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Contents
Welcome to the June issue of The Alcott Advisor. In it, you will find timely, valuable information to advance your business.
This month's issue highlights new changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which every employer should know. Additionally, you will
gain more insight regarding enhancements to your employee benefit program.
Apart from these employee-related topics, there is an article by Lisa Pomerantz, Esq., an attorney based in Sayville, NY
discussing how to structure consulting agreements, as well as a contributed article by Jackie Gernaey, independent owner
of The Alternative Board (TAB®) in Suffolk County, who presents information on the importance of having a marketing plan
and how to get started.
As always, we welcome any inquiries you have regarding these topics or any others concerning you and your business.
The Alcott Group and its strategic partners would like to be a valuable resource to you. If you would like to share your
expertise with an article for our online newsletter, please contact Al Anastasi at
ata@alcottgroup.com.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
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If Your Benefit Package Could Talk
What does your employee benefit program say to your employees? Does it tell them “the company values us” or does
it say “the boss just gives us the least he or she can"? We all know that benefit packages can’t really talk, but what
many business owners don’t realize is that they do send a clear message to current and potential employees. Employees
do talk - they talk to each other, to their friends, spouses, the competition, headhunters, etc.
The fact is, in our society, employee benefits have taken on a life of their own. Benefits are an integral part of the
compensation package. They are costly. They are a major factor in a company’s ability to attract and retain key employees
and if mishandled can negatively affect employee morale. This being the case, you need to make sure your benefits
package is working for you & not against you.
Click here to read more
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DID YOU KNOW?
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U.S. Dept. of Labor Updates Regulations on Overtime Exemptions
On April 23rd, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published final regulations on changes to employee job
positions that are exempt from overtime pay. These regulations are scheduled to become effective August 23, 2004,
changing the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). These exemptions are classified into the following categories:
Executive
• Administrative
• Professional
• Outside Sales
• Computer Employee
The standards are intended to make it easier for employers to decide what class a job is in: exempt from overtime
or non-exempt from overtime.
Click here to read more
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RISKY BUSINESS
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Making Consulting Agreements Work for You
By Lisa Renee Pomerantz, Attorney at Law
Companies often look to consultants to provide services or perform functions their in-house staff cannot handle
effectively or efficiently. Sometimes, though, consulting arrangements turn into financial and operational nightmares,
replete with delays, cost overruns and disputes over the quality and ownership of the work product. Companies and
consultants, however, can increase the chances of a successful engagement by addressing certain key issues in
their agreements.
Some of these key issues arise from the fact that the consultant is not an employee. Unlike in an employment
relationship, the customer generally cannot exercise day-to-day behavioral control over the consultant. Rather,
the customer must specify the end product and leave it to the consultant how that end product is achieved.
Click here to read more
Lisa Renee Pomerantz is a Sayville based attorney providing strategic legal and mediation services to businesses
and non-profit organizations. She also is a network expert for LRSolutions, a Northport based provider of legal
research and on-line employee compliance training products. Lisa has received Awards of Recognition from the
Suffolk County Bar Association for her service as an Officer of the Suffolk Academy of Law, and as Co-Chair of the
Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Committee. Lisa can be reached by telephone at (631) 567-2683 or via
email at
lisapom@optonline.net
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DOLLARS & SENSE
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The Importance of Marketing Planning
By Jacquelyn Gernaey, President, HyTech Consulting
Like having a business plan, it’s also important you develop some type of marketing plan – to keep you on
track and focused in the months ahead. Developing a marketing plan can be a simple task of writing down the
goals you would like to achieve in the next six to 12 months to a more comprehensive activity that includes market
and financial projections.
Despite its depth, your marketing plan should address the five "constants:"
People
Who are your target customers? What are their needs? What pain do they have which you can alleviate through
a product or service?
Product (Service)
What products or services meet their needs? What is your unique selling proposition?
Click here to read more
Jacquelyn Gernaey, Independent Owner of the Alternative Board TAB, Suffolk County, Long Island, and President of
HyTech Consulting, has more than twenty-five years experience leading both entrepreneurial and large corporations.
