 Inner Views The Voice of the Northern New England Personnel Services |
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Thoughts from NNEAPS President April Metivier of Mountain Ltd
"You can not control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you." Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy, a well respected business consultant would love the time we are currently in. For everyone, these times provide a great opportunity. What do I mean by this?
When everything is going well, there is little motivation to focus on how to do things better....how to work smarter. Instead we find ourselves working in our business instead of on our business.
Why break something if it's not broken? Change is tough, so instead of responding to elements in our business that we could improve, we found ourselves responding to the environment that we were in.
The economy has changed. What use to work is no longer working. The things we did and the pace at which we worked are not bringing the same results. Clients are acting differently and have different concerns and pressures now. Even candidates are not the same.
Times like these create great opportunities for us to embrace change and focus on what is really important. All it takes is a great attitude!
Everyone comes to work with an attitude. Only you have the power to choose the one that you have. These are difficult times that require us to implement change. How you look at it is what will make all the difference.
Respectfully,
April Metivier, CTS
Chief Operating Officer of Mountain Ltd
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NNEAPS Board News
As a voice of the membership your NNEAPS Board has been working hard to make sound decisions regarding association budgets, research and schedule educational programs with top industry speakers and keep and eye out for legal issues with potential impact on our industry.
An outstanding attendence came out for the NNEAPS Sponsored Tim Alderman Seminar in February on "What do you say after they say Hello?" A dynamic speaker, he captivated the group with his wit, wisdom and his own real life scenarios of Sales in todays world. Tim taught us new ideas how to get through the gatekeeper, pushing through to reach KDMs and CEOs, highlighting the experience and how to ferret out business opportunities that are not quickly obvious with our clients.
An afternoon of "Contrary to Popular Belief" to the priciples of sales brought attendees into a new dimension of offering solutions in todays economy.
Don't miss NNEAPS Sponsored next program on March 12th with Tracey Madden, CPC, CTS of McIntosh Staffing Resources on
PRESERVING APPLICANT CONFIDENCE AND GROWING YOUR CLIENT BASE IN A RECESSED ECONOMY
See Side Panel for Details
Next Board Meeting March 12th 12-2 New England Ctr.
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MEMBER NEWS
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Express Pros of Dover, NH and Portland, ME High Tech Opportunities Inc., Salem, NH (Former Member) STORK NEWS - Congratulations Marissa DeAngelis (McIntosh Staffing Resources) on the birth of her son Zachary James Melissa Benz (Barclay Personnel) on the birth of her daughter Brooke |
REGISTER NOW FOR NEAPS 2009 
New Hampshire will Host this years annual conference under the effortless guidance of Deb Kennedy CPC, of Barclay Personnel.
The venue was chosen with geographic convenience to all NNEAPS members, entertainment offerings, conference accomodations and affordability in mind. Winner of the 4 Diamond AAA Award,
Mohegan Sun's hotel accommodations are nothing less than extraordinary. Standing 34-stories tall the hotel at Mohegan Sun has been expertly designed to set a new standard of excellence. Bring the family, extra friends, your whole staff. 50% off rack rates! As a premier destination worldwide, Mohegan Sun includes:
More than 300,000 square feet of gaming excitement, including smoke-free areas A 34-story, 1,200-room luxury hotel tower A 20,000 square-foot world-class spa by Elemis The Shops at Mohegan Sun, a 130,000 square-foot retail shopping experience 30 restaurants, food and beverage outlets Three entertainment venues including a 10,000-seat Arena, a 300-seat Cabaret Theatre and 350-seat Wolf Den More than 100,000 square feet of meeting and function space, including one of the largest ballrooms in the northeast A professionally-managed business center 10,000 square-foot indoor pool A 17,500 square-foot outdoor sun terrace 3-story crystal mountain A 55-foot indoor waterfall Don't let your competition gain the advantage by missing it! This year's speaker line up is unprecedented with new programs, formats and a focus on preparing for the rebound.
Fun will punctuate the day on Friday with an evening of party, dinner and gaming instruction for those that don't feel that the act of recruiting is gambling enough!
Breakout Topics will include
· Creative Marketing Initiatives · Labor Law with Attorney Jim Reidy Esq. · Retainer Recruiting · Sourcing · Sales 101 · Branding the Experienced · Social Networking and More!
