SERPEO

Employee Right’s Under the NLRA Poster Delayed AGAIN!

DJacey — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:17:21 +0000

April 17, 2012 – On August 25, 2011, the NLRB announced that most private employers would soon be required to post a new 11X17 poster informing employers of their right to form and join a union. The date was postponed twice since the initial announcement and was set to be required beginning April 30, 2012.

The courts have changed have reversed their decisions several times and the latest decision is that the NLRB lacks the authority to make such a requirement. Therefore, companies are not yet required to display this poster and “the jury is out” on if the poster will be required at some point.

Click here to view the proposed poster. To read the latest article about this issue in the Washington Post, click here.

Small Business Tax Credit Available for Health Care Premiums

DJacey — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:32:16 +0000

Small Businesses who sponsor health plans for their employees may be eligible for a tax credit. For tax years 2010 through 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent for small business employers and 25 percent for small tax-exempt employers such as charities. An enhanced version of the credit will be effective beginning Jan. 1, 2014. Additional information about the enhanced version will be added to IRS.gov as it becomes available. In general, on Jan. 1, 2014, the rate will increase to 50 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

To qualify, you must cover at least 50 percent of the cost of single (not family) health care coverage for each of your employees. You must also have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Those employees must have average wages of less than $50,000 a year not counting owners and family member salaries.

You are probably wondering: what IS a full-time equivalent employee. Basically, two half-time workers count as one full-timer. Here is an example, 20 half-time employees are equivalent to 10 full-time workers. That makes the number of FTEs 10 not 20.

Now let’s talk about average wages. Say you pay total wages of $200,000 and have 10 FTEs. To figure average wages you divide $200,000 by 10 – the number of FTEs – and the result is your average wage. The average wage would be $20,000.

Also, the amount of the credit you receive works on a sliding scale. The smaller the business or charity, the bigger the credit. So if you have more than 10 FTEs or if the average wage is more than $25,000, the amount of the credit you receive will be less.

Here’s what this means for you. If you pay $50,000 a year toward workers’ health care premiums – and if you qualify for a 15 percent credit, you save … $7,500. If you save $7,500 a year from tax year 2010 through 2013, that’s total savings of $30,000. If, in 2014, you qualify for a slightly larger credit, say 20 percent, your savings go from $7,500 a year to $12,000 a year.

If you need assistance determining if your small business or tax exempt organization qualifies for the credit, try this step by step guide.

Even if you are a small business employer who did not owe tax during the year, you can carry the credit back or forward to other tax years. Also, since the amount of the health insurance premium payments are more than the total credit, eligible small businesses can still claim a business expense deduction for the premiums in excess of the credit. That’s both a credit and a deduction for employee premium payments.

There is good news for small tax-exempt employers too. The credit is refundable, so even if you have no taxable income, you may be eligible to receive the credit as a refund so long as it does not exceed your income tax withholding and Medicare tax liability.

And finally, if you can benefit from the credit this year but forgot to claim it on your tax return, there’s still time to file an amended return.

This information was obtained from irs.gov.

ExpertCare, a SERPEO client, honored as Top Workforce!

DJacey — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:31:40 +0000

In November, ExpertCare Management Services, achieved the distinction of being ranked number 8 in the 2011 Top Workplaces, as published in The Detroit Free Press. Top Workplaces leads the way in measuring the health of US companies based upon employee opinions. SERPEO, a Troy HR Outsourcing company, is pleased to be part of their continued success as their HR advisor and PEO. SERPEO congratulates ExpertCare on their outstanding employee relations and job satisfaction!

SERPEO Honored as a Best Place to Work…

DJacey — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:28:40 +0000

October 21, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Metro Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For were honored at a ceremony in October 2011 in Dearborn, MI. The awards were established to honor those companies in each market that recognize employees as their greatest asset. These are companies that work with imagination and conviction to create organizational value and business results through their policies and Best Practices in human resource management. The selection, recognition and awarding of the “101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” allows businesses to showcase these policies and Best Practices, and demonstrate why each of them is an ideal place for employees to work.

SERPEO, a division of The Bower Companies, is among these winning organizations. This is the fourth year in a row that they have received this honor and this is why:

SERPEO is big in spirit. The programs in place mirror that of a much larger organization. Additional revenue is often times reinvested back into the company and its employees. Employee’s generally like working for SERPEO. Here are a few reasons why:

Work/Life Balance: flexible schedules and reduced hours are available.

Great Benefits: a PPO medical plan with zero deductible and 100% co-insurance is available for $25 per month to employees.

The Owners Care: they take the time to get to know each employee; they are consummate cheerleaders; they recognize every anniversary with a personal card, flowers and gift certificates.

Medicare’s Annual Election Period!

DJacey — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:39:53 +0000

Medicare’s annual election period is earlier this year! It began on October 15^th and runs through December 7^th. If you are one of the 47 million Americans who use the program, you can make changes to your plan now for the 2012 plan year. Last year, the open enrollment period began on Nov. 15 and ended Dec. 31. If you would like more information please visit www.medicare.gov.

