Preventing Harassment

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Asking an employee, directly or indirectly, to submit to a sexual advance in exchange for some benefit at work.

• A person feels that employment decisions depend on whether he or she submits to or rejects the conduct.

Hostile Work Environment Harassment

• Pervasive sexual or gender-based activity or comments
• Verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of that person's (or that person's relatives', friends', or associates') race, skin color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or other protected class

To be considered harassment under the law, the conduct must:

New I-9 Form Now Available

The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the updated Form I-9 which all employers must use to verify the identify and employment authorization of new hires no later than May 7, 2013.

Questions? Ask your HR expert.

As you will see when you look over the new I-9 document, the entire form and instructions increased in length from five to nine pages. The additional length appears to be due to a lot more detail in the instructions for both employees and employers, which is good to see. The form itself also has a different look. The layout appears to be clearer with regard to what needs to be completed and by whom.

Get the New Form here.

Required Posting Update | Post by March 7, 2013

There have been a few changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) section of your required postings effective March 8, 2013. What changed? 

  

STEP 1 

Please print this temporary flier to stay compliant ASAP & tape to current poster.  

FMLA | EFF. 3/08/2013 

STEP 2

Cardinal will soon have new posters will the updated requirements available. Request a poster be mailed to you once available.

REQUEST POSTER 

Have any questions? Feel free to give us a call! 
800.342.4742

Cover Oregon

Oregon's Health Insurance Exchange 

Once small business owners realize that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax/penalty does not apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees their next questions are usually focused on the individual mandate and the cost of health care coverage. It goes without saying that cost is foremost on the minds of most employers, especially for those companies where coverage is not offered and that outlay is not currently built into their business model.

The ACA will require anyone who does not obtain health insurance from work to buy it from their state exchange (or if there is no state exchange they will be directed to a federal exchange).  Each exchange will determine the available plans and rates for small employers (initially less than 50 employees) and individuals.  In Oregon our exchange is called Cover Oregon (www.http://coveroregon.com/). On the exchange's website there is a cost estimate for individual plans but this is based on data from the Congressional Budget Office.  The Cover Oregon website is estimating an individual plan at about $300 per month. 

Cover Oregon began taking insurance provider applications to offer health care plans on the exchange as of November 30, 2012. In the application they note that health insurance rates would need to be turned into the insurance division by March 31, 2013.  Final rates would be approved July 1, 2013 and insurance plans go on sale October 1st of the same year.  However on the draft from an Oregon Insurance Division meeting on February 26, 2013 the new deadline for turning in rates is on April 30, 2013.  It is unclear if the remaining dates will need to be changed as well.  

I should note that our health insurance exchange is ahead of the game compared to other states. Governor John Kitzhaber is a former emergency room doctor who helped craft the Oregon Health Plan.  It is hoped that Oregon will remain ahead of the game with the best possible plan for all stakeholders.

Arin J. Carmack

Helping Employees find the Greener Pasture: Your Side of the Fence

In the past few years, many companies have had to tighten their budgets in lieu of further downsizing their employee headcount as a result of the economic recession that fell onto the US during the last quarter of 2007. Consequently, organizational strategy focused on lean workforces with employees often juggling multiple roles without seeing an increase in pay or promotion in job title. Due to the fact that most companies were not hiring during those troubled years, workers simply put up with the burgeoning workloads in their current jobs. Morale often suffered, but it went by the wayside as employers struggled to keep afloat and employees realized all too well that there were few alternatives in the job market.

As the economy has seen a rebirth of job creation in many sectors, employers have been hiring again but also focusing on the damage of the past few years. Many employees who were exemplary performers often did not receive financial incentives during the recession years. These workers may now be seeking opportunities outside of the organization, especially if they continue to feel unappreciated, overburdened and if they have not yet seen a significant upturn in their compensation.