Employee benefits
Work from anywhere has been a necessity, an epithet, an obstacle, and an opportunity over the last 3 years. To paraphrase Aristotle’s axiom about Nature (“Horror Vacui”), business abhors a vacuum. Where one occurs, it is quickly filled. Work from anywhere started as a COVID-induced necessity. During the lockdowns of 2020-2021 (and longer in some places) we all had a crash course in video calling, VPNs, and virtual meetings. Employees quickly expanded the definition of anywhere. They tired of shunting the children off to a bedroom during conference calls, or using office-like backdrops to hide their kitchen cabinets. Soon they began changing their backgrounds to something more aspirational, like a mountain cabin or a scenic lake. From there it wasn’t much of a leap to make the mental shift from a make-believe environment to a physical one. Pretty soon employees were calling in from real mountain cabins. In many cases, they shifted to someplace where the cost of living was much lower than in their former metropolitan workspace. Work from Anywhere as an epithet and an obstacle As employees moved further afield from their office environment, bosses began to sound off. “We aren’t going to pay Los Angeles wages to someone who has a Boise cost of living,” was a commonly heard complaint. Most put up with it because qualified help was getting harder to find. Hiring remotely was too hard a new skill to master. The complaints of employers grew louder as they began to ask employees to return to their former location of working activity. They made arguments about deteriorating corporate culture or a lack of mentoring opportunities. At the same time, stories surfaced about workers who were getting full-time paychecks from multiple employers, or who were “quiet quitting” by doing as little as possible. The “Great Resignation” forced many organizations to put up with it. If you wanted to keep employees, you needed to accommodate their demands. Then the work-from-anywhere poaching started. If an employee could do the job from a thousand miles away, why not just hire people from a thousand miles away? Now recruiters could dangle Los Angeles wages at candidates from Boise. Many employers saw work from anywhere as a curse costing them their best talent. Work from Anywhere as an Opportunity But as I said at the outset, business abhors a vacuum. Every action has a reaction. When the job can be done from anywhere, does that mean anywhere? If the higher cost of living centers can fill their needs by hiring people who are accustomed to earning less, why shouldn’t employers look at those candidates before the local talent? The Internet allows almost-instant communication across countries, what about across oceans? In the last few months, I’ve worked with employers who are hiring accountants in India, staffing recruiters in the Philippines, programmers in Argentina, support techs in Colombia, and screening nurses in Nicaragua. None of these employers are multinationals. Each one fits the SBA’s definition of a small business. Their new employees are educated, English speaking, have the same hours as the employer, and are thrilled for the opportunity. Some are hired directly through a local placement agency. Others work for an organization in their home country that makes them exclusive to the client and promises to replace them if needed. Most of the wages appear to be about 50% more than the same job would pay in the country of residence, and roughly half of what the position in the U.S. would cost. Business has once again filled a vacuum. I wonder what is next? This article was originally published by John F. Dini, CBEC, CExP, CEPA on
This past month, in Stericycle, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a new amorphous legal standard it will use to judge whether union-free employer’s rules and policies are lawful under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The Stericycle approach dispensed the categorical approach which identified certain policies as always being lawful. Now every policy will be reviewed based on the particular facts facing that employer. Among the policies that no longer enjoy blanket protections are: Rules restricting cameras in the workplace; Basic civility rules; Confidentiality rules for proprietary information; Social media restrictions; Rules prohibiting employee involvement in strikes outside of the employment context; Rules allowing the search of employee property; Rules restricting communication with the media; and Rules requiring confidentiality during ongoing investigation. Moving forward, the NLRB will analyze all policies using a two-step process: Step One: The NLRB’s General Counsel must prove the challenged rule has a reasonable tendency to chill employees’ exercise of their rights from the perspective of an economically dependent employee (in the past, the Board analyzed whether rules chill the rights from the perspective of a reasonable employee). Step Two: If Step One is satisfied, the employer may rebut the finding by proving the rule advances a legitimate and substantial business interest, and the employer is unable to advance that interest with a more narrowly tailored rule. What does this mean for you? This new standard increases the likelihood that employer handbooks are unlawful under the NLRA. To make matters worse—the NLRB can find an employer guilty for having an unlawful policy even though the policy was never enforced! This means old, dormant sections of handbooks could still land an employer in hot water!
