TM
Volume 11, Issue 4
A publication of Employee Management Services
Keeping our Clients Connected
Wellness
Why Weight Management Is
Important
Popular belief is that most people gain from five to ten
pounds between Thanksgiving and the New Year. The
National Institute of Health has found this is not really the
case. The good news is that people don’t gain as much
weight as originally thought during the holidays. The bad
news is that weight gained over the winter holidays isn’t lost
during the rest of the year.
This conclusion was reached by researchers at the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The results of their study appear
in the March 23, 2000 New England Journal of Medicine.
“These findings suggest that developing ways to avoid holiday weight gain may be extremely important for preventing
obesity and the diseases associated with it,” said NICHD
Director Duane Alexander, M.D.
“Because losing weight is so difficult, it is important to learn
when and why people gain weight so that effective strategies to prevent obesity can be developed,” said study coauthor Susan Z. Yanovski, M.D., Executive Director of NIDDK’s
National Task Force on the Treatment and Prevention of
Obesity.
Previous studies suggested that Americans gain an average
of 0.4 to 1.8 pounds each year during their adult lives, Dr.
Yanovski said. It was unknown, however, if people gained
weight at a steady rate throughout the year, or just at
certain times, such as during the winter holiday season. The
researchers indicated that “cumulative effects of yearly
weight gain during the fall and winter are likely to contribute
to the substantial increase in body weight that frequently
occurs during adulthood.”
Promotion of weight stability during the fall and winter
months may prove useful as a strategy to prevent
age-related weight gain in the United States.
continued on page 2
Payroll
2011 Federal Minimum Wage
Increase
In 2006 the State of Ohio enacted a law that ties the Ohio
minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index as of August
of the previous year. This was an effort to have the
minimum wage in Ohio increase in direct proportion to the
rate of inflation for the state. As part of this law the Ohio
minimum wage for 2011 has increased to $7.40 per hour
for all FLSA non-exempt EEs age 16 and older that do not
receive tipped income on a regular basis. The minimum
wage for tipped EEs rises to $3.70 per hour or 1/2 of the
new minimum wage so long as the EEs make up the
difference in tipped income.
Source - www.com.ohio.gov/laws
www.emshro.com
continued from “Why Weight Management Is Important ,” page 1
Small weight gains may cause big problems
Eating too much and moving too little; yes, but there may
be more to the story.
•
•
•
•
On average, women may experience a gain of
approximately 10-15 pounds in the years surrounding
menopause. Several theories, including decreased
estrogen production and decreased thyroid activity
may indicate a slow-down in metabolism. With lowered
metabolism, the same caloric intake will cause weight
gain.
Lack of sleep may keep you from losing weight. Lack
of sleep may result in fatigue, poor health, and—
surprisingly—weight gain. People who suffer from sleep
apnea and other sleep disorders run the risk of packing
on additional pounds.
People who stop smoking generally gain between five
and ten pounds. But the health effects of such a small
increase, according to the America n Lung Association,
are insignificant when compared to the benefits of
giving up tobacco.
•
•
How important is exercise, really?
•
•
•
•
Volunteers in a National Institutes of Health study
(March, 2000) who reported more physical activity had
less holiday weight gain. “This suggests that increasing
physical activity may be an effective method for
preventing weight gain during this high-risk time,”
reported Dr. Yanovski, M.D., Ph.D. in a NICHD study.
Physical inactivity is hazardous to your health. In 1996,
The Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and
Health documented and cataloged research
confirming physical fitness to be a major factor in
preventative medicine. This position is consistently
reinforced in continued research.
Regular exercise will improve your quality of sleep, as will
reducing or eliminating your intake of alcohol, caffeine
and tobacco.
Regular exercise increases your metabolism. Aerobic
exercise burns fat while weight training builds muscle
which in turn burns more calories.
