Employee Telephone Seminars

Common Injuries in Workers' Compensation ...ideas that can be implemented to track injuries and train employees. Mr. Valente will outline ways to control common workplace injuries after they occur; drawing on his experiences he will provide thoughts for how to handle immediate incident management, what information is important to have, how to work with the insurance company and how to work with the employee. This fast paced audio  more...

Common Injuries in Workers' Compensation ...ideas that can be implemented to track injuries and train employees. Mr. Valente will outline ways to control common workplace injuries after they occur; drawing on his experiences he will provide thoughts for how to handle immediate incident management, what information is important to have, how to work with the insurance company and how to work with the employee. This fast paced audio  more...

Flexible Spending Accounts ...employee benefit plan sponsors are unaware of all the complex rules governing flexible spending accounts. In this session you will receive a thorough overview of the numerous plan design considerations and legal requirements of flexible spending accounts. This knowledge will enable you to avoid running afoul of rules that could jeopardize the tax-favored status of your plans. This live audio  more...

Workers' Compensation Benefits: Who is Eligible, How are They Calculated, When and How Can They be Settled ...tion benefits, how these benefits are calculated and what employee benefits may be offset with the payments of workers' compensation, and most important, how to resolve or settle a claim without creating additional liability for the employer. Issues covered include types of benefits, calculating rates for full and part time employees as well as seasonal employees, the option of employee  more...

Implications of Medical Marijuana in the Workplace ...eat his medical condition. Can you refuse to hire him? An employee tells you that he needs to take a daily break in order to consume medical marijuana to treat his cancer. Do you have to accommodate this request? How is this request different from a diabetic who requests a daily break to inject insulin? How do the state medical marijuana laws impact your obligations as a federal contractor  more...

Offboarding: Strategies for a Successful Goodbye ...wing the value of effective offboarding: higher levels of employee commitment, lower recruitment costs, and higher quality candidates. As with all employment actions, it should be lawful, safe, secure, efficient, ethical, fair and respectful. Effective HR leaders must work both sides of the basic accounting equation: assets = liabilities + owners equity. The model we will use is how HR can  more...

Successful PTO Programs ... those persons responsible for designing and implementing employee leave programs assess whether to adopt a PTO program in lieu of traditional leave programs. The audio conference explains how to avoid the common legal pitfalls encountered by those adopting PTO programs, and gives practical guidance in drafting a successful PTO program policy. This live audio conference is designed for human  more...

Understanding the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Employee Family Leave Laws and Return-to-Work Issues ...ericans with Disabilities Act may provide protections for employees with certain medical conditions due to pregnancy or who have recently given birth. But how do you know who is covered and what triggers these laws? A misstep may result in litigation and an award of damages that could include lost wages, back pay, reinstatement, retroactive benefits, compensatory damages and punitive damages.  more...

Workers' Compensation: Return to Work Issues ...s program you will learn the fundamentals of managing the employee returning to work from a compensable injury. In addition to an understanding of the interplay between federal laws prohibiting discrimination against health conditions and state workers' compensation laws, you will learn strategies to make the most of functional capacity evaluations and rehabilitation programs. This live audio  more...

Weight Loss At the Workplace: Legal Issues For Employers Seeking To Reduce Health Care Costs BenefitsLearn the issues used to identify and address when formulating and implementing a corporate wellness program that is aimed at weight loss reduction. The number of potentially applicable federal and state laws requires careful consideration of the potential issues raised with drafting and managing a corporate wellness program. The multiple relevant laws and regulations only heighten the  more...

Employment Law Compliance: Disciplining or Terminating a Workers' Comp Claimant ...se when considering whether to discipline or terminate an employee who is also a workers' compensation claimant. The program will cover the core concepts underpinning workers' compensation statutes and the primary types of anti-retaliation provisions found in workers' compensation statutes. The live audio conference will then examine the steps you can take when disciplining or terminating a  more...

Americans With Disabilities Act - The Reasonable Accommodation Process ...view what employment policies should be contained in your employee handbook, when you can make a medical inquiry, what is a disability-related inquiry, how you should handle a reasonable accommodation request under the Americans With Disabilities Act and what are some practical and free sources for you to utilize for reasonable accommodation requests. This live audio conference is designed for  more...

Is a Benefits Portal Right for Your Company? ... in benefit portals and how a benefits portal can improve employee engagement, drive employee self service and streamline benefits administration. Demonstrated by best practice models and live examples, you will leave with a real-world understanding of benefit portals and 'next step' ideas to introduce or further advance this essential technology within your organization. This live audio  more...

