After an injury has occurred physicians, will usually give modified work restrictions to the injured employee. We always encourage our clients to offer modified duty to the injured worker for a number of reasons.

1. Returning an injured employee to work with restrictions is beneficial because it allows them to have minimal income losses. The insurance company only replaces two-thirds of lost wages.

2. It can enhance the physical and psychological recovery process for the injured worker. Most physicians and healthcare providers agree that modified duty decreases the amount of time it takes to recover from an injury.

3. The employee and employer may also benefit from continued productivity, but more importantly by enhancing the employee’s sense of confidence and pride in the company. Injured workers on modified duty often become more productive employees after recovery once they see the company does care about them. Injured workers that remain off work for lengths of time often believe they are not missed and therefore not a valued employee.

Modified duty has been proven to reduce the costs of claims. These claim costs are not just limited to lost wages and medical expenses, but also to costs in retraining other personnel and/or working shorthanded for a period of time. Through decreased costs in productivity, medical expenses, and wage replacement the employer is able to have more control over their workers’ compensation insurance premiums and the company’s profits. While avoiding the injury is the most effective way to help control these premiums, having a modified duty program are definitely one of the most effective ways to control costs after an accident has occurred.

Rick Scott is the Safety Director for A Plus Benefits, Inc.

An employee policy guide can describe company programs and benefits and communicate general information about the organization. Many employers also include disclaimers to make it clear that the policy guide does not create unintended obligations.

Employer Seeks to Keep Policy guide From Getting Out of Hand

“Your policy guide says we are entitled to short-term disability benefits,” said employee Veronica Dale. “I didn’t make it up; it’s your own promise to employees like me who need these benefits.”

“If you read it, it’s clear that the policy guide is informational, not a contract, and that we have the right to change provisions in the policy guide at any time,” countered HR director Sidney Petit.

Is the policy guide a contract?

Facts: A large computer services provider hired a customer service representative in 2002, and provided her with a policy guide that included a section describing its policy on short-term disability benefits.

She applied for benefits at various times because she suffered from migraine headaches and laryngitis, and she underwent two surgeries. Although some of her requests for benefits were granted, many were denied for lack of supporting medical documentation and because the employer’s outside administrator concluded that the employee was not disabled. She filed a lawsuit against the employer alleging breach of contract.

According to the court, following the introductory paragraph in the policy guide, there was a disclaimer set off by a bold heading. The disclaimer stated that the procedures in the policy guide should not be interpreted as altering the at-will employment relationship and did not constitute an employment contract. Another disclaimer in the policy guide said the employer retained the right to change, modify, suspend, interpret, or eliminate any provision of the policy guide at any time, the court noted.

Award: The policy guide did not constitute a contract between the employer and its employees, and thus the employer did not breach a contract by denying the worker’s claim for short-term disability benefits that were listed in the policy guide, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ruled March 17 (Wilkes v. Elec. Data Sys. Corp., D. Ariz., No. CIV 04-341 TUC JMR, 3/17/06).

Discussion: The court found the policy guide’s disclaimer was clear and unambiguous and the employee could not have had a reasonable expectation that it constituted a commitment by the employer.

The court noted that the employee argued she was told by her supervisor that she did not have to read the policy guide because the supervisor would file her claims. If she did not read the plan, she could not have developed any expectations about the plan, the court said. If she did read the policy guide, she would have known that the employer did not intend to make a commitment to her, it said.

Pointers: The inclusion of disclaimers in employee policy guides and policy manuals can help employers avoid potential legal problems.

To prevent unintended limitations of employer discretion and authority, employee policy guides should include a general provision on the reservation of management rights. Such a provision might state that the company retains all rights and prerogatives conferred on employers and include examples, such as the right to take whatever actions are deemed necessary to achieve organizational goals and the right to set productivity and performance standards. In addition, the provision can state that any failure to exercise a particular right does not constitute a waiver of the right or preclude the company from exercising it in the future.

Employers commonly include a disclaimer against the creation of an implied contract, clarifying that policy guides do not override the at-will employment relationship. For example, the disclaimer might state that employees have the right to end their employment at any time for any reason, and the company reserves the right to do the same.

Another common disclaimer allows for employer discretion in making revisions to employee policy guides. Such a disclaimer should state that the company retains the right to modify or discontinue any policies, programs, or procedures described in the publications unless doing so would conflict with the terms of some other express agreement.

When employee policy guides include descriptions of employee benefits, employers should consider including a disclaimer stating that the descriptions are not intended to be complete. The disclaimer can inform employees that benefit plan details are contained in separate documents, and those documents take precedence over any conflicting information in the policy guide.

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It is our goal for every client to have their own customized policy guide. In order to assist clients with the building an implementation of a customized policy guide we provide a comprehensive document that can be edited to fit the needs, culture, procedures, etc. of individual clients. If you can’t locate the copy that we presented when first becoming associated with A Plus Benefits, please contact me or your assigned HR Advisor and we’ll e-mail you an electronic copy or send you a copy on disc, which ever you prefer.

