Affordable Care Act - Who's on first?

As with most new government rules, they start out like Abbott and Costello’s “who’s on first”.  The Affordable Care Act is no exception. 

We have heard the term "exchanges" for a long time now. The federal government has come out with multiple notification documents that now use the term "marketplace" instead of “exchange”.   Did they tell anybody that they changed the terminology?  Are you kidding me…no….they just published new stuff using the new term.

They have come out with a model/template of a notice that will need to be given to employees informing them about the marketplace and employer coverage.

The question we don't have the answer to, is who will own the responsibility for these notices?

It IS clear that it will be the employer’s responsibility to disseminate notices to employees. That includes an initial notice as well as a COBRA rights notification that includes the marketplace (exchange) information.

What is NOT clear is who will provide the employer with those notices so that they can be disseminated them to employees. Will it be the insurance broker? or will it be the  health insurance provider? or neither of the aforementioned. Or will it be the employer’s responsibility to scour the Internet for the forms and decide when/if they should be disseminated?  Herein lies the “who’s on first” comparison.

To the best of my knowledge, no one has taken ownership yet.   Who knows if they ever will!

My personal opinion is that it should be the insurance broker’s responsibility to provide the forms, and accompanying instructions, to the employers.  No offense to any of the brokers, but when they sell a product (i.e. health insurance) they should be providing the service and expertise to support that product.

If you want to do some of your own research, you can find the forms, and additional information, on the federal government's Employee Benefits Security Administration web site at: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/

As an employer, I don’t think you can “afford” to be under informed!

 

New York State...at it again

New York State is at it again, or should I say still.....

I have a client who has multiple locations across New York State, with a couple hundred employees.  They have their own HR Director, but retained me to do a compliance audit.  As a result of that audit, even more controls were implemented than they previously had in place.  They really do try to do everything by the book, in addition to "doing the right thing". 

Recently they had an employee declare they were going to "go postal".  Yikes...pretty scary considering al the mass shootings that have taken place.  My client did the right thing and fired the employee immediately for misconduct.  Would anyone in their right mind think it was ok to go postal?  and threaten to?  There was a witness to the event, so it wasn't even as if somebody misunderstood them....they clearly said they were going to go postal.  And I don't think that means mailing a letter or a package.....

Of course the terminated employee thought they would file for unemployment.  Let's take a paid vacation here.  Our very intelligent business savvy unemployment folks granted him unemployment benefits.  What?  you have got to be kidding me.  Let's threaten to harm people, and have NYS pay us to sit home and watch the Today Show and Oprah.

So my client went to a hearing and lo and behold, the employee didn't show up.  Guess what?  Yup, you got it, they got unemployment anyway.  The ALJ (administrative law judge) ruled that the employee was terminated for reasons other than misconduct.  If threatening to go postal isn't misconduct, I don't know what is!! 

This person's co-workers, and customers, were somebody's family...mother, father, sister, brother...related to somebody, and the ALJ thought it was ok to threaten them? 

Perhaps the ex-employee should have shown up at the hearing, threatened to go postal in front of the ALJ, and then we could have seen how the ALJ reacted. Would he have thought it was ok if his life could have bee on the line? 

Where IS the common sense in this world?

Oh wait....the ALJ doesn't have to use common sense...he gets paid a salary anyway, and great benefits, including health insurance and retirement.  Why should he rule any differently?

Why, because it would have been the "right thing" to deny that idiot employee unemployment.  Let him learn a lesson.

Kathy

Next blog....let's talk about the Onondaga County Civil Service and how easy it is to get a job just because you pass a test.  Common sense gone again.....

Technical boring HR compliance, or is it?

I think sometimes people outside of the human resources arena look at HR people and say they are black and white boring people because they are the HR police, and how easy it must be.... just read the law and comply.

Some days that is true.  It's pretty boring having to post a gazillion posters just to comply.  However, that is not what true compliance is all about.  True compliance deals with making sure your actions, during every employee and management interaction, doesn't put the organization in jeopardy.  To really be compliant is not black and white in most cases.  It is about taking actions, as part of a process  and doing it in a fashion that you are protecting, not policing.

