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    <title>MBA News</title>
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    <ttl>60</ttl>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 19:36:13 GMT</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 19:36:13 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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      <title>Payroll Tax Cuts estimated to add $92 billion to national debt</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/638/Payroll-Tax-Cuts-estimated-to-add-92-billion-to-national-debt.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A recent Reuters article addresses the idea that the 2012 national budget deficit swelling an additional $92 billion due to the payroll tax cut being extended into 2012, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/13/us-usa-budget-deficit-idUSBRE82C19Q20120313
Based on the current situation, the CBO is estimating a $1.171 trillion deficit for the 2012 fiscal year, up from the previous forecast of $1.079, due to the payroll tax cut extensions. The fiscal year ends on September 30. The payroll tax cuts were created under the former President George W. Bush.
"The fundamental story about the federal budget has not changed: Although the deficit is starting to shrink, it remains very large by historical standards," the CBO said in the report.
"How much and how quickly it declines will depend in part on how well the economy performs over the next few years. Probably more critical, though, will be the fiscal policy choices made by lawmakers as they face the substanti ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 21:03:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Contrasting the worries of business owners versus the employees</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/634/Contrasting-the-worries-of-business-owners-versus-the-employees.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A recent survey by Deloitte Consulting LLP, highlights the differences in what business owners and their employees consider as critical workplace issues.
One of the top concerns for business owners is the rising cost of health care and the effects of the recent health care reform legislation. These concerns continue their four-year run as the top concerns for employers responding to the Deloitte annual survey. Most companies have been very active in addressing cost-cutting measures over the last few years. At the same time, most employers are not enacting plans to make changes to the employer-sponsored coverage required by the Patient Protection and Afforadable Care Act. Almost half of the companies responding to the survey indicated they are taking a “wait and see” approach to the legislation’s employer requirements. They have no plans to change their health coverage plans. 
For the companies that do have plans to address the PPACT requirements, 17% are readying themselves to simply drop  ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 19:43:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Gaps in skill sets hurt an employer’s ability to compete. What you can do to be prepared.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/633/Gaps-in-skill-sets-hurt-an-employer-s-ability-to-compete-What-you-can-do-to-be-prepared.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[You’d think the unemployment rate would be contributing to making it easier to fill positions at your company. But, the reality is that the high-skill positions may still be hard to fill because of a lack of candidates. Deloitte has released a 2012 survey that highlights the continuing trend of the limited quantities of high-skilled workers available. 
The survey indicated that talent issues will be the most significant challenge to organizations over the next three years. 25% of the respondents talked about talent concerns covering everything from a shortage of talent available through motivating and retaining in-house talent. This was up from 16% of the respondents in the 2011 survey report. Insurance and professional service firms are ranked among the highest that are concerned about talent shortages.
“The survey exposes a widening gap between the dwindling supply of skilled workers in America and the growing demands of the modern workplace,” says David Lusk, principal at Deloitte Consu ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/633/Gaps-in-skill-sets-hurt-an-employer-s-ability-to-compete-What-you-can-do-to-be-prepared.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 19:21:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Stick to the law when looking to limit expenses.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/20/default.aspx">Risk Management</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/632/Stick-to-the-law-when-looking-to-limit-expenses.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In Iowa, businessman Dinesh Sethi, owner of DES Staffing Services was sentenced to 57 months of imprisonment for his fraudulent scheme to avoid paying over $750,000 in workers compensation premiums to Travelers and Liberty Mutual Insurance companies.
Sethi was also sentenced to a 5 year supervised release term and $778,940 in restitution by Chief Judge James E. Gritzner.
Sethi orchestrated the creation of two shell companies, Staffing professionals and KDM Staffing, in order to move his DES employees over to them to avoid the higher workers compensation premiums DES owed due to its claims history. In addition Sethi directed his CFO, Randy Stringer, to incorrectly move payroll amounts to job classifications with lower premium rates.
After Sethi initiated an FBI investigation on his CFO for embezzlement, Stringer was prosecuted and has served his imprisonment time. Later, Stringer provided documentation to the FBI concerning the payroll shifting and the shell corporations, which were used to prosecute Sethi. ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 18:58:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Data companies getting more real-time data to workers’ compensation insurance providers.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/20/default.aspx">Risk Management</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/642/Data-companies-getting-more-real-time-data-to-workers-compensation-insurance-providers.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Workers’ compensation insurance providers base their businesses on number crunching and taking on risk. The better the information going into their calculations, the better they are able to create insurance products that meet the needs of business owners.
Recently, The Argo Group, an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products signed a deal to receive workers compensation injury reporting services from ISO. ISO is an international provider of commercial property/casualty insurance products.
ISO will collect workers compensation injury claims information and manage the insurer’s report of injury information. The technology used will allow ISO to capture the claim data as the event soccur and to pass it on to electronic data interchange (EDI) sates in which Argo write workers’ compensation insurance.
The EDI reporting is recommended by the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), but all jurisdictions in the U.S. don&rsq ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/642/Data-companies-getting-more-real-time-data-to-workers-compensation-insurance-providers.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 21:57:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Big change to receiving Social Security Disability Insurance – No more paper checks being mailed by 2013</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/640/Big-change-to-receiving-Social-Security-Disability-Insurance-No-more-paper-checks-being-mailed-by-2013.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In its pilot program, the Social Security Administration (SSA) started distributing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits via electronic delivery to new recipients in 2011. The U.S. Treasury Department’s goal is to phase out all paper checks for this service.
By the target date of March 1, 2013, all of the Social Security beneficiaries will have been converted over to receiving their payments electronically.
Recipients must choose either:
Direct deposit into a bank account (or credit union), or
Receiving their payments on a payment card or debit card
People currently receiving benefits can change over to the new system before March 1, 2013 by visiting their bank now and making the proper arrangements.
By delivering benefits electronically, the Social Security Administration is estimating over $1 billion in cost savings over the next ten years.
The SSDI is a federally mandated disability insurance program that is run by the Social Security Administration. It acts separately from the ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 20:40:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Outsourcing a 401(k) – Make sure you know the out source’s classification</title>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/641/Outsourcing-a-401-k-Make-sure-you-know-the-out-source-s-classification.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As the financial obligations and liabilities of offering a 401(k) to your employees rises, many companies are considering whether they will continue to offer the program. For the ones that do, limiting the financial liability is a major reason to re-evaluate the plan and consider whether outsourcing it is a good idea. Some of the main reasons to outsource a 401(k) are:
Reduced liability
To allow your core staff to focus on growing the business, and not administration duties.
To benefit from experts that manage 401(k) and other retirement plans on a full-time basis.
Fewer conflicts of interest
The 401(k) has very specific legal definitions for the level of outsourcing your can seek. 
Your business can dial up (and donw) the level of financial and legal responsibility concerning the 401(k) plan. Here are some common levels of involvement as defined by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_Retirement_Income_Security_Act

