Assignment 3 AND 4

Question 1

The payment for nonproduction time such as rest periods and clothes-change time is considered:

Answer 1

an intrinsic part of labor costs

Question 2

For employers that pay for holidays, what are the six paid holidays that virtually every company provides

Answer 2

• (1) New Year’s Day
• (2) Memorial Day
• (3) Independence Day
• (4) Labor Day
• (5) Thanksgiving Day
• (6) Christmas Day

Question 3

what additional holidays do some employers provide?

Answer 3

• the day after Thanksgiving.
• Presidents’ Day
• Christmas Eve Day.
• Also Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not universally provided, but the day has gained
• Election Day

Question 4

What attendance requirements must be met in order for certain employees to be paid for holidays

Answer 4

A general requirement particularly for FLSA nonexempt (hourly paid) employees of holiday pay is that the employee

• must work the day before
• and after a holiday.

Question 5

how are nonexempt employees compensated for holidays on which they are required to work?

Answer 5

• Compensatory time
• overtime

Question 6

_______ generally determine eligibility forsick leave

Answer 6

length of service

Question 7

Paid time for personal days grants employees a few extra days off a year without requiring employees to identify the reason for the absence. The availability of personal days is believed to reduce

Answer 7

unscheduled absences

Question 8

Employers may provide their employees the opportunity to purchase or sell vacation days under their

Answer 8

Section 125 flexible benefit plans.

Question 9

Paid time-off (PTO) plans have gained in popularity for two reasons.

Answer 9

1. First, these plans are appealing given the diversity in the workforce because they allow employees to use their block of time as they choose.
2. Secondly, such plans typically reduce administrative recordkeeping because time off need not be tracked for separate purposes

Question 10

employers bundle most of their paid time-off benefits into one package. This plan consolidates the benefits of floating, personal, vacation and sick days and, in some cases, salary continuation programs and holidays into a single plan that provides benefits for scheduled and unscheduled short-term absences

Answer 10

PTO Plan

Question 11

makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge, intimidate and coerce employees because of their service on jury duty. The law requires that jury duty be considered an excused leave of absence with no loss of seniority and with benefits continuing to accrue. Although the law does not require employers to pay salaries during jury duty, such pay is provided by many employers with some paying up to a designated number of days and others payingfor the entire leave regardless of the number of days the employee serves on a jury.

Answer 11

The Federal Jury System Improvement Act of 1978

Question 12

requires that veterans, reservists and National Guard members participating on active duty or required training must be allowed up to five years of excused absences for military service. This is required as long as, when possible, advance notice is provided to the employer and the employee returns to work in a “timely manner” after completion of the tour of duty.

Answer 12

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994

Question 13

is paid time off granted to employees who are members of the National Guard or a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces that typically grants time off with pay for annual military duty provided it is obligatory to maintain military status. Vacation or personal days may be used for any additional time spent on military duty in excess of the maximum time allowed

Answer 13

Military leave

Question 14

Signed into law in 1993, allows 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period with job protection and continued health care. Eligible employees are entitled for the employee’s serious health condition, the birth and care of the employee’s child, placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care, and care of the employee’s spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.

Answer 14

the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Question 15

FMLA covers private employers that employ _____ workers for each working day during _____ calendar weeks of either the current or preceding year. To be eligible, an employee of a covered employer must have worked: for at least _____, for at least _____ during the year preceding the start of his or her leave; and at a work site where the employer employs at least 50 workers with a ______

Answer 15

• 50 or more
• 20 or more
• 12 months
• 1,250 hours
• 75-mile radius.

Question 16

means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either

• (a) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility, or
• (b) continuing treatment by a health care provider

Answer 16

A serious health condition (defined under FMLA)

Question 17

The two additional FMLA leaves now available to family members of U.S. soldiers are termed as

Answer 17

• the qualifying exigency leave
• the military caregiver leave.

Question 18

an employer must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty or called to active duty status as a member of the National Guard or Reserves or, under certain conditions, as a member of the Regular Armed Forces

Answer 18

qualifying exigency leave

Question 19

Under the _____ an employer must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 26 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or “next of kin” who is

• (1) a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty while on active duty; or
• (2) a veteran with a serious injury or illness that arises within five years of military service.

Answer 19

military caregiver leave

Question 20

allows an employee to take an extended unpaid (or, in a few cases, paid) leave with a guarantee of a job upon returning to work with no risk of being demoted. The program may restrict the types of projects or endeavors for which a leave will be granted to those such as community service or job-related education, but not for an extended vacation

Answer 20

A sabbatical program

Question 21

Employers typically distinguish employee absences in two ways:

Answer 21

• (1) innocent absenteeism, which includes sickness or injury; and
• (2) culpable absenteeism, which are absences without authorization for reasons that are within the control of the employee

Question 22

To avert employee communication breakdowns and lawsuits, the following items should be addressed in any attendance policy:

Answer 22

• (a) A list of acceptable reasons for an absence
• (b) Company procedures for handling tardiness and the need for leaving work early
• (c) Procedures for notifying supervisors when an absence is necessary and consequences for failing to do so
• (d) Provisions pertaining to time-off with pay, i.e., number of days allowed
• (e) **Definition of “excessive absences” **
• (f) Disciplinary measures for excessive absenteeism.

