Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

Department of Labor (DOL) Legal Postings

EEOC

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

 

*********************************************************************************

 

COBRA - Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health benefit provisions, amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Internal Revenue Code and the Public Health Service Act to provide continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated. 

 

COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates.  This coverage, however, is only available when coverage is lost due to certain specific events.  Group health coverage for COBRA participants is usually more expensive than health coverage for active employees, since usually the employer pays a part of the premium for active employees while COBRA participants generally pay the entire premium themselves.  It is ordinarily less expensive, though, than individual health coverage.

 

SUBTOPICS

 

 Compliance Assistance

 Consumer Information on Health Plans

 Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA)

 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

 Fiduciary Responsibilities

 Health Benefits Education

 Mental Health Benefits

 Newborns' & Mothers' Protections (Newborns' Act)

 Participant Rights

 Plan Information

 Portability of Health Coverage (HIPAA)

 Womens' Health & Cancer Rights Protections

 

 

*******************************************************************************

DOL Required Postings  - Department of Labor (DOL) legally required posters for posting in a location accessible to all employees. DOL provides the posters at no cost to employers. 

• Job Safety & Health
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Federal Minimum Wage
• Special Minimum Wage
• Family & Medical Leave
• USERRA
• Federal Construction Contracts (Davis-Bacon)
• Construction Contracts
• Employee Polygraph Protection
• Migrant & Seasonal Agricultural Workers
• Federal Contractor Posters

********************************************************************************

                                         

EEOC - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) monitors and The Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination are:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;

• the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;

• the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;

• Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments;

• Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government; and

• the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.

*******************************************************************************

 

 

ERISA - The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. For example, if your employer maintains a pension plan, ERISA specifies when you must be allowed to become a participant, how long you have to work before you have a non-forfeitable interest in your pension, how long you can be away from your job before it might affect your benefits, and whether your spouse has a right to part of your pension in the event of your death.  Most of the provisions of ERISA are effective for plan years beginning or after January 1, 1975.

 

 

*******************************************************************************

                                       

FLSA - The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) , which prescribes standards for the basic minimum wage and overtime pay, affects most private and public employment. It requires employers to pay covered employees who are not otherwise exempt at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular rate of pay. For nonagricultural operations, it restricts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children under age 18 in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. For agricultural operations, it prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. The Act is administered by the Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division within the U.S. Department of Labor.

 

 

*******************************************************************************

 

FMLA - The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is enforced by the Department of Labor (DOL).  Eligible employees receive unpaid leave up to a total of 12 work weeks during any 12-month period. These reasons include:

 

·         The birth and care of the newborn child of the employee.

·         For placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care.

·         To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition.

·         For medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

                    

 

*******************************************************************************

 

NLRB - The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforces the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB conducts secret-ballot elections to decided whether or not employees want union representation and investigates and remedy unfair labor practices by employers and unions.

 

                   

******************************************************************************* 

                             

OSHA - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a division of the DOL.  OSHA investigates and enforces the OSH Act of 1970. OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health.                                 

            

 

 

Accounting Software

• Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 - A full-featured financial management program designed for companies with 25 or fewer employees. It allows small business owners to manage their business financials using out-of-the-box software that has the familiarity of Microsoft Office 2003.

• PC WORLD - Review of top accounting software.

• Peachtree - Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries.

• Simply Accounting - Easy to learn and use powerful accounting tools for your growing business.

********************************************************************************

 

Business Plans

• American Express Small Business Plan Resources - Step-by-step guide for creating a business plan, with samples, worksheets, glossaries, expert query, and interactive "try it yourself" section.

• Business Plan Archive - An archive of business plans from both successful and unsuccessful businesses.

• Center for Business Planning

• Business Plan Pro

 

********************************************************************************

 

Conferencing/Faxing/Call Monitoring

• Get a local, private fax number! You'll get faxes directly in your email inbox. Only $7.95 after a 30 day trial!

• Stop Missing Important Calls While Online! CallWave's Internet Answering Machine! Only $3.95 after 30 Day Trial!

• The Next Generation in Online Meetings Has Arrived. GoToMeeting is the easy, secure way to attend online meetings - Try it FREE!

 

********************************************************************************

 

Insurance Quotes

• Small Business Health Insurance Quotes

• HealthInsuranceSavings.com -Self-employed? Small business owner? Take advantage of our health,dental, and life insurance.

