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Contents
Welcome to the Fall 2007 edition of The Alcott Advisor. As always, there seems to be no letup
in the stream of employment-related regulations and rulings that employers need to deal with.
As an example, in addition to the two compliance-related articles in this newsletter, a very new
law (October 16th) went into effect requiring companies to have written commission agreements
with employees who are paid wholly or in part with commissions. While we couldn't include complete
details in this edition of The Alcott Advisor, employers should aggressively pursue compliance with
this law. If you have questions about this, or any other issue, please call us at 1-888-4-ALCOTT
and ask for our human resources department. I hope you enjoy the newsletter and feel free to send
feedback to us at
hr@alcottgroup.com.
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401(K) PLANS: WHAT YOU AND YOUR
EMPLOYEES SHOULD KNOW
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The Alcott Advisor (AA) asked Alcott Senior Human Resources Representative Jeanne Anderson (JA)
to share her insights regarding 401(k) plans.
AA - What advice would you give employers regarding the importance of internal communications to
employees relating to their 401(k) plan?
JA – Internal communications plays an important role in promoting understanding of the Plan and
its benefits, as well as encouraging participation in the Plan. Employees who hear about the
Plan from their managers will know that their employer feels it is an important benefit. It’s
easy for employees to get wrapped up in their day-to-day responsibilities and forget to enroll
in the Plan or review their current elections to determine if any changes are warranted. This
type of inertia prevents employees from saving and preparing for retirement. Internal communications
can help prevent this from occurring.
AA – What would constitute a good method of communicating information about 401(k) plans to employees?
Click here to read more
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EMPLOYERS CONSIDER ATTRACTING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES A MAJOR CONCERN
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Across diverse industries, a number one challenge for employers continues to be attracting and
retaining employees. It is such a major concern that many companies are increasing their budgets
considerably for employee recruitment, training and development. This was documented in the Mercer
2007 Total Rewards SnapShot Survey.
The Mercer survey canvassed executives from over 580 businesses across the United States and Canada.
It found the following:
- 88% of those surveyed cite attracting and retaining qualified employees as their most pressing challenge
- 76% note that engaging their employees was also a critical challenge
- 74% were concerned with how to keep their employees rewards and incentive budgets at an affordable and manageable level
Click here to read more
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MISCLASSIFIED INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
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In early-September, New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer announced the formation of a Joint Enforcement Task
Force to address the matter of employee misclassification. Employee misclassification is defined as those
cases wherein an employer improperly classifies an employee as an independent contractor or pays a worker
off the books. It is the governor’s contention that this “misclassification” deprives employees of the
legal protections to which they are entitled, including unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation,
Social Security benefits, tax withholding and minimum wage. Furthermore, he noted that these companies
are competing at an advantage over businesses which properly classify employees and assume the financial
responsibility of doing so.
Through the new Joint Enforcement Task Force, which will be led by the Labor Department, there will be a
sharing of pertinent information, a coordination of investigations and enforcement actions, and education
of the business community and general public. Governor Spitzer has asked the Task Force to provide a report
on its actions and recommendations regarding changes in legislation or regulations on February 1st of
each year.
Click here to read more
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S
NO-MATCH RULE
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There is a lot of confusion regarding how employers need to respond to the new regulations promulgated
by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The “Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive
a No-Match Letter” was designed to support the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) heightened
stance on immigration control and enforcement. Previously, employers were advised never to treat
“no-match” letters as an I-9 issue. Under the new regulations, they will be required to do so.
Dawn Davidson Drantch, Esq., Director of Employee Relations and Internal Counsel for The Alcott Group
noted that the new regulation only matters if a business receives a “no-match” letter from the SSA and
it does not require employers to “match” I-9s to social security numbers any more than the current state
of the law requires it, unless the employer actually receives the “no-match” letter.
Click here to read more
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CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
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The Alcott Group Shelters Habitat for Humanity Buffalo from HR Challenges
The Alcott Group has been selected by Habitat for Humanity Buffalo (HFH/Buffalo) to provide comprehensive
Human Resources (HR) outsourcing services to its staff. According HFH/Buffalo President Ronald Talboys the
tip to consider a PEO relationship came from a Business First of Buffalo news article in which United Way
of Buffalo & Erie County’s Director Joe Roccisano stated that the relationship provided help in addressing
rising health insurance costs.
“After I read the article which mentioned The Alcott Group, I decided to make a phone call,” stated Mr.
Talboys. “My meeting with Alcott proved very productive and we entered into a relationship on July 1,
2007. As a result, we are beginning to achieve a reduction of our costs, while reducing potential liabilities
associated with payroll, taxes and regulatory compliance.”
Click here to read more
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WHAT'S NEW AT ALCOTT?
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The Alcott Group Takes First Place . . A Second Time in the Long Island Volleyball Association's Tournament
Proving to be the one to beat, The Alcott Group (Farmingdale and Buffalo, NY), one of New York State's
most prominent Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) providing Human Resources outsourcing services,
added another "First Place" victory to their achievements on the volleyball court. Just last month,
the company announced that its six-member co-ed team had taken "First Place" honors in its 6:45 PM slot
within the Long Island Volleyball Association's (LIVA) scheduled competition. Now, they are becoming the
Yankees of the LIVA league with another First Place win on top of the last one and several other past
top honors.
The winning Alcott team members included Alcott's Risk Manager Bob Byrnes (Captain), Senior Human
Resources Representative Jeanne Anderson, Applications Development Manager Bill Mahoney, Office
Assistant Doug Williams, former Alcott employee Paula Morabito and Jim Fagan, a friend of Bob Byrnes.
Also on the team was the Alcott IT Director Tony Fantaci who is not pictured.
LIVA's mission is to promote the sport of volleyball by offering the best beach volleyball and indoor
leagues, as well as tournaments and charity events throughout Long Island. For additional information, visit:
www.longislandvolleyball.com.
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Complimentary HR
Strategy Evaluation:
Is your HR shop in order? Do you have a focused HR strategy or is it something you just can't seem to get to?
Alcott's on-site evaluation will help you create an actionable plan for addressing one of your most critical business
processes. Click here to
learn more.
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Volleyball Tournament Champs!
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