It’s important for every organization to have a policy guide, why take the risk of having a judge tell you how you are going to run your business if you don’t have one? Further, it’s more efficient to decide how many situations will be handled before becoming embroiled with the problem. Deciding how to handle a touchy situation in the heat of the moment can often lead to unwise decisions.

Need some help with a policy guide? Please let us know. If we can help you implement a comprehensive policy guide now our goal of ……allowing you to get back to business….will be accomplished.

A Plus Benefits, Inc. appreciates your business – thank you!

Randall Barker is the VP of Human Resources for A Plus Benefits, Inc.

Read Randall’s previous HR Update.

As the summer months roll around employees begin planning their family vacations. Summer is the most popular time for travel, which can cause strain on small businesses. Implementing a written vacation policy can save you time and trouble when it comes to employee vacation time.

A vacation policy should specify how many days can be taken, whether the time will be paid or unpaid, as well as how much notice is required before the leave. Creating a vacation request form can be a simple way for employees to communicate their need for time off and help you keep track of who will be away.

Below is an example of what your vacation policy could look like:

Because we recognize the importance of vacation time in providing the opportunity for rest, recreation, and personal activities, the company grants annual, paid vacations to its full-time regular employees. The amount of vacation to which you are entitled depends on your status as an exempt or nonexempt employee and on your length of service as of your anniversary date.

Vacation Carryover-Vacation may be taken as time accrues at any point during the year. However, you may not carry over any vacation time beyond your next anniversary date. For example, if you are eligible for five days of vacation on your first anniversary date, you must use this vacation time before your second anniversary date, and so on.

Pay in Lieu of Vacation-Employees are required to take their earned vacation. No payments will be made in lieu of taking vacation, except for accrued unused vacation at the time of termination.

Holiday Within Vacation Period-In the event that a holiday observed by the company falls within a scheduled vacation period, you will be granted an alternate day of vacation at a later date.

Vacation Scheduling-Vacations may be taken as weekly periods or as individual days as long as the periods chosen meet with departmental approval. You should submit a vacation request form to your supervisor at least four (4) weeks before the date you wish your vacation to begin.

Vacation Pay Advances-If you wish to receive vacation pay before a scheduled vacation, you must indicate this in the appropriate section of the vacation request form when you submit this form to your supervisor at least two weeks before the start of your scheduled vacation.

Vacation for Terminating Employees-Employees terminating employment for any reason are entitled to payment for all accrued unused vacation time, calculated on a pro rata basis.

No matter how many people want to take the week of July 4^th off, you still need to run your business. Having a written vacation policy with guidelines for requesting leave will give you enough time to plan ahead in case multiple people are gone in the same week.

Samantha Bushard is an HR employee for the Idaho office of A Plus Benefits, Inc.

Motivating employees is challenging for every employer. Many small businesses simply can’t afford to give large cash bonuses to reward employee performance. If you are an owner of one of these businesses there is good news. A recent study produced by Workforce Management asked employees “What factor most attracted you to your current position?” Only six percent of respondents said compensation was the factor. In fact, there was only one response that ranked lower then this and eight categories that had higher response rates.

The results of this study show that there are several low cost options for the frugal business owner who wants to offer employee rewards.

Here are a couple ideas: If you are trying to inspire the hard work of a sales team create a monthly competition where the winner receives a small reward and is honored in staff meeting. If an administrative employee is producing particularly good work have the CEO take him to lunch. If a customer support employee has done something extraordinary recognize them in a company newsletter.

Understanding that most employees are attracted to their current position for reasons other than money is critical to developing a motivation plan that is both cost effective and productive. Simply doing something that is thoughtful and that displays appreciation often goes further than a few extra dollars.

Samantha Bushard is an HR employee for the Idaho office of A Plus Benefits, Inc.

Each employee’s background, motivation, and goals (both personal and professional) are different. Yet 95% of the time, employers and mangers focus on the simplest common denominator for praise: money. By finding out what really motivates each individual, managers can tailor rewards to employee’s motivations. The surprising thing is that many times these tailored rewards cost no more than traditional monetary raises, but are appreciated much more.

Some good examples are:

• Additional time off to spend time with family or vacations.
• Flexible working hours to accommodate personal needs.
• Opportunities to participate in work focus groups or committees.
• Public or company recognition during a staff meeting.
• Industry or job specific training.
• Spot rewards (such as cash or movie tickets) for immediate feedback.

With unemployment rates at an all-time low, the growing challenge for employers continues to be retaining key employees. The key is knowing each employee well enough to ensure that motivational factors are taken into consideration. By focusing on each individual employee, not just traditional yearly compensation increases, mangers and organizations can build lasting employee appreciation and loyalty.

Daryl Sisk is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for A Plus Benefits, Inc. You can contact him at dsisk@aplusbenefits.com