Investment Fiduciary - ERISA Section 3 ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/641/Outsourcing-a-401-k-Make-sure-you-know-the-out-source-s-classification.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 21:42:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Standby, here come the social media employee lawsuits.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/635/Standby-here-come-the-social-media-employee-lawsuits.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[So, you managed to make some great gains for your business by allocating staff to focus on those great social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Your company has “followers” and “fans” and “connections” now. Your marketing and sales staff are starting to see how to use these social media assets to create leads and eventually actual sales. 
Then, your Facebook marketing specialist quits and leaves the company. They change the account password and now have exclusive access to all of your Facebook audience.
Or, your two of your marketing staff members leave the company and take the hundreds of LinkedIn connections  that they built, on company time, with them to your competition.
What legal recourse do you have in these situations? Well, the jury is still out. These kinds of lawsuits are still being worked out in court. The social media efforts of businesses are now starting to appear in courts around topics as diverse as:
Post-employment obligation 
Ownershi ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/635/Standby-here-come-the-social-media-employee-lawsuits.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 21:01:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Lowering the effect obesity workers compensation claim costs</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/637/Lowering-the-effect-obesity-workers-compensation-claim-costs.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Collecting height and weight metrics during the creation of a workers’ compensation claim may become standard practice in the near future. Understanding the condition of a claimant is important for avoiding co-morbid conditions that can arise from ignoring obese characteristics. Co-morbid conditional like diabetes and heart disease can affect what kinds of recuperation measures are taken to recover from a workplace injury. This becomes especially important when addressing the risks associated with surgeries that are sometimes necessary to recover from injuries.
It is common for a workers’ compensation claims adjuster to not collect height and weight measurements when creating a new case file.
Florida-based NCCI Holdings Inc., reports that injuries sustained by obese workers are more likely to be permanent disabilities. Workers’ compensation cases for obese workers generally involve a greater range of medical treatments and costs.
By collecting the weight information upfront, the recovery  ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 20:04:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Modern Business Associates Named Top 75 Top Work Places in Tampa Bay </title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/630/MBA-Top-75-Top-Work-Place-Tampa-Bay.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Contact:
Ellie Finehout
VP of Sales & Marketing
ellief@mbahro.com
727.563.1500 x2232
 
