The Seltzer Group Blog

For more information on the new definition, please contact the Health and Human Resources Department at The Seltzer Group!

This Information and the FMLA apply only to these employers:

• Public agencies, including local, state, and federal employers and local education agencies (schools); and
• Private sector employers who had 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

DOL Redefines Son and Daughter for FMLA

The Department of Labor (DOL) has expanded the definition of "son and daughter" under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The change is designed to ensure that an employee who assumes the day-to-day responsibility of caring for a child receives parental rights to family leave regardless of their legal or biological relationship.

Under FMLA, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during a 12-month period to care for a son or daughter with a serious health condition. The law also permits eligible employees to take time off following the birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child in order to care for that child.

FMLA Definition of Son and Daughter

The FMLA now defines a "son or daughter" as a, "biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age, or 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability." "In loco parentis" (in place of a parent) commonly refers to a person who lawfully assumes parental obligations without going through a legal adoption of a child.

Many children in the United States do not live in traditional families with their biological father and mother. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, stepparents, foster parents, guardians, domestic partners, older siblings, and family friends often provide daily care and/or financial support for a child. These individuals with parenting relationships may now be entitled to FMLA benefits from their employers.

What Employers Need to Do

Employers should communicate these changes to management and employees who are involved in administering FMLA benefits. These expanded leave rights could result in more employees taking leave, which will affect administration of group health plans. Employers should review and revise FMLA policies to include the new definition of "son and daughter," if needed. Employers may require employees who request FMLA benefits to provide "reasonable documentation or a simple statement" that a family relationship exists when the employee has no legal or biological relationship to a child.

More information on the new definition is available on the DOL Wage and Hour Division website at http://www.dol.gov/whd . 

Governor Rendell has signed legislation that extends Pennsylvania Mini-COBRA coverage for up to 15 months for certain individuals.

• Individuals who experienced a qualifying event on or before May 31, 2010 are entitled to PA Mini-COBRA coverage for a total of 15 months.
• PA Mini-COBRA participants whose coverage terminated before July 9, 2010 have the right to reinstate their Mini-COBRA coverage for an additional 6 months.

Individuals who experience a qualifying event on or after June 1, 2010 are entitled to PA Mini-COBRA coverage for up to nine months. These individuals are not entitled to the premium subsidy.

Federal COBRA subsidies under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are no longer available. Therefore, subsidies are no longer available for employees who were involuntarily terminated on or after June 1, 2010 for PA Mini-COBRA.

Pennsylvania Mini-COBRA applies only to insured group health plans with less than 20 employees.

Please contact the Health and Human Resources Department at The Seltzer Group for more information.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued their final rule on “Electronic Signature and Storage of Form I-9”.  This final rule permits employers to complete, sign, scan and store the Form I-9 electronically as long as certain performance standards set forth in the final rule for the electronic filing system are met.

DHS noted that the final rule makes minor modifications to the interim final rule to clarify that employers:

• Must complete a Form I-9 within three business – not calendar – days
• May use paper, electronic systems or a combination of paper and electronic systems.
• May change electronic storage systems as long as the systems meet the performance requirements of the regulations.
• Need not retain audit trails for each time a Form I-9 is viewed electronically, but only when the Form I-9 is created, completed, updated, modified, altered or corrected.
• May provide or transmit a confirmation of a Form I-9 transaction but are required to do so unless the employee requests a copy.

For more information, please visit the DHS website www.dhs.gov.  The final rule takes effect August 23, 2010.

The Seltzer Group, located in Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Haven and Pottsville, has an update regarding the COBRA Subsidy.

As many of you may have heard, Unemployment Benefits have been extended again.  With that extension there was speculation that the COBRA subsidy would be extended also; it has not!

Below is the information from the DOL website regarding the latest legislation.

COBRA Continuation Coverage Assistance Under ARRA

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides a COBRA premium reduction for eligible individuals who are involuntarily terminated from employment through the end of May 2010. Due to the statutory sunset, the COBRA premium reduction under ARRA is not available for individuals who experience involuntary terminations after May 31, 2010. However, individuals who qualified on or before May 31, 2010 may continue to pay reduced premiums for up to 15 months, as long as they are not eligible for another group health plan or Medicare.

The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 signed by the President on July 22, 2010, did not extend the COBRA premium reduction.

Individuals who believe they have been incorrectly denied the subsidy may request the Employee Benefits Security Administration review their denial and issue a determination within 15 business days. The application to request a review is available at http://www.dol.gov/COBRA.

OSHA has issued a directive effective July 8 and continuing until Sept. 30, telling its regional administrators and enforcement personnel how to carry out an extended National Emphasis Program for process safety management–that is, control of highly hazardous chemicals at or above the threshold quantities in the PSM standard.

Top five OSHA-cited sections of lockout/tagout standards.

Many people wonder every year about whether or not to pay their interns.  To give you some guidance, please visit the Deparment of Labors website for Fact Sheet #71 http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf

For more information on the Fair Labor Standards Act, you can visit the DOL website at www.dol.gov or you can contact Ann Marie Blashock or Jennifer Davis at The Seltzer Group, with locations in Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Haven and Pottsville.

Summer means picnics, barbecues, parades, and fireworks displays, especially around the 4th of July.  Summer also means an increase in injuries from backyard grills, bonfires and fireworks.  In 2006, an estimated 9,200 people were treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries, 36 percent of whom were under 15 years old.

Children between the ages of 10 and 14 were at three times the risk of fireworks injuries than the general population.  About a third of the injuries were from small firecrackers, 21 percent from bottle rockets and 20 percent from sparklers.  In 2004, fireworks caused $21 million in direct property damage. 

The National Safety Council advises that the best way to safely enjoy this 4th of July is to watch a public fireworks display conducted by professionals.

However, if fireworks are legal where you live and you decide to use them, be sure to follow these important safety tips:

- Never allow young children to handle fireworks

- Older children should use fireworks only under close adult supervision.

- Light fireworks outdoors in a clear area away from onlookers, houses and flammable materials.

- Light one device at a time; maintain a safe distance when lighting.

- Do not allow running or horseplay while fireworks are being used.

- Never ignite devices in a container.

- Do not try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks; douse and soak them with water and discard them safely.

- Keep a bucket of water nearby to fully extinguish fireworks that don't go off on in case of fire.

 To make sure your home insurance is the best it can be, call us today @ 877-801-5115 or visit our virtual insurance office @ www.seltzegrp.com

Sunday is July 4^th and that means picnics, parties, and sun! OSHA offers safety tips on how to protect your self in the summer heat, whether you’re working or playing outside.

 Clink on the link below for a pocket-sized card with tips on how to protect yourself from skin cancer and block the sun’s harmful UV rays.  

http://www.workcompprofessionals.com/advisory/archive-0000/L5eBull2010/images/pdfs/osha3166.pdf

* For more helpful tips like this or to sign up for The Seltzer Group’s monthly workers compensation newsletter, please email jtahaney@seltzergrp.com.

The Seltzer Group with locations in Schuylkill Haven, Orwigsburg, and Pottsville, Pennsylvania, serves businesses and individuals locally, regionally, and on the national level.  The Seltzer Group is a proud member of the Keystone Insurers Group.

For more information please visit our Virtual Insurance Office at www.seltzergrp.com.