Skip to main content
search
All Posts By

robintek

Apr 07
Love0

Mailing your intellectual property to yourself: Does that REALLY work?

By Cyber Security Awareness

When discussing copyright protection, sooner or later someone’s going to suggest mailing your intellectual property to yourself as an easy way to protect what’s yours. The “Poor Man’s Copyright,” as it were. So, does this actually work, or is it just something that “sounds right,” so people love to share it?

The truth is that there aren’t really any advantages to mailing something to yourself. If you create something, be it a corporate logo, a blog post or a t-shirt design, you own it the minute you’re done creating it. These days the chain of evidence leading to the originator is incredibly strong, as there is an imprint of your work the minute you set out to write the first page of your novel or take a photo with your phone. It’s very difficult for IP thieves to claim the copyright on something that they did not create. If you’ve created something, then you probably have all the evidence you need to put a stop to anyone who would take it for themselves.

Registering your work is not an issue of protecting it so much as establishing your right to pursue damages should somebody else use your intellectual property for their own game. You’re not going to have an easy time pursuing statutory damages on, say, a screenplay, if it’s not registered with the Writer’s Guild of America. You may still be awarded your damages in court, but that’s going to cost you in legal fees that will ultimately outweigh the cost of registration.

Once upon a time, patent laws worked on a “first to invent” rule. So a long time ago, it made sense for a chemist or an engineer to mail themselves blueprints and schematics for whatever it was they were creating. It certainly would have saved Tesla a lot of trouble with Edison. But when it comes to patents in the modern day the rule is “first to file,” meaning that you do not have any patent protection without seeking, well, patent protection.

So, to make a long story short: Mailing intellectual property to yourself is a waste of a stamp. The protection that you think you’re getting when you do this is protection that you already have the minute you write your idea down in a memo pad, and any additional protections cannot be had without registration through a patent office or a guild of some sort.

Apr 07
Love0

Cyber Liability a Smart Investment

By Cyber Security Awareness

On April 20, 2011, someone hacked the Sony Playstation Network. They found an opening in the online video gaming network’s password-reset system and penetrated the security protecting its customer database. Days later, the company admitted that the hackers had obtained personal information on 70 million or more subscribers.

The hackers got names, physical and email addresses, birthdates, and other identifying information, and it’s possible that they got credit card numbers. Sony took the network offline to reinforce it, but within days of it coming back online, hackers broke in again.

Playstation Network is a high-profile target with tens of millions of subscribers, making it attractive to criminals. However, even small businesses that do business over the Internet are vulnerable to the same kinds of intrusions. The federal Internet Crime Complaint Center referred more than 146,000 complaints to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in 2009, 22 percent more than the year before. One out of every three of those complaints was for identity theft, credit card fraud and computer fraud. The Ponemon Institute has reported that the average data breach costs businesses $7.2 million.

What could happen to a business’s data?

Over a seven-year period, a Georgia man stole 675,000 credit card numbers and associated information. He racked up thousands of fraudulent transactions and bills exceeding $36 million. A Texas man received a 110-month prison sentence for hacking into 14 computers in the hospital where he worked as a security guard. He disabled network security systems, installed malicious software, infiltrated a nursing station computer containing patient medical records, and gained remote access to temperature-control systems.

The FBI caught a North Carolina man in the act of attempting to access an ATM in 2010. The man had planned to hack into 35 ATM’s located around Houston, Texas in the hope of pocketing more than $200,000.

When consumers and business owners give their credit card numbers and other personal information to a business or organization, they expect that this information will stay confidential. They will hold the organization responsible if they suffer financial harm because their information fell into the wrong hands. The organizations that lost the data face the potential for large jury awards or out-of-court settlements. To protect themselves, they should consider buying cyber liability insurance. One insurance company advertises a Cyber Liability policy that provides coverage for expenses such as:

  • Damages to third parties caused by a network security breach
  • Loss resulting from administrative or operational mistakes made by the business’s own employees or by outside vendors
  • Expenses resulting from a breach of consumer protection laws, such as HIPAA or the Fair Credit Reporting Act
  • Costs of notifying customers of a breach
  • Public rel

    • ations expenses necessary to repair the business’s reputation.

Nearly 30 insurance companies currently offer Cyber Liability policies. If an organization’s insurance broker does not have direct access to a company that offers the coverage, they might be able to obtain it through a specialty broker.