           
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Modern Business Associates Named Top 75 Top Work Places in Tampa Bay 
MBA Makes Charitable Donation to Celebrate
 
Tampa, FL (May 11, 2012) — Modern Business Associates (MBA) was recently named one of Tampa Bay’s Top Work Places 2012 by the Tampa Bay Times. Employees nominated their employers and were surveyed about several topics, including practices and policies that make these companies the top places to work.
 
MBA was the only Human Resources Outsourcing Organization in its business size category (small). “We are honored to receive this recognition,” MBA President and CEO Mark Lettelleir said. “This is a true testament to our entire team of more than 90 people.”
 
Lettelleir contin ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 20:47:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Employer retaliation can cost you a pretty penny.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/636/Employer-retaliation-can-cost-you-a-pretty-penny.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Ethics Resource Center, based in Arlington, VA, states its 2011 National Business Ethics Survey points to “ominous warning signs” of an ethics decline in the workplace. The survey points to more than 1 in 5 employees (22 percent) who reported misconduct saying they experienced some form of retaliation following their reporting. The center said this is up significantly from the 2007 mark of 12 percent.
Listed as the more frequent retaliation situations:
Exclusion from decisions and work activity.
Getting the “cold shoulder” by co-workers
Verbal abuse by a manager
The report, released in January 2012 summarizing responses from 4,700 private-sector workers, goes on to state:
Employees perceiving pressure to compromise their standards in order to perform their jobs rose five points to 13 percent.
Rising from 35 percent to 42 percent in the last two years were the number of companies with weak ethics cultures.
There have been a number of recent jury awards punishing companies th ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2012 19:10:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Man sentenced to 5 years in Workers’ Compensation Insurance Scam in North Carolina</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/631/Man-sentenced-to-5-years-in-Workers-Compensation-Insurance-Scam-in-North-Carolina.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A team led by Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for Southern District of Florida, sentenced Carl Dale Fuller to five years in prison, and ordered him to pay $2,859,067 in mandatory restitution as a result of his guilty plea to mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud National Employees Services (NES) of over $2.8 million. NES through it was paying insurance premiums for workers’ compensation insurance. NES is a Florida company that provides services for businesses that outsource workers’ compensation insurance.
Fuller utilized e-mails and phone calls and falsely represented himself as an insurance broker. Using a false name, he stated he would obtain workers’ compensation policies for NES and the companies it represents. In reality, Fuller kept the money and never purchased the insurance policies.
From 2005 until September of 2008, Fuller received over $2 million of premium payments from NES, which were made out to Southeast Services. Southeast Services was created by Full ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/631/Man-sentenced-to-5-years-in-Workers-Compensation-Insurance-Scam-in-North-Carolina.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 05 May 2012 22:11:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Record number of States Cut Pension Benefits Costs</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/628/Record-number-of-States-Cut-Pension-Benefits-Costs.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[43 states have cut Pension Benefits Costs in the last three years according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Since 1999, estimated assets held by the plan to cover projected liabilities have dropped from 103 percent down to 77 percent, according to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. Some speculate that the actual assets have dropped to 53 percent of the liabilities. 
Some of the methods used to try to cut costs in recent years include:

    Raising the employee contribution rate
    Forcing workers to stay on the job longer before retiring
    Raising the age for full benefits.
    Even cutting post-employment benefits.

According to the report, the rate of changes to cut costs is increasing, with most of the changes coming in the last three years.
In 2009 10 states raised contributions, or made reductions in benefits. This was followed in 2010 by 21 states taking similar steps and 32 in 2011.