• Business Health Insurance Quotes - Get Quotes!

• Netquote.com - Business insurance quotes

 

********************************************************************************

 

Logo Services

• Get an affordable, custom Logo Design in as little as 5 business days

• Great logo + great price = LogoWorks

• Logo Design Pros

• My Logo. My Design. My Identity. Create a professional logo in just minutes

• The Logo Loft

• Business Logos

• Professional Logo Designs - Count On Logo Jeez For All Your Design Needs. Forget About 100% Money-Back Guarantee. Why Take Risk When There Is $0 To Start Offer.

 

 

********************************************************************************

 

Office Supplies/Misc.

• Avery Office Supplies

• Office Depot

• Office Max

• Staples

 

********************************************************************************

 

Printing

• 20% off Business Cards, Rubber Stamps, and more at iPrint.com!

• Huge savings at Successories Outlet Center! - Motivate employees by surrounding them with messages of confidence and success on posters, calendars, awards, mugs and more by Successories.

• VistaPrint.com - 25% OFF All Products

 

********************************************************************************

 

Tech Support

• Unlimited Toll-Free PC Tech Support $89 A Year - Provide a broad scope of service and expert knowledge in countless PC areas. Whether your problem is hardware or software related, you can depend on Ask Dr. Tech to troubleshoot the cause and find the solution.

 

********************************************************************************

 

Training

• Measure your skills with a FREE online Brainbench certification exam - 6 million members have advanced their skills and their careers, and over 5,000 businesses have found better ways to screen and select candidates, track and develop employee skills, and differentiate employees to current and prospective clients.

• Video Professor - FREE computer lessons including Word, Windows®, Photoshop®, Excel®, Frontpage®, and MUCH MORE!

• Online Courses - Training Center provide effective, convenient and easy-to-use self-paced training taught through a personal computer. Web-based training of enterprise-quality courses are offered to businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations and home office users worldwide.

 

********************************************************************************

 

Website Design & Hosting

• Atomic Shops - Build a professional full feature small business website in just 5 minutes! Under $20. Best yet, no programming or design required!

• Discover why Netfirms hosts over 1,000,000 Websites.

• Host 6 Domains on 1 Bluehost Account $6.95 Per Month

• iPower Website Hosting - 3000MB, 50 GB & 500 E-Mails, + FREE; Setup, Domain, Web Builder, Shopping Cart & Promotion 100 to Top Search Engines.

• Lunarpages - 5000MB of storage and 400GB of transfer for only $6.95

• Reliable hosting from Yahoo! Web Hosting.

• StartLogic. Free setup/domain, Web builder, unlimited emails, PHP, mySQL, CGI, FrontPage. From $6.50/month. Click Here for more info.

 

 

Articles

• Business Plan Basics

• Gathering Information For Your Plan

• Business Plan Maintenance

• Business Plan Mistakes

• Design Your Plan to Fit Your Business

• Do I need a business plan?

• Identity Theft and Privacy - Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. Learn how to protect you and your company now.

• Success Strategies for Business - Are your people ready? Your people are the heart of your business. Give them the tools they need to succeed. Learn more about how businesses thrive by empowering employees.

• The Essential Contents of a Marketing Plan

 

********************************************************************************************

 

Business Plans

• Palo Alto Software - Award-winning planning software will help make your business successful. Plans include business, marketing, advertising, and more.

 

********************************************************************************

 

Calculators

• Cash Flow Calculator

• Conversion Rate Calculator

• Discounted Cash Flow Calculator

• Email ROI Calculator

• Investor Offering Calculator

• PPC ROI Calculator

 

********************************************************************************

 

Insurance

• HealthInsuranceSavings.com -Self-employed? Small business owner? Take advantage of our health,dental, and life insurance.

• Business Health Insurance Quotes - Get Quotes!

• Netquote.com - Business insurance quotes

 

********************************************************************************

 

Websites

• Business Owner Toolkit - Small business owners with fewer than 10 employees (starting, running, and growing a successful enterprise)

• FranchiseHandbook.com - Comprehensive and up-to-date database of franchises

• Office.com - The first stop on the Web for small businesses looking for the resources to help them be more productive and competitive in today's environment.

• Small Business Association of Michigan

 

• Michigan Women's Marketplace

• Woman Owned - Business Network for women

• SBA-Women's Business Center