sponsored by
Rita in HR is actually two HR attorneys in one: Ellen Aldridge and Pamela Fyfe, both of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group. They advise nonprofits on wrongful termination, wage & hour, discrimination, harassment, and other employment issues—before they are sued—to help keep them out of court.COBRA Subsidy Extension Update
Email
Print
Dear Rita: I have heard that when an employee separates from employment, the federal government will help pay for continuing health insurance in the form of a subsidy. I have so many questions: Is every ex-employee eligible for this help? Are all benefits covered (medical, dental and vision)? Are an employee's dependents eligible for the subsidy? How long will the government help out? And how much of the premium does the federal government subsidize? This seems almost too good to be true! Am I missing something here? Clueless
Dear Clueless: You may think you are clueless but you have asked all the right questions. My answer --posted February 2010 -- will include a little background about the COBRA subsidy benefit.
Stimulus Package - COBRA Subsidy
In February, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the "Stimulus Package." This Act provided a 65% subsidy towards COBRA health care premiums to employees who were involuntarily terminated (laid off) between September 1, 2008 and . . .
> Read moreTerminate Employee After One Year of Sick Leave?
Dear Ask Rita: Our agency limits the maximum time an employee can be out on a medical leave of absence to one year. One employee who has been out with a medical condition is now approaching the one-year mark, but she hasn't been in contact with us for the past four months. I don't have the time to call every employee on leave. Am I OK just sending this employee a termination letter if she does not return at the end of the year? Signed, Overwhelmed in HR
Dear Overwhelmed: This common question -- Can an employer terminate an employee who exceeds the maximum medical leave? -- raises many complex issues. Employees are not infrequently out on extended medical leave for reasons such as stress, cancer treatments, chronic back pain, or other medical condition. What is clear, however, is that you want to tread carefully in this area. In September 2009 the largest Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) settlement in a single lawsuit was announced when . . .
> Read moreWhen Swine Flu Hits the HR Department
Nonprofits -- so often focused on helping others -- may be finding that swine flu (H1N1) requires their attention in terms of employee health. Nonprofits have a long history of innovation and heroism in health care and in disasters; we need to be sure we manage the flu and its implications well.
Dear Rita in HR: I manage HR at our nonprofit and need advice in dealing with the expected impact of the H1N1 flu at our workplace. I've heard that from 25% to 50% of workers could be out sick at any given time. Among the questions I have: If I think an employee is sick with the H1N1 virus, can I send that person home? Can I require the employee to use sick/PTO leave? Can I dock the employee's pay? Can I tell the employee how long to stay at home? To prevent the spread of the flu, can I require an employee to work from home?
And if an employee is taking care of a sick relative, can I require the employee to stay out past the contagious period? If so, can I require that they use sick days for it? Can I require a doctor's note to return to work? HELP
Dear HELP: Your concerns are shared by nonprofits everywhere and because we are entering uncharted waters here, some of the answers remain . . .
> Read moreCriminal Records Checks for Prospective Staff and Volunteers
Dear Ask Rita: I keep being told we should do criminal record checks on prospective employees and even volunteers and board members. But how? Is there a simple and cheap way to do this? And do we need their permission to do it? -- Reluctant to get into the fingerprint checking business
Dear Reluctant: Background screening is a good idea for all organizations, especially those working with vulnerable populations, so we're glad you asked. As you know, there are many types of screening, such as checking criminal history or credit history, verifying credentials or licenses, reviewing motor vehicle history, or doing reference checks. This article addresses only checking on criminal history.
Whoever is suggesting criminal background checks probably also told you . . .
> Read moreModel Dress Code for Nonprofits
Following is sample language to use in your organization's dress code:
While work attire is casual at our organization, all employees should maintain appropriate standards of neat and professional dress and grooming. The key point in determining what is appropriate work attire is the use of common sense and good judgment, applying a dress practice that our organization deems conducive to our work environment. If you question the appropriateness of a certain piece attire, it probably isn't appropriate. Requests for advice and assistance in administrating or interpreting this guideline should be directed to Human Resources irector.
