9 tips for maintaining positive employee relations

8/2/2019 9 Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations

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9 Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations

Every supervisors goal Is to create and maintain an environment in which employees feelrespected, fairly treated and that their needs are being met.

Employee want to:

know their work is appreciated and valuedbe included in the decision making processhave fair working conditionsengage in satisfying and challenging work

grow through development and tactful disciplinereceive appropriate help with personal problemsSupervisors need to:

acknowledge a job well doneunderstand and respond to employee concerns

communicate openly with everyonerecognize personal problems and assist where possible or direct employee to a source of helpavoid idle threats about job securitycarefully consider employee concerns about working conditions

live up to their commitmentslisten, investigate and consider before discipliningbe consistent treating each employee in the same, fair fashion

Wages & Benefits: Overview

Wages and job benefits are two of the most important employment-related concerns formany workers. Federal and state laws concerning wages and fair pay have evolved over

the years, and the rules governing employee benefit plans can be fairly difficult to

understand, so below is an overview of this key area of employees' rights law.

Wages

Federal and state laws set out in detail the minimum wage every worker is entitled to

receive. These laws also identify which workers are entitled to receive overtime pay for

working longer hours. Unfortunately, and often unintentionally, some employers fail to

comply with these legal requirements. Common violations of the law related toemployment wages include:

Not paying the correct minimum wage.

Paying the lower "training wage" or "youth minimum wage" to workers who

should be paid more. Not paying overtime.

Making employees work "off-the-clock," and not paying them for it.

Deducting too much for tips.

Deducting for wages paid in goods, such as meals or food.

The wage and hour laws are meant to protect employees, and to ensure that their
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employers treat them with fairness in terms of payment for work done.

Benefits

The term "benefits" is a broad one. It covers anything an employee receives other than

cash wages. Some benefits -- such as family and medical leave -- are required underfederal or state law. These benefits generally do not cost an employer anything, except interms of the employee's away from work. If you are an employee covered by a law that

requires certain job benefits, such as leave time for certain purposes, your employer must

allow you to take advantage of those benefits at no penalty to you.

Unlike things such as family and medical leave, some benefits are optional and are a

matter to be negotiated by you and your employer. These benefits include medical,

disability, or dental insurance, life insurance, or employee pension plans. Although thesebenefits are optional, in that the employer is not required by law to provide them, an

employer who does choose to provide them must follow certain federal regulations that

can be extremely complex and technical. Most health benefit and pension plans areregulated under a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

1974 (ERISA). Among other things, ERISA regulations require that employees receive

notice of the terms of any employee benefit plan -- what it is, who is eligible, what the

plan covers, what the plan costs, how payments are made, and how and when changes tothe plan will be made.

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elp/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-more-topics/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-more-topics/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-job-loss/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-job-loss/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-discrimination-harassment/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-discrimination-harassment/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-discrimination-harassment/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-discrimination-harassment/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-family-medical-leave/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-family-medical-leave/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-family-medical-leave/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-hiring/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-hiring/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-hiring/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-overview/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-overview/http://public.findlaw.com/moretopics/http://realestate.findlaw.com/http://employment.findlaw.com/http://dui.findlaw.com/http://family.findlaw.com/http://criminal.findlaw.com/http://bankruptcy.findlaw.com/http://injury.findlaw.com/http://public.findlaw.com/http://public.findlaw.com/http://lawyers.findlaw.com/http://lawyers.findlaw.com/http://lp.findlaw.com/http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/http://public.findlaw.com/http://www.findlaw.com/


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Adopted Child A child who is adopted orplaced for adoption, as definedby the state in which the

adoption takes place.

AffiliationPeriod

A period of time that must passbefore health insurance

coverage provided by an HMO

(Health MaintenanceOrganization) becomeseffective.

If a group health plan providescoverage to you through an

HMO with an affiliation period,

the affiliation period cannot belonger than 2 months (3 months

for a late enrollee) from your

enrollment date, and the plan

cannot impose a pre-existingcondition exclusion. During the

affiliation period, the plan

cannot charge you premiums,and the HMO is not required toprovide benefits.

