IN THIS ISSUE:

 

 

 


PLUS:

 

 

 

 

Q. Tell us a bit about Ultimate Staffing and your role there.

A. My role with Ultimate Staffing is a Senior Business Solutions Manager. Ultimate Staffing Services is a business line of Roth Staffing Companies, L.P., the only staffing company ever to be ranked #1 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing, privately-owned companies. Ultimate Staffing is a full-service staffing firm providing temporary, temporary-to-hire, direct hire and executive search placements from a nationwide network of branch offices in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Ultimate Staffing specializes in clerical, administrative, customer service, manufacturing and technical production positions. Our company purpose is "to make life better for the people we serve," which is accomplished by fulfilling our brand promise – "We love to create remarkable experiences… every person, every time."

 

Q. How did you hear about SNHRA?

A. Our company has been a member of SNHRA for years.

 

Q. Why did you join SNHRA?

A. I became active in the association in November of 2010, because I enjoy the people I meet at the meeting and love the topics discussed!

 

Q. What benefits of membership in SNHRA do you enjoy the most?

A. The opportunity to network with extremely remarkable people!

 

Q. What challenges are you/is your company facing during the economic downturn? (if any)

A. Identifying candidates. I know most people think it is easy to identify someone in the downturn of the economy, but there are not as many qualified candidates as people think!

 

Q. What are your favorite things to do in Las Vegas?

A. I have two nephews, Aiden (5) and Kyle (3), that I love spending time with. Now that the weather is cooling off we love to go to the park and be outside!

 

Q. What is one of your favorite restaurants in the Las Vegas area? Any recommendations?

A. Café Chloe is by far my favorite. Great food, relaxing atmosphere and the owners are wonderful people! My favorite dish is the Chicken Parmesan!

 

Q. What was one of the last local shows you saw that you enjoyed?

A. Carrot Top was the last show I saw. I was unsure what it would be like, but it was really funny!

 

 

 

Everyone who attended BPTW, the HR awards event of the season, should consider themselves winners!

 

The Southern Nevada Human Resources Association’s 10th Annual Best Places To Work Awards Luncheon took place on Friday, October 14th, 2011, and was a huge success. Here’s a recap of everything that made it such a successful event:

  • 50+ Nominated Companies
  • 290+ Attendees
  • Keynote Speaker Jamie Naughton of Zappos.com
  • Exclusive Media Sponsor - Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Business Press
  • Program Printing Sponsor - Integrated Benefit Resources
  • Award Sponsor - Maalouf Benefit Resources
  • Presentation Sponsor - Fisher and Phillips LLP
  • Table Centerpiece Sponsor - Recruiting Nevada
  • The Amazing Gold Coast staff
  • The SNHRA Board of Directors and SNHRA's Admin and Marketing Team

Nominees were recognized by their employees for doing their absolute best in providing valuable benefits and programs, but most of all, treating their employees with the dignity, respect and kindness that they all deserve, whether their organizations are surviving or thriving.

 


Our 2011 Best Places to Work Nominees

 

The judging, performed by a committee of the SNHRA Board, had a difficult task narrowing down our 53 nominees to just 15 winners.

 

In the Micro Companies Category (1 to 50 employees), First Place was awarded to Geotechnical & Environmental Services, Second Place went to Craig P. Kenney & Associates, and Third Place went to Gatski Commercial Real Estate Services.

 

In the Small Companies Category (51 to 299 employees), First Place was awarded to TWI Group, Inc. Second Place went to Grand Canyon Skywalk, while the Third Place award went to Lionel Sawyer & Collins.


One of our first place winners: TWI Group Inc.

 

In the Medium Companies Category (300 to 1000 employees), First Place was awarded to Roseman University. Our Second Place award was given to Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging Centers. Third Place was awarded to Opportunity Village.

 

In the Large Companies Category (1,001 to 4,999), First Place was awarded to McCarthy. Second Place was awarded to Pioneer Services, while Third Place went to Amerigroup Community Care.

 

In the Mega Companies Category (5,000 + employees), First Place was awarded to Quest Diagnostics. Second Place went to Marriott Vacation Club and Third Place was given to Caesars Entertainment.

 

Again, we’d like to thank all of our sponsors. Please honor their commitment to the HR community by calling or visiting with them whenever you're in need of their respective services.

 


Our 2011 Best Places to Work keynote speaker Jamie Naughton from Zappos.com

 

Also, thanks to all of our attendees for continuing to support our program and special thanks to our SNHRA Board of Directors, The Best Places To Work in Southern Nevada (sm) Program Committee, our Admin and Marketing Team and to our many volunteers.