When considering religious accommodation, employers have enjoyed great latitude with accepting or rejecting requested religious accommodations. This was thanks in large part to the Supreme Court’s 1977 ruling in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, which held an employer need only show it would bear more than a “de minimis” cost/effort to demonstrate that a religious accommodation is an undue hardship under the law. However, in the recent Supreme Court term, the US Supreme Court upended the “de minimis” cost standard. In Groff v. Dejoy, the justices unanimously ruled that Title VII requires the employer to show they would bear a “substantial increase” in cost/effort to demonstrate that religious accommodation is an undue hardship. The Case Gross v. Dejoy involved a dispute between the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) and former employee Gerald Groff. Groff, an evangelical Christian who observes Sunday as a day of rest, requested an accommodation to not work on Sundays. In response, the USPS granted the accommodation to the extent they could redistribute Groff’s Sunday shifts. However, on the days where the USPS could not redistribute Groff’s shifts, Groff was required to work. Groff refused to work on any Sunday and was subject to progressive discipline for failing to work until he ultimately resigned rather than be fired. Groff sued under Title VII but lost his case in the district court and the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Both courts applied Trans World Airlines to the case and found that USPS established it would bear “more than a de minimis” cost in granting Groff’s accommodation request. The Plot Twist In a shockingly-not-shocking ruling, the Supreme Court upended the Trans World Airlines ruling, opting to substitute a “substantial” cost/effort standard for the “de minimis” cost/effort standard. The “substantial” cost/effort standard is a fact-specific inquiry. The Court provided some factors to analyze, including the accommodation being requested and the accommodation’s real-world impact on the Employer considering the nature, size, and operating costs of an employer. In contrast to the previous standard, some additional costs/efforts may be insufficient to rise to the level of an undue burden. Instead, the burden must rise to an “excessive” or “unjustifiable” level. The Impact In light of this ruling, employers must revisit their religious accommodation policies. Employers should update their handbooks, communicate the heightened standard to Human Resources, and develop a strategy for analyzing the “cost” or “effort” imposed by future religious accommodation requests. Brody and Associates regularly advises management on complying with the latest local, state and federal employment laws. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560
By Robert G. Brody and Mark J. Taglia April 24, 2023 Last week, the NLRB’s decision in
The decisions employers make regarding their benefits offerings during this period of economic uncertainty will likely have lasting impacts on their finances, their employees’ expectations, and their ability to attract and retain talent — all of which can affect the organization’s overall health. To ensure continued success, employers should critically evaluate each and every area of operations, including employee benefits. Zeroing in on this particular piece of the operational puzzle can help you uncover opportunities for cost savings that could potentially impact your organization’s bottom line. The following recommendations offer actionable strategies employers can implement today to maximize their benefits program and support operations in lean times. Re-Evaluate Plan Designs To bolster the overall cost-effectiveness of their operations, many employers are taking this opportunity to re-evaluate their health plan designs and offerings to ensure maximum savings. Some organizations are shifting to self-funded or partially self-funded health plans, while others are leveraging health reimbursement arrangements or health savings accounts to incentivize employees to make financially smart healthcare choices. Our Building a Year-Round Communications Strategy. Create a Comprehensive Benefits Package During tough economic times, employers may have to cut back on benefits. But organizations can still support employees with mental health resources, financial wellness programs, and a wider range of voluntary benefits. Thinking outside the box and leveraging cost-effective employee benefits can help preserve the quality of your offerings while freeing up funds for other operational areas needing additional support during an economic slowdown.