The affiliation period must run

concurrently with any waiting

period for coverage under the
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aw.com/http://lawyers.findlaw.com/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-insurance-top/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-benefits-dictionary.htmlhttp://print.employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-insurance-top/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-benefits-dictionary.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/email.html?url=http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-insurance-top/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-benefits-dictionary.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/email.html?url=http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-insurance-top/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-benefits-dictionary.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/location/change.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-health-insurance-top/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/http://employment.findlaw.com/http://public.findlaw.com/http://www.findlaw.com/http://www.legalconnection.com/http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practice.jsphttp://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/state.jsphttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-resources/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-help/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-more-topics/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-job-loss/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-discrimination-harassment/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-family-medical-leave/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-more-topics/employment-employee-independent-contractor-top/employment-employee-wages-benefits-taxes-self-employment.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-resources.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-garnishment.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-taxes-payroll.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/employment-employee-wages-benefits-overview.htmlhttp://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-wages-benefits/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-hiring/http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-overview/


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plan.

Certificate of

CreditableCoverage

A written certificate issued by a

group health plan or healthinsurance issuer (including an

HMO) that shows your prior

health coverage (creditablecoverage). A certificate must be

issued automatically and free of

charge when you lose coverageunder a plan, when you are

entitled to elect COBRA

continuation coverage or when

you lose COBRA continuationcoverage. A certificate must

also be provided free of charge

upon request while you havehealth coverage or within 24

months after your coverage

ends. For more information, see

Questions and Answers: RecentChanges in Health Care Law.

COBRA

(ConsolidatedOmnibus

Budget

ReconciliationAct of 1985)

COBRA is a federal law that

provides rights to temporarycontinuation of group health

plan coverage for certain

employees, retirees and familymembers at group rates whencoverage is lost due to certain

qualifying events.

COBRAContinuation

Coverage

The temporary continuation ofgroup health plan coverage

available after a qualifying

event to certain employees,

retirees and family memberswho are qualified beneficiaries.

Those who are eligible may berequired to pay for COBRA

continuation coverage and are

generally entitled to coveragefor a limited period of time

(from 18 months to 36 months),
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depending on certain

circumstances.

CoveredEmployee

An individual who is (or was)provided coverage under a

group health plan that is subject

to COBRA because thatindividual was employed by

one or more persons

maintaining the group healthplan.

Creditable

Coverage

Health coverage you have had

in the past, such as coverage

under a group health plan(including COBRA

continuation coverage), an

HMO, an individual healthinsurance policy, Medicare or

Medicaid, and this prior

coverage was not interrupted bya significant break in coverage.

The time period of this prior

coverage must be applied

toward any pre-existingcondition exclusion imposed by

a new health plan. Proof of your

creditable coverage may beshown by a certificate ofcreditable coverage or by other

documents showing you had

health coverage, such as ahealth insurance ID card. For

more information, see

Questions and Answers: Recent

Changes in Health Care Law.

Drug

Formulary

A list of all the medicines that

will be covered by your grouphealth plan.

Elect When referring to health

coverage, this means to choose,

generally in writing, to

participate in a group health
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plan.

Election

Notice

Written notification that you are

eligible for COBRAcontinuation coverage. This

notice should explain how long

you will have to decide whetheror not to elect COBRA

continuation coverage. The

group health plan must give youat least 60 days from the date

the notice is provided to you, or

from the date your coverage

ended, whichever is later, toelect COBRA continuation

coverage. The election notice

should explain, among manyother things, how much you

must pay for coverage and

when and to whom the

payments are due.

Employee

Organization

Any labor union or organization

of any kind in which employees

participate and which exists forthe purpose of dealing with

employers concerning an

employee benefit plan(including group health plans)or other matters involving

employment relationships. An

employee organization can alsobe an employee beneficiary

association.

ERISA

(EmployeeRetirement

IncomeSecurity Actof 1974)

ERISA is a federal law that

regulates employee benefitplans, such as group health

plans, that private sectoremployers, employeeorganizations (such as unions),

or both, offer to employees and

their families.

Enrollment The first day of coverage or, if


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Date there is a waiting period, the

first day of the waiting period.If you enroll when first eligible

for coverage, your enrollment

date is generally the first day of

employment. If you enroll as alate enrollee, your enrollment

date is the first day of coverage.

ExhaustedCOBRA

Coverage

The end of your COBRAcontinuation coverage because

the period of time that this

coverage was available to you

has lapsed, or for any reasonother than your failure to pay

premiums on time or for cause

(such as making a fraudulentclaim or an intentional

misrepresentation of a material

fact in connection with your

plan). Additional reasons forexhaustion of COBRA

coverage are possible besides

the time being up. You have

exhausted your COBRAcontinuation coverage if the

coverage ends because your

employer failed to pay thepremiums on time or you no

longer live or work in an HMO

service area and there is nosimilar COBRA coverage

available to you. You need not

accept a conversion policy atthe end of your COBRA

coverage in order to exhaust

your COBRA coverage.