Why Wouldn't You Attend?
NEAPS has an unprecedented roster of speakers this year that will surprise you, amaze you, enlighten you and most of all send you back to your offices motivated and ready for these challenging times with the confidence to overcome them with success !
For more information go to www.neaps.org
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LEGISLATIVE NEWS
by Henry Glickel, CPC, Sales Recruiters
From Devine Millimet
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 February 2009
In 2008, the economy lost 2.6 million jobs. The new administration has submitted this act better known as the "stimulus package". The purpose of the stimulus package is to create or save jobs and invest in clean energy, health care, education, and infrastructure, as well as reduce taxes on individuals and businesses. Highlights:
Health care spending-$153 Billion for subsidized health care for the unemployed. Assistance to the states for Medicaid, and modernizing health information technology systems. Infrastructure spending-$100 Billion for transportation projects Energy and renewable spending-$38 Billion to fund so called ""smart electricity grid" and to weatherize modest income homes. Science and technology spending-$16 billion for science facilities and bringing high-speed internet access to rural and underserved areas.
Housing Spending-$13 Billion to repair and make more energy efficient public housing projects. Environmental spending-$4.4 for Superfund and forest fire prevention
Tax highlights-Individuals-$500 per worker, $1,000 per couple tax cut for two years, $2,500 tax credit for college tuition and related expenses. Businesses-extend provision allowing businesses buying equipment, allowing claiming of tax credits on past profits for money losing businesses, subsidize locally issued bonds for school construction. Extend tax credits for renewable energy production. Extend tax credits for homeowners making their homes more energy efficient.
Pending New Hampshire Wage and "Family Friendly" Legislation February 2009
NH legislators have filed numerous bills this session that may impact employers and employees. Minimum wage-would provide minimum wage escalator tied to consumer price index. Pay at termination-would require employers to pay any employee that is terminated or laid the time of termination rather than 72 hours. Paid leave-NH employers would provide each of the employees, both full and part time, accrual and use of 70 or more hours of paid leave per calendar year. Work flexibility-NH employers who have 15 or more employees to offer the right to request "flexible work terms" to their employees. Family Leave Insurance-Would require federal funding for the implementation for this act. Employees who meet the criteria for the Family Medical Leave Act would be eligible for a pro-rata benefit amount.
These bills are in the beginning stages of discussion and may need to be aggressively lobbied by our members if they are approved for advancement. Overall there are over 20 bills that I am keeping an eye on. An Employer's Guide To The New FMLA Regulations-Part 1 January 2009
All employers subject to the FMLA must post a general FMLA notice even if they do not have FMLA-eligible employees. The DOL provides a sample notice on their website. There are some specific notice requirements on give the separate notices once the FMLA obligations have been triggered. In addition, there are changes for employees providing advance notice and employers requesting certification. Lastly, there are some new forms, on the DOL website, for medical certifications
An Employer's Guide To The New FMLA Regulations-Part II February 2009
There are some changes with employee eligibility based on months/hours of service. An employee must have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 service hours in the 12-month period preceding the leave. Employees may elect or employers may require employees to use their accrued vacation, family, sick, or other paid time-off entitlement concurrently with their FMLA leave. Employers who award payments or bonuses for achieving certain goals may treat individuals on FMLA leave who do not meet a specific goal because of their FMLA leave as they would any other employee on an equivalent leave status that does not qualify for FMLA leave. Also the time employees spend in a voluntary light duty assignment does not count toward their allotment and that their right to job restoration is on hold while performing a light duty assignment.
There are two bills that are coming out of committee that I am keeping an eye on. HB 167-A bill modifies certain standards for the operation, regulation, and licensing of employee leasing companies. It addresses the responsibilities and obligations for employers and leasing companies. I do not know if our members are really involved in the employee leasing arena. I am keeping an eye open for it. In addition, HB 602 requires a financial institution that charges a fee for cashing a payroll check drawn on that institution to charge such a fee to the employer's account. Our members should determine if this is a practice at their company's bank or financial institution. This would indicate if we should exert effort to address this bill.
