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| Issue: #2 Vol. 4 |
April 2009 |
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It has been a busy few months with many regulatory changes in the HR world that may impact you and your business. Take a few moments to review this newsletter for a summary of some of those changes and please remember to check our website news section to keep up to date.
Things are changing in our office too. We are proud to introduce Kelly Dorsey as one of Omni's new Payroll Administrators and Dottie Lutz as a new Office Assistant. They are both a great addition to our team. Our changes also include new positions for some staff that you already know. We are pleased to announce that Kate Duvall has started her new position in Business Development and Monique Rich has been promoted to Payroll Operations Manager. Congratulations to all. |
| Revised I-9 Form |
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The federal government recently announced that The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a new I-9 form. After an initial delay it will now go into effect beginning April 3, 2009. Here is an overview of important changes:
A. Expired documents will no longer be accepted for employment;
B. The "Temporary Resident Card" and "Employment Authorization Cards I-688A and I688B" will no longer be accepted;
C. The new U.S. Passport Card, Foreign passports with readable visas, and Passports from certain citizens from Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Marshall Islands are now acceptable documents for employment.
Omni will make the new forms available. Please do not use old I-9 forms after April 3rd. |
| COBRA Continuation Subsidy |
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President Barack Obama has signed an economic stimulus package that includes a COBRA subsidy for laid-off workers. The COBRA subsidy is 65 percent of the existing COBRA premium for a period of 9 months beginning March 1, 2009. The premium subsidy will cover workers who were affected by involuntary terminations occurring between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009.
Employers will be required to pay 65% of the terminated worker's COBRA premium - but only once a former employee elects coverage and pays his or her 35% contribution. Reimbursements will come from the Federal Government to offset the additional premium paid by the employers. There is an income threshold as an additional condition on an individual's entitlement to the premium subsidy.
If you have terminated employees after September 1, 2008, we will be reviewing their reason for termination to determine eligibility for this benefit. Notices will be sent to eligible employees next week. All impacted clients will be notified by our office and the 65% of the COBRA payment will be invoiced along with your regular payroll. When we receive reimbursement we will credit your invoice appropriately. We anticipate the reimbursement to take between 3 and 6 months.
Additional information may be obtained through Kim Niland at (410) 224-7550. |
| Mandatory Sick Leave? |
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The House of Representatives recently discussed a bill known as the Healthy Families Act (HFA) that would require paid sick leave as a benefit. It may come up to a vote in the spring.
In its current form, HFA would make it mandatory for all employers with 15 or more employees to provide at least seven paid sick days a year to full time employees. Part-time employees would get a prorated amount based on the number of hours they work.
The act would cover any employee's physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition. It would also allow employees to tend to a sick family member. The bill would prohibit companies from reducing existing paid vacation or PTO time to offset the costs if it is passed.
Therefore, this would be a good time to be proactive and review your present policy. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the potential impact on your company, please contact Kim Niland at 410-224-7550.
We will keep you posted.
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Web Training |
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Omni Resource is teaming up with BLR to bring you the HR Training Center which features "ready to use" web based HR training sessions. These sessions are prepared by BLR's award-winning legal editors and employment lawyers with more than 30 years' expertise in assisting organizations with compliance and training needs. These training topics are critical to every employer and employee.
Online Training Topics Include:
· Sexual Harassment Training
· Slips, Trips and Falls
· Substance Abuse in the Workplace
· Diversity Training
· Effective Communication
· Back Safety
· Hazard Communication
· And over 50 more
The administration area includes:
· Generation of email invitations for employee training
· Tracking of training sessions and employee quiz scores
· Secure, permanent record keeping for compliance purposes
· The HR Training Center is the easy and effective solution to employee training
Visit our website to check it out. |
| Handy Numbers for 2009 |
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 The 401k contribution limit for 2009 is $16,500. Catch-up contributions for employees 50 and older is $5,500 for a total of $22,000.
The Simple IRA Plan contribution for 2009 is $11,500. Catch-up contributions for employees 50 and older is $2,500 for a total of $14,000.
Health Savings Accounts 2009 contribution limits:
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Individual Policy is $3,000
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Family Policy is $5,950
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Age 55 or older can contribute an additional $1,000
The current government Standard Mileage Rate (per mile) is $.55. |
| Just a Reminder... |
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If you have an employee that is being reinstated after being off work for a period of time...
We must have a new application, tax and enrollment forms if the employee has been inactive for 6 or more months. | |
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
Thomas Jefferson
Sincerely,
Jeff Jenson
Omni Resource, Inc |
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