 

Remember, there is only one original Best Places To Work in Southern Nevada (sm), so be sure to join us again next year by nominating your company or becoming a sponsor in 2012. Always be sure to look for the SNHRA circular logo to know which event is the official, original awards event or any event brought to you by your professional HR association.

 

 

 

From SHRM's We Know Next Blog

 

The day the Jacobs Suchard (now a part of Kraft Foods) Board of Directors promoted me to the C-suite, they strongly suggested I align myself with the CFO. The advice proved excellent, and for the rest of my days in the corner office I was joined at the hip with an outstanding finance executive who is now the CFO of Lindt & Sprüngli, the world's leading chocolatier. My regret is that I did not free up my other hip for Human Resources, a group of eager young managers at the rear of the functional pecking order.

 

Now I must admit that my Nabob Foods and Jacobs Suchard alumni would be the first to tell you that marketing occupied that prime piece of bone real estate. After all, I had come up through the marketing ranks. Yes, we were a marketing-driven company, and yes, my mind was consumed with marketing and strategy; but, it wasn't marketing wizardry alone that made the organization sing. It was the exquisite and enthusiastic melodic rhapsody performed by the complete orchestra. In the background, my Glee Club (HR) made culture their top strategic priority. You see, the "talk" of cultural strategy (we called it the credo) that hung on the walls of the offices and the plant was "walked" by the leadership team. Ultimately, it is the CEO who determines the corporate culture, whether good or bad.

 

To read the rest of this article, click here.

 

 

 

Submitted by LFE Institute - www.lfeinstitute.com

 

Reducing financial-stress-related healthcare costs is one of the key reasons employers sponsor LFE's Financial Wellness solutions for their employees. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide the latest news on laws, regulations, and benefit and healthcare trends, we thought you might find this summary of acronyms for the new healthcare reform act helpful. The ACA (Affordable Care Act), also known as PPACA HCR Healthcare Reform, is complex and confusing because it is filled with acronyms that make it difficult to read without an index. This detailed summary was provided by the attorneys at Haynes Benefits. We hope you find it beneficial.

 

ACA – Affordable Care Act, also known as PPACA

ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act

ADEA – Age Discrimination in Employment Act

AHP – Association Health Plan

CMS – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)

COBRA – Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985

CDHC – Consumer-Driven Health Care

DCAP – Dependent Care Assistance Program

DOL – Department of Labor

DRS – Designated Record Set

EBSA – Employee Benefits Security Administration, formerly known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA)

EEOC – Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

EHR – Electronic Health Records

ERISA – Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

EGTRRA – Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001

EAP – Employee Assistance Program

FICA – Federal Insurance Contributions Act

FSA – Flexible Spending Arrangement

FMLA – Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

GINA – Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

HCR – Health Care Reform, also known as PPACA

HITECH – Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

HMO – Health Maintenance Organization

HRA – Health Reimbursement Arrangement

HSA – Health Savings Account

HHS – Department of Health and Human Services

HDHC – High-Deductible Health Coverage

HDHP – High-Deductible Health Plan

HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

IFR – Interim Final Regulations

IRS – Internal Revenue Service

MSP – Medicare Secondary Payer

MEWA – Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement

MHPA – Mental Health Parity Act

MLR – Medical Loss Ratio

NAIC – National Association of Insurance Commissioners

NMHPA – Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act

MHPAEA – Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

OCR – Office of Civil Rights, an agency of HHS

OHCA – Organized Health Care Arrangement

PDA – Pregnancy Discrimination Act

PEO – Professional Employer Organization

PHI – Protected Health Information

PHSA – Public Health Service Act

PPACA – Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act

PPO – Preferred Provider Organization

QDRO – Qualified Domestic Relations Order

QMCSO – Qualified Medical Child Support Order

SAR – Summary Annual Report

SBC – Summary of Benefits and Coverage

SMM – Summary of Material Modifications

SPD – Summary Plan Description

USERRA – Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

VEBA – Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association

WFTRA – Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004

WHCRA – Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act

 

 

East Career and Technical Academy Extends Offer for Internships ECTA is a magnet Career and Technical Academy with seven diverse programs. High school students spend four years taking program classes, in addition to their core classes, in one of the following academies: Construction Management, Early Childhood Education/Education, Medical Professions, Transportation Technology, Entertainment Business and Marketing, Electronics Engineering Technology, and Culinary Arts. In their senior year, a student can elect to be placed in an internship with a company to apply their skills and knowledge in a "real life" setting. The required length of an internship is 30 hours over 6 weeks and an internship can be paid or nonpaid.

