BizAnalyst Network

Employers Confront Pay, Time-Off Issues After Hurricane
Numerous employers are helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina get back on their feet by offering paid time off so employees can assist in relief efforts or by continuing to pay displaced workers. But the disaster also raises many complex Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) challenges for HR professionals, legal experts say. (More on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina elsewhere in this issue of HR Week.)

Employers Chipping Away at Health Care Cost Increases
A new survey shows that employers continue to look for ways to blunt increases in health care expenditures.
(SHRM Members Only)

New Legislation Adds Wrinkles to Pension Reform Debate
Members of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee added their voices to the pension reform debate on Sept. 8 by approving the Defined Benefit Security Act. The proposal joins two other major pension reform proposals, H.R. 2830, which is currently under consideration in the House of Representatives, and the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act, which was approved by the Senate earlier this summer.
(SHRM Members Only)

Employers Have Alternatives to Exhausted H-1B Visas
Employers wanting to hire foreign workers with specialized skills have alternatives to the H-1B visa, which in August reached its legal limit of 65,000 for fiscal 2006-more than a month before that fiscal year begins. Depending on the specific situation and company, employers have a number of visa options. There are more than a dozen temporary or nonimmigrant visa categories for work authorized for the sponsoring employer, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
(SHRM Members Only)

Experts: Electronic Medical Records Could Have Helped
A database of electronic medical records could have helped emergency medical workers care for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina and would have resulted in fewer disruptions in evacuees' medical needs, according to speakers at the 11th National Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Summit. Many of the evacuees' original medical records, which were housed in health care providers' offices in areas affected by the storm, are currently inaccessible, and many likely were destroyed.

INSIDE SHRM
Board of Directors elections Scheduled for October
There are several new names on the ballot for the slate of candidates for election to the 2006 Society for Human Resource Management Board of Directors. Some board members were elected in previous years to multi-year terms and will finish out their terms in 2006 or 2007.
(SHRM Members Only)

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HURRICANE KATRINA: RECOVERY CONTINUES
New Rules Aims to Help Hurricane Victims Preserve Health Benefits
The U. S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service announced an extension of a number of deadlines related to health plan coverage, giving workers and employers affected by Hurricane Katrina additional time to make critical decisions regarding health coverage. The relief provides additional time to comply with certain deadlines contained in the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the rules for processing of health claims.  

IRS OKs 401k Loans
The IRS has announced 401(k)s and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans can make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Katrina and members of their families. See IRS Update 2005-70 (PDF file).  

Convention Center HR Chief Held Staff Together Amid Chaos
Imagine thousands of uninvited guests showing up at your place of work. Straggling in the door, wet, hungry, desperate. Some carrying their only possessions, a few with guns. As HR director of the New Orleans convention center, located in the heart of the ill-fated city's downtown, Tim Tumminello was responsible for about 30 employees holed up with him since before the storm struck on Aug. 29.  

HR Takes Charge of Delivering Aid to Storm-Affected Employees
When evacuated employees of Hospital Corp. of America (HCA) stepped off HCA-provided buses and jets transporting them to temporary shelter in several Louisiana locations, they received a three-page memo prepared by John Steele, HCA's senior vice president of HR, on salary continuation, interim employment and other programs designed to help them. HCA is just one of many employers offering assistance to their displaced employees. The aid ranges from employee hotlines to benefits continuation to displaced workers "adopted" by colleagues in work units from other parts of the country. 

Stay in Touch with SHRM
Have you relocated due to the hurricane? If you are a member of the national SHRM organization, please update your member information to reflect your new location. If you belong to a local SHRM chapter, but are not a member of the national SHRM, there is a separate online form to let us know where you are.

Share Your Experiences
How has your organization assisted its employees who were personally affected by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath? Or, what has your organization done to encourage or facilitate donations for disaster relief? Please share your experiences with your fellow HR practitioners on the Hurricane Katrina home page -- and read about what your colleagues around the country are doing.

HR MAGAZINE
Share and Share Alike
Job sharing can boost productivity and help retain vital workers, but it can't work effectively without help from HR. But, this month's HR Magazine, job sharing also can pose challenges, including the need for additional oversight-such as conducting administrative tasks and performance reviews for two employees rather than one.