To prevent or reduce losses and to make themselves more attractive to insurance companies, businesses should implement strong network security systems, and continually monitor and update them as needed. Develop plans for responding to any network intrusion events that do occur. A sound plan identifies who should be involved in the response, has procedures for notifying affected customers and authorities, and has a public relations strategy for keeping the public informed.

The majority of businesses and organizations operating today are vulnerable to unauthorized intrusions into their computer networks. The potential costs are more than most organizations can fund on their own. Cyber Liability insurance is a smart investment that can literally save a company. Call our office today!

Apr 07
Love0

Is Your Social Media Presence A Liability?

By Cyber Security Awareness

It’s not uncommon for a celebrity or other high profile figure to post something incendiary on Twitter, only to claim, an hour later, that their account was hacked. But if we’re being honest, how likely is it that they just regretted posting it, and wanted to pretend they had nothing to do with it?

Twitter and Facebook accounts do get hacked, but it’s not a major concern for a number of reasons:

  • There’s really no accessing anything else through your social media

If someone cracks your email password, they have a treasure trove of sensitive information. If they break into your Twitter account, what can they really do? If you use the same password for everything, then they can figure out how to go from Twitter to Gmail and so on, but this assumes that they know the email you’re using for business in the first place.

  • It’s easy to keep people out with regular password changes

If you’re a major figure you may find people trying to break into your social media on a regular basis, but this generally means people with a public reputation that can be embarrassed. People are always trying to guess Donald Trump’s password, for instance… and so far, they haven’t pulled it off. In other words, there’s really only a slim risk of this happening, and that’s if you’re rich and famous.

There is one area of risk to consider: You may wind up becoming your own liability through social media. It’s not unusual for someone to post, for instance, their driver’s license to show off how bad the picture is, only for someone to take all of the data featured on the ID and put it to work. If you’re a constant Instagrammer you might wind up broadcasting from a meeting where you were supposed to have a confidentiality agreement, and putting sensitive information out there for the public.

You can’t afford to be careless when using social media. You should be careful about any photo or post that features anything from credit cards and license plates to plane schedules and street addresses involving yourself, clients and colleagues. The right piece of information can become a skeleton key in a hacker’s hands, so the less you have out there, the better. Here’s a basic rule to keep you from getting into trouble with your social media pics: If the photo contains any numbers, and if it features anyone who’s not posing for the camera, ask yourself if it might put someone in a compromising position.

Apr 07
Love0

Department of Labor – Protecting Workers

By Your Employee Matters

Several recent events prove that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is set to deliver on its previous promises that it will go to great lengths to help workers, at the expense of employers.

As we’ve informed you in previous newsletters, the DOL has received significant funding for investigating employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors or as exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A DOL news release issued April 22, 2010, indicated that the DOL has requested $12 million for this initiative in 2011 alone, and that the department is working closely on these initiatives with the Vice President’s Middle Class Task Force. In the news release, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis vowed to “help middle-class families remain in the middle class.”

Just before this, in March 2010, the DOL announced its intent to stop a longstanding practice of issuing fact-specific opinion letters to employers. For nearly a decade, employers with questions regarding federal wage and hour laws could seek the department’s opinion on whether they were in compliance, which could serve as evidence of an employer’s good faith efforts if they were sued. Now, however, the DOL will only issue opinions that “set forth a general interpretation of the law and regulations, applicable across-the-board to all those affected by the provision at issue.

The DOL contends that this will be a much more efficient and productive use of resources than attempting to provide definitive opinion letters in response to fact-specific requests submitted by individuals and organizations, where a slight difference in the facts could change the outcome.” This position is set forth on the DOL Web site at www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/opinion.htm. Of course, the net effect of this shift away from fact-specific opinion letters is even less guidance for employers than before.

The department made this announcement about the same time that it issued an opinion letter finding mortgage loan officers non-exempt (despite employers’ arguments that they were white-collar administrative employees in accordance with a prior DOL opinion letter issued during the Bush administration, which found such employees exempt).

Also, in May 2010, Secretary Solis signed a Workers Rights Joint Declaration along with Ambassador Sarukhan of Mexico, committing to “inform Mexican workers in the United States about their labor rights through information sharing, outreach, education, training, and exchange of best practices.” This declaration will clearly lead to more complaints, investigations, penalties, and the use of employer resources.

