MEETING MINUTES – May 12, 2004

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Association held on at Renaissance Hotel in Asheville.  Should you have any questions, comments or corrections, please contact Bridget Downey, PHR, our Chapter Secretary.

Chapter Business:
Bettina Hall hosted the meeting in Renee Anderson’s absence.  She opened by having those present introduce themselves and their guests.

Bridget Downey announced that our chapter will be holding a contest, open to all, to design a brochure to present our Chapter to newcomers.  Anyone interested in participating should contact Bridget to get more information.  Prizes will include a SHRM portfolio and other items, yet to be announced.

Carol Rovello reminded members that she is still accepting items for the May Newsletter. 

Frank Pomeroy introduced this month’s featured vendor, WCI (Western Carolina Industries), represented by Cheryl Sondel, Mel Strickland, and Mark Sondles. They are a service organization dedicated to assisting businesses in WNC.  Their newest offering is a medical insurance product created to provide affordable coverage for WNC employers and their employees.  Anyone unable to attend the meeting can receive a copy of their informative handout by contacting Mark Sondles, Marketing Director for WCI Employer's Choice at msondles@wciinc.org.  WCI Employer’s Choice began operating last fall and now has over 20 companies enrolled.  In addition to describing their own product, WCI gave some pointers for those considering some of the new Mini-Med programs.  It is important to be sure they offer guaranteed coverage to all employees and their families with no pre-existing condition clauses.  They are hopeful that, in addition to being successful, WCI Employer’s Choice will provide the important presence of an alternative to the larger, higher-priced insurance companies sufficient to put substantial pressure on the marketplace to bring prices down for everyone.

Program Highlights:

This month’s program was presented by John Yarborough of Constangy Brooks & Smith, LLC.  He had expected to discuss the newly-enacted revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), but the finalization date has been pushed back to August 23, 2004 due to a game of “political football”.  Nonetheless, John delivered useful updates on the rules which he assures us will soon be in place.  He quotes the DOL as stating that Harking’s efforts at delaying are “no big deal.”

An upcoming trend to be aware of is that some states, such as Illinois and California are enacting state laws to supercede the federal laws. 

One rule we no longer will need to consider is the 20% non-exempt rule.  It is no longer in effect.

The current rules include some deductions that can be made without destroying the exempt status:

·        Personal leave other than sickness or death.

·        Major safety infractions.

·        Deduction of one or more days for violating work conduct rules.

John cautioned us against making deductions not covered by the regulations.  That could result in losing the exemptions for all employees during that time period.

To ensure that you are in good shape to comply with the new rules:

·        Clearly communicate policies.

·        Make sure to reimburse any hours that are improperly deducted.

·        Be sure all future compliance is in good faith.

The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 noon on Wednesday, June 9th, 2004 at the Renaissance.    

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.