Fair Labor Standards Act: Coverage and Compliance Issues ...overtime requirements and fail to properly classify their employees, resulting in potential back pay claims. Even where employees have been properly classified as exempt, employers will sometimes inadvertently destroy the exempt status, opening up another avenue for back pay claims. This live audio conference will explain the various exemptions from overtime, how to take advantage of them and  more...

Creating Successful Employee Surveys ...Employee surveys help organizations identify opportunities to improve their employment brand; identify employment practices problem areas; improve employee relations, morale and teamwork; enhance employee commitment and engagement; and assess the implementation and effectiveness of HR management systems and processes. In today's economy and workplace, this however is just the starting point.  more...

Non-Resident Employee Withholding ...employees working in multiple states it can be difficult to know what to consider to make sure that the correct state taxes are being withheld and the correct taxable earnings are being taxed in the correct states. This live audio conference will give you the tools to determine what taxes are applicable for your employees based on residency, state and reciprocity agreements. We will also cover  more...

Document Retention and Destruction: What Human Resource Professionals Must Know ...employees is one of the most difficult and tedious tasks that human resources professionals need to perform for their organizations. Knowing the proper procedures to follow to document employees in the workplace is a key skill needed by most human resources professionals. This live audio conference will provide you with information on the key concepts and issues surrounding proper employee  more...

Wage and Hour Update: Overtime Concerns With Mobile Devices ...employees is now the norm for many industries as new technologies allow work to be done virtually anywhere at any time. Serious questions have emerged about how employers should limit, monitor and compensate remote work hours. Recent litigation trends also show that compensation for time worked away from the office during nontraditional hours is coming under increased legal scrutiny. This has  more...

Curbing FMLA Abuse: How to Manage Manipulative Employees ...qualify to take leave under the FMLA, and over 50 million employees have taken advantage of leave under the Act. Managing FMLA leave can be extremely challenging for employers, especially in the face of rampant employee abuse. However, there are tools available to employers seeking to minimize abuse of the protections provided by the FMLA. While there is no 'magic cure' to instantly constrain  more...

COBRA: A Little of Everything is Changing ...employee benefit specialists or the seasoned specialist that want to double check the basics and the most recent changes in the COBRA law. We will discuss who has the compliance responsibilities and what an employer must do every day to be in compliance! How do all of the employee benefit laws work together - when do they work separately. How can the employer keep up? SO many things changing  more...

How to Develop an Effective Mentoring Program ... to support the personal growth and career development of employees. Mentoring also enhances the stability and productivity of an organization through employee retention, succession planning, transfer of knowledge, and leadership development. The problem is that many businesses believe that mentoring consists of just 'putting two people together'- this is not accurate. Without proper planning  more...

Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan? ...employee remains on the company's health benefits as an active employee for many years past the date in which the employee was actively at work for the company. This live audio conference will answer a common problem employers experience, what date should an employee be treated as a terminated employee when he/she is on a leave of absence, or fails to return from a leave of absence, and how  more...

When Employee Bloggers Attack: Responding to Negative Employee Comments on the Web ...yers have had to deal with inappropriate conduct by their employees on the web, including an employee's direct criticism of the company. According to one survey, at least half of all employers have had to discipline employees for inappropriate online conduct. It is crucial for you to understand their rights and obligations when dealing with employees who present such problems. This live audio  more...

Employee Discipline for Conduct Outside of Work ... rights and responsibilities of employers in disciplining employees for conduct outside of work. You will hear about recent legislation and court cases involving some of the hottest topics in employment law, including employee discipline for blogging, web-based 'employer trashing,' workplace dating and extramarital affairs, and physical appearance such as weight, tattoos and body piercing. Our  more...

Responding to an EEO Charge ...crimination policies and procedures in place and that all employees understand those policies. Prevention and awareness are areas employers should focus on when dealing with employee discrimination issues. If the worst case scenario happens, this live audio conference will tell you how to protect your company when an EEOC charge arises, tips and strategies to respond to the charge, how to  more...

Rules and Responsibilities Regarding Abandoned Wages ...ecks whether it be wages, bonuses, deferred compensation, employee commissions, etc., it is your responsibility to ensure that your company is holding unclaimed wages properly and in accordance with the law. It is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of businesses currently comply with unclaimed property laws. However, many companies are not aware of their reporting responsibilities and may just  more...

Self-Auditing Your Employee Benefits:A Guide to What May Need Fixing ...erous complex requirements and the specific terms of your employee benefits plans is a monumental task. It is easy to have your time consumed by the day-to-day issues and questions that arise under your benefit plans and the typical annual processes and compliance requirements already in place. It is difficult to take the time to step back and ask what issues may be lurking that could create  more...

