BENCHMARKING
HEALTH PLANS AND COSTS
The latest survey
from United Benefit Advisors indicates that wellness plans and
the generic drug utilization are on the rise, and the majority
of health plans don’t provide domestic partner
coverage.
PPOs still
dominate the health care market, representing 55.9% of all
plans offered and 61.1% of employees enrolled, while the HMOs
continue to slip, representing 22.6% of plans offered and
16.6% of employees enrolled.
Consumer-driven
health plans comprise 8.8% of plans offered this year, up from
5.8% last year. About 6% of all covered employees are enrolled
in a CDHP this year, up from 3.4% last year. In addition,
almost 20% of employers provided flexible spending accounts
this year, with availability increasing progressively with the
size of the employer, UBA finds.
Over one-third of
employers offer more than one health plan options to
employees, with 10.3% offering three or more
options.
The average annual
health plan cost per employee for all plans is $6,881, with
workers paying an average of $3,110 and employers forking over
an average of $3,771. HMOs and CDHPs have approximately 10%
lower annual costs per employee than the average plan, while
point of service plans have nearly 11% higher annual costs per
employee than the average plan. Chris Silva August
28, 2007 ebn.benefitnews.com
6TH
CIRCUIT LATEST TO REJECT CASH BALANCE AGE DISCRIMINATION
CLAIMS
A federal appellate
court has added its judicial voice to that of others rejecting
cash balance age discrimination claims and chalked up age
differences in resulting benefits to the time value of
money.
This was the
ruling Monday by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in a challenge by participants in the Rand McNally
& Company Pension Plan, which was later merged into the
World Color Press Cash Balance
Plan.
In writing for the
court, Circuit Judge John M. Rogers asserted that U.S.
District Judge Karl S. Forester of the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Kentucky was correct when Forester
rejected the plaintiffs' contention that the World Color
plan discriminated against older workers in violation of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (See Cash Balance Plan
not in Breach of Age Discrimination Laws).
Employees of Rand McNally Book & Media Services became
World Color employees when World Color purchased Rand McNally
Book in January 1997, according to the opinion.
"Contrary to the
plaintiffs'
assertions, cash balance plans do not discriminate based on
age in violation of ERISA 204(b) (1) (H) (i)," Rogers
wrote. "The plaintiffs' argument is that ‘cash balance
plans per se violate the provisions of ERISA.' Accordingly, plaintiffs’ claim
turns on the nature of cash balance plans in general and not
upon any particular or unique provision of the World Color
Plan."
Rogers continued:
"The contention that cash balance plans are necessarily age
discriminatory under the terms of 204(b)(1)(H)(I) fails,
however, because that provision of ERISA addresses only the
employer’s contribution to the benefit plan, and any disparity
in the benefits that employees of different ages would receive
from cash balance plans is merely the result of time value of
money." August 27, 2007 PLANSPONSOR.com
OSHA
OFFERS ADVICE FOR WORKING IN SUMMER
HEAT
Every
summer, thousands of Americans are hospitalized for
heat-related illnesses. Many of these cases are employees who
work outdoors where heat stress is potentially dangerous. Now
that summer has begun, the U.S. Department of
Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
reminding all employers and employees nationwide about its
safety and health resources, especially those offering best
practices for working in hot
weather.
"Every
outdoor jobsite faces hazards posed by the sun and heat," said
OSHA's Assistant
Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "We are encouraging
employers and employees to take advantage of our published
resources that offer sound advice to recognize and prevent
heat stress and other heat-related
illnesses."
The
two most serious forms of heat related illnesses are heat
exhaustion (primarily from dehydration) and the more severe
heat stroke, which could be fatal. Symptoms include headaches,
weakness, nausea and dizziness. Recognizing those warning
signs and taking quick action can help prevent a
fatality.
Working Outdoors
in Warm
Climates,
an OSHA fact sheet that offers advice on ways to protect
employees against exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV),
highlights precautions to take if working in extreme heat and
explains how to protect against Lyme disease and the West Nile
Virus. The document also features information for teenagers
working at summer jobs to learn more about safety and
health.
OSHA's Heat Stress Quick
Card lists tips on preventing
many heat-related deaths and injuries. Available in English
and Spanish, this laminated card is free to employers for
distribution to their employees. It is a quick reference tool
on heat-related illnesses, including warning signs, symptoms
and early treatment.
Protecting
Yourself in the Sun
is a pocket card that explains how to perform
self-examinations that may detect early stages of skin cancer.
The card, available in English and Spanish, also
describes common physical features of skin cancer that can be
caused by overexposure to the sun.
These
free publications and others related to outdoor job hazards
can be downloaded from OSHA's Web site on the publications
page or can be ordered by calling
OSHA's publications
office at (202) 693-1888. More information about sun and heat
hazards can be found on OSHA's Web site, and on
the Web sites of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH). www.dol.gov
July
6, 2007
6TH
CIRCUIT LATEST TO REJECT CASH BALANCE AGE DISCRIMINATION
CLAIMS
A federal appellate
court has added its judicial voice to that of others rejecting
cash balance age discrimination claims and chalked up age
differences in resulting benefits to the time value of
money.
This was the
ruling Monday by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in a challenge by participants in the Rand McNally
& Company Pension Plan, which was later merged into the
World Color Press Cash Balance
Plan.
