Employee Benefits / Edition 4

by Joseph Martocchio

Overview

Joseph Martocchio's Employee Benefits: A Primer for Human Resource Professionals was written to promote a fuller understanding of employee benefits programs among students enrolled in college-level compensation and benefits courses. It's relevant to students who plan to be general managers, who deal with a variety of human resource issues in their day-to-day jobs, as well as to those who expect to be human resource practitioners. The real-world focus of Martocchio's text is evident on every page, as the author seeks to balance current academic thought with brief examples of contemporary benefits practices in business. Martocchio's Employee Benefits is forward-thinking and seeks to bring the topic into the mainstream of compensation understanding. The Fourth Edition continues to be concisely written, highlighting key issues in order to provide the reader with a solid foundation for discussing benefits issues with employee benefits professionals. As practices and laws affecting benefits change frequently, Martocchio stays on the cusp of recent developments, capturing all recent changes with his Fourth Edition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780073530529
Publisher:	McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Publication date:	01/07/2010
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Part 1 Introduction to Employee Benefits 1

Chapter 1 Introducing Employee Benefits 3

Defining and Exploring Employee Benefits 4

Defining Employee Benefits 5

Employee Benefits in the Total Compensation Scheme 6

The Field of Employee Benefits Practice 8

Legally Required Benefits 9

Discretionary Benefits 10

Origins of Employee Benefits 14

Legal and Regulatory Influences on Discretionary Benefits Practices 15

Strategic Planning for the Benefits Program 17

Basic Strategic Planning Concepts 17

Approaches to Strategic Benefit Planning 19

Information Used in Strategic Benefit Planning 22

External Environment 22

Internal Environment 27

Plan for the Book 29

Chapter 2 The Psychology of Employee Benefits 31

Employment Relationship as Social Exchange 33

How Employee Benefits Constitute Social Exchange 33

Workforce Changes and the Employment Relationship 34

Psychological Contracts 36

Psychological Contract Development 38

Psychological Contract Violation 39

Employee Benefits as Constituting Psychological Contracts 40

Employee Attitudes and Employee Benefits 41

Justice and Perceived Organizational Support 41

Organizational Citizenship Behavior 43

Summary 44

Chapter 3 The Economics of Employee Benefits 49

Why Do Employers Offer Benefits? 50

Cost Advantage 51

Recruiting Certain Types of Workers 54

Tax Incentives 