Higher body
weights are
associated with
an increase in
mortality from all
causes. Obese
individuals with
co-morbidities
are those who
are at the highest
risk because they
tend to have
multiple risk
factors. Being
overweight or
obese substantially increases the risk of chronic conditions and illnesses such as hypertension, dyslipidemia,
type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and sleep
apnea and respiratory problems, as well as cancers of
the endometrium, breast, prostate, and colon,
according to the National Lung, Blood and Heart
Institute.
GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) has been
directly linked to even small gains in body weight,
without the person being overweight. One of the
symptoms of GERD is heartburn.
Even a small weight gain can have a big impact on
your body’s ability to use insulin, and that increases
the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Insulin is the
hormone that allows blood sugar to enter cells, where it
is either burned for energy or stored as fat. Too many
overstuffed fat cells, through weight gain, can lead to
the inability to use insulin properly.
Workplace
Is Your Refrigerator A Workplace
Hazard?
More employees are now bringing their lunch to work
instead of going out to eat. A recent survey showed that
approximately 70% of employees are doing this in order to
help save money. Even though the number of employees
bringing a lunch has increased, only a small percentage
of those employees are cleaning up after themselves and
throwing away leftovers.
Workplace refrigerators are not cleaned out as often as
home refrigerators, if they are
even cleaned out at all. A
study conducted by ConAgra
and the American Dietetic
Association, found that 44
percent of workplace fridges
are cleaned only once a
month, and 22 percent are
cleaned only once or twice
a year. That means two-thirds
are not cleaned regularly,
and perhaps 100 percent are
cleaned less than the
restroom toilet seats!
Not only can not cleaning out
workplace fridges be a smelly
situation, it can also be a
health hazard to employees.
Employees may be
consuming food or
condiments that are past their
expiration date. In one workplace, employees were using a jar of mayonnaise that
expired 2 years prior. In another workplace, employees
were slowly sickened when the milk for their coffee went
bad because it was not reaching the proper cooling
temperature due to an over packed fridge.
It’s not just the fridge that’s disgusting; workplace kitchen
areas can contain decomposed food smeared on
counters and other kitchen surfaces and in sink drains.
There can also be issues with rotting food in cubicle or
office wastebaskets if they are not emptied on a regular
basis.
Workplace fridges don’t have to become a hazard. The
most successfully run refrigerators often establish a formal
policy and follow some basic etiquette guidelines. If you
don’t have a policy or guidelines, anything can happen
beyond your wildest dreams.
Some workplaces have instituted policies such as the entire
refrigerator is cleaned out every Friday and all leftover
items are disposed of. Others have the cleaning staff
remove any lunches that appear to have spoiled, in
addition to opened drink containers.
Some other guidelines for keeping workplace refrigerators
clean are:
• Put someone in charge. That doesn’t mean that the
person has to do the cleaning, but he or she can
create the cleaning schedule and enforce the rules.
• Be courteous. Don’t fill the fridge, freezer and pantry
with so much food that no one else has space.
• Label all food. This
includes unopened soda cans
(someone might think they are
left from a meeting) and
condiments.
• If food has no label, see if you
can find out whom it belongs
to and ask before dipping in.
• Don’t store anything super
smelly. Someone whose desk
is nearby may get a strong
whiff each time the door is
opened.
• Be responsible. If you know
you’re going to be out of
the office for several days, do
something with your food –
take it home or give it away.
• If there’s theft, talk to the boss
and then bring it up at a staff
meeting. Say something like,
“Someone is stealing my lunch
and I’m going to ask that it’s
stopped.”
• Post a sign on the refrigerator door. “Do not take food
or drinks that do not belong to you.”
• Do clean up spills in the fridge immediately. Don’t
leave them for someone else to clean up.
• Confirm that the fridge door is closed completely.
Doors not closed all the way can result in the inability of
cold air to circulate properly in order to chill foods.
• Do not adjust temperature settings. This may also result
in foods not chilling properly.