If you have questions about individual or group healthcare, please call SERPEO and Lisa Chorazyczewski at 248.205.7213.

Flexible Work Schedules and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

DJacey — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:36:06 +0000

On July 14, 2011, Tim Walberg, R-Mich chaired a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this hearing was to start a dialogue on whether the rules and regulations concerning minimum wage, maximum hours worked and overtime need to be changed in a world that is becoming increasingly flexible and mobile. It is currently believed that court rulings have created ambiguity and uncertainty in how the rules should be applied. This has led to an “explosion of wage and hour litigation”, Walberg said in opening remarks.

Many HR professionals and organizations including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) have stated that they believe the FLSA is outdated and needs to reflect a 21^st Century Workforce. Enacted near the 1930s, the regulations written simply don’t reflect the workforce or workplace of today.

Here is one simple example that illustrates the constraints placed on the employer and the employee by the FLSA. Ms. Smith’s current work load requires that she work an average of 40 hours per week. However, it does not require that she work 40 hours each week. Ms. Smith would prefer to work 30 hours one week and 50 hours the next; repeating this pattern throughout the year to help her balance her obligations at home and work. On principal alone, her employer has no problem with this type of schedule as Ms. Smith has proven herself to be a productive employee with excellent time management skills. The problem is that Ms. Smith is an hourly employee and the FLSA requires that she receive overtime in any workweek where she works over 40 hours per week. Therefore, this employee would cost the employer 1.5 times the normal rate for this type of work on the 10 hours per weeks when Ms. Smith works 50 hours per week.

Lyn Woolsey, D-Calif., agreed that the workplace has changed from when the law was enacted but stated, “… the occupations predicted to experience the greatest growth, over the next decade include workers for whom the protections provided by the FLSA are fundamental.”

HR professionals and other business leaders will continue to urge our government officials to make changes to the FLSA. It will be difficult to create legislation that protects the employee and still allows the employer to create work environments that benefit their employees without penalizing the employer. This situation becomes more complicated when you take into account that some state laws have more stringent rules than the federal government, such as overtime pay being required anytime an employee works more than 8 hours per shift. This creates a huge disadvantage for employers who would otherwise offer their employees flexible work schedules.

Consumer attitudes about health insurance must change …

DJacey — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:18:29 +0000

Consumer attitudes about health insurance must change to maximize protection

With the heightened awareness of “Obama Care”, everyone knows that the healthcare landscape has changed significantly in the past decade. Regardless of a person’s opinion about these changes, good and bad, people’s attitudes about health insurance must change. The time has past when an employee of the automotive or education workforce can go to the doctor and have confidence that the procedure they need will be covered.

The concept of consumer-driven healthcare has been around since 2002 when health reimbursement accounts and health savings accounts were introduced. The idea has evolved into the onus of healthcare shifting from the insurance companies to the insured individual. People cannot assume that anything is covered until they take the time to read and understand their health insurance policy.

Following are just a few things an individual must understand about their health policy:

Co-pays and low deductibles are not the best option for every person

You pay extra for co-pay plans and lower deductibles. Just as you do when you buy car insurance, look at the true cost of all of your options and consider the likelihood that you will need them. Adding a $30 co-pay option to a policy may add $500 or more to the cost of a premium. The discounted rate for seeing a doctor may be $75. This means you would need to see a doctor 10 – 11 times a year to break even on the cost of this coverage?

You may pay more to go to the doctor or hospital of your choice

If you’ve developed a relationship with your doctor and the hospital he/she serves, then you’ll want to make sure they accept your plan. If you do not have a specific healthcare provider, now might be a good time to take advantage of a lower cost plan, such as an HMO. HMO is not the bad word that it used to be and you can get comprehensive coverage for a lower price. However, you must remember that you will not be covered for service outside of the network unless the insurance company deems the service emergent.

When it comes to prescriptions, generic is to brand as tissue is to Kleenex

If you go to Walmart and buy great value brand tissues you expect to pay less than you would for Kleenex. The same is true for prescription drugs and many if not most insurance companies force you to use generic drugs when available. If you are currently on a medication, it is your responsibility to check with your insurance company to see if they will cover your name brand drug for an additional cost or if they will make you take the generic equivalent. Be careful, some drugs may not be covered at all.

Excluded services and waiting periods

Read the policy and ask questions. The service you may need might be excluded. It is very common, especially in individual plans, for pregnancy to be excluded. It is even more common for certain procedures to be excluded for a specific period of time.

Choose the plan that is right for youThe cost of an unexpected medical expense could be devastating. According to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek, by Catherine Arnst, June 4^th, 2009; Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies in 2007. More startling to the Harvard researchers who conducted the study is that 78% of those filers had health insurance at the start of their illness. In the worst case scenario, make sure you are covered for catastrophic situations.

Choose a benefit agent that has your best interest in mind

Benefit agents receive commissions for selling you a health insurance policy. Some companies and plans pay better than others. Find a benefit professional that you can trust and take an active part in the process. If you hold back on the information you give the agent you will not end up with a plan that is right for you.