Tips for Calculating a Regular Rate of Pay For Your Employees ...rget is the rate of pay an employer pays to its nonexempt employees, and how that rate affects overtime payments. Most covered employers understand that they must pay overtime compensation at the rate of 'time and a half' to nonexempt employees. But time and a half of what? Under the FLSA and most state counterparts, time and a half is based upon an employee's 'regular rate' of pay. Thus,  more...

Social Networking and Electronic Communications: Issues for Public Schools ...te the school environment. You will learn how student and employee policies should address teacher and student use of social media, including discipline of teachers and students, respectively. During this live audio conference, we will examine recent litigation involving student and employee use of social media in the context of the public school arena and discuss the limitations of school  more...

Giving and Receiving Employment References: Successfully Negotiating the Maze ...l liability from both ends (i.e., from the current/former employee and from the requesting entity). On the other hand, given these issues, it is sometimes difficult for a company to get any accurate and meaningful information on a potential candidate, to help it to decide among several seemingly-qualified applicants (and avoid negligent hiring claims). After providing the legal framework to  more...

How to Handle Travel Pay Legally ...fitsMany companies do not understand how to compensate an employee properly for time spent traveling to destinations other than a regular work site. Many companies send employees to conferences and other work sites using commercial travel and personal vehicles. This live audio conference will enable you to understand how and when to compensate an employee for travel time away from a work site.  more...

Dealing With Employees Who Have Been Charged With a Crime ...loyer arises after the employer discovers that one of its employees has been arrested and charged with a crime. Under our legal system, the familiar mantra is that an arrested person is innocent until proven guilty. So, what can you do to address situations where an employee has been arrested, or has been charged, or incarcerated for a crime but has not yet been convicted? For example, can an  more...

Understanding Massachusetts' Exemptions to Employment at Will ...med by the number of laws and regulations that govern the employee-employer relationship. Often, employers feel restricted in properly dealing with employee issues, especially when employees claim they have rights or they are being harassed at work. Massachusetts law, however, recognizes at-will employment, which provides you with significant rights in managing and dealing with employees,  more...

HR Time Lines: The Complex Integration of FMLA, WC, Disability and COBRA BenefitsHow do workers' compensation, FMLA, disability and COBRA laws work - together, independently or concurrently? What can run together? What cannot? When can we cancel the health plan, for what reason and is it a COBRA qualifying event? During this audio conference we will pull all of these together to explain the employer's liability. When can coverage be canceled? What laws protect  more...

Form 5500 Reporting Update ...employee benefit plan must file an annual report regarding the plan's financial condition, investments and operations, unless specifically exempt by law. Filing the Form 5500 will satisfy this requirement. This audio conference will help you understand when you need to file a Form 5500 and what you need to file, and will focus on some recent changes that may impact your filings. This audio  more...

Phased Retirement in The New Economy BenefitsThe concept of phased retirement first gained popularity in the 2000s, primarily based upon the shrinking labor force and employers' concerns regarding the loss of valuable talent to retirement. As a result, Congress enacted certain legislative and regulatory rules regarding phased retirement arrangements. These rules seek to provide flexibility for older workers desiring to take part in a  more...

Essentials of Florida Garnishment Laws BenefitsWhen the process server hands you garnishment papers about someone working for you, what do you do? Hire an attorney? Respond on your own? Throw it away? The garnishment writ is a directive from the court to withhold salary or wages from someone working for you (and not just an employee). This audio conference will explain the nuts and bolts of Florida's garnishment laws, from how a  more...

Labor Law: Could 2011 Be the Turning Point for Unions? ...LRB rules - when coupled with some form of passage of the Employee Free Choice Act - could prove to be disastrous for employers lacking knowledge and experience against a revitalized union organizing campaign. How might the card check process be different? What techniques may unions be allowed to utilize? Can you be forced to post information for a union if you have government contracts? What  more...

Handling Paid Leave Requests in New Jersey ... questions. For example, what must an employer do when an employee makes a paid leave request? Who pays for such paid leave? What laws are implicated by such a request and who decides whether an employee is eligible for the requested paid leave? This teleconference will answer these questions by examining the New Jersey paid leave statute and its recently enacted regulations. We will discuss  more...

Recruiting on a Limited Budget: Proven Low and No Cost Tools and Approaches BenefitsThere is a long and established history of recruiting professionals being asked to accomplish more with less around the world. A June 2010 poll recently revealed that while 73 percent of organizations expected the volume of recruiting activity in their organization to increase significantly in the current year, only 18 percent received an increase in budget on par with the forecasted  more...