She now focuses on helping CEOs, presidents, owners, and partners create, execute, and exceed their personal and
business success goals. She has extensive experience facilitating the development of strategic plans for small
businesses and is a Certified Strategic Business Leadership® Coach. She has developed a web-based product
to help small business owners in the development and tracking of their plans called PlanTracker™. More information
on this topic is available on her websites
www.tabny.com,
www.hytechny.com,
www.plantracker.com
or by calling her office at 631.474.4310.
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CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
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"Universe Appliance Repairs, Inc. --
Growth and Development through Outsourcing"
If you asked Bill Powell, president of Universe Appliance Repairs how his company has benefited from outsourcing,
he would simply state, “Outsourcing has enabled us to take better care of our employees and our organization.”
The full-service gas, heating, and central air appliance repair firm headquartered in Seaford, NY and serving the Nassau
County and Western Suffolk’s South Shore, currently outsources two areas of operations: marketing/advertising and
employees benefits/HR services. A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) manages all of Universe’s employee
payroll, benefits design and administration, tax and regulatory compliance and HR services. An advertising agency
develops all of its marketing materials.
Click here to read more
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ASK THE HR EXPERTS
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The Alcott Group welcomes your questions regarding matters of concern to you and your employees.
Click Ask the HR Experts to submit your question.
We will make every effort to respond to your question
in a timely manner. If we choose to feature your question in an upcoming newsletter, we will first contact
you for permission and will protect your privacy by eliminating any reference to you or your company.
Following is a question posed by another business owner.
What are my obligations as a small business to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
While business with less than 15 employees are not required to make accommodations for disabled workers as their
larger counterparts are, small businesses should keep the following in mind:
Click here to read more
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Employer Alert: All PEOs Must Be Registered in NY State by July 1, 2004
In accordance with the New York Professional Employer Act signed into law by Governor Pataki on September 24,
2002, all Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) operating in the State of New York must be registered with
the New York State Department of Labor effective July 1, 2004. Under The Act, unregistered organizations may not
refer to themselves as a PEO or in other terms associated with the profession such as staff leasing company.
Moreover, The Act prohibits unregistered companies from engaging as PEOs within the State.
To register, an organization must provide certain information to the Department of Labor, including: reviewed financial
statements accompanied by a cover letter from an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) attesting to the fact
that the PEO has satisfied minimum net worth requirements. The Act also contains bonding and reporting requirements.
Once an organization completes its initial registration, renewals are made annually with each PEO required to provide
a statement prepared by a CPA within 60 days after the end of each calendar quarter, attesting to the fact that the PEO
has paid all federal and state payroll taxes on a timely basis.
When this legislation was initially enacted, The Alcott Group immediately sought to become registered and, in fact,
was the first in the state to successfully complete the PEO registration process.
At the time the legislation was passed, Alcott President Louis Basso, who is also the President of the New York
State Chapter of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), a member of the
NAPEO Board of Directors and the Board of the Institute for Accreditation of PEOs, stated "This legislation is
a significant milestone for the PEO industry and the thousands of businesses it serves. Through its stringent
registration requirements, it provides the public with sound documentation and proof of an organization's
financial and professional integrity and helps alleviate concerns where a foundation of trust must exist."
In addition to being the first to seek registration, Alcott continues to lead the PEO industry in other areas as well.
Among them, Alcott has created a continuing education program on PEOs for professionals. There is both a
CPE-credit program for CPAs and a CLE-credit program for attorneys, both of which discuss the intricacies of
the co-employment relationship between PEO and their client companies. In addition to presenting these
programs directly to local accounting and law firms, Alcott has presented its programs before professional
association such as the Nassau and Suffolk Bar Associations.
Is a PEO Right for You? Take Alcott's
SELF EVALUATION
to learn if your company is a candidate for HR Outsourcing.
Complimentary HR Strategy Evaluation: Is your HR shop in order? Do you have a focused HR strategy or is
it something you just can't seem to get to? Alcott's on-sight evaluation will help you create an actionable plan for
addressing one of your most critical business processes.
Click here
to learn more.
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