Don’t be surprised if no one is answering the phones at Brody and Associates on June 19th. The number of private employers offering Juneteenth as a paid holiday continues to grow and has jumped significantly over the last three years. Last year, nearly one-third of all private employers gave their employees a paid day off. This year that number is expected to grow close to 45%, which is up from just 8% in 2020. These numbers are in addition to the federal employers and contractors who are already required to provide Juneteenth as a paid holiday. For those not in the know, Juneteenth is the day that commemorates June 19, 1865, the day when Union soldiers informed enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, that they were free. This news came more than two months after the Civil War ended – and is viewed as the day slavery ended in the United States. So why the sudden surge in social awareness more than 150 years later? Here are just a few reasons. There was national furor that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd, resulting in demands for social justice. Organizations are now scrutinizing their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. And there has been a rising awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition to simply giving Juneteenth off as a paid holiday, many employers are hosting events around the holiday to advocate for the advancement of Black employees. Employers are providing important recognition of historical systemic racism and suggesting employees and employers alike reflect on these issues. The push for recognition of the holiday has also been bolstered by President Biden signing Juneteenth into law as a federal holiday in 2021. Since then, several cities and states across the country have followed suit. In 2022, 24 states recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday, Connecticut will become the 25 this year, and cities like New York City and Los Angeles have also designated it as a paid city holiday. Regardless of your politics, Juneteenth is a movement sweeping the country. Each employer should evaluate if and how they individually want to recognize Juneteenth in their own workplace. Considerations should include both your personal beliefs, your workforce and your customer base. Brody and Associates regularly advises management on complying with the latest local, state and federal employment laws. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560.
By Robert G. Brody and Mark J. Taglia March 10, 2023 On Thursday, March 9th, President Biden submitted his proposed fiscal year 2024 budget request to Congress. In it he seeks a $1.5 billion increase to the U.S. Department of Labor Budget. Most of this increase would support the President’s paid family and medical leave initiatives. In his proposed budget, Biden seeks three months of paid leave for American workers. The President’s stated goal is to permit Americans to take time off for a variety of reasons, including: to bond with a new child; to care for seriously sick family members; to recover from one’s own serious health issue; and to obtain support/protection from sexual assault and violence. The scope of coverage under this bill is not news; the fact that it would be paid is the headline. Currently, the U.S. is one of just a few highly developed countries not to provide its citizens with a paid leave program. In recent years, some states have offered paid leave of up to 12 weeks through programs which are similar to the President’s latest proposal. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted some sort of paid family leave legislation: California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia,Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington currently have laws in effect; Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Oregon enacted laws not in effect yet. On Thursday the President spoke out in support of the proposed program, arguing the time has come for the U.S. to, “no longer [be] the only major economy in the world that doesn’t have paid leave.” The proposal delivers on campaign promises made by Biden when he ran in 2020. Now the hard part, getting it by Congress. If passed, the proposal would provide paid leave access to approximately 92% of low-paid workers (predominantly women and people of color), who don’t currently have access. Experts believe it will be virtually impossible to get a 12-week paid leave program passed with a bi-partisan split in Congress. Time will tell! Brody and Associates regularly advises management on complying with the latest local, state and federal employment laws. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560.
USI reduces rising insurance premiums for an NYC middle-market law firm and saves over $250,000 while providing tax-deferred programs for their highly compensated employees. See the overview below.
The pandemic has altered almost all aspects of the employee experience, changing everything from where people work to how they interact with clients, colleagues, and customers. Considering the size and scope of these changes now is a critical time to determine if your employee value proposition (EVP) is still compelling and if your total rewards strategy is aligned with the current and future needs of your workforce. In one of Mercer’s latest studies, we found that employees were significantly more concerned about their physical health, their work-life balance, and their emotional well-being than their job security, their boss, or their professional development. No one knows exactly what work will look like once this pandemic has passed. But one thing is certain: the war for talent will continue. Now is an important time to talk with employees, evaluate total rewards strategy, and start designing an employee value proposition for the new shape of work. Here in the attached whitepaper are four steps to evaluate the current appeal of your EVP and identify the future needs of your workforce.