Lesson: Collectively, these actions amply demonstrate that the current DOL is preparing (if it has not already begun) to get tough on employers. Consequently, you should redouble your efforts to classify workers properly and make sure that your pay practices comply fully with the law. Article courtesy of Work law® Network firm Pilchak Cohen & Tice (www.mi-worklaw.com).

Apr 07
Love0

HSA Accounts

By Your Employee Matters

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow you to pay for qualified medical expenses that aren’t covered by your high-deductible health insurance policy. It can be a wise investment, so learn more about how health savings accounts work and why you should have one.

How to Qualify for an HSA

If you have a high-deductible health insurance policy, you qualify for an HSA. Your eligibility is re-evaluated annually.

How is an HSA Funded?

After you enroll in an HSA, you’ll fund your account with post-tax dollars. The money you contribute but don’t use is rolled over to the next year. You may take your HSA funds with you if you switch jobs, and you can even invest your HSA money in mutual funds, stocks or bonds when the total reaches a certain amount.

What Does an HSA Cover?

An HSA will cover a variety of medical expenses as long as they are not reimbursed by other means such as a long-term care policy, and you can use your HSA funds for your own medical expenses or those accumulated by your dependents. Qualifying medical expenses include:

  • Acupuncture
  • Addiction treatment
  • Artificial limbs or prosthetics
  • Chiropractors
  • Dental services and dentures
  • Emergency care
  • Fertility enhancements
  • First aid supplies
  • Health insurance premiums from COBRA coverage or if you’re receiving unemployment compensation
  • Laser eye surgery
  • Long-term care insurance premiums
  • Medical equipment
  • Medicare Part A or B premiums
  • Mental health treatment
  • Nursing services
  • Prescribed smoking cessation tools or weight loss medicine
  • Prescription medications
  • Surgery
  • Vision care and aids

Remember that HSA will typically not cover several expenses such as:

  • Babysitting or household help
  • Cosmetic surgery that is unrelated to a medical condition
  • Diaper service
  • Electrolysis for hair removal
  • Funeral expenses
  • Hair transplants
  • Health club dues
  • Maternity clothing
  • Medications that are not prescribed
  • Over-the-counter diet drinks or vitamins
  • Swim lessons
  • Teeth whitening
  • Weight-loss programs that are not prescribed by a doctor

If you use your HSA to pay for a non-qualifying expense, you must pay income tax on the funds you withdraw plus a tax penalty.

How do you Use Your HSA Funds?

Use the debit card or checks associated with your HSA account to pay for qualifying medical expenses.   You will pay no taxes on your HSA distributions.

How do you Enroll in an HSA?

Talk to your employer, insurance agent or bank about starting an HSA. As soon as the account is funded, you may begin withdrawing from it.

Health Savings Accounts supplement your health insurance policy. They can be a wise investment you should consider.

Apr 07
Love0

Don’t Get Trapped!

By Your Employee Matters

The administrative exemption creates one of the most difficult distinctions in the wage and hour area. Whether somebody works in an “administrative capacity” has a lot to do with whether they work “in the business” or “on the business.” A telling case was recently decided in the Northern District of West Virginia, Desmond v. PNGI Charles Town Gaming (08-1216).

In this case, racing officials at the Charles Town Gaming racetrack were treated as exempt employees. After extensive analysis, the appellate court overturned the previous court, ruling that the employees were not exempt and overtime was owed.

Remember, an employer bears the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that an employee’s job falls within the administrative exemption.

These exemptions are “narrowly construed against the employee seeking to assert them.” In viewing the dichotomy, the court made these points to keep in mind:

The indispensability of an employee’s position within the business cannot be the determining factor of whether the position is directly related to the employer’s general business operations.

Regulations generally exclude “run of the mill” jobs with administrative classification. So although secretaries and clerks might be “indispensable,” they are not exempt under the FLSA. In the same way, just because an employee is required under state law (i.e., posting a flagman around highway work), it does not mean that they are indispensable for purposes of exemption analysis.

The employee must perform work directly related to assisting with the running or servicing of the business, as distinguished, for example, from being a secretary, working on a manufacturing production line, or selling a product in a retail or service establishment.