    30 States raised employee contributions.
    10 states lowered e ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 22:20:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Frame-maker lawsuit hurts your employees the most.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/627/Frame-maker-lawsuit-hurts-your-employees-the-most.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[If your company offers Vision Service Plan (VSP), the largest vision carrier in the U.S., then their options are limited when going to purchase eyeglasses.
In a 1998 incident, Altair Eyewear, Inc. (owned by VSP)allegedly copied a clip-on frame technology owned by Aspex Eyewear during discussions about licensing the technology for its own product line. In 2002, Aspex filed a lawsuit against Altair for patent infringement. The lawsuit continues to this day.
Eight years later, in 2010, VSP (the carrier) distributed a bulletin to doctors and staff, “Despite warnings that failure to find an alternative method of resolution could cause VSP to re-evaluate its business relationship with Aspex, Aspex remains in litigation with VSP and its affiliates. Following the  bulletin, VSP stopped offering “in-network” coverage for frames manufactured or distributed by Aspex (the company suing Altair for infringement).
Excluding a specific brand of eyewear from coverage is a very unusual move for an insuranc ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/627/Frame-maker-lawsuit-hurts-your-employees-the-most.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Payroll Tampa, FL – Top Payroll Company Misconceptions</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/9/default.aspx">Payroll Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/623/Payroll-Tampa-FL-Top-Payroll-Company-Misconceptions.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Here's a few misconceptions business owners have about payroll services.
“I should save money and do payroll in house.”
Nope – Here’s why:
“Boot-strapping” is a very popular way to run new businesses in Tampa, FL, but boot-strapping your payroll run is probably more expensive than outsourcing it. Having full time staff involves offices space, office equipment, a salary, employee benefits costs, and the cost to replace and train an employee for when the payroll person moves on to another company. 
“Doing payroll in-house makes it a more reliable process than if I depended on a Tampa payroll company.”
Nope – Here’s why:
Internal payroll employees can get sick, have vacation time to use and occasional leave the company with two weeks notice. In addition, outsources will have multiple people doing the same job and will have better software and computer hardware in place. This adds measures of redundancy that is used to eliminate things th ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/623/Payroll-Tampa-FL-Top-Payroll-Company-Misconceptions.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Selecting the appropriate medication could save Workers’ Comp Expenses</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/20/default.aspx">Risk Management</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/629/Selecting-the-appropriate-medication-could-save-Workers-Comp-Expenses.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Recent research attempted to calculate industry savings that could be found by replacing more exotic long-acting pain killing narcotics ones that contain morphine, with the continued goal of maintaining proper pain management for the patient.
402,000 cases of injured workers who had filled at least one narcotic prescription from 2002-2010 were examined by Express Scripts, Inc. By comparing what narcotics were prescribed, they found frequent us of the more expensive long-acting pain management drugs like oxymorphone or oxycodone, rather than lower-cost long-acting morphine-containing drugs.
These long-acting drugs are designed to address chronic pain over time. Many experts believe that rather than going right to the long-acting drugs, patients should be prescribed lower cost short-acting narcotics containing oxycodone/acetaminophen or hydrocodone/acetaminophen. With proper monitoring of pain, a later switch to long-acting drugs may be appropriate.
If a switch to long-acting pain killers is necessitated, th ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/629/Selecting-the-appropriate-medication-could-save-Workers-Comp-Expenses.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:45:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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    <item>
      <title>Educating staff about retirement options seen as key to increasing enrollment</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/626/Educating-staff-about-retirement-options-seen-as-key-to-increasing-enrollment.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Recently, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries’ 401(k) Summit was held in New Orleans. At the event, the role of retirement plan sponsors and vendors was emphasized as valuable resources to help employees create a retirement financial situation that meets their estimated needs. 
With recent data out highlighting retirement confidence, the market is huge for services and products that help employees understand their current financial standing and what they need to do to prepare for retirement. There is a big need for understanding what is needed for retirement and the financial options available.
Experts a the event emphasized that increasing participant understanding and plan automation are two of the most important next steps for helping get employees on track for their future.
As a business owner, it’s important for you to understand how your employees feel about their retirement plans and options available through your company. A survey can be a great way to gather inf ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/626/Educating-staff-about-retirement-options-seen-as-key-to-increasing-enrollment.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:02:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Struggling American Airlines comes up with their pension solution proposal</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/625/Struggling-American-Airlines-comes-up-with-their-pension-solution-proposal.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Parent company of American Airlines, AMR Corp, recently proposed an alternative to its earlier plan to terminate the American Airlines employee pension plan, leaving participants to the fate of government insurers. This would have the effect of lower payments than originally dictated by the pension plan. 
Instead, AMR Corp has recently proposed to freeze pensions covering many of its workers. This would avoid becoming the largest pension default in U.S. history. It could also help American Airlines cut a deal with its unionized work groups to help address high labor costs.
AMR had been the only major airline to avoid filing for bankruptcy in the last ten years. It’s the only one that still has a traditional pension plan.
The freezing of the plan, as per company statements, would mean that employees would retain the full value of benefits accrued for service prior to the date the plan is frozen. This action would mean the company will retain larger pension costs than was considers in their business pl ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/625/Struggling-American-Airlines-comes-up-with-their-pension-solution-proposal.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:26:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Payroll St. Petersburg, FL – Are you wasting money on payroll?</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/9/default.aspx">Payroll Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/622/Payroll-St-Petersburg-FL.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[More modern business consultants will recommend focusing your business on distinguishing itself in some aspect. So, your company might be the fastest, or the most specialized, or the one that provides the best service. You’ll never hear an advisor recommend being the best at cutting checks to your own employees. Payroll is one of the expense areas to which every business needs a solution. Most of the time, it adds more risk and uses up more money to fund an internal process that uses staff, computers and software. Each comes with its own expenses and risks.
Staff – Salary, Benefit Costs, Training and Time to keep up-to-speed with changing regulations on the local, state and federal level. Employee can put in two-weeks’ notice and leave the company.
Computers – Usually outdated within a years of purchasing. Maintenance costs.
Software – Outdated every year and requiring updates.
Utilizing an outsource lets you save time and money. It also allows you to leverage and expert team ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/622/Payroll-St-Petersburg-FL.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:26:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Health Savings Account use on the rise.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/624/Health-Savings-Account-use-on-the-rise.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[An increasing number of companies are offering health savings accounts (HSAs) with their overall health coverage options, UMB Healthcare Services recently announced. 
Health plans saw a 36% increase in HSA account balances. This totals to over $00 million for the 2011 open enrollment timeframe. 
To access these kinds of account, UMB notes a growth of over 37% in the number of debit cards associated with HSAs and similar accounts, like flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements. The total number of accounts grew to more than 2.4 million. 
UMB Healthcare executives attribute the growth to education and the increase in the number of large employers using these kinds of plans.
As more employers introduce employees to consumer-driven health plans with a health savings account, utilization grows of those HSAs. Last week, UMB Healthcare Services announced a growth of 36% of HSA account balances, surpassing $400 million dollars following 2011 open enrollment. The number of HSAs stood at near ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/624/Health-Savings-Account-use-on-the-rise.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:12:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Showing the return on investing in internal coaching, and other HR investments</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/620/Showing-the-return-on-investing-in-internal-coaching-and-other-HR-investments.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[With the initial downturn in the economy a few years ago, HR executives were pressed even more than usual to justify their expenses. Savvy executives know how to present the return on the investment (ROI) for investments in training and processes that go along with the HR department.
They know that recent research and measurements are the key to getting top-brass buy-in on new HR investments.
Regarding Research:


