January 2010 IntegrityHR Newsletter

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January 2010 IntegrityHR Newsletter
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In This Issue

HR ALERTS
Flu and FMLA
New Team Member

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IntegrityHR Client or Friend -

Wow ! Can you believe it is the NEW DECADE! With new legislation and upcoming changes now is the time to be sure your "HR HOUSE" is in order.

To help you with this, we're offering our 2010 education schedule as a resource in providing top-notch training programs and innovative tools and products to enhance your business needs. Register NOW for our February 9th Free Seminar - Putting Your Employee Handbook Together.

We have some new online HR Classes, and soon to come, management courses as well for specialized industries. All designed to help you develop your staff and keep
out of the courtroom!

Happy New Year - we're here for you!

Amy Newbanks Letke, SPHR, GPHR
Founder
502.753.0970
amy@integrityhr.com

View our video here

Visit our homepage for our free podcast on employee handbooks!
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HR ALERTS

OSHA 300 - posting February 1
Don't forget to post that OSHA 300A/log on February 1! Do you know what is or isn't
a reportable injury for this log? Let us know and we'll help you prepare your log
quickly and efficiently.

COBRA Premium Reduction Subsidy Extended

If you haven't heard already, Congress extended eligibility for the temporary COBRA
premium reduction subsidy by two months and provided six more months of reduced
premiums for covered beneficiaries.

This extension is through 2/28/2010. In addition, the subsidy period has been extended from 9 months to 15 months of the COBRA 18-month entitlement period.

Mental Health Parity Changes in Effect
Effective January 1, 2010, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008 requires most employers (with more than 50 employees) that offer a health insurance plan to provide mental health benefits at the same level as medical and surgical benefits.

Mileage Change
Effective January 1, 2010, the standard mileage rate for business miles driven is
50 cents per mile.

Supreme Court Texting Privacy
The Supreme Court will decide whether reviewing personal text messages violates
Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. While involving government
employees, this case decision also would likely impact private employers.

See our blog on other issues involving texting and work!

For more information contact Linda at our offices at 502-753-0970, extension 101.
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The Flu and the FMLA
With recent pandemic flu outbreaks, some employers have grown confused as to which types of employee absences from work may be protected by the federal Family Medical Leave of Absence Act (FMLA).

First of all, FMLA protection is entitled to employees working for a covered employer
and who have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, for at least 1,250
hours over the previous 12 months, and at a location where at least 50 employees
are employed by the employer within 75 miles. ( Get our FMLA Toolkit to help you
manage leaves easily!) Such employees are provided up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during a 12-month leave year for specified family and medical reasons, which may include the flu where complications may occur.

Employers should consider the following examples to avoid discriminatory practices:
Employees who are infected. An employee who is infected may be protected under the FMLA under certain circumstances when health complications arise. Be sure to obtain a certified note from the employee's attending physician.

Employees who are not infected: An employee who wishes to stay home because he or she simply does not want to be exposed to the flu from others at the workplace is not protected under the FMLA.

Employees with certain family members who are infected: An employee with an infected family member (i.e. spouse or child) is not protected under the FMLA unless a flu-related complication results and thus creates a "serious health condition" as defined by the FMLA.

Enforced company policies: If the company has an Employee Handbook policy requiring employees to go home sick when they show symptoms of an illness reaching pandemic levels such as the H1N1 flu, that time off may qualify as FMLA-protected leave, if a serious health complication develops.

As an employer, it is crucial to establish flexible sick leave policies that are
non-discriminatory. Whether an absence should be paid or unpaid depends much on
your company's relevant policies and employment contracts. If employees must miss
work, you may provide alternative options such as telecommuting. In addition, consider contacting an HR professional regarding any state-specific regulations that may require stricter guidelines for pandemic sick leave circumstances.

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Welcome New IntegrityHR Team Member

We wish to welcome Cody Wheeler to the IntegrityHR team! Cody is a graduate student at the IU Southeast Graduate School of Business where he is working on his MBA. Cody will be our intern for the first semester of 2010 and will be learning all
about human resources and special projects for the firm. We are excited to have
him on our team!

Please join us in welcoming Cody to IntegrityHR!

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Quote of the Month

"The past is past, current is now,
and the future is what you can control."
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QUICK LINKS...

Looking for Tools to Improve your Business? We Have Them!

* Assessments -proven to identify theft, drug use and "commitment" potential!
* Web Resource - to make it easy to "look up" HR information - for those of you who like easy research.
* Compensation Benchmarking - yes, we can benchmark pay all around the world, with over 10,000 entries of benchmarking data!
* Applicant Data Management - we offer affordable, easy to use tools to make hiring paperless and simple!
* HR Information Systems - we have tools for small and large organizations - let
us help you decide what's right for you!
* HR Operational Reviews - not sure you've got all the HR bases covered? We can
help!
* Training - let us help you keep your workforce educated and out of the courtroom. See our all new HR courses for re-certification credit!

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We're a partner with the Kentucky League of Cities
We just were endorsed by the Kentucky Credit Union League!

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Keep up to date on relevant issues!

Click here to sign up for our BLOG

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Q&A
Do We Have To Verify Employment Eligibility & Social Security Numbers?

Q. We recently attempted to verify our employees' Social Security numbers, many
of which either do not match the employee names or do not exist at all. What are
our options at this point?

A. Unless the government has informed you otherwise, your company is not required
to verify each employee's social security number (SSN). For most businesses, eligibility erification is simply to complete the I-9 form in good faith. If you report wages under a SSN that does not match an employee's name or is invalid, you will receive "no match" letter.

Be careful - if you receive such a letter, we suggest that you proceed with caution. First, we recommend asking each affected employee to attempt to reconcile the SSN discrepancy. You may do so by auditing the employee's I-9 form. If the employee previously used the invalid social security number on the form, we recommend asking the employee to complete a new I-9 form with the list of acceptable documents. If the employee presents what appear to be genuine documents for verification (even if they do not include a social security card), we recommend continuing to employee the individual. If the employee admits that he or she does not have legal status and that the number was fraudulently obtained, you as the employer must terminate the employee immediately. Failure to do so may result in fines for knowingly employing unauthorized workers.
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Tools of the Month

Easy & Affordable Safety Training Programs
As you prepare for 2010, do you have your safety training calendar in order? If
you don't we have affordable programs ranging from videos to fully facilitated PowerPoint Materials!

Be in compliance with OSHA and reduce your workers compensation costs.

Click here to see our free video on "Why Safety is Important" for your workforce!
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January's HOT Item

Would you like to hire honest employees who don't steal, will tell the truth and
show up at work each day? Yes, that is more than possible, and we can help you
with this! For as little as $25*, you can reduce your liability in the interview
process and reduce theft at your workplace!

For a complimentary assessment report on this incredible tool, call us today! 502.753.0970 x106

Offer Expires: January 31, 2010

* based on a minimum quantity purchase

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Integrity HR, Inc. | 2013 Frankfort Avenue | Louisville | KY | 40206