,500 less than low performers in 2008. While nearly a quarter of the survey respondents continue to struggle with double-digit cost increases, nearly half of the high performers are managing to get their increases much closer to the medical CPI of about 4%. Among high performers, 45% have cost increases of 5% or less." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Employee Cries Wolf for Donated Leave Time from Others
Excerpt: "A federal employee in California has been charged with fraud and identity theft after claiming he had cancer to take advantage of federal employees' ability to donate leave time to others." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Washington State Public Employee Family Leave Costs Become Clearer
Excerpt: "A paid family leave program on the drawing boards for Washington state workers might eat up 25 percent of its cost in overhead in its early years, a task force learned . . . . If the state Department of Labor and Industries runs the program, administrative costs could be more than six times the 3.6 percent overhead rate that California recently saw for a similar program started in 2004." (The Olympian)

(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments

Note: IRS Issues Procedure for Substantiation of Business Expenses
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has issued Revenue Procedure 2007-63 which provides rules under which the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses of an employee for lodging, meal, and incidental expenses, or for meal and incidental expenses, incurred while traveling away from home are deemed substantiated under Section 1.274-5 of the Income Tax Regulations . . . ." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated September 26, 2007, for Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)
8 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans. (Hewitt Associates)

Overview: The Newest Massachusetts Health Care Filing Requirement
Excerpt: "November 15, 2007 is the newest deadline. Massachusetts employers with payrolls of 11 or more FTE equivalents must make an online filing with the Division of Unemployment Assistance ('DUA'). This will be an annual requirement. Paper filing is not permitted. The process is on-line only, and employers will use their DUA number." (Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster)

(d) Trends, Surveys, Research

Health Care Benefit Cuts a Dicey Move for Retailer Pier 1
Excerpt: "Pier 1 Imports soon will learn whether cutting health care benefits for the very employees who deliver what the company calls its signature in-store shopping experience will help resurrect the failing retailer or exacerbate its multimillion-dollar losses." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

IBM Analysts Say Health Insurance Industry Will Change
Excerpt: "Market analysts at International Business Machines Corp. have come to the conclusion that the U.S. health insurance industry might look different in 2015 than it does today." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)

Maryland Public Workers Union Says Efforts to Cut Retiree Health Care Benefits Would Harm Recruiting and Retention
Excerpt: "About 25 AFSCME members and retirees gathered for a news conference today in Annapolis, half an hour before a meeting of a state commission that is studying retiree health care funding options." (The Baltimore Sun; free registration required)

A State-by-State Breakdown of Health Insurance Mandates and Their Costs (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The information is broken down on a state-by-state basis into three categories: benefits, providers and covered populations. Boxes with a 'Y' indicate that the state has passed that particular mandate. Totals for each state and mandate are also included. Thus anyone can easily determine how many mandates and which ones each state has passed." (The Council for Affordable Health Insurance)

Trends in Health Care Costs and Spending (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This fact sheet presents some of the key statistics about the level and growth of health care costs and spending in the U.S. Links to additional resources are provided at the end of the document." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy

Opinion: Work Out While You Work - Wellness to the Extreme
Excerpt: "[T]here are plans that border on the absurd, such as the one pioneered by the NEAT (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis lab) at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, in which the traditional cubicles have been replaced by workstations attached to treadmills." (The PRECEPT Employee Benefits Blog)

Opinion: 'As GM Goes, So Goes the Nation'
Excerpt: "Workers and employers can gain some insight from the settlement between GM and UAW -- mainly that the days of yore are gone. Forget retiring with a gold watch and a pension. It's every man, and woman, for him- or herself." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)

Estimated Revenue Effects of Chairman's Amendment to Revenue Provisions of H.R. 1424, Fiscal Years 2008 - 2017 (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Estimated Revenue Effects of the Chairman's Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to the Revenue Provisions of H.R. 1424, The 'Paul Wellstone Mental Health And Addiction Equity Act of 2007,' Scheduled for Markup by the Committee on Ways and Means on September 26, 2007." (U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation)