• If all else fails, take a personal cooler instead. But it
would be a shame if it comes to that, because that’s
not the point of having a community refrigerator.
So why not start off 2011 with a clean workplace
refrigerator. It will help in keeping employees happy, safe
from food born illnesses, and keep the office smelling a
whole lot better.
Source: Hr.BLR.com; dallasnews.com; chronicle.augusta.com; gneil.com
Benefits
NEW MassMutual 401(k) Plan for
2011!
After careful consideration, the Staffmark/EMS
Retirement Committee has elected to transfer the 401(k)
plan recordkeeping and investment services to
MassMutual. MassMutual is recognized financial industry
leader and has been in the retirement services business for
over 60 years.
We chose MassMutual for a number of reasons that benefit
all of our participating employers and participants like you,
including among many other benefits:
•
Providing better employee/participant solutions utilizing
multiple channels (internet, print, and on-site educational support)
•
Simplifying tasks for employers to offer the plan to employees (for example, tracking eligibility and sending
materials directly to newly eligible employees’ homes)
•
Stronger compliance and fiduciary support solutions
that contribute to keeping the plan compliant with the
continual changes in regulatory requirements
•
Flexibility for employers like yourself to offer a plan with
the unique provisions that work best for you and your
employees.
MassMutual will allow participants online access to their
personal accounts to make deferral changes, make fund
option changes, update personal information and monitor
their retirement growth. Keep your eyes open for more to
come!
Safety
Safety Corner
For most business people, the acronym OSHA sends chills
down your spine. The mere thought of working “with”
OSHA to provide a safer work environment for all
employees is second only to a double root canal. I have
worked with all levels of OSHA over the last 14 years (state,
federal, local office), and OSHA can be a great partner for
employers like yourself.
With that said, OSHA’s website (www.osha.gov) is not the
most “user friendly” place on the world wide web. They
seem to have packed as much info into a little space as
they could and made it impossible to search efficiently for
any one topic. But that should not deter you from
utilizing the information and tools they provide for
employers, some of which can make becoming OSHA
compliant a bit easier.
Another service that OSHA provides to employers is a
consulting service. OSHA is actually has a consultation
division that is available to visit your facility without fear of
citation. EMS has many customers that have taken
advantage of this service provided by OSHA. OSHA’s
consultation services can be found listed on the OSHA
website or you can call your local OSHA office. The local
OSHA office in southern Ohio can be reached at
513.841.4132. Make sure you are clear when calling that
you want to talk to the consultation officers. They can be a
great tool for all employers, no matter the industry or
current safety program.
FMLA
2011 Employee Federal
Withholdings Update
Millions of workers will see their take-home pay rise during
2011 because the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance
Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 provides
a two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees,
reducing their Social Security tax withholding rate from
6.2 percent to 4.2 percent of wages paid. This reduced
Social Security withholding will have no effect on the
employee’s future Social Security benefits.
The new law also maintains the income-tax rates that have
been in effect in recent years for Federal Withholdings.
Human Resources
HR Challenge
Do employers have the right to ban discussions among
their employees about their wages?
A)
B)
C)
Yes, so long as the employer has a written policy
stipulating that such discussions are prohibited.
Yes, so long as the employees are not unionized.
No, employees have the right to discuss their wages.
Correct Answer:
C) No, employees have the right to discuss their wages.
Employers should start using the new withholding tables
and reducing the amount of Social Security tax withheld
as soon as possible in 2011 but not later than Jan. 31, 2011.
EMS has these changes in place and has extended the
rate reduction starting with all payroll issued after 01/01/11
to all EEs.
EMS will handle the withholding changes, so EEs won’t
need to take any additional action, such as filling out a
new W-4 withholding form to receive the tax reduction.
This reduction to the EE’s Social Security will have no effect
on the ER side match which remains at 6.20% for 2011. The
wage basis for Social Security in 2011 remains at $106,800
and as always there is no wage basis for Medicare taxes.