I get calls or emails frequently from clients who have a "situation" that they need help with.  Almost all of the time, it is not a simple answer.  We have to work through the process, probe and get more information, so we can come up with the best solution.

For example, a recent email I received said "I have a problem with an employee.  This employee was out on maternity leave and has been released to return to work on March 4, 2013.   She now wants to stipulate time she can work, which location she wants to work at, wants guaranteed overtime due to increased daycare. How is this possible? Am I within my rights to tell her to look for a job?"

Most of the above email can't be answered without probing further.  We need to determine the employee's history, what the employer has told/promised her (if anything), what the employer's policy says, and make sure we look at the demographics (age, race, etc.) to determine if there is potential discrimination.

The part that can be answered is "wants guaranteed overtime due to increased daycare".  The answer to that is no, we don't have to guarantee anything due to the employee incurring personal expenses.  That's the easy part.  The rest isn't so easy, so please don't ever think HR is a boring job because if we don't give the correct advice in this situation, the ramifications to the employer could adversely affect their bottom line by creating fines and other penalties for not considering all the laws our decision could be violating (or complying with).

Human resources IS fun and can be complex.  I love my "job"!!

Be a Good HR Consultant

So what makes a "good" human resources consultant?  If you are a HR consultant who is reading this, or a HR Consultant wannabe, or someone looking to retain the services of a HR consultant, think about it.  Think about all the facets that make up not just a good HR consultant, but what makes an exceptional HR consultant.  After all, clients deserve the best.

First, and I don't mean to offend anyone, I don't get how someone in their 20's can profess to be a HR consultant.  You can have your Masters from the best College around, but that doesn't prepare you for the rigorous world of HR consulting.

What prepares you is expert level experience and knowledge. You have to live it year after year.  Sometimes you can be in HR for 10 years and still not experience everything a client might ask you about.

Will being an HR expert keep you in business?  If you said yes, think again.

What will keep you in business is, in my humble opinion, three primary things:

1. Ethics.  You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror each evening without a bag over your head.  You have to be able to say "I am proud of what I did for my clients today." and "I am proud of the type of person I am."
2. Service.  Customer service IS numero uno.  When you are knee deep working on a project and the phone rings with a client call, they are NOT bothering/interrupting you; they are keeping you in business, and paying your mortgage.  Just because it is a Saturday morning, you are not off the hook to answer an important email.  Exceptional HR consultants, provide exceptional service, even on the weekends.
3. Results not methodology.  Your clients, and potential clients, want to hear (first) about what results you are going to produce for them, not what method you are going to use.  Results before methods.

I fall short on #3 and I need to work on that.  I want to be an exceptional human resources consultant, not just another human resources consultant, and I will be.  As I work on getting there, I do rest easy knowing I have mastered Ethics and Service.  Hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

Have an awesome day, and thanks for stopping by.

Kathy

NYS Wage and Hour "Customer" Service

Have you ever called the local (Syracuse) office of the NYS Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division?

It's about a pleasant experience as going to the dentist for a root canal or tooth extraction. 

You dial the number (315) 428-4057 and get a voice recording that says "You have reached the New York State Department of Labor....." and goes on to give you information and options such as for information on unemployment press 1, human rights press 3, and so on.  Pretty standard stuff for the press this get that systems.  Whoever did the recording sounds bored beyond belief and gives you the impression it was a chore to even speak. 

Although we don't expect the same excited tone you would use if you won the Powerball, couldn't you at least work up some enthusiasm and at least give the caller the impression you were glad they called?  After all, it is our tax dollars that pay your salary and allow you to have that generous benefits package.

When you finally do get a human on the phone, let me rephrase that, someone who is alive, they don't identify themselves and if you ask their name, they begrudgingly give it.  I ask for their name so I can at least try to be personal about the conversation and say their name; they act like I'm doing an inquisition.

So you tell them what you are calling about and sometimes you will get a sigh...like you are bothering them.  When they do finally answer their tone most often gives you the impression that you are stupid and shouldn't even have had to ask what you are asking. 