According to the DOL, administrative exempt work includes — but is not limited to — functional areas such as

  • Tax
  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Budgeting
  • Auditing
  • Insurance
  • Quality Control
  • Purchasing
  • Procuring
  • Advertising
  • Marketing
  • Research
  • Safety and Health
  • personnel management
  • Human Resources
  • Employee Benefits
  • Labor Relations
  • Public Relations
  • Government Relations
  • Computer Network
  • Internet and Database Administration
  • Legal and Regulatory Compliance
  • Other Similar Activities

Not included would be work consisting of tasks similar to those performed on a manufacturing production line or selling of a product in a retail or service establishment. (See 29 C.F.R. § 541.241) To learn more, please click here.

Apr 07
Love0

Group Health Plans – Self Insured

By Your Employee Matters

Under the Affordable Care Act, almost all Americans must buy health insurance, and many choose to participate in employer-sponsored coverage. Self-insured group health insurance is one option some companies choose.

What is Self-Insured Group Health Insurance?

With self-insured group health insurance, a company takes on the financial responsibility and risk of providing its employees with health insurance benefits. The company collects premiums from employees and their dependents. The company then pays medical claims directly instead of paying an insurance carrier.

The company may contract with a third party administrator (TPA) to perform certain insurance services such as setting up the plan, reviewing services and arranging network contracts.

Self-insured group health insurance is more common in larger companies than in smaller companies because of the financial risk. However, companies with as few as 25 people do choose this type of health insurance.

Which Laws Apply to Self-Insured Group Health Plans?

Self-insured group health plans must comply with a variety of federal laws. They include:

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Civil Rights Act
  • Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
  • Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • Pregnancy Discrimination Act
  • Various budget reconciliation acts

What are the Advantages of Self-Insured Group Health Insurance?

Companies choose self-insured options for several reasons, including these.

    1. Easy to customize.Rather than purchase a pre-packaged insurance plan, a company may customize its plan based on the needs of covered employees.
    1. Choose providers.Because a company decides to be self-insured, it may also choose its providers and provider network that suits its employees’ needs.
    1. Maintain financial control of plan reserves.A typical self-insured group health insurance plan requires a company to earmark premiums for future claims. The employer may invest those premiums to maximize the interest earned.
    1. Improve cash flow.With a self-insured group health insurance plan, the company is relieved from pre-paying for coverage. This perk improves cash flow instead of tying up funds.
    2. Reduce conflict and confusion caused by state health regulations.Federal laws regulate self-insured group health insurance plans. That means the company is free from conflicting and confusing state regulations and benefit mandates.
    1. Relieve tax burden.Some states charge a tax on health insurance premiums. A self-insured company does not pay these taxes.

A self-insured group health insurance plan may be a smart decision for a company. Understand its risks and benefits as you ensure you comply with the Affordable Care Act and obtain valuable health insurance.

Apr 07
Love0

HSA is for Everyone: Enrollment Over 20 MILLION

By Employment Resources

As of January 2016, more than 20 million people were covered by health savings accounts (HSAs), according to a survey conducted by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a national association representing companies that offer health insurance (and other types of) coverage to individuals, employers, and public purchasers. This represents a 3.4% increase in HSA enrollment since last year.

HSAs, which were created in late 2003 by the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act, offer individuals who are covered by a qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP) a tax-favored way to save for and pay for medical expenses.

Of the total HSA enrollment, about 10% were in the individual market; 10% were in the small group market (defined as businesses with 50 or fewer employees); and the remaining 80% were in the large group market (businesses with more than 50 employees).

Though HSAs sometimes are criticized as being appropriate only for young, healthy individuals, 55% of the people covered by HSA-eligible insurance in the AHIP census were over age 40.

The states with the largest HSA/HDHP enrollments were: California, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, Illinois,

The AHIP census was conducted by the organization’s Center for Policy and Research. More information on the census can be found through AHIP’s Web site, http://www.ahip.org

Apr 07
Love0

Understanding Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts

By Employment Resources

Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts assist you in paying for qualified dependent care. With it, you can focus on your job instead of worrying about your kids or elderly dependent parents. Consider taking advantage of this employee benefit.

What are Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts?

Dependent care reimbursement accounts pay for dependent care while you’re at work. Dependents are typically defined as children under the age of 12, a disabled spouse or dependent parents.

Depending on your tax filing status, you can contribute up to $6,000 annually to a dependent care reimbursement account. The money deposited into your dependent care reimbursement account is not refundable and does not carry over to the next year, so you’ll lose any funds you do not use.

What Do Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts Cover?