10 Employee Handbook Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make ...ver the past year, now is the perfect time to review your employee handbook to ensure it is in compliance with the latest changes and includes best practices. To avoid errors in this process, you will learn the top mistakes employers make and the keys to making the employee manual a valuable tool. The new governing legal standards will be discussed, as well as tips to making sure that often  more...

Implementing Stay Interviews: If You Want to Keep Them You Have to Talk to Them! ...firm. The last thing you want to happen is to lose these employees because of situations that are within your ability to control. By attending this teleconference you will learn tools, tactics and techniques that will help you retain important and talented employees and save your firm the expense of continually hiring and training new employees. This teleconference is designed for human  more...

Strategies to Utilize Web 2.0 BenefitsIn an era where Web 2.0 is revolutionizing the social dynamics of our society, the HR professional must respond to the changes this new technology is bringing to the workplace. This teleconference will present a practical framework for understanding Web 2.0 and provide insight into a number of best practices that explore a variety of strategies for leveraging the power of this technology  more...

IRS Form 8928: Health Plan Reporting and Excise Tax Update BenefitsEmployers who sponsor group health plans now have a duty to self-report certain regulatory plan failures and pay excise taxes where such failures are not corrected in a timely fashion once discovered, or are due to willful neglect. You need to know the Internal Revenue Code rules or risk expensive excise taxes for failure to comply with COBRA, HIPAA and other federal group health plan  more...

Is Your Health Care Plan Grandfathered Under the Health Care Reform? ...esigned to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve employee health and productivity. As plan sponsors consider design changes for 2011, they must also take into account new federal mandates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the 'Act'). The Act provides limited exceptions from the  more...

Developing a Policy for Employee Use of Mobile Devices ...ference will address employment issues as they pertain to employees' use of personal digital assistants (such as BlackBerry's), cellular phones and laptop computers, and the rash of claims under the personal injury and workers' compensation laws. It will also address the many ways that both employers and employees frequently misuse mobile devices and the ramifications for doing so. This  more...

Implementing Employee Threat Assessments: Are Your Employees Ticking Time Bombs? ...enefitsEmployers are confronted more often with dangerous employees. This teleconference will address practical human resource issues including how not to hire dangerous employees, strategic discipline, strategic terminations and high risk terminations. It will also discuss some practical tools employers have at their disposal to deal with difficult employees, along with a discussion of real  more...

EEO-1 Form: Reporting for 2010 BenefitsIn this interactive teleconference, you will learn the EEO-1 reporting requirements as well as practical, easy to use approaches to completing and submitting the EEO-1 report by the filing deadline. This engaging teleconference will also explain the EEOC's and OFCCP's systemic discrimination enforcement initiatives. From understanding the EEOC's and OFCCP's new focus on these issues to  more...

Evaluating Your Third-Party Administrator: Are You Getting What You're Paying For? ...As should not be taken for granted. As with all facets of employee benefit plans, TPAs need to be monitored and evaluated to ensure proper plan administration and fulfillment of a plan sponsor's fiduciary responsibility. This teleconference explores the key roles of TPAs, how to evaluate a TPA and the key areas to be evaluated to ensure you are receiving what you are paying for. This  more...

Avoiding Exposure Under The Illinois Wage Payment And Collection Act ...employees correctly? Maintaining proper pay practices has always been challenging due to the highly technical and often changing regulations in this area. Unfortunately, as the number of wage and hour lawsuits continues to spiral out of control, keeping abreast of the current rules and legal developments regarding pay practices has now become a matter of basic survival. The Illinois Wage  more...

The FLSA Comp Time Controversy ...y of rewarding overtime work. Instead of paying an hourly employee time-and-a-half for work done over the time allotted in the normal work week, employers can allow an hour and a half of time off for each hour of overtime worked. This teleconference will cover how the FLSA views the use of comp time in relation to public agencies and private corporations. Under most circumstances, comp time is  more...

Employee Driven Health Care: A Checklist for Employers BenefitsThis teleconference will include a comparison of HSA, HRA and FSAs. You will discover the value of Section 125 plans and recognize funding methods for various plans. Human resource managers, benefits and payroll professionals, controllers, CFOs, business owners and managers, insurance professionals and attorneys  more...

How to Set Pay Ranges That Are Fair and Effective ...s. Without effective systems in place and data available, employee compensation can run counter to efficiency and performance objectives set by the organization. The implementation of market-based pay structures is increasingly necessary in order for organizations to remain competitive, administer compensation fairly and easily, and allocate limited financial resources where they are most  more...