 

An internship program is the best way to cultivate talented, young future employees and interns can assist employers with innovative ideas and technology. We have already begun to build internships with several of our local community businesses, and we would like to invite you to partner with our school to develop additional enriching internship experiences for our students.

 

Please contact Dr. Edler, Community Partnership Coordinator, at 799-8888 ext. 4018 or at lisaedler@interact.ccsd.net if you would like more information about the ECTA internship program and how you can participate as a partner.

 

Government Services Contractor Discriminated Against Pregnant Employee, then Fired Her and Her Husband for Reporting It

 

LAS VEGAS—Engineering Documentation Systems, Inc. (EDSI) violated federal law when it subjected a pregnant administrative assistant with disabilities to discrimination and retaliation at the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today against the government support services contractor. According to the EEOC, an EDSI administrative assistant at the Hawthorne Army Depot informed the company that she was pregnant in January 2009. EEOC contends that a management official denied repeated requests to move her office closer to the restroom to accommodate severe nausea and vomiting arising from her high risk pregnancy.

 

As a result of the denial, the administrative assistant—who had to descend two sets of steep stairs to reach the restroom—fell on at least two occasions. EEOC further asserts that EDSI prevented the administrative assistant's return to work following a temporary medical leave by changing her job description and requiring that she be certified to carry live ammunition and explosives in order to return to work. The manager also allegedly made derogatory remarks about her pregnancy, and treated males who had short term medical conditions more favorably. Ultimately, EDSI fired the administrative assistant as a form of reprisal. EEOC asserts that her husband, also employed by EDSI as a Lead Engineering Technician, was also retaliated against in that he was demoted from his lead position and eventually terminated after participating in the EEOC's investigation of his wife's case.

 

After attempts to reach a pre-litigation settlement failed, the EEOC filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada (EEOC v. Engineering Documentation Systems, Inc., Case No. 3:11-cv-00707), alleging that the company's actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In its lawsuit, the EEOC seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of the victims, along with changes to company policies and practices intended to prevent future instances of discrimin¬ation at EDSI. "Pregnant workers should not be punished or shut out of jobs simply because of their temporary condition, and we are seeing an unfortunate trend in that area," said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office, which includes southern Nevada in its jurisdiction. "Also, in spite of Supreme Court decisions which increased protections against retaliation, we continue to see employers push out workers who complain of discrimination as exemplified in this case." "Workers have the right to report discrimination on the job—even on behalf of another—without reprisal," said Lucy Orta, local director for the EEOC's Las Vegas Local Office. "Employers who retaliate against workers who exercise this right may be subject to steep liability."

 

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov. Read more EEOC press releases at www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom.

 


By: Patrick H. Hicks and Cory G. Walker. Patrick H. Hicks is the Founding Shareholder of Littler Mendelson's Las Vegas and Reno offices. He can be reached at phicks@littler.com. Cory G. Walker is an Associate in Littler Mendelson's Las Vegas Office. He can be reached at cgwalker@littler.com.

 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently announced a measure designed to provide some certainty for employers is what is commonly a very uncertain area or employee administration. On September 21, 2011, the IRS announced the new Voluntary Compliance Settlement Program (VCSP). Where an employer is concerned about its classification of certain workers as non-employee contractors, the VCSP will allow the employer to proactively resolve the classification issues, as they relate to tax obligations, by paying a small amount of tax in exchange for reclassification of contractors as employees on a forward-going basis.*

 

As explained by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, "This settlement program provides certainty and relief to employers in an important area. This is part of a wider effort to help taxpayers and businesses to help give them a fresh start with their tax obligations."

 

A taxpayer participating in the VCSP will agree to prospectively treat the class or classes of workers as employees for future tax periods. In exchange, the taxpayer:

  • Will pay 10% of the employment tax liability that would otherwise have been due on compensation paid to the workers for the most recent tax year, determined under the reduced rates of section 3509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
  • Will not be liable for any interest and penalties on the amount; and
  • Will not be subject to an employment tax audit with respect to the previous classification of the workers being reclassified under the VCSP. **

In addition, while no payment is due with the application, full and complete payment will be due at the time the VCSP closing agreement is returned to the IRS.

 

Employers participating in the VCSP are not obligated to reclassify all independent contractors and may elect specific workers. For example, a construction contractor that uses drywall installers, plumbers and electricians as independent contractors may decide to reclassify only the group of drywall installers.

