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Survey Reveals Employer Holiday Plans For 2013/14
  
You know how much employees enjoy holidays off ... especially when they get paid for them. So, to help you determine if your holiday practices are competitive, Cascade Employers Association just conducted a Holiday Practices Survey to provide you with valuable insights regarding the remaining 2013 and all 2014 holiday practices for employers in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
  
Based on the 250 area employers who participated in Cascade's study, the average number of paid holidays is 7.5 per year, with 70% reporting that they provide between 6 and 9 paid days per year. Only 3% of the participants reported that they don't provide any paid holidays to their employees.
  
In addition to covering the number of paid holidays provided each year, the survey identifies which holidays will be observed and whether employees will receive full or partial pay for the days off. For those who are interested in knowing what similar employers are doing, the report also includes data cuts based industry type (manufacturing or non-manufacturing), and on the size of participants (measured by total employment).
  
Cascade's 2013-2014 Holiday Practices Survey covers the practices of 250 organizations which employ about 37,000 employees in the Oregon and Southwest Washington areas. Click here to learn more about the survey or to order a copy of the detailed survey report.
Should A Password Be Protected?
By: CCH
Americans overwhelmingly oppose allowing their bosses to obtain their social media passwords, according to a new FindLaw.com survey. The survey shows 83 percent of American adults say that employers should not be allowed to obtain passwords to personal social media accounts, such as Facebook and YouTube.
  
Only 7 percent of people surveyed said it was okay for employers to have their social network passwords. Ten percent were unsure. The survey also found that only 3 percent of American adults say that an employer has ever asked them to turn over their social media passwords.
  
Some employers argue that access to personal accounts is needed to protect proprietary information or trade secrets, to comply with federal financial regulations, or to prevent the employer from being exposed to legal liabilities. But others consider requiring access to personal Internet accounts an invasion of employee privacy.
  
If you have questions about the use of social media and passwords within your organization, or if you need an updated social media policy, contact Cascade.
IRS Issuances:
Use-Or-Lose Rule for Health FSAs Under Cafeteria Plans Modified
By: CCH, IRS News
The Treasury Department and the IRS have issued guidance modifying the long-standing "use-or-lose" rule for health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs). The modifications permit Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plans to be amended to allow plan participants to carry over up to $500 of their unused health FSA balances remaining at the end of a plan year. In addition, the existing option for plan sponsors to allow employees a grace period after the end of the plan year remains in place. However, a health FSA cannot have both a carryover and a grace period: it can have one or the other or neither.
  
An employer may adopt the carryover provision authorized in the guidance for the current Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plan year (and/or subsequent Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plan years) by amending the Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plan document in the manner and within the time frames described in the guidance.
  
In conjunction with the release of this guidance, a fact sheet has been released that generally discusses what is a health flexible spending arrangement (FSA) and how health FSAs work. It also discusses what has changed as a result of the modification of the use-or-lose rule and how the modification of the rule helps consumers. Finally the statement discusses the options for employers and plan sponsors who choose to allow employees to carry over up to $500 from the health FSAs.
  
The guidance also clarifies the scope of the transitional rule applicable to noncalendar-year plans beginning in 2013 for participant changes in salary-reduction elections under health plans provided through Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plans. These clarifications may be applied on or after December 28, 2012.
  
With the announcement of the modification to the "use-or-lose" rule, an employer now has effectively three separate options, a senior Treasury official stated during an October 31 press conference following release of Notice 2013-71. These are:
  • The employer may amend its plan to introduce the carry-forward of up to $500; or
  • The employer may use the Code Sec. 125 grace period rule under which an employee can use amounts remaining from the previous year (including amounts remaining in a health FSA) to pay qualified expenses incurred during the period of up to two months and 15 days immediately following the end of the plan year; or
  • The employer may choose neither of the above options.
The Treasury official also clarified that employers wanting to adopt the $500 carry-forward in their 2013 plans could do so for plans whose plan years began as early as January 1, 2013. "[The employer] could adopt this carry-forward by amending its plan no later than December 31, 2014. The amendment would be effective retroactively," the official explained. "We want to give them enough time to amend their plan. We're giving them extra time to amend on a retroactive basis."
  
"An employer can't combine a grace period and a carry-forward for the same plan year," the senior Treasury official clarified for CCH. He also cautioned that employers with plans that currently include a grace period might face certain legal constraints preventing them from immediately replacing a grace period with a $500 carry-forward. "Employees may be counting on a grace period once they've already been told it's there, perhaps assuming they'll incur some qualifying expense during the grace period," he explained.
  
(Notice 2013-71, I.R.B. 2013-47, November 1, 2013.)
7 Keys to Incentive Plan Success
By Jerry E. Bumgarner, VP, Performance Solutions
Cascade Employers Association
[email protected]
7 important actions your organization needs to take to help assure that your incentive compensation plans are successful:
  1. Strategize: Establish a total compensation strategy for those covered by the plan, while identifying the competitive talent market, pay positioning versus that market, and the basis for payments.
  2. Set Objectives: Identify the target total cash objective compared to the market, including how much should be base salary and how much should be incentive pay when performance objectives are achieved.
  3. Define Performance: Determine the incentive plan performance criteria, while assuring clarity about what the organization expects to be achieved by the team and/or individuals being rewarded.
  4. Tailor: Select individual incentive award opportunities, and be clear about what participants can earn at threshold, target, and maximum performance levels.
  5. Communicate: Take the time needed to effectively communicate the mechanics and impact of the plan to participants. The inclusion of participants in plan design generally helps with communications.
  6. Evaluate: Model the plan to evaluate its impact at various performance levels and be sure the plan strategy and goals are being achieved. Build in flexibility as needed.
  7. Monitor & Adjust: Continuously monitor the plan and make appropriate prospective adjustments to assure its effectiveness and alignment versus goals.
Interested in learning more about Incentive Plans? Contact Cascade.



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