On this episode of ProfitSense with Bill McDermott, Bill was joined by Leslie Bassett, partner at Pridgen Bassett Law, and Allison Affleck and Harry Brenner, both partners at Affleck and Gordon PC. Leslie discussed her work in employee issues and insurance, stressing the importance of getting attorneys involved early to help resolve complex issues. Allison Affleck and Harry Brenner also work in the benefits space, specializing in Social Security disability and veteran’s disability. They described the evolution of their firm from the founders to their leadership, the business issues they had addressed which prepared them for remote work during the pandemic, and much more. ProfitSense with Bill McDermott is produced and broadcast by the
USI Employee Benefits Outlook 2022 After navigating many new challenges brought on by the pandemic, employers are focusing on benefits programs that are modern, tech-enabled and inclusive, and that holistically support their employees’ health. Watch this video to learn about
USI is one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the world, delivering property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, program and retirement solutions to large risk management clients, middle market companies, smaller firms and individuals. Headquartered in Valhalla, New York, USI connects together over 8,000 industry leading professionals across approximately 200 offices to serve clients’ local, national and international needs. USI has become a premier insurance brokerage and consulting firm by leveraging the
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As an advisor, your role is to help clients prepare to exit their business, yet many people resist thinking about the future because it involves so many unknowns, decisions, and choices. And emotions typically complicate matters further, sometimes derailing the process altogether. Here are some questions that can help you establish rapport with your clients, learn more about their concerns, and move the conversation forward. How are you feeling about your work/profession/business these days? Which aspects of work are you still enjoying, and which are you ready to leave behind? Do you envision retiring from work at some point, or are you contemplating an encore career? What part of planning for your future feels most challenging? How do you imagine your life in retirement will be different from how it is now? What process are you using to figure out what you’ll do next after you retire? What would you like to see happen with your business long term? What options have you considered for the transfer of your business? What steps have you taken to make your business more attractive to a potential buyer? What are your concerns about transitioning your firm to new ownership? What would be your ideal scenario for transitioning out of your company? What topic(s) have we touched on today that we should put on our agenda to revisit? So, what happens after you pose a few of these questions and your clients open up about emotional matters? Remember, the most helpful thing you can do is to listen attentively. You’ve created a valuable opportunity for them to talk about things they may not share with other advisors. Here are some tips for managing the conversation when clients raise emotionally loaded topics: Don’t try to “fix things” by immediately offering suggestions. Doing so sends the message that you’re uncomfortable hearing their concern. You can offer suggestions but do so later. Don’t say anything that conveys the message that their feeling or concern is unwarranted. “There’s really no need to feel that way” or “I’m sure it will be just fine” may sound reassuring to you but could be experienced as dismissive by your client. Don’t immediately offer a logical counterpoint to your client’s emotion. Remember, feelings don’t have to make sense; they’re “as is”. Put another way, if feelings made sense, they would be thoughts. People report concerns and characterize their feelings differently from one another, so it’s in your best interest to seek amplification and clarification by inquiring as follows . . . “I want to make sure that I understand exactly what you mean by ___. Can you tell me more?” “People sometimes mean slightly different things when they talk about ___. What does ___ mean for you?” “Before I suggest anything, I’d like to learn more about it from your perspective.” It’s possible that during early conversations your client may hint at mixed feelings about exiting their business. That’s perfectly normal, but you need to bring it out into the open. You want to foster an atmosphere such that your client keeps you apprised about where they’re at. If they keep their ambivalence to themselves, it has greater potential to blindside you and complicate the sale. You can say: “In my experience, it’s normal to have some mixed emotions about selling. Those thoughts may not always be top of mind, but when they do pop up let’s be sure to talk about them. Believe it or not, they can help inform our process and alert us to aspects of the sale that are important to you.” You may also find that your client is overly risk averse. If so, consider saying the following: “Our work together won’t be comprehensive if we only plan for what could go wrong. That’s just half the equation. It’s fine to be conservative and err on the side of caution, but to be truly realistic we should also consider a range of possibilities both good and bad.” Author’s Note: The concepts in this article are derived from Robert Leahy’s book, Overcoming Resistance in Cognitive Therapy. New York: Guilford
