Snow, Polar Vortex and Vacation Time in your Kingdom!

Posted on January 30, 2014 by evilqueenhr

Once Upon a time the “Polar Vortex” came to the United States and stopped everything.  That will be the story we will tell in 20 years with great exaggeration about how we walked uphill to do our jobs with frostbite.  The truth is almost everything shut down.

Source: Reuters

Source: Reuters

I can’t remember having four snow days before February.  In 1999 with 21.6 inches on the ground, schools only closed for two days.  We are just bitterly cold, so that means most of the grown-ups have to go to work.  With closed schools, closed businesses, impassable roads and cancelled flights, the productivity loss could reach as high as $5 billion dollars according to Planalytics, Inc.

Employees have two choices to ensure a complete paycheck.  They can use Time Off Hours or find a way to get to work.  Most Time Off banks reset at the beginning of the calendar year which all but ensures that employees are paid or at least not penalized for this early time off.  But that will all change when the beach is calling and employees have forgotten about these days.

I wrote a status on Facebook about weather related days off and someone responded suggesting that employees would not want to “tap into” their Vacation Time.  Unfortunately, giving employees unlimited time off is not realistic for a business to accommodate, paid or unpaid.

Here are some tips for managing time off early in the year:

  •  If you don’t have a policy, now is the time to make one.  What you allow for one employee you must allow for all.  Consistency is important!
  • Remind every one of the current policy.  Cut and paste your Time Off section from your Guidebook and send it in an email or as a memo to the entire staff.
  • If you can, design your checks to calculate and display available time off and/or time off used.
  • Plan quarterly payroll inserts to remind employees how much time they have taken and the amount they have remaining.
  • Communicate with employees about weather or school closing contingency plans.

There are more storms on the horizon.  Make sure you are communicating with your employees about how you are processing time off.  No one likes a surprise on their check or on their Time Off Request Form!

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Affordable Care Act Update in the Kingdom of Illinois

Posted on December 19, 2013 by evilqueenhr

It’s December 19th, do you know where your healthcare is?  I’m sure you all think this is all I talk about, but it’s almost over.  December 23rd is the LAST day of enrollment to be covered for January 1st.  (yes, people were calling me yesterday asking when they should sign up. They are getting poison apples for Christmas) sand timer redDon’t wait any longer, this isn’t a smooth process and the wait times for help is long.  I needed questions answered from my friends at Blue Cross and I waited 2 hours and 44 minutes before I spoke to someone.  When she did pick up, she was lovely and answered all of my questions.  They are overwhelmed so be nice when you get through. Santa is watching!

There is a late breaking development that I wanted you to be aware of in Illinois. There are between 19,000 and 30,000 applications that may need to be redone because of calculation glitches.  Here’s what the State of Illinois is saying “Get Covered Illinois (GCI) is advising people who have applied for coverage on the federal web site, healthcare.gov, and who believe they may have been incorrectly referred to the state for Medicaid coverage, to restart the process by using the screening tool at Getcoveredillinois.gov.”  (Read the link to the full announcement here)  

Why does this matter?  If you  or one of your employees were put into this group and wrongly put in Medicaid you are denied subsidy while waiting for appeal.  Or you will be in the wrong category and it will need to be adjusted later.  HHS is not sure how long is process will take.

Per  Jayne O’Donnell in USA today – “HHS expects about 19,000 files shortly from HHS. Illinois state spokesman Mike Claffey says he doesn’t know how many may have problems”.  (Great article, link here)

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions:question mark

Is my Insurance effective January 1st? – If you have completed your application, received confirmation and PAID your premium.

What if I haven’t paid for my insurance yet? – NOTHING is in effect until the first month’s premium has been processed.  Follow up if you haven’t paid.  Keep your proof of payment.

I don’t have cards yet, but I’m paid, what now? – WAIT! Understand that this was supposed to be a three-month process but was cut down two months because of the website.  Healthcare.gov and all the insurance companies and trying very hard to do three months of work into 3 weeks, cards will take a while.  Doctors and Hospitals should understand if you have an emergency.  I estimate cards won’t be distributed until 2nd week of January (just a guess).

I’m on ICHIP and selected a new plan, am I done? – NO, you have to notify ICHIP that you are not staying on their plan and have a new ACA plan.  I just heard about the notification.

What is the most important thing to look at when choosing a plan? – Deductible, Network and Drug Card.  These three pieces are like cut, color and quality in diamonds.  The pricing will change dramatically by changing any of these dynamics.  If you are looking at a PPO with the same deductible and co-pays and there is a $200 difference in price, it’s probably the network.

I’m looking forward to Christmas this year because my present is the end of enrollment for the Affordable Care Act.  

It’s been a great year, Happy Holidays my pretties! 

Now go make sure you signed up and paid!

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