You may only use funds in your dependent care reimbursement account for daycare expenses. The money cannot be used for any other expense even if it is related to your dependent’s care. Eligible expenses include:

  • Childcare before and after school for kids 13 and younger
  • In-home care as long as the provider is not your dependent
  • Home or daycare for disabled dependents who live with you at least eight hours a day
  • Licensed child and adult daycare providers
  • Registration fees associated with qualified dependent care
  • Summer day camp for kids 13 and younger

Dependent care reimbursement accounts do not pay for these expenses.
Care not related to work

  • Educational Fees/Tuition
  • Food, clothing
  • Overnight camps
  • Payments to a qualified individual’s parent or spouse
  • Transportation expenses you incur

Keep all receipts to prove that you used the funds for eligible expenses.

Why enroll in a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account?

    1. Perform better at work.

      Caring for your child or dependent is your first priority, and it’s difficult to concentrate at work when your child is sick or your elderly parent is home alone. A dependent care reimbursement account ensures your dependents are taken care of as you work. The account can actually improve your work performance since it decreases tardiness, absenteeism and distraction while increasing morale and productivity.

    1. Reduce your tax burden.

      You fund your dependent care reimbursement account with pre-tax paycheck deductions, which means you pay fewer taxes.

    1. Balance your budget.

      Paying for childcare or elder care can be expensive and could strain your budget. Make regular contributions to your dependent care reimbursement account and keep your budget balanced.

    1. Dependent care reimbursement accounts offer numerous benefits. They’re an important asset for your family, so consider opening an account. Your Human Resources manager or insurance agent will provide additional information.
Apr 07
Love0

Volunary Benefits Advantages

By Employment Resources

The voluntary benefits market is growing, and with good reason. Voluntary benefits-offered through the workplace but paid for fully by employees-enable an employer to make a wide array of supplemental benefits available to employees, at little or no cost to the company. Voluntary benefits products are so attractive that, according to one study, more than six in ten employers now offer at least one type of voluntary benefit.

The advantages of voluntary benefits are well known. Because a voluntary benefit product is marketed and sold in a group setting, employees can purchase the benefits at a group rate, pay for them through payroll deduction, and save the time of shopping for them on their own.

For eight consecutive years, Metlife has conducted research on employees and employers regarding the U.S. benefits industry, and compiled the results in its annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends. The 2010 study reveals the apparent resilience of workplace benefits even during a tough economy.

It also shows that although employers and employees continue to deal with the effects of the economic downturn, they are focused on the long term, and value voluntary benefits. However, there is a slight disconnect on how much worth employers/employees place on voluntary benefits.

According to the 2010 study, 57% of employees agree that voluntary benefits provide access to options that better fit their needs. Furthermore, 60% of employees surveyed believe that voluntary benefits are valuable to provide them with extra coverage that supplements employer-sponsored benefits.

From the employer’s perspective, the study found that many employers underestimate the value employees place on voluntary benefits. Just as employees expressed greater interest in voluntary benefits, the importance of these benefits has declined among employers. As a result, there may be a missed opportunity for employers to improve satisfaction with benefits program.

The most in-demand voluntary benefits continue to be those that supplement core medical, life, or disability coverages. These include dental, critical illness, specific illness, hospital supplemental, medical supplemental, disability buy-up, and supplemental life coverages.

However, demographic trends are contributing to growing interest in long-term care and financial planning products. As more people become faced with their parents’ eldercare needs, they begin to appreciate the cost of extended care and anticipate what their own needs may be in a few short years. And, many workers, beginning in mid-career, face the double crunch of saving for retirement at the same time they are attempting to finance their children’s college education.

Other products in the voluntary benefits market include vision insurance, legal services plans, auto/homeowners’/renters’ insurance, and pet care insurance.

In deciding on a particular voluntary benefit product or vendor, an employer should keep several things in mind:

  • Is the type of product one for which employees have expressed an interest (as demonstrated by requests made or surveys done of the workforce) or one that you are comfortably sure employees will want?
  • If administrative processes by the company’s human resources/benefits staff will be required, are they easy to understand and economical in terms of the amount of time they will require?
  • After examining detailed information on the product, does it seem to provide what its name implies?
  • Is the carrier/vendor financially stable and reputable?

If chosen properly, voluntary benefits can be a welcome, win-win supplement to an employer’s benefits package.

Close Menu