That aside, try asking them sometime to quote you the law that governs what you are calling about.  Fat chance they will know.  More than once I have called and referenced an Article and section of the Labor Law and they usually have no clue what I am referring to.  Now I don't expect them to know everything, but at least offer to find out.

My point of this blog?  They are not service oriented, and should be.  I think they should take lessons from the local office of the federal department of labor wage and hour division.  Those folks are on the ball; always return your calls or emails and if they don't know the answer, they will find it for you.  They give excellent service. NYS, are you listening????  you should.....

Have a very Merry Christmas and a good start to 2013!

Wage Theft...Gimme a Break

Wage Theft Prevention Act - WTPA 

What is this Wage Theft Prevention Act stuff? 

It is a New York State debacle of, as Billy Fucillo would say, that is HUGE.  However its hugeness is not a good thing, like Billy’s sales and deals are.

Let’s break it down:

Wages = monies people get paid to work

Theft = the action or crime of stealing

Prevention = stopping something from happening

Act = doing something, taking action

So, we have the Act of Preventing the Theft of employee Wages.  Thought about literally, our illustrious politicians introduced and passed a law to prevent employers from stealing their employee’s wages.  Are you kidding me?  They are going to steal something that they gave them in the first place? Give me a break.

This Act requires employers to fill out a form to tell employees how much they earn. Really? You mean employees can’t be responsible enough to look at their paychecks to figure that out?

Not only do you have to give employees this form when they are hired, you have to give it to them all over again in January of every year.  And if you don’t otherwise notify them in writing when you change their wage, you have to notify them again at that time.

But New York State makes it easy for us; they give us multiple choice.  We have several forms to chose from.  So be careful to select the right one or the DOL will be after you.

And if you don’t notify your employees, in the right way, at the right times, with the right forms, you pay a fine.

What a wonderful source of revenue for New York State.  Come on New York please spend your time on something more important like ensuring your wage and hour division Department of Labor reps and investigators develop a personality and receive some sensitivity training.

Next blog:  The "Happy Campers" that staff the Syracuse office of the New York State Department of Labor wage and hour division

Human Resources Consultant

Welcome!  Welcome to my very first blog post ever.  I am psyched to be here and to be adding to the already extensive blog traffic on the Internet. 

I have spent the last 11 years as an unemployed human resources professional.  Or at least one person I encountered years ago would think that.  Ever have a conversation that stays in your mind forever?   The conversation that incited me to write this blog post was one of those.

It was early in 2003.  I had been in business for over a year and a half at that time.  Although I had a couple of decades of human resources experience behind me, including management, I was still getting my feet wet as a consultant.  I met with the HR Manager of a local plastics manufacturing company.  We were sitting in his office, having a conversation about my background. I was extolling my own virtues by describing my extensive background in HR, including several years in manufacturing. I told him I had my PHR certification, and my Masters Certificate from Cornell, as well as a Bachelor’s degree which I had just recently obtained.  You see, I was pretty proud of my accomplishments, and very proud that I had started my own business and was paying the bills with that income!

Back to Mr. HR Manager, aka Mr. Rude.  He looked straight at me and said “A HR Consultant is nothing more than an unemployed human resources person.”  I am thinking…”did I just hear what I thought I heard”?  Yup, I did.  However, I continued to be proud of myself and didn’t skip a beat.  I continued on with our conversation, left, and never looked back.

So what is the lesson to be learned from this?  Go ahead and let yourself be put down, but be the professional you know you can be and rise above the rude and insensitive people you will encounter on life’s path.

My human resources consulting business has, for the last 11 years, and I hope for the next 11 years, let me take some pretty exciting paths.  It is a heady feeling to know I am making a difference in the world and helping people run their business.

More to come in future blogs about the myriad of things I encounter.  So many HR people could write a book, and I am one of them.  My future blogs will also include useful human resources information, including compliance related data.

 

Until next time.... Kathy Barany, Strategic Management Solutions.   www.sms-hr.com