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Masiello Employment Services mourns loss of President/Owner, Ed Winter Ed Winter, of Surry, NH was the victim of a two car collision on Februrary 24, 2009 in Chesterfield, NH. Ed was a former member of the NNEAPS Board and contributed many long hours of service to the organization. Additionally, he was currently serving as Keene Rotary President and a Town Selectman for Surry, NH. Our sincere condolences go out to his family and employees of Masiello Employment Services for their loss. |
IRS Releases Information to Help Employers Claim COBRA Medical Coverage Credit on Payroll Tax Form
IR-2009-15, Feb. 26, 2009
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service today released new detailed information that will help employers claim credit for the COBRA medical premiums they pay for their former employees.
The IRS unveiled new information on this Web site, IRS.gov, that includes an extensive set of questions and answers for employers. In addition, the Web site contains a revised version of the quarterly payroll tax return that employers will use to claim credit for the COBRA medical premiums they pay for their former employees.
Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, will also be sent to about 2 million employers in mid-March. The form is used to claim the new COBRA premium assistance payments credit, beginning with the first quarter of 2009.
"This is the first step in our effort to provide employers with information on this important health benefit for people who have lost their jobs," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "We will continue our work in the weeks ahead to help employers implement this crucial change for the nation's unemployed."
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which became law last week, includes changes to the health benefit provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly referred to as COBRA. The new law will affect former employees and their families, employers and others involved in providing COBRA coverage.
Under the new law, eligible former employees, enrolled in their employer's health plan at the time they lost their jobs, are required to pay only 35 percent of the cost of COBRA coverage. Employers must treat the 35 percent payment by eligible former employees as full payment, but the employers are entitled to a credit for the other 65 percent of the COBRA cost on their payroll tax return.
Employers must maintain supporting documentation for the credit claimed. This includes:
Documentation of receipt of the employee's 35 percent share of the premium. In the case of insured plans: A copy of invoice or other supporting statement from the insurance carrier and proof of timely payment of the full premium to the insurance carrier. Declaration of the former employee's involuntary termination.COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates. COBRA generally covers health plans maintained by private-sector employers with 20 or more full and part-time employees. It also covers employee organizations or federal, state or local governments. It does not apply to churches and certain religious organizations. The new COBRA subsidy provisions also apply to insurers required to offer continuation coverage under state law similar to the federal COBRA.
More information about COBRA payments and the new law is available on www.dol.gov.
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| Are you on Linkedin.com yet? Join a Group. NNEAPS has its own group - enhance your network, share news, open discussions, post split opportunitites. JUST IN.... PROGRAM CANCELLATION: Presentation by Tracey Madden scheduled for March 12th has been postponed due to illness. Registered attendees will be notified and reimbursed. We apologize for any inconvenience. We look forward to rescheduling at a later date. |
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| A Peril of Social Networking by Tracey Madden I was recently contacted by a NNEAPS Member regarding a scenario in his office regarding social networking. An owner had each recruiter in his office set up a LinkedIn account for their clients and searched candidates. With over 500+ contacts one recruiters profile was pretty meaty. Regretfully, they had a falling out and the employee not only left his employ but left with all his contacts under his LinkedIn account. The owner explained he felt that the database of contacts belonged to his company not the former employee and wondered how to retrieve that information. Perhaps at this point its water over the damn. We contacted an expert in the field, Lori Ruff of Integrated Alliances. She explained that social networking can be a goldmine for recruiting firms however employers must protect themselves from losing this information with departing employees. She suggested setting up a corporate account and assign passwords unique to the organization. Upon the termination or resignation of such employee, as with company keys and voice mail access, passwords to social networks must be relinquished back to the employer. Diligence must be spent however in monitoring new profiles that may be set up by former representatives of the company to ensure trade secret information has not been reproduced. As social networking becomes more prevelent in our recruiting processes certainly more exposures for all employers will become obvious. Legal ramifications and identity exposure are also at stake as well. Have you considered a policy for your company to thwart a similar matter? Weigh in and share with us your policies and experiences you've had with social networking in your company and we'll post responses in an upcoming newsletter. Send responses to tmadden@mcintoshstaffing.com Recommended read: Groundswell:winning in a world of transformed by social technologies by Josh Brenoff, Charlene Li |
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"NNEAPS sponsored programs are a cost effective way to keep my recruiting and staffing team well trained and up to date on the latest trends"
Ed McKersie, CPC
Pro Search, Inc. |
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