Like it or not, individuals are more responsible than ever before for understanding and choosing the best health insurance plan for their needs. In an electronic world where we have become conditioned to scroll down to the bottom of the legal disclosure and selecting accept; it is imperative that you read the small print and understand the implications of your selections.

Business Development Representative – Position Filled

DJacey — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:17:49 +0000

Opportunity: SERPEO, a premier provider of PEO and Payroll services in MI is seeking a results driven salesperson to develop new business throughout Michigan with an emphasis in SE Michigan. This is a consultative sales position and the ideal candidate will have experience selling complex service solutions.

Compensation Package / Total Rewards: This position includes a competitive compensation plan with no cap on commissions. Current benefit programs include: medical benefits with deductible reimbursement, dental, vision, life, personal time off, advanced training and personal development.

SERPEO is a division of The Bower Companies and has been selected as a top “101 Best Companies to Work for in Metro Detroit” for 3 years in a row!

Company: SERPEO is an established, PEO (Professional Employer Organization) that focuses on helping people succeed. Our clients outsource the complexities and burden of their human resource needs to SERPEO; allowing them to focus on their core business. Our PEO solution includes: payroll and tax services, risk management, healthcare and benefit solutions and employee relations.

Requirements: The ideal candidate will have experience in the PEO, insurance, payroll, business consulting or financial services industries. Expectations include; prospecting, developing and closing new business. A history of successful sales results is required.

Skills/Traits: Business to business experience, self motivated, results oriented, relationship centered, strong time management skills, and the ability to recognize prospects that are an appropriate fit for PEO services.

Interested parties should apply at: info@serpeo.com or FAX your resume to: 248.740.3505.

20 Interview Questions to Avoid

DJacey — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:55:25 +0000

In an age where employment discrimination charges are continually on the rise, it is important for employers to understand which questions are appropriate to ask in an interview. Overall, the rules that surround whether a question can or cannot be asked stem from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. In Michigan, these rights are expanded based on the Elliott Larsen Act of 1976. Combined, these laws forbid discrimination in employment based on the following protected characteristics: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, height, weight, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, familial status, marital status, genetic information, or veteran status.

Because these characteristics are protected, asking questions that may expose these characteristics could be considered discriminatory. Below are 20 questions to avoid:

Familial Status

Are you currently in a relationship?
How many children do you have?
With whom do you live?
What are your child care plans?
Do you plan on starting a family?

Consider: Travel is an important part of this job. Are you able to travel up to 20% of the time?*

Age

What is your date of birth?
In what year did you graduate high school?

Consider: Are you over the age of 18?*

Religion

Do you attend a local church?
Do you belong to any political or social organizations?

Consider: Are you able to work on Saturdays and Sundays?*

Medical

Do you have any medical conditions?
What was the date of your last physical exam?
Have you ever seen a therapist?
How many days of work did you miss last year?
Have you ever been treated for drug or alcohol abuse?

Consider: Are you able to perform the essential functions of this job with or without accommodation?

Personal

How tall are you?
What is your current weight?

Consider: Are you able to lift up to 50 pounds and spend up to 5 hours on your feet without a break?*

National Origin

What is the origin of your interesting last name?
What is your first language?
Are you a US Citizen?

Consider: Are you authorized to work in the United States?

Arrest Record

Have you ever been arrested?

Consider: Have you ever been convicted of fraud, theft or embezzlement?*

Note: If an employee tells you something that makes information about a protected characteristic obvious, this does not give you license to probe further. Simply move to the next question and proceed with the interview.

* These questions may only be asked if they are relevant to the job.

Pre-Existing Conditions – No Problem in MI

DJacey — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:29:38 +0000

As you may know, one of the main provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (healthcare reform) is that people with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. Unfortunately, that provision of the law does not go into effect until 2014 for adults.

The good new is that there is a comprehensive health plan in MI that is currently accepting applicants with pre-existing conditions. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP/Nigh Risk Pool is a new program offered in every state under the Affordable Care Act (www.healthcare.gov). It can be administered by either the state or the federal government. The PCIP may be able to help you if you’ve been locked out of the insurance market while the nation transitions to 2014. As regulated by health care reform, pre-existing condition limitations will not be allowed through the use of state insurance exchanges beginning in 2014.

If you have been denied coverage in Michigan, we suggest you go to www.hipmichigan.com and apply for the Health Insurance Program (HIP) for Michigan. This plan is a comprehensive medical plan that utilizes the cofinity network here in SE Michigan. Please remember that this is an HMO plan and that only true emergent care is covered outside of the network. This program is administered by Physician Health Plan of Mid-Michigan. To qualify you must:

Be a Michigan resident;
Be a US citizen or Lawfully Present in the United States
Within the past six months, have been denied coverage due to health conditions or have been offered coverage with a rider excluding certain health conditions:
Have been uninsured for six months prior to submitting your application

We at SERPEO sincerely hope this information helps you or someone you care about get the coverage they need. If you would like information on traditional individual health insurance please contact us at 248.643.8900.