    Begin collecting research reports and articles that show the benefits and costs of new elements you’d like to see in your company. Being able to cite industry experts that support your directive can be very helpful with establishing that something is showing a big benefit to other companies in your industry and that your company should start implementing too. 
    When collecting research, don’t forget some of today’s options, including speeches recorded on sites like YouTube and TED.com. Playing part of a speech may be more impactful to your leadership than a ten pa ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/620/Showing-the-return-on-investing-in-internal-coaching-and-other-HR-investments.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:33:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Recent dip in the unemployment figures being affected by what is counted and what isn’t.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/9/default.aspx">Payroll Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/621/Recent-dip-in-the-unemployment-figures-being-affected-by-what-is-counted-and-what-isn-t.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[On Thursday April 18th, the labor Department said that weekly unemployment applications dipped last to 386,000, a dip of 2,000 compared to the previous week. The four-week average rose to 374,750, which is up 5,500 and at the highest level in three months. 
Experts indicate temporary layoffs due to spring holidays may be creating higher figures of unemployment applications. Specific industries affected by these kinds of layoffs, include some school employees laid off during spring break.
Job growth also seems to be growing at a slower rate, but still growing., with the hiring of 120,000 jobs in March. This is growth, but half the number reported for the previous three months.
This may just be a kind of statistical correction in the hiring rate to make up for accelerated hiring that may have occurred during the January through March timeframe.  That hiring rate averaged 212,000 jobs per month and may have been due to warmer weather for industries benefiting from warmer weather. 
Further digging reveals the ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/621/Recent-dip-in-the-unemployment-figures-being-affected-by-what-is-counted-and-what-isn-t.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Staffing firms still jumping over hurdles to help workers on H-1B’s.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/619/Staffing-firms-still-jumping-over-hurdles-to-help-workers-on-H-1B-s.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Since the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)released the 'Neufeld Memo' in 2010, staffing firms have been battling staffing issues when dealing with H-1B employees. The 2010 memo stated 'third-party placement/job shop' as an example of a business that cannot accept H-1B visa employees.