Text: Description of Chairman's Amendment to Revenue Provisions of 'Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007' (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "The House Committee on Ways and Means has scheduled a markup on September 26, 2007, relating to H.R. 1424, the 'Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007'. The Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health approved a version of the bill on September 19, 2007. This document, prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, provides a description of the Chairman's amendment in the nature of a substitute to the revenue provisions of H.R. 1424." (U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Senator Seeks to Make Companies Use One Number to Record Stock Options for Taxes and Accounting
Excerpt: "Corporations would no longer be able to record different amounts of executive stock options for tax purposes than they do for accounting reasons if a bill introduced [September 28] by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) succeeds." (Financial Week; free registration required)

Next SEC Target: Executives' Stock Sales
Excerpt: "The key study suggesting possible abuse was published by Alan Jagolinzer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Much as the study by University of Iowa professor Erik Lie on employee option granting practices ignited the backdating scandals, Mr. Jagolinzer's work has been a lightning rod for 10b5-1s." (Financial Week; free registration required)

Listing of IRS Published Guidance for January-September 2007
The target page links to guidance published by the Service relating to retirement plans: Treasury Regulations; Revenue Rulings; Revenue Procedures; Notices; and, Announcements. (Internal Revenue Service)

Senators Obama and Kennedy Introduce Measure Eliminating Safe Harbor for Independent Contractors
Excerpt: "Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced a bill that would eliminate an existing safe harbor in tax law that protected employers that had properly classified individuals as independent contractors based on existing IRS rulings. The 'Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act' (S. 2044), would also prohibit employers from relying on established industry practice as a basis for classifying individuals as independent contractors . . . ." (HR Policy Association)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide for September 26, 2007, on Human Resources & Employment Law (PDF)
10 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding human resources and employment law. (Hewitt Associates)

Charting the U.S. Labor Market in 2006
Excerpt: "This report, Charting the U.S. Labor Market in 2006, includes graphs and text describing the U.S. labor market in 2006. Highlights include information about educational attainment, race and Hispanic ethnicity, women, and families." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Text: ''Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007'' (PDF)
30 pages. Excerpt: "To amend title 11, United States Code, to improve protections for employees and retirees in business bankruptcies." (U.S. House of Representatives via American Benefits Council)

Experimental Estimates of Compensation Levels and Trends for Workers in the 15 Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2004-05
Excerpt: "This article presents new experimental Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) estimates for the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The estimates were calculated as part of a research project to determine the feasibility of publishing ECI and ECEC estimates for metropolitan areas. BLS plans to begin regular publication of these kinds of estimates in the coming years." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)


Newly Posted Events

Orlando ERISA Update Seminar with Charles Lockwood
in Florida on November 8, 2007
presented by GrayRobinson, P.A.

Planning for Your Retirement is more than a Game of Change
in Illinois on October 22, 2008
presented by


Newly Posted Press Releases

U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council Working Groups to Hold Teleconferences October 16
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

New IBM Report Predicts Healthcare Reform Will Force New Roles for US Health Insurers
IBM

Alliance Underwriters Chooses REporter (sm) from Benefit Informatics to Improve Claim Administration
Benefit Informatics

State Street to Freeze Pension Plan, Boost 401(k) Offerings
Boston Globe

New Report Says 'Health Courts' Bureaucracies Offer Big Financial Burdens and Loss of Patient Rights
American Association for Justice

Jewell Lim Esposito Joins Chamberlain Hrdlicka Philadelphia Office as Shareholder
Chamberlain Hrdlicka Attorneys at Law

Fidelity Reorganizes Under New President
Philly.com

BofA Hires Another Fidelity Exec to Oversee DB/DC Offerings
Institutionalinvestor.com


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ERISA Health Attorney, Junior-Level
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in AZ, CA, GA, IL, MN, NM, NY, PA, TN, TX

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for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
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Compliance Analyst
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA




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