Techniques to Prepare for Difficult Employee Discussions ... you're encountering commonplace or exceptionally serious employee relations issues, you'll need a down-to-earth strategy to protect yourself and your organization. Verbally addressing problems head-on can be a daunting task because of their confrontational nature, not to mention the record that you're creating, which can land your company in legal hot water. Well, fear not - Join us for this  more...

End of Employment Payroll Issues ...ll be a comprehensive look into issues that arise when an employee terminates. Topics that will be discussed will go from when an employee needs to receive their final pay to how an employee death's final pay best practices and taxation. This teleconference will cover special situations when an employee terminates such as benefit deductions, state minimum hours requirements and overpayments to  more...

Overcoming Employee Absenteeism and Tardiness ...olicies. There are also some restrictions on disciplining employees when they appear to abuse policies. This teleconference will help companies sort out the do's and don'ts for developing and managing an effective policy. The teleconference will also focus on how to manage the land mines, sort through the valid and invalid excuses employees come up with and provide ways to improve absentee and  more...

Low Back Claims: From Injury to MMI ...ionally-induced low back disorders can lead to loss of an employee, lost time, diminished productivity, and the cost of hiring and training replacement workers. This teleconference will help you understand the medical dynamics of low back disorders, including appropriate treatment. Awareness of issues related to pre-existing conditions and causality is essential. Failure to understand this  more...

Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities Under ERISA ...employee benefit plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires that people managing the plan or investing plan assets become fiduciaries. You need to know when they might become an ERISA plan fiduciary. You must understand your legal obligations to plan participants and beneficiaries. This teleconference will provide you with an overview of the ERISA rules  more...

Employee Safety and Health Systems: Cutting Injuries Using the Team Approach ...tsTraditional safety committees involve a small number of employees and are often managed by the individual responsible for the facility safety and health system. The problem is that the success of the committee, and thus the system success, is predicated by the authority given to the committee and its leadership which in most cases is low to nonexistent. The bottom line is that employee safety  more...

ADA Interaction with Addictions and Personal Habits ... confounding problems for employers is what to do when an employee comes forward with a drug problem or when an employee appears to be intoxicated while at work. This teleconference is designed to educate legal and HR professionals in addressing those situations within the boundaries of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which generally protects recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. The ADA  more...

Talent Management: Best Practices to Retain Top Employees BenefitsDesigned for leaders, managers and front line leaders, this teleconference will build a solid understanding of what it takes to engage and retain talent, and demonstrate the pivotal role managers play in this process. See how some of the best organizations deliver engagement and retention results year after year. You will leave knowing what you need to do to equip managers to take action  more...

Employee Expense Reimbursement Best Practices ...employee expense reimbursement and need to prepare and enforce robust policies to adequately support and monitor reimbursable expenses. In today's economy, establishment of best practices and ensuring compliance is crucial to minimize the cost and legal risk of inappropriate practices. This teleconference will explore the legal landscape governing employee expense reimbursement, outline the  more...

Limited Medical Programs: How Employers Are Using Them to Control Health Care Costs ... and more and more premium cost shifting from employer to employee. Employee's are finding it hard to afford the per pay premiums and coupled with huge out-of-pocket expenses, this combination is like a nuclear warhead ready to explode. This teleconference will help you understand the benefits of limited medical programs and how they can be utilized in combination with major medical programs  more...

Strategies for Reducing Unemployment Claims Costs ...employee, focus on defending against a possible discrimination charge or a lawsuit. Unfortunately, they may pay little or no attention to defending against the ex-employee's unemployment compensation claim. Those employers, albeit mistakenly, believe the ex-employee will be awarded unemployment compensation benefits no matter what they do - so why bother? Not so. This teleconference will assist  more...

Effective Job Rotation Programs: Development and Implementation ...tions are modernizing job rotation programs to accelerate employee development across the organization, increase motivation and retention of top talent, and deliver significant gains in workforce productivity as evidenced by the organizations bottom line. If you have struggled with trying to figure out how to deliver double digit gains in workforce productivity rates, this teleconference is for  more...

Internet and Email: Monitoring Employee Conduct ...ives, but our workplace relations. Employers must balance employee privacy rights with the legitimate need to know what is going on in the workplace and to ensure employees are conducting themselves appropriately over the employers electronic communications systems. Companies can access information about their employees in a myriad of ways. Telephone communications, internet access and email  more...