Question 23

An employee must follow several procedures to avail himself or herself of an FMLA leave.

Answer 23

• First, he or she must provide notice to the employer of the need for the leave (if the leave is foreseeable, at least a 30 days’ notice is required) and demonstrate that the leave is FMLA-qualifying.
• Second, the employee must provide certification from the employee’s or family member’s health care provider
• Finally, the employee may be required to provide a fitness-forduty report to demonstrate that he or she is able to reenter the workforce

Question 24

Upon an employee’s request for FMLA leave, the employer has a responsibility to

Answer 24

• designate the leave as FMLA leave within a specific time frame so the employee will know that his or her leave of absence will be counted against the total 12 weeks of leave available under FMLA.
• advise its employees of their obligations under FMLA and should provide them with a copy of its family and medical leave policy

Question 25

Generally, there are 3 occasions when medical certifications may be required by an employer for an FMLA leave:

Answer 25

• (1) When the leave is requested
• (2) When the employer has reasons to question the appropriateness of the leave or its duration after inception
• (3) When an employee requests an extension of a leave.

Question 26

Under what circumstances does FMLA permit an employer to require the employee to submit a fitness-for-duty report?

Answer 26

at the conclusion of the leave certifying that he or she is able to return to work if the leave was due to the employee’s own serious health condition

Question 27

is basically an antidiscrimination statute. It requires that to avoid discriminating against a qualified employee with a disability, the employer must reasonably accommodate the employee if, by doing so, he or she becomes capable of performing the job’s “essential functions.”

Answer 27

The Americans with Disabilities Act

Question 28

When dealing with employee absences, employers should be mindful of the following differences between ADA and FMLA:

Answer 28

• (a) An employer may allow the temporary transfer of an employee when granting intermittent or reduced scheduled leave, but ADA only permits a transfer where the proposed schedule change would eliminate an undue hardship that would exist if the employee were to remain in his or her position. The FMLA requires that any transfer to an alternate position comply with the ADA.
• (b) Under FMLA, the employer must reinstate an employee to his or her original position or one with equivalent pay and benefits; ADA permits reassignment to lower level positions in some circumstances.
• (c) FMLA requires an employer to grant leave, whereas under ADA a leave request may be denied if there is another reasonable accommodation that will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of his or her job.
• (d) An employer must continue an employee’s benefits while he or she is on FMLA leave; ADA has no such requirement and the employer will only be obligated to provide continuation of benefits if that is its normal practice.
• (e) An employer must reinstate an employee returning from FMLA leave; an employer can avoid this obligation under ADA if reinstatement would pose an undue hardship.
• (f) FMLA is more restrictive than ADA in terms of the extent of medical information anemployer is entitled to obtain in getting certification of a serious health condition.

Question 29

• For child care, the service can simply be a list of providers. These providers control the quality of care.
• the most common form of employer-supported elder care. Services for elder care are similar to those for child care; however, the range of community resources and the types of services provided may be much greater than those for

child care.

Answer 29

resource and referral service

Question 30

Child-care centers can be established at the worksite or nearby. Employers may structure this form of child-care benefit in several different ways (4):

Answer 30

• (1) centers that are **owned and managed by the employer, **
• (2) centers that are owned by the employer and managed by an outside group,
• (3) centers that are contracted out to a nonprofit agency and
• (4) centers that are contracted out with a profit-making service.

Question 31

There are several positive aspects of employer supported daycare centers

Answer 31

• flexibility
• recruitment and retention of employees may be enhanced

Question 32

Negative aspects of child-care centers

Answer 32

• The employer must be concerned with pricing.
• often many administrative problems, licensing and inspection requirements, and legal and liability insurance expenses

Question 33

can be used to fund dependent care at low cost for the employer and high benefit for the employee. Reimbursement accounts are established for each employee participating which may be used to pay for qualified dependent care expenses

Answer 33

The flexible spending account (FSA)

Question 34

provides an ideal method for offering dependent care coverage. Recognizing that only a portion of employees need the benefit, the plan allows them to have it without depriving other employees of employer funds that could be used for some more desired benefit

Answer 34

A flexible benefit plan

Question 35

federal income tax treatment of employer-provided dependent care benefits

Answer 35

• Payments made for dependent care assistance are deductible expenses for the sponsoring employer
• excluded from the gross incomes of participating employees. The maximum exclusion in a given year is the lesser of $5,000 or the earned income of the worker or spouse

Question 36

According to Section 21, eligible dependent care expenses must be for a “qualifying individual.” Define the term “qualifying individual.” (3)

Answer 36

• (a) A dependent of the taxpayer under the age of 13
• (b) A dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself and lives at the taxpayer’s principal place of abode more than half of the taxable year.
• (c) The spouse of the employee if the spouse is physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself and lives at the taxpayer’s principal place of abode more than half of the taxable year

Question 37

Employers offer dependent care benefits to meet certain objectives. The 3 major categories of objectives are

Answer 37

• (1) to meet employee needs,
• (2) to meet employer productivity goals
• (3) to improve external relations.