 

Because the taxpayer pays only 10% of the reduced rate of employment tax liability, which is 10.68% under IRC section 3509, participation in VCSP allows the employer to pay to the IRS about 1% of the compensation paid to the workers being reclassified. For example, if a taxpayer paid $1,000,000 in the most recently completed tax year to workers that are the subject of the VCSP, then, under section 3509, the employment taxes applicable to that amount would be $106,800 (10.68% of $1,000,000). Under the VCSP, the taxpayer pays 10% of $106,800, or $10,680.

 

Unsurprisingly from an IRS program, Employers apply by filing a new form, Form 8952, Application for Voluntary Classification Settlement Program. The form is to be filed at least 60 days before the employer wants to begin treating the workers as employees. The two-page form requests basic information about the employer, a description of the workers, and the amounts paid to them for the most recently completed tax year. The IRS will first determine whether the taxpayer is eligible, and, if so, will contact the taxpayer or its representative to complete the process. The IRS retains discretion to reject any taxpayer from the VCSP, including taxpayers that otherwise meet the basic eligibility criteria.

 

With regard to eligibility, the VCSP is available to private employers, tax-exempt organizations and government entities. To be eligible, an applicant must:

  • Consistently have treated the workers in the past as nonemployees;
  • Have filed all required Forms 1099 for the workers for the previous three years; and
  • Not currently be under audit by the IRS, the Department of Labor, or a state agency concerning the classification of the workers at issue.

Taxpayers that are not currently undergoing any audit and have questionable classes of workers should think carefully about whether participating in the VCSP makes sense. For example, by applying for the VCSP, taxpayers will be foregoing their rights to assert "safe harbor" relief under Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 in the future, and thus potentially maintain independent contractor status for the workers. A taxpayer might also be concerned that, if the IRS does not accept its application, a roadmap has been provided to the IRS for a future audit, as it is unclear at present what happens to this information should the IRS, in its discretion, not accept a VCSP application. Of further concern, however, is that the three-year extension of the statute of limitations appears to apply to employment taxes generally, and not merely the classification of workers subject to the VCSP, which may be a deterrent to taxpayers agreeing to apply for the VCSP.

 

If a taxpayer is not currently under audit but has previously undergone an audit, they may still be eligible for the VCSP if the results of the audit have been followed. It is unclear whether, for example, a cursory investigation such as one by a state workforce development agency into a claim for unemployment benefits would constitute an audit for purposes of the VCSP.

 

Because the program seems to raise as many questions as it resolves, it is anticipated that the IRS will provide some further clarification of how the VCSP will work, such as whether unemployment benefits audits constitute an audit or whether the three year statute extension applies to all employment taxes or only the particular classification at issue. Employers who have questions about the VCSP should contact experienced employment counsel to review the pros and cons of participating.

 

*See IRS Announcement 2011-64.

 

**Participating employers will, for the first three years under the program, also be subject to a special six-year statute of limitations, rather than the three-year limitation period that generally applies to payroll taxes.

 

 

Unusual Interviews – Part One

 

Hiring managers from 100 random corporations were asked to describe their most unusual experience interviewing prospective employees.

 

  • Candidate challenged the interviewer to an arm wrestling match.

  • Candidate wore headphones, explaining that she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time.

  • Candidate fell and broke arm during interview.

  • Candidate announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewer's office.

  • Candidate explained that one of her long-term goals was to replace the interviewer.

  • Candidate said he never finished high school because he was kidnapped and kept in a closet in Mexico.

  • Balding candidate excused himself and returned to the office a few minutes later wearing a hairpiece.

  • Candidate said that if he was hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.

  • Candidate interrupted interview to phone her therapist for advice on how to answer specific interview questions.

  • Candidate brought large dog to interview.

  • Candidate refused to sit down and insisted on being interviewed standing up.

  • Candidate dozed off during interview.


We hope that all of our Members and Friends find the articles contained within R E S O U R C E S  useful in your HR environment.
Many thanks to all of you who responded to our requests
for articles and research for this newsletter.

If you have anything you wish to contribute to the next issue, please do not hesitate to email Barry Lippold at barry@nthdegreegroup.net.

 

 

 

Contact Barry Lippold at 702-281-6528 for pricing and availability
to sponsor future R E S O U R C E S editions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


© 2008-9 SNHRA.ORG All Rights Reserved. | Designed by Marc Ison Design Plus, Inc.

 

Quick Nav

SNHRA.ORG

Newsletter: 2011 Edition 5