In writing for the
court, Circuit Judge John M. Rogers asserted that U.S.
District Judge Karl S. Forester of the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Kentucky was correct when Forester
rejected the plaintiffs' contention that the World Color
plan discriminated against older workers in violation of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (See Cash Balance Plan
not in Breach of Age Discrimination Laws).
Employees of Rand McNally Book & Media Services became
World Color employees when World Color purchased Rand McNally
Book in January 1997, according to the opinion.
"Contrary to the
plaintiffs'
assertions, cash balance plans do not discriminate based on
age in violation of ERISA 204(b) (1) (H) (i)," Rogers
wrote. "The plaintiffs' argument is that ‘cash balance
plans per se violate the provisions of ERISA.' Accordingly, plaintiffs’ claim
turns on the nature of cash balance plans in general and not
upon any particular or unique provision of the World Color
Plan."
Rogers continued:
"The contention that cash balance plans are necessarily age
discriminatory under the terms of 204(b)(1)(H)(I) fails,
however, because that provision of ERISA addresses only the
employer’s contribution to the benefit plan, and any disparity
in the benefits that employees of different ages would receive
from cash balance plans is merely the result of time value of
money." August 27, 2007 PLANSPONSOR.com
HIGH
COURT WILL REFINE DEFINITION OF ‘EEOC
CHARGE’
In the term
starting Oct. 1, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court will review a
federal appeals court decision that treated an intake
questionnaire as an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) charge, even though the agency had not treated the
questionnaire as a charge.
The lower court
ruling, if left undisturbed, would deprive employers of the
chance to investigate and resolve discrimination claims,
increase litigation and lead to the revival of stale claims,
according to a FedEx brief asking the Supreme Court to review
the decision.
In Holowecki v.
Federal Express Corp. (No. 04-3376-CV
(2006)), Patricia Kennedy filed an EEOC intake questionnaire
on Dec. 3, 2001, asserting that FedEx unlawfully discriminated
against older couriers. Kennedy filed an Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA) claim in court on April 30, 2002, and
submitted a formal EEOC charge on May 30, 2002.
The district court
dismissed Kennedy’s claim, ruling that her EEOC intake
questionnaire was not an EEOC charge and that her May 30,
2002, charge was untimely.
‘Minimal’ Charge
Contents
The 2nd Circuit
reversed. It observed that the ADEA requires the filing of a
timely charge with the EEOC but does not define “charge.”
However, EEOC regulations specify what must appear in a
charge.
“The required
content is minimal,” the appeals court said, stating that a
charge must:
• Be
in writing from the person making the
charge.
•
Name the employer.
•
Generally describe the allegedly discriminatory
acts.
•
Demonstrate “that an individual seeks to activate the
administrative investigatory and conciliatory process.”
Kennedy had met
these requirements by submitting the questionnaire and an
accompanying affidavit identifying discriminatory treatment,
the appeals court decided.
An individual may
satisfactorily notify the EEOC of an age discrimination charge
even if “the EEOC fails to follow through with notifying the
employer and attempting to resolve the matter through
‘conciliation, conference and persuasion,’ ” the court stated.
“To require this would be to hold individuals accountable for
the failings of the agency.” Allen Smith SHRM Week
August 27, 2007
2007
VETS-100 REPORT DUE SEPTEMBER
30
The
filing deadline for the 2007 VETS-100 Report is September 30,
2007. The reporting categories remain the same as the 2006
form. The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service
(VETS) annually collects and complies this information from
federal contractors with federal contracts that were entered
into before December 1, 2003 and the value of the contracts is
$25,000 or more. A federal contractor who has entered
contracts both before and after December 1, 2003, is also
required to file a VETS-100 Report. CCH Human Resources
Management Daily Document Update August 13, 2007
COPPOLA V. BEAR
STEARNS & CO.,
INC.
In class-action
lawsuit for violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed
as defendants had no liability under WARN since they were not
appellants'
"employer" within the meaning of the statute. FindLaw.com
August 31, 2007
CORRY V. LIBERTY
LIFE ASSURANCE CO. OF
BOSTON
In
an ERISA action arising from the termination of disability
benefits for plaintiff whose claim for disability arose from
fibromyalgia, summary judgment for plaintiff is reversed
where: 1) a long-term disability plan administrator did not
abuse its discretion by terminating the benefits to plaintiff;
and 2) its basis for the termination was supported by
substantial evidence, including medical opinions of three
well-qualified specialists clearly stating that there was no
verifiable objective medical evidence to support the claim of
disability. FindLaw.com August 31,
2007
DRUTIS V. RAND
MCNALLY & CO.
In an action
challenging a "cash balance" pension plan, or a defined
benefit plans that is structured like a defined contribution
plan, alleging it violated an anti-age-discrimination
provision of ERISA, the district court's judgment for defendants is
affirmed as the cash balance plan adopted by defendants did
not violate the anti-age discrimination statute at
issue. FindLaw.com August 31,
2007
CLAY V. UNITED
PARCEL SERV.
In an action
brought by African-American employees against UPS raising a
variety of Title VII-based claims, summary judgment for UPS is
affirmed in part, but reversed in part as there were genuine
issues of material fact with respect to some of
plaintiffs'
disparate-treatment and retaliation claims. FindLaw.com
August 31, 2007