For five decades, the southern United States has been an attractive location for automakers to open plants thanks to generous tax breaks and cheaper, non-union labor. However, after decades of failing to unionize automakers in the South, the United Auto Workers dealt a serious blow to that model by winning a landslide union victory at Volkswagen. In an effort to fight back, three southern states have gotten creative: they passed laws barring companies from receiving state grants, loans and tax incentives if the company voluntarily recognizes a union or voluntarily provides unions with employee information. The laws also allow the government to claw back incentive payments after they were made. While these laws are very similar, each law has unique nuances. If you are in an impacted state, you should seek local counsel. In 2023, Tennessee was the first state to pass such a law. This year, Georgia and Alabama followed suit. So why this push? In 2023, the American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”), a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments, adopted Tennessee’s law as model legislation. In fact, the primary sponsor of Tennessee’s bill was recognized as an ALEC Policy Champion in March 2023. ALEC’s push comes as voluntary recognition of unions gains popularity as an alternative to fighting unions. We recently saw this with the high-profile Ben & Jerry’s voluntary recognition. Will this Southern strategy work to push back against growing union successes? Time will tell. Brody and Associates regularly advises its clients on all labor management issues, including union-related matters, and provides union-free training. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560.
Almost since time began, the nimble small business has been axiomatic. Large corporations are like big ships, the common knowledge goes. They take a long time to change direction.
I once had the thrill of interviewing Jerry West on management. He was “The Logo” for the NBA, although back then they didn’t advertise him as such. Only the Laker followers knew for sure. In 1989 the “Showtime” Lakers were coming off back-to-back championships. Pat Riley was a year away from his first of three Coach of the Year awards.
Can you Offer Too Many SKUs to Your Customers? The short answer is YES! A SKU, or Stock Keeping Unit, defines each different product version that you sell and keep inventory of. There may be different SKUs of the same overall item based on size, color, capacity (think computer or cellphone memory), features, and many other parameters. For build to forecast businesses, that number of variations can quickly explode and become difficult to manage. Your customers are busy and want ordering simplified. Of course, they may need (or want) more than one variation of a product. That is reasonable and a common aspect of business – one size does not fit all! But there is a point where too offering too many SKUs is not value added either for your customer or your business. In his April 30, 2013 article “Successful Retailers Learn That Fewer Choices Trigger More Sales” in Forbes, Carmine Gallo discusses his experience and a study about “choice overload” by other authors. He writes about a retailer that “has discovered that giving a customer more than three choices at one time actually overwhelms customers and makes them frustrated…when the customer is faced with too many choices at once, it leaves the customer confused and less likely to buy from any of the choices!” Choice overload is well-documented in consumer studies but can apply in B2B as well. While customer satisfaction is important, another key concern is the often-hidden costs associated with a business offering and managing a large number of SKUs for a given product type. These costs include holding inventory, S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) team time, small production runs, and scrapping inventory. Holding inventory takes up space, which may come with a cost or utilize racks that could be used for other products. Scheduled inventory counts take up employee time and may result in blackout periods when the warehouse is not shipping product. The more SKUs there are, including extra SKUS, the greater the potential impact. The Sales team’s forecasting and the Operations team’s purchasing reviews that are part of the S&OP process can occupy more of their valuable time if they need to consider these times. If small orders or forecasts require a new production run, this could be costly and create excess inventory. Whether from this new production or past builds, eventually it will make sense to write off and scrap old inventory, another cost impact to the company. How do you know which SKUs to focus on if you wish to look at reducing your total number of SKUs? Start by examining SKUs that have: Low historic sales over a period of time Small variations between SKUs that customers do not value Older technology or model when newer option SKUs are available This requires a true partnership between Sales and Operations. It starts with educating both teams on the costs