Pitfalls of Participant Loans in Retirement Plans ...employee benefit plan are a common problem area due to their complex administration. Plan sponsors of qualified employee benefit plans need to be aware of many pitfalls to avoid tax consequences. Even worse than tax consequences is the possibility of the entire plan losing its preferred tax status. This teleconference will explain the regulations of participant loans in a plan, help you avoid  more...

Lawful Hiring BenefitsEmployers must navigate a minefield of complicated and, in some cases, conflicting laws that affect the hiring process Discrimination claims often arise out of the hiring process. The new U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. ___ (2009) shows how an employer (the New Haven Fire Department in that case) can violate discrimination laws when taking steps to attempt to  more...

Dealing with Employee Gambling in the Workplace ... is enjoyed by millions of Americans, including groups of employees in the average workplace. The NCAA or Super Bowl office pool can increase morale, create camaraderie among co-workers and generally be a fun and exciting event, especially with the prospect for a lucky employee of a substantial monetary payout. Workplace gambling, however, also has a dark side. Lost productivity; potential  more...

Employee Engagement in Troubled Times ...employees is particularly critical amid periods of economic uncertainty if organizations are to maintain product and service quality, and lay a foundation for future growth. Yet while challenging economic environments make employee motivation more critical, they also make employee engagement more difficult to achieve. Belt tightening often results in organizational retrenching, reduced staffing  more...

Properly Handling Employee Complaints of Discrimination BenefitsThe existence of effectively enforced rules, the fair and thorough investigation of complaints and misconduct, and an understanding of the legal process relating to claims are critical to enabling a company to limit potential charges and lawsuits asserting discrimination. This teleconference will afford practical guidance in analyzing and responding to charges effectively and lawfully.  more...

Deductions From Pay ...uirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Misclassifying employees' status can be costly to an employee. It is estimated that at least 70 percent of employers are not in compliance with the FLSA. As Department of Labor audits increase, it is critical for employers to understand the FLSA and to recognize the permissible deductions. This teleconference is intended to provide you with  more...

Avoiding Costly Mistakes In Harassment Policies and Investigations BenefitsSexual and other forms of harassment remain a significant problem for employers. Courts and legislatures continue to create new obligations for employers and continue to increase the potential for liability for employers. Many employers continue to have policies and procedures for harassment that are outdated or that actually create potential liability. This teleconference will help you  more...

Employee Wages: Administration of Caps, Freezes, Reductions and Furloughs BenefitsEmployers continue to search for ways to control payroll costs in response to economic uncertainty. Layoffs and force reductions have pared many workforces to the bone, but the pressure to manage costs is relentless. Adjustments to compensation and to working time can be viable alternatives to job cuts, but they are not without legal risk. This teleconference will address the legal and  more...

The New World of EEO: What Is Coming ...on employers involves claims of inconsistent treatment of employees in hiring, disciplinary and termination proceedings engaged in by supervisors and their employers. This teleconference will assist you with labor and employment matters to appropriately assess the risk and implement positive and proactive solutions to the circumstances which create claims and liability. Learn first-hand how to  more...

Implementing a Health Risk Assessment for Your Health Plan: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Legal ... for an effective health risk assessment?,' 'How do I get employees to participate?,' 'What should I look for in a vendor?' and 'Aren't there a lot of legal issues with gathering health information about employees?' This teleconference will allow you to begin the process of implementing a health risk assessment as part of your company health plan or wellness program. Learn about health risk  more...

Payroll Hiring Issues: Forms and Tax Credits ...cific payroll related forms that may be necessary when an employee is hired. The teleconference will provide examples of IRS and certain state required procedures, and provide insight on any recent changes and updates. We will discuss forms that you may be required to produce upon audit by the IRS or state taxing authority and how long certain forms should be retained. The teleconference will  more...

Changes of Status Checklist ...lans, it can be confusing to administer your plan when an employee has a change in status. This teleconference will assist you in determining when you can allow an employee to change their election under your cafeteria plan. It will also cover what happens when an individual has a change in status while on COBRA. We will cover the details of what is considered a change in status, how this will  more...

Taxation and Accounting Methods of Executive and Employee Bonuses BenefitsBy now most employers know about the rules under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code governing deferred compensation. However, many employers are not aware of the broad coverage of Section 409A and the fact that some normal payroll practices, such as bonus payments, may be covered by the new rules or the accounting issues that are raised by these programs. This teleconference will  more...

Discipline and Termination Considerations for Employees on Leave ...In an economy when many employers are forced to terminate employees, they should be cognizant of federal and state laws that may be implicated with respect to employees on leave. Employee leave can be as short as a few hours to vote, several months to care for a newborn or longer than a year due to a disability. In the event that an employee who is on leave will be terminated, whether for cause  more...