Medicare taxes remain at 1.45% of all wages paid in 2011.
Source: IRS.gov
Explanation:
The key provision of the National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA) is Section 7, a declaration of employee rights. One
of the rights protected by Section 7 is the right of
employees to discuss wages and benefits. The National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which enforces the NLRA,
has a long-standing policy against any prohibitions on
employees discussing their wages or other terms or
conditions of employment. As such, a rule or policy
maintained by an employer that would reasonably tend
to chill employees’ exercise of their rights under the Act is
unlawful, even if the rule is not enforced. Moreover, courts
have shown that they are more than willing to protect
employees and their right to discuss wages. It is important
to remember that the NLRA protects employees even if
they are not unionized.
Source: hrchallenge.blr.com
continued
Policy from “HR Challenge,” page 3
Where’s My Raise?—How to Handle
Tough Pay Conversations
We’ve gone through two tough years for compensation,
and 2011 isn’t shaping up to be much better. And that
means another year of tough questions from employees.
Teresa Murphy and David Wudyka have some ideas about
how to make those conversations go a little better.
Murphy is the principal consultant for HR Partner
Advantage, an HR advisory firm based in Raleigh, N.C.
Wudyka, SPHR, MBA, BSIE, is the founder and managing
principal of Westminster Associates, a Massachusetts-based
human resource and compensation firm. They made their
comments during a recent webinar sponsored by BLR.
Training Your Managers
Training managers and supervisors is your armor against
lawsuits, says Murphy. They’ll take most of the hits, at least
initially. If they aren’t prepared for the tough question, they
can give a wrong answer that makes things worse.
Employees assume that managers know what they are
talking about. They’ll listen and they will pass on what they
heard.
Watch out for your managers, says Murphy. For example
they may try to arbitrarily move people to be exempt
because no money for overtime.
How to Handle the Most Common Complaints
Murphy shared her suggestions for handling the most
common compensation complaints.
Complaint: “I’m one of your
best workers!” Honor the
employee’s contributions, says
Murphy, but don’t overdo it.
Use concrete examples in your
conversation to show that you
do indeed realize how
valuable this worker has been.
At the same time, if the worker
hasn’t been that great an asset,
don’t “overpraise” what he or
she has done. Overly positive
statements might come back
to haunt you later if the worker
files any sort of claim, Murphy
explains.
Three Critical Steps
To prepare for 2011, says
Wudyka, HR departments
should consider these three
critical steps:
Know the compensation trends
for the new year. You need
to know the trends across the
country, within your region, and
within your industry (as much as
possible). In comp, you have
to be scanning the market and
analyzing surveys. You have to
have the data to make good
decisions. Ideally, you have a
survey that gives information
that is local and in your industry,
Wudyka says.
Decide upfront how you’ll divide the available
compensation dollars. Before you allot and award any
increases, make the broad decisions about compensation
budgets.
Some companies just divide up the budget equally, but
others allocate funds differently across departments
depending on the value of the function to the
organization.
Prepare your managers and supervisors. Most of all, says
Wudyka, prepare your supervisors and managers for
dealing with tough pay conversations with their teams. You
especially want to manage any unrealistic expectations
your rank-and-file employees may already have.
Help the employee to
understand that the situation
isn’t a reflection of individual
performance, but a reflection of the overall economy and
state of the organization.
Be as upfront as you can if you’ve “maxed out” your ability
reward this employee. If you’ve done all that you can do
to offer this worker a pay raise, make sure he or she
understands (in dollar terms) how you fought for the money
to offer a raise in the first place. (Example: If he or she got
a raise that’s larger than two-thirds of the workforce, it’s
important that this worker recognize how well he or she
made out.)
Explore non-monetary rewards that might appeal to this
employee and show that you recognize his or her efforts.
You want to have some of these in place—leave early,
work on a special project, modest gift card—so you can
use them when needed without breaking the bank.
Source: www.BLR.com