While employees may wear casual clothes, attire that should not be worn includes:
- Clothing that does not fit correctly-too tight or too loose.
- Clothing that is faded, stained, discolored, torn, patched, ripped, or frayed.
- Clothing with missing buttons.
- Sandals, thongs, flip-flops, or similar footgear.
- Shorts, halter tops, gym, athletic, or sweat clothes.
- Clothing with offensive slogans or pictures, e.g., profanity and nude or
Tattoos and Piercings . . . and a Model Dress Code
Dear Rita: Our younger employees are increasingly decorated with ink and metal. Most of them conceal their "body art" while at work but in summer it's become more visible. We don't care about tattoos and piercing but we don't want to look at them, and we don't think our visitors do either. Is it legal for us to ban visible body art? -- Artless Old Fogey
Dear Artless: We're not surprised the issue has surfaced in your organization. A recent study found that about one-half of people in their twenties sport body piercings beyond their ears, and one-fourth of Americans between the age of 18 and 50 are tattooed (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 6/06). Visible tattoos and piercings can be legally regulated, but as you probably know, your employees may chafe at such rules.
The cultural shift towards more body art sends a shout out to organizations that can't be ignored. If you are seeking to keep body art covered to present a more professional appearance, you should consider updating your dress code. In fact . . .
> Read moreI Have a Bad Boss -- Help!
This issue's Ask Rita in HR column responds to two reader questions about different types of bad bosses. Don't forget that archived Ask Rita topics can be found by clicking on the Ask Rita box in the right side of the magazine under "Our Columns."
Dear Rita: My boss shows favoritism to a single employee, and it's creating a bad atmosphere. She buys this person expensive presents, allows her far more flexibility in her hours than other people, and always points to this person as an example that we should follow. I love my job, but this is beginning to get to be a real problem. Signed, Resentful
Dear Rita: I love my job! It's the job of my dreams. But there's one problem: my boss . . .
> Read moreA 7-Point Checklist for Responding to a Request for Family or Medical Leave
Here are the basics for how a nonprofit should handle an employee's
request to take Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. For more, be
sure to see Wading through New Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations.
The employer must send the employee an eligibility notice within five business days of request for FMLA leave.
1. The employer must determine if an employee is eligible for FMLA leave (12-month/1250 hour requirement).
2. The employer should decide if it has enough information to certify that the employee has a serious medical condition or if she or he will require medical certification. A request for medical certification should be included in the eligibility notice, with a return date of 15
business days.
The employer must send the employee a designation notice, within five business days of determining eligibility.
3. The employer can designate the leave as qualifying under the FMLA, contingent upon . . .
> Read moreWading through the New Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations
New year, new forms to fill out! Though we love that employees can have some flexibility when serious medical and family issues arise, administering the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be challenging. Mercifully, Ask Rita offers some guidance on the technicalities of recent changes to the law.
Dear Rita: Just when I thought I had my head wrapped around the intricacies of the leave and health benefit laws, they changed: the FMLA, ADA and COBRA regulations were all revised and rewritten this year. Of course, these revisions come at a time when we are in dire financial straits, facing layoffs, and certainly don't want the added risk of violating FMLA regulations. Can you outline the basic FMLA changes? - Head is Spinning
Dear Spinning:
> Read moreDownsizing from Employees to Independent Contractors?
Q: Our nonprofit group home has to downsize and as part of our reorganization we are considering changing some of our employees into independent contractors as a cost-saving measure. If we did that, we wouldn't have to pay for benefits and we'd have more flexibility - we could match our personnel to our workload. What is the potential downside to making that change?
A: It is possible to transition an employee to a contactor if the worker truly meets the legal tests for independent contractor status. What you need to watch out for is the
possibility of a payroll tax audit or the potential for various
benefit-related . . .