GeneticInformation

Information about genes, geneproducts and inheritedcharacteristics that may derive

from you or a family member.

This includes informationregarding carrier status and

information derived from


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laboratory tests that identify

mutations in specific genes orchromosomes, physical medical

examinations, family histories

and direct analysis of genes or

chromosomes.

Gross

Misconduct

The term "gross misconduct" is

not specifically defined in

COBRA or in regulations underCOBRA. Therefore, whether a

terminated employee has

engaged in "gross misconduct"

that will justify a plan in notoffering COBRA to that former

employee and his or her family

members will depend on thespecific facts and

circumstances. Generally, it can

be assumed that being fired for

most ordinary reasons, such asexcessive absences or generally

poor performance, does not

amount to "gross misconduct."

Group Health

Plan

An employee benefit plan

established or maintained by an

employer or by an employeeorganization (such as a union),or both, that provides medical

care to employees and their

dependents directly or throughinsurance (including an HMO),

reimbursement or otherwise.

HMO (Health

MaintenanceOrganization)

Legal entity consisting of

participating medical providersthat provide or arrange for care

to be furnished to a givenpopulation group for a fixed feeper person. HMOs are used as

alternatives to traditional

indemnity plans.

HIPAA HIPAA is a federal law that


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(Health

InsurancePortability and

Accountability

Act)

limits pre-existing condition

exclusions, permits specialenrollment when certain life or

work events occur, prohibits

discrimination against

employees and dependentsbased on their health status, and

guarantees availability and

renewability of health coverageto certain employees and

individuals.

Late Enrollee An individual who enrolls in a

group health plan on a dateother than either the earliest

date on which coverage can

begin under the plan terms oron a special enrollment date.

Under HIPAA, a late enrollee

may be subject to a maximum

pre-existing condition exclusionof up to 18 months.

Mental Health

Parity Act(MHPA)

MHPA is a federal law that

requires annual or lifetimedollar limits on mental health

benefits provided by a group

health plan to be no lower thanthe annual or lifetime dollarlimits for medical and surgical

benefits offered by that plan.

MHPA applies to employerswith more than 50 employees.

Newborns'

and Mothers'

HealthProtection Act

(Newborns'Act)

The Newborns' Act is a federal

law that prohibits group health

plans and insurance companies(including HMOs) that cover

hospitalization in connectionwith childbirth from restrictinga mother's or newborn's benefits

for such hospital stays to less

than 48 hours following a

vaginal delivery or 96 hoursfollowing delivery by cesarean


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section, unless the attending

doctor, nurse midwife or otherlicensed health care provider, in

consultation with the mother,

discharges earlier.

PlanAdministrator

The person who is responsiblefor the management of the plan.

The plan administrator is a

person specifically designatedby the terms of the plan. If the

plan does not make such a

designation, then the plan

sponsor is generally the planadministrator.

Plan Sponsor Generally, the employer, the

employee organization (such asa union), or both, that

establishes or maintains an

employee benefit plan,including a group health plan.

Pre-existing

Condition

An illness or condition that was

present before an individual's

first day of coverage under agroup health plan. For more

information, seeQuestions andAnswers: Recent Changes in

Health Care Law.

Pre-existing

Condition

Exclusion

A limitation or exclusion of

benefits for a condition based

on the fact that you had thecondition before your

enrollment date in the group

health plan. A pre-existing

condition exclusion may be

applied to your condition onlyif the condition is one for which

medical advice, diagnosis, careor treatment was recommended

or received within the 6 months

before your enrollment date in

the plan. A pre-existing
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condition exclusion cannot be

applied to pregnancy(regardless of whether the

woman had previous coverage),

or to genetic information in the

absence of a diagnosis. A pre-existing condition exclusion

also cannot be applied to a

newborn or a child who isadopted or placed for adoption

if the child has health coverage

within 30 days of birth,

adoption or placement foradoption and does not later

have a significant break in

coverage. If a plan providescoverage to you through an

HMO that has an affiliation

period, the plan cannot apply a

pre-existing conditionexclusion. A pre-existing

condition exclusion can not be

longer than 12 months fromyour enrollment date (18

months for a late enrollee). A

pre-existing condition exclusionthat is applied to you must be

reduced by the prior creditablecoverage you have that was not

interrupted by a significantbreak in coverage. You may

show creditable coverage

through a certificate of

creditable coverage given toyou by your prior plan or

insurer (including an HMO) or

by other proof. The plan can

apply a pre-existing condition

exclusion to you only if it hasfirst given you written notice. If

your plan has both a waitingperiod and a pre-existing

condition exclusion, the

exclusion begins when thewaiting period begins. In some


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states, if plan coverage is

provided through an insurancepolicy or HMO, you may have

more protections with respect to

pre-existing condition

exclusions.