Since then, staffing companies have continues to have difficulty bringing in workers on the visas. While there are some processes to bring in H-1B workers, the red tape is cumbersome.
The USCIS memo was challenged in 2010 by a lawsuit brought by the TechServe Alliance. The judge dismissed the case and did not issue an injunction that would prohibit the further use of the memo. Though, during that time, the government stated that staffing companies could be considered employers for the purposes of bringing in H-1B workers. 
So, while staffing firms can bring in H-1B workers, the firms are routinely issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) by the receiving USCIS officer. This created additional paperwork and effort  ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/619/Staffing-firms-still-jumping-over-hurdles-to-help-workers-on-H-1B-s.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>How to get a big chair at the leadership meeting. Tips for the HR Exec</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/8/default.aspx">HR Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/617/How-to-get-a-big-chair-at-the-leadership-meeting-Tips-for-the-HR-Exec.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Want to sit at one of the big chairs at the next leadership meeting? Learn how to talk about HR in terms of return on investment.
As an HR executive, it’s critical to understand how your company makes money and what makes it different from the competition.  Put yourself in a position to be able to explain how everything your HR team does lines up behind what the company stands for and how it thrives. 
Be able to talk in terms of how HR can build the foundation to generate more revenue in less time, while avoiding unnecessary expenses. Don’t let HR be seen as just an expense department.
Help leadership understand how you’ll manage the expenses associated with filling positions and how the expenses contribute to filling the position quickly with the right people. This means they will quickly get the people they need to generate the revenue.
Show them how internal staff training is helping to shorten the “getting up to speed” time for new-hires, including assisting in networking ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/617/How-to-get-a-big-chair-at-the-leadership-meeting-Tips-for-the-HR-Exec.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Top workers’ compensation concern? Keeping costs down.</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/20/default.aspx">Risk Management</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/615/Top-workers-compensation-concern-Keeping-costs-down.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In a survey of 3,500 employers, Zywave documented major concerns from businesses that returned the surveys, 59 percent were “very” or “somewhat concerned” about the ability contain costs in 2012.
Areas beyond cost control that were of concern included:

    Keeping a limit on increasing exposures
    Renewals
    Rising fraud behaviors
    Carrier stability

The Zywave’s most recent Workers' Compensation Safety Survey covered 20 lines of business, focusing primarily on:

    Manufacturers (17 percent)
    Health care and social assistance providers (15 percent)
    Construction (13 percent). 

Responses came from a variety of staff positions in the companies:

    Human resource personnel (36 percent)
    Finance staff (19 percent)
    CEOs or presidents (16 percent), 