Determining When an Individual With a Disability Is "Qualified" Under the ADA ...th Disabilities Act, the requirement that an applicant or employee with a disability be 'qualified' for the job sought or held has not changed. Drawing on regulations from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and decisions from federal courts across the country, this teleconference will provide participants with information they can use to (1) make sure that job requirements (including  more...

Avoiding Reinjuries in Workers' Compensation Claimants ...employee return to work from a work related or non-work related injury, only to reinjure themselves? In this teleconference you will learn how to identify the potential factors for reinjury and what you can do to reduce the overall risk. Additionally, you will learn skills to help you interact more effectively with engineers, production managers, supervisors/foremen, and safety professionals.  more...

Managing Job Accommodations Under the ADA: Using Medical Experts ...onted every day with requests for job accommodations from employees. You as the employer should control the job accommodation process - but how do you do that? What are your legal obligations? More importantly, what are your rights? When and what type of medical documentation can be requested of the employee? When can you request an IME? When can you use a medical expert? Join us to find the  more...

Best Practices to Manage Your Multistate Payroll ...faced with legal and practical challenges associated with employee benefits, overtime, nonexempt employee requirements, employee bonus payments, confusing payroll forms, etc. Not only do you have to know your own state laws but often times neighboring state laws if you have employees across state lines. The taxability of employee benefits is confusing and the regulations are constantly  more...

Paperless Payroll: Essentials to a Seamless Transition ...be a healthy boost to the bottom line without eliminating employees. The notion of paperless payroll has come a long way since the introduction of direct deposit in the 1970's, but despite the advances, most companies are still distributing paper checks, pay advices and W2s. In this teleconference, we'll take a look at the cost saving potential of a fully paperless payroll process; the range of  more...

Benchmarking your Health Benefit Program: How Do You Stack Up? ...gies not only for reducing cost, but also for recruiting, employee retention and health plan design. n nThis teleconference will work through several methods to evaluate your health benefit program's cost, design and impact on employees with an eye to comparing your plan to others - regionally and nationally. In addition, we will discuss the trends in health benefits and give you benchmarking  more...

Utilizing Settlement and Severance Packages Properly nFor HR professionals and CFOs, this teleconference is a must. As companies face ongoing reductions in force, mass layoffs and performance-based terminations, this teleconference will tell you what you need to do in planning terminations both as reductions in force and other terminations. You will learn how to decide the appropriate severance and what should be contained in the severance agreement  more...

Enforcing Arbitration Agreements: 14 Penn Plaza and Other Recent Developments in Arbitration of Statutory Employment Claims ...nion-negotiated arbitration agreement can bind individual employees to arbitrate statutory age discrimination claims. This decision continues the trend of enforcing agreements to arbitrate employment discrimination claims. 14 Penn Plaza should cause all legal professionals to consider the advantages of agreements to arbitrate statutory claims - whether in the union or individual employee  more...

Construction Site Hazard Prevention ...he establishment and communication of best practices, and employee participation in identifying and mitigating hazards before an injury can occur. n nLearning Objectives n- You will be able to formulate a company philosophy and culture. n- You will be able to give examples of why it is important to identify and mitigate site hazards. n- You will be able to devise a plan to prevent site  more...

Writing an Employee Handbook nAre you overwhelmed with the task of revising your existing employee handbook or of preparing a new employee handbook? Are you unclear about what types of employment policies are required by federal law? Stop worrying and attend this teleconference. You will learn which policies are required by law and what employment laws apply to employee handbooks. Take the first step to creating your employee  more...

Smoking Discrimination in the Workplace: On and Off the Clock ...ployer's interest in the smoking habits of applicants and employees ends at the employer's property line, and that an employer has no business regulating whether applicants or employees smoke off-duty, away from the employer's premises. They caution that if an employer can regulate an individual's off-duty smoking habits at home or even on vacation, the "slippery slope" could lead to an  more...

California Employment Law Update ...employees in California face a bewildering and complicated set of employment laws, which are often inconsistent with federal law. This three-hour teleconference will address the most important and current issues facing California employers (or out-of-state companies with employees in California), including wage and hour compliance and litigation trends, California's unique disability and  more...

7 Questions to Ask When Establishing Cause for Disciplining and Terminating Employees nThis teleconference will focus on understanding and implementing a simple, yet comprehensive approach to investigating and documenting potential disciplinary and termination actions. You will learn seven questions to establish cause for discipline or termination, as well as why proper investigation and documentation minimizes potential for the filing of discrimination claims, decreases settlement  more...