Pre-existing

Condition

ExclusionPeriod

The period of time that a group

health plan can legally limit

your access to the healthbenefits offered by that plan

because of a pre-existing

condition. Under HIPAA, the

maximum pre-existingcondition exclusion period that

can be applied to an individual

is 12 months (18 months forlate enrollees).

Qualified

Beneficiary

Generally, qualified

beneficiaries include coveredemployees, their spouses and

their dependent children who

are covered under the group

health plan on the day beforethe qualifying event. In certain

cases, retired employees, their

spouses and dependent childrenmay be qualified beneficiaries.In addition, any child born to,

or placed for adoption with, a

covered employee during aperiod of COBRA continuation

coverage is a qualified

beneficiary.

QualifyingEvent

Certain events that wouldordinarily cause an individual

to lose health coverage. Thetype of qualifying event willdetermine who the qualified

beneficiaries for the qualifying

event are and the length of time

COBRA continuation coverageis available. For more


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information, seeQuestions and

Answers: Recent Changes inHealth Care Law.

Significant

Break in

Coverage

Generally, a significant break in

coverage is a period of 63

consecutive days during whichyou have no creditable

coverage. In some states, the

period is longer if your plancoverage is provided through an

insurance policy or HMO. Days

in a waiting period during

which you had no other healthcoverage cannot be counted

toward determining a

significant break in coverage.For more information, see

Questions and Answers: Recent

Changes in Health Care Law.

Similarly

Situated Non-

COBRA

Beneficiaries

The group of covered

employees, their spouses or

dependent children who are

covered under a group healthplan maintained by the

employer or employee

organization. This group isreceiving their benefits underthe group plan and not through

COBRA continuation coverage.

They are most similarly situatedto the circumstances of the

qualified beneficiary

immediately before the

qualifying event.

SPD

(SummaryPlanDescription)

An important document that the

plan administrator must provideto participants and beneficiariesthat explains what coverage the

plan offers, how the plan

operates and the rights and

responsibilities of participantsand beneficiaries. Each SPD is
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different. If you need a copy of

the SPD, contact your planadministrator.

Special

Enrollment

The opportunity to enroll in a

group health plan when certain

work or life events occur,regardless of the plan's regular

enrollment dates. Generally, if

certain conditions are met,special enrollment is available

when you, your spouse or your

dependents lose other coverage

(including exhaustion ofCOBRA continuation

coverage), when you marry or

when you have a new child bybirth, adoption or placement for

adoption. The plan must give

you at least 30 days--from the

loss of coverage or from thedate of the marriage, birth,

adoption or placement for

adoption--to request special

enrollment. The maximum pre-existing condition exclusion

that may be applied to a person

upon special enrollment is 12months (reduced by the person's

prior creditable coverage).

However, if enrolled within 30days of birth, adoption or

placement for adoption,

children may be exempt fromany pre-existing condition

exclusion. A description of a

plan's special enrollment rules

must be given to the employee

on or before the time theemployee is offered the

opportunity to enroll in the

plan. For more information, seeQuestions and Answers: Recent

Changes in Health Care Law
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Waiting

Period

The period that must pass

before an employee ordependent is eligible to enroll

(becomes covered) under the

terms of the group health plan.

If the employee or dependentenrolls as a late enrollee or on a

special enrollment date, any

period before the late or specialenrollment is not a waiting

period. If a plan has a waiting

period and a pre-existing

condition exclusion, the pre-existing condition exclusion

period begins when the waiting

period begins. Days in awaiting period are not counted

toward creditable coverage

unless there is other creditable

coverage during that time. Youshould try to maintain

creditable coverage during a

waiting period to reduce anypre-existing condition exclusion

that may apply. Days in a

waiting period are also notcounted when determining a

significant break in coverage.

Women's

Health andCancer Rights

Act

(WHCRA)

WHCRA is a federal law that

provides important protectionsfor individuals who have

undergone a mastectomy. For

more information, seeYourRights After a Mastectomy:

The Women's Health and

Cancer Rights Act.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

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9 tips for maintaining positive employee relations

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