Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Plan

Food For Thought: 

What would your employees say is the most important benefit you offer?  A retirement plan?  A generous PTO program?  Health insurance? 

According to a recent survey of over 1600 employees in large US companies, seventy five percent said that their health insurance plan is the important benefit, compared to fourteen percent who identified their retirement package as the most important benefit.  The survey also showed that most employees would not reduce the amount of health benefits in order to increase benefits in other areas, such as retirement savings. 

Some other interesting points from the survey, which highlight just how important health benefits are to employees:

•  About three in four employees would prefer to get health benefits through their employer rather than getting additional salary to purchase their own.

• Most employees (83%) would rather see their salary or retirement benefit reduced rather than health benefits if their employer need to reduce total compensation

“The fact that so many employees are opposed to giving up any aspect of their health benefits, even in return for an improvement in other benefits, speaks volumes as to just how important they are from a worker and employer perspective,” says Helen Darling, President of the National Business Group on Health, the non-profit association of 266 large companies that released the survey findings. “As the labor market tightens, employers will need to place an increased emphasis on their health benefits if they want to be able to compete for talented workers.”

Source:
The national online survey was conducted in February, 2007, by Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc., on behalf of the National Business Group on Health. A total of 1,619 randomly selected workers participated in the survey. To participate, workers had to be age 22-69, be covered by their employer’s health plan, currently work for an employer with at least 2,500 employees and be a decision-maker in their household regarding health care. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

End Work Permit Worries

Summer is right around the corner!  For many businesses, that means beefing up their workforce with high school students.  While there are many benefits for both businesses AND their young employees, it’s essential that business owners know and understand the rules that regulate employment of minors.

Below are some frequently asked questions regarding one aspect of employing minors in Pennsylvania- work permits.

  Who is required to have a work permit?

Generally, every employee under the age of 18 needs to obtain a work permit before their first day on the job.

. . . 

My prospective employee says he is 17 and doesn’t need a work permit.  Is that true?

There is an exception to the general Pennsylvania regulations for “Emancipated Minors.”  These minors are at least 17 years old and have either graduated from high school or are no longer attending school and have reached their academic potential as determined by the school district.  In the later case, it’s advisable to ask your prospective employee to provide you with verifying documentation from the school district.

. . .

I’ve seen yellow permits, blue permits, and now a prospective employee has handed me a white permit.  Why all the different colors?

First and foremost – In Pennsylvania, original work permits are printed on either blue or yellow paper.  If your minor prospective employee hands you a white paper, it is most likely the application for the work permit.  Fill out the “employer” section indicating the type of work the minor will be doing and the hours anticipated.  After you give the application back to the prospective employee, they still must complete the application process.  DO NOT allow them to work before you have the actual, official permit!

The permit employers see most is the blue “Transferable” permit.  School districts issues these to 16 and 17 year olds.  These permits can transfer to a new employer if the minor employee changes jobs.

The yellow “Vacation” permit is issued to 14 and 15 year old students.  This certificate is employer-specific, so it’s important to make sure your company’s name is listed on the permit.  If a minor employee with a yellow permit obtains a different job, they must complete the application process for a new permit specific to the new employer.  The yellow permit is good until the employee turns 18, so if they stay with the same employer throughout high school no other certificate will be needed, although the school district will issue a blue transferable permit when the employee turns 16 if the student would like.

. . .

My minor employee’s parent wrote a note allowing us to schedule her child more hours than the law allows.  That makes it ok, right?

Nope.   The Pennsylvania Child Labor Law does not allow for a parental waiver. 

. . .

What about homeschooled children?

The U.S. Department of Labor has ruled that home schooling is not grounds for an exception to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and thus all work by 14- and 15-year-olds is prohibited during the time the local public school is in session.  Since the FLSA does not cover 16-and 17-year-olds, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has ruled that home schooled students who are 16 and 17 may work during the time school is in session as long as they do not work more than 6 consecutive days in one week, or work more than 8 hours per day or more than 44 hours per week.   Those students may not work after midnight (Sunday through Thursday) during the school year. It would be helpful if the parent provides the employer with written verification that the student is being schooled at home.  (information from PA Dept of Education)

. . .

HOW CAN HIPPO & FLEMING LAW OFFICES HELP?

•  

  • Our staff can sit down either one on one or with all of your supervisors and review the need-to-know provisions of the PA Child Labor Law.  We can customize a training session to meet your audience and time restraint needs.

  • Our staff can review and revise your existing policies and procedures to ensure that you are complying with all aspects of the PA Child Labor Law.

 

Although employing high school students can be extremely rewarding for all involved.  It’s definitely worth your time as a business owner or manager to brush up on ALL areas of the Pennsylvania Child Labor Law, from hour restrictions, to recordkeeping requirements, and meal break rules.

For more information, visit the PA  Department of Education website, or the PA Department of Labor and Industry website.

Why Annual Meetings?

Often, business owners either fail to hold an annual corporate meeting, or will document that a meeting was held to update their corporate record book.  We believe that simply going through the motions in holding an annual corporate meeting is a missed opportunity for business owners to sit down together away from the office, to perform a check up of their company’s structure, operation, and financial well-being.
Failure to hold an annual corporate meeting can also potentially place the owners of a business at risk of being held personally liable for what should otherwise be a corporate debt or responsibility.  Litigants who sue a business for personal injury or breach of contract may be able to pierce the corporate veil and obtain recovery against the personal assets of the owners of a business if the business has failed to follow corporate formalities (including, among other things, failing to hold annual corporate meetings.)

Let us host your next annual corporate meeting!

Examples of issues which we commonly address at our hosted meetings include:

• whether the owners have determined a fair market value for their business, and have issued the appropriate number of shares of stock;
• whether the corporate minutes are accurate and up-to-date;
• whether the company has current By-Laws that reflect the company’s current management structure;
• whether the company has a current Buy-Sell Agreement that reflects the current value of the company, and resolves any questions regarding the voluntary or involuntary transfer of the business;
• whether the company has adequate insurance (e.g., life insurance, disability buy-out insurance, liability insurance, etc.), to protect the owners in the event of some unforeseen circumstance;
• whether there are any employee-related issues that need to be addressed;
• and whether there are any liability or risk management issues that need to be addressed.