Some 57 percent of those participating reported workers' compensation premiums under $50,000 annually.
Almost half (48 percent) reported a premium increase in the past year, whi ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:20:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Survivor benefits issue arrives at the Supreme Court</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/612/Survivor-benefits-issue-arrives-at-the-Supreme-Court.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In Washington, a case involving twins born after the father’s death is challenging the Supreme Court to sort things out. The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in the case of Karen Capato, a New jersey mother, and her twins. She conceived the twins through vitro fertilization and gave birth to them 18 months after her husband died of cancer in Florida.
The questions on the table is whether the twins are now eligible for survivor benefits through social security. How will the court apply an old law to this modern day situation, where children can be born years after the death of the father? The issue is a major one for armed forces personnel, who sometimes utilize a sperm bank before deploying overseas to high risk areas.
Karen was married to Robert Capato in 1999. Soon afterward, Robert was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. After his death, his wife became pregnant with semen her husband had deposited in a sperm bank after his diagnosis.
The Social Security Act has been in place since 1939 and ha ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:07:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Short list of business process outsourcing advantages</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/9/default.aspx">Payroll Outsourcing</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/609/Short-list-of-business-process-outsourcing-advantages.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As a business owner, you take time to investigate the options available to you for making your company more successful. Business Process outsourcing (BPO), allows businesses to focus on growing revenue, while relieving staff of non-core tasks like payroll and managing benefit packages.
Some of the advantages for using an outsource for business processes are:
Time to complete tasks goes down
When utilizing an outsource that performs the process full-time, the outsource frequently has better trained and more experienced staff. In addition, the outsource frequently has invested more deeply in better hardware and software to handle the process more quickly.
Quality of outsourced tasks goes up
By utilizing staff that performs a specialized process on a full-time basis, the quality of work for that task goes up. For example, part of a successful payroll program is to classify workers correctly to be able to calculate the best workers’ compensation rates and withholdings. Having an experienced person that ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/609/Short-list-of-business-process-outsourcing-advantages.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:39:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Helping more employees participate in savings plans</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/613/Helping-more-employees-participate-in-savings-plans.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As fewer and fewer companies offer pension plans, more employees are sending contributions into their 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), according to a recent reports by Fidelity Investments. The study indicated that employees that contribute to both tend to contribute a higher total dollar amount to retirement accounts than their peers who only contribute to one kind of account.
The report says U.S. employees saved an average of $5,750 annually in a 401(k), or $4,150 in an IRA. Employees who only have 401(k) accounts have put away a total of $69,100. Conversely, employees with both kinds of accounts have saved an average of $212,600.
Only 14% of eligible households made contributions to IRAs in 2010, according to the Investment Company Institute. Only 74% of all employees were offered any kind of retirement plan at work, down three percent from 2007 (2012 Retirement Confidence Survey).
Employees are seeking more and more information about correctly planning for retirement. According t ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/613/Helping-more-employees-participate-in-savings-plans.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:16:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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    <item>
      <title>Two financial advisers made profitable trades based on info from an AA meeting</title>
      <category domain="http://www.mbahro.com/news/tabid/110/categoryid/18/default.aspx">Benefits</category>
      <link>http://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/611/Two-financial-advisers-made-profitable-trades-based-on-info-from-an-AA-meeting.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Two Ameriprise Financial Inc. investment advisers and their friends allegedly created $1.8 million in ill-gotten profits from investments made based on information about a business merger, gained from inside information shared in confidence during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Timothy McGee, one of the two advisors based in Philadelphia, learned of an upcoming insurance company merger at the meeting by listening to the confidential conversation offered by an executive in the Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. The executive was relating the stress involved in negotiation efforts related to the upcoming merger with a Japanese company. McGee promised to keep the information confidential.
McGee then purchased shares in the company that subsequently rose. McGee also shared the deal information with an office mate and advisor Michael Zirinsky, the SEC said in its complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
After July 23, 2008, shares of Philadelphia Co ...]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.comhttp://mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/611/Two-financial-advisers-made-profitable-trades-based-on-info-from-an-AA-meeting.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:47:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Memorial Day Observance</title>
      <link>http://www.mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/618/Memorial-Day-Observance.aspx</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Our office and all banks will be closed Monday, May 28, 2012 in observance of Memorial Day.  As a result, our processing schedule for this holiday will be as follows:

- May 24, 2012 - Payrolls reported on this day will be available for delivery on May 25, 2012
- May 25, 2012 - Payrolls reported on this day will be available for delivery on May 29, 2012

If you use our Direct Deposit service, you may need to change your payroll appointment if any of the following apply:
You normally would report your payroll on:
- May 24, with a May 28, check date;
- May 25, with a May 29, check date;
- May 28, with a May 30, check date.

Reminder:  The earliest day funds can be available to your employees is the second business day after your payroll appointment due to the federal banking regulations.

If you have any questions, please contact your Payroll Specialist or Account Manager at your earliest convenience.
]]></description>
      <dc:creator>MBAHRO</dc:creator>
      <comments>http://www.mbahro.com/News/tabid/110/entryid/618/Memorial-Day-Observance.aspx#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:34:00 GMT</pubDate>
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