involved – neither group may be aware of the money and time impact to the company. Periodic (such as quarterly) reviews of SKUs that meet the above descriptions should become a fixed part of the calendar. A review of the data and other available for sale options should result in the identification of SKUs which may not be needed. At that point, it is helpful to have a customer friendly EOL (End of Life) Notice process by which you inform customers of last time buy requirements for this SKU and alternates available. It is usually best to provide some time for the last time buy in the interest of customer satisfaction, although that may not always be necessary. At a company that designed and sold electronics, a robust SKU rationalization process was implemented to help address these issues. A representative from the Operations team analyzed SKUs that met a version of the above criteria and suggested candidates for the EOL process. Next, a member of the Sales team reviewed them and, where appropriate, issued product change or EOL notices to customers, providing them time for last time buy orders when needed. These steps helped reduce the work involved in maintaining these SKUs while not leading to any customer complaints. A final note – sometimes it makes sense to continue offering low selling SKUs – to support customers buying other items (hopefully in larger quantities). It may be worthwhile to encourage them to keep coming back to you for all of their product needs and this may be a way to accomplish that. But it helps to understand that this is truly the case and not assume that this customer would not be equally happy with another, more popular, SKU. Steven Lustig is founder and CEO of Lustig Global Consulting and an experienced Supply Chain Executive. He is a recognized thought leader in supply chain and risk mitigation, and serves on the Boards of Directors for Loh Medical and Atlanta Technology Angels.
When it comes to careers, business owners are a minority of the population. In conversations this week, I mentioned the statistics several times, and each owner I was discussing it with was surprised that they had so few peers. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), there are over 33,000,000 businesses in the US. Let’s discount those with zero employees. Many are shell companies or real estate holding entities. Also, those with fewer than 5 employees, true “Mom and Pop” businesses, are hard to distinguish from a job. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Association, lists businesses with 5 to 99 employees at about 3,300,000, and 123,000 have 100 to 500 employees (the SBA’s largest “small business” classification.) Overall, that means about 1% of the country are private employers. Owners are a small minority, a very small minority, of the population. Even if we only count working adults (161,000,000) business owners represent only a little more than 2% of that population. So What? Where am I going with this, and how does it relate to our recent discussions of purpose in business exit planning? It’s an important issue to consider when discussing an owner’s identity after transition. Whether or not individual owners know the statistics of their “rare species” status in society, they instinctively understand that they are different. They are identified with their owner status in every aspect of their business and personal life. At a social event, when asked “What do you do?” they will often respond “I own a business.” It’s an immediate differentiator from describing a job. “I am a carpenter.” or “I work in systems engineering,” describes a function. “I am a business owner” describes a life role. When asked for further information, the owner frequently replies in the Imperial first person plural. “We build multi-family housing,” is never mistaken for a personal role in the company. No one takes that answer to mean that the speaker swings a hammer all day. Owners are a Minority We process much of our information subconsciously. If a man enters a business gathering, for example, and the others in the room are 75% female, he will know instinctively, without consciously counting, that this business meeting or organization is different from others he attends. Similarly, business owners accept their minority status without thinking about it. They expect that the vast majority of the people they meet socially, who attend their church, or who have kids that play sports with theirs, work for someone else. There are places where owners congregate, but otherwise, they don’t expect to meet many other owners in the normal course of daily activity. This can be an issue after they exit the business. You see, telling people “I’m retired” has no distinction. Roughly 98% of the other people who say that never built an organization. They didn’t take the same risks. Others didn’t deal with the same broad variety of issues and challenges. Most didn’t have to personally live with the impact of every daily decision they made, or watch others suffer the consequences of their bad calls. That is why so many former owners suffer from a lack of identity after they leave. Subconsciously, they expect to stand out from the other 98%. “I’m retired” carries no such distinction. This article was originally published by John F. Dini, CBEC, CExP, CEPA on
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