Effective Utilization of Employee Waivers ...employee waivers establish employee expectations and protect employers from liability for employment-related claims such as discrimination, harassment and retaliation, as well as contract claims and tort claims such as defamation and invasion of privacy. Pre-employment waivers put employees on notice of employment screens such as background checks and drug testing. During employment, employee  more...

Preparing for and Properly Reacting To Legal and Illegal Drug and Alcohol Use in the Workplace ...Drug and alcohol abuse continues to have a huge impact on employee productivity and safety. At the same time, recognizing drug and alcohol abuse is outside the expertise of most managers and human resource personnel, while dealing with the problem improperly can lead to significant liability under federal and law, including the Americans With Disabilities Act and employee privacy laws. This  more...

Effective Exit Interviews ...employee relations, attract new employees and retain the ones they have. But how do you know what to do to improve if you don't know what employees are looking for or why they are leaving? n nImplemented properly, a good exit interview program can provide an employer with a host of valuable information that can be used to improve its employee relations and HR function. Why are employees  more...

Workplace Flexibility: Innovative Strategies for an Evolving Workforce ...and regions are using flexibility to improve business and employee outcomes. You will gain the ability to communicate effectively about policy approaches on workplace flexibility currently being considering in Washington - and understand how those policies may impact your business practices and strategies. More critically, you will learn about the challenges and opportunities for business and  more...

The Do's and Don'ts of Telephone Monitoring ...employee telephone conversations as a routine part of doing business. This monitoring must comply not only with the federal wiretap statute, but with a variety of differing requirements imposed by state statutes. Since courts in California have changed the rules for telephone monitoring for anyone who makes a call into California and other states with mutual consent rules may follow suit, it is  more...

Avoid Wrongful Termination Lawsuits: Strategies to Keep Your Managers Out of Legal Trouble nThis teleconference will review tried-and-true methods for eliminating employment litigation risks, will build managers' confidence in dealing with a range of common-place employee issues, and sharpen their understanding of workplace practices and policies which will dramatically reduce exposure to litigation risks for themselves and their companies.  more...

Hot Topics for 501(c)(3) Organizations nThere has been a lot of talk about the revised Form 990 and it's finally here! Whether you love it or loathe it, you can't put it off any longer. We will spend a majority of the time talking about some of the hot-button issues that the new form raises both in terms of simple compliance and in communicating with and involving your board. But wait, there's more! After this teleconference, you'll  more...

Employee Retaliation: Supreme Court Update ...CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries, 128 S.Ct. 1951 (2008) that employees can bring retaliation claims under Section 1981, a post-Civil War era race discrimination act, even though the law does not expressly refer to retaliation. Moreover, the CBOCS West decision recognizes a retaliation claim brought by an individual of any race, who suffers an adverse action as a result of attempting to help  more...

Using Medical Certifications to Minimize Employer Liability: FMLA, ADA and Workers' Comp ...mpensation statutes. But the legal landscape for managing employee health issues has had many changes in recent months. Amendments to the ADA took effect January 1, 2009. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act also takes effect in 2009. Employers are subject to new regulations under HIPAA for their wellness programs, and new FMLA regulations are pending. Despite this rapid change, the  more...

Same-Gender Marriage Rulings: Impacts on Employee Benefit Plans Across the Nation nIn May 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot deny same-gender couples the right to marry. Same-gender couples - many of them, in fact - flocked to California and started getting legally married on June 17, 2008. But then in November 2008, California voters approved Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage going forward. Massachusetts and Canada also allow same-gender  more...

Fitness for Duty Psychological Evaluations ...s. You'll hear a discussion of common reasons to refer an employee for a FFDE, information initially needed by the evaluating doctor and how to write appropriate questions for the psychologist or psychiatrist to answer. You will also learn about evaluating doctors' credentials, experience and forensic experience, as well as the important differences between evaluations completed for forensic  more...

Understanding the COBRA Alternative Coverage Rules nThis teleconference is essential for company personnel who are involved with COBRA coverage and what can be done to reduce costs. In lieu of a company's traditional health plan, for COBRA purposes, the company is allowed to offer alternative health coverage although the procedure for doing so is quite complicated. n nDiscussed first is what constitutes the various forms of alternative health  more...

Religious Accommodations in the Workplace ...employee morale, U.S. companies must effectively meet their legal duty to properly accommodate religion in the workplace. This is particularly true because of the rapid growth of religious cultures in the U.S. and the increasing awareness of religious workplace accommodation rights by employees. This teleconference is designed not only to update employers about legal developments in religious  more...