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HR Alerts

Extended COBRA Subsidy Period.
On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (DDAA) which has amended the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). For former employees who were involuntarily terminated and for eligible family members, the DDAA extends the eligibility period to qualify for COBRA subsidy through February 28, 2010 (instead of December 31, 2009). The DDAA also increases the subsidy duration period to a maximum of 15 months (instead of 9 months). Please also note in this newsletter the HR Tip of the Month.

Mental Health Parity Changes in Effect.
Effective January 1, 2010, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008 requires most employers (with more than 50 employees) that offer a health insurance plan to provide mental health benefits at the same level as medical and surgical benefits.

IRS Mileage Rate Lowered.
Effective January 1, 2010, the standard mileage rate for business miles driven is 50 cents.

Supreme Court Text Messaging Privacy
The Supreme Court will decide whether reviewing personal text messages violates Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. While involving government employees, this case decision also would likely impact private employers.

Expanded Military Leave and the FMLA

Last December, President Obama had authorized to deploy more than 30,000 troops for military service which would impact a greater number of employees and their employers. Earlier in October, President Obama had signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes provisions expanding military leave entitlements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by broadening the "qualifying exigency" leave and military caregiver leave that became effective in January 2008. The following underscores the key changes employers should know:
Qualifying Exigency Leave: To tend to important matters including childcare, financial, and any other arrangements made between the employer and employee due to a family member's impending call to active duty military service, qualifying exigencies allow eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid time off during the normal 12-month period established by the employer for FMLA leave.

• The leave entitlement is extended to eligible employees whose spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a member of any regular military branch or the National Guard or Reserves.
• The requirement that calls for active duty supports a "contingency operation" has been replaced with the requirement that deployment is to a foreign country.

Military Caregiver Leave: Qualifying military caregiver leaves allow an employee to take up to 26 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a family member injured while serving on active military duty.

• The benefit expands to include the care of a veteran suffering from a service-related serious injury or illness as long as the individual was a member of any regular military branch or the National Guard or Reserves within five (5) years of receiving medical treatment. This provision allows leave to care for a family member with an injury or illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder that might not manifest immediately.
• The definition of a "serious injury or illness" expands to allow caregiver leave for a pre-existing injury or illness aggravated by active duty in the military. For veterans, the definition allows the leave whether the injury or illness manifested itself before or after the Armed Forces member became a veteran.

Action Items: While the NDAA did not specify when these amendments become effective, we recommend assuming the date October 28, 2009, when the NDAA was signed. If you have not done so yet, take this opportunity to review your current company Employee Handbook policies.

• Review and revise FMLA policies as needed, to ensure they comply with the expanded and military leave laws.
• Prepare for differences due to state laws. For example, employees entitled to military leave under the FMLA may be also entitled to additional time off under a certain states medical leave provisions.
• While anticipating clarifications and updates from the U.S. Department of Labor, regularly communicate to your supervisors and employees about the expansion of the military leave laws.