Question 38

A dependent care feasibility study should

Answer 38

• first consider the overall employee benefit philosophy of the employer and the objectives for adding dependent care as a benefit.
• should identify and further examine those relevant employee characteristics that suggest that dependent care would meet the company’s objectives.

Question 39

What actions can be taken to assess employee needs for dependent care benefits, to evaluate the local market and to make the decision on which design option is viable?

Answer 39

• Data from human resources records should be used for an examination of the demographics of the employee group.
• Focus groups of employees are often formed to procure more detailed information.
• Information on the local provider marketplace and the supply of different types of child care/elder care should be checked and matched with employee needs.
• the firm also must determine what level of employer involvement should occur in actually providing the benefit and the funds available for commitment to such a program.

Question 40

is job-related if it helps maintain or improve skills required for a job, trade or business, or meets the requirements imposed by an employer or by law as a condition in retaining an employee’s job, status or salary.

Answer 40

educational assistance

Question 41

The payment, by an employer, of expenses incurred by or on behalf of an employee for education of the employee.

• can be for tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment.
• Tools and supplies (other than textbooks) that the employee may retain after the course ends, meals, lodging and transportation are not considered eligible expenses.
  
  • Other ineligible expenses include payment or benefits for any course involving sports, games or hobbies.

Answer 41

educational expense

Question 42

Under an educational assistance program, up to $5,250 of education assistance is excludable from an employee’s gross income annually if the program:

Answer 42

• (a) Is a separate written plan
• (b) Gives eligible employees reasonable notice of the terms and availability of the program
• (c) Is for the exclusive benefit of the employees
• (d) Does not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees
• (e) Does not provide more than 5% of the benefits paid during the year to shareholders or owners (or their spouses or dependents) who owned more than 5% of the stock, capital, or profits of the company.

Question 43

3 types of adoption assistance benefits offered

Answer 43

• Financial reimbursement for adoption expenses.
• Paid leave for adoption
• Unpaid leave beyond that required by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Question 44

Reasons for employers offering adoption benefits include:

Answer 44

** (a) Because the benefits are affordable**. Employers report low utilization rates of less than 1% of employees using the benefits in an average year, making them an inexpensiveoffering.

(b) Because the benefits are easy to establish and administer. Most employers administer the policy on their own rather than using a third party. A financial reimbursement form accompanied by receipts for eligible expenses is the only documentation required. Adoption leave requests can be handled using existing procedures.

(c) To respond to employee requests.

(d) To increase employee loyalty, retention and productivity.

(e) To offer a competitive work-life benefits package.

(f) To provide equity for adoptive parents, recognizing that birth parents receive parental leave and financial help through medical insurance benefits.

(g) To enhance their reputation as a caring corporate citizen.

Question 45

An adoption assistance program must meet the following 4 requirements:

Answer 45

• i. Must not favor highly compensated employees or their dependents
• ii. Must not pay more than 5% of its benefits to certain shareholders or owners
• iii. Employer must give reasonable notice of the plan to eligible employees.
• iv. Employees must provide reasonable substantiation of the adoption expense to be paid or reimbursed.

Question 46

Benefits paid under an adoption assistance program are not subject to _______ tax withholding. However, they are subject to _______ taxes

Answer 46

• federal income
• Social Security, Medicare and Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)

Question 47

What are some of the advantages of voluntary benefits for both employers and employees?

Answer 47

• (a) Employers may offer more benefits without significant added cost to their bottom lines.
• (b) Voluntary benefits may be used to supplement or replace employer-sponsored benefits that have been reduced or eliminated.
• (c) Voluntary benefits can serve as an employee retention or recruitment tool.
• (d) Employees like the convenience of obtaining benefits through the workplace.
• (e) Voluntary benefits are sometimes portable, allowing employees to take them with them to a new job.

Question 48

Identify some types of commonly offered voluntary benefits (7)

Answer 48

1. Group term life insurance (most common)
2. dependent and supplemental life insurance,
3. disability income insurance,
4. dental insurance,
5. long-term care coverage,
6. accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, and
7. vision benefits coverage

Question 49

Group programs may be excluded from ERISA if the following four requirements are met:

Answer 49

1. The employer or employee organization does not make any contributions
2. Participation in the program is completely voluntary for employees.
3. The employer’s sole functions, without endorsing the program, are to:
   • i. Permit the insurer to publicize the program
   • ii. Collect premiums
   • iii. Remit premiums to the insurer
4. The employer or employee organization receives no consideration in connection with the voluntary benefits other than reasonable compensation for administrative services

Question 50

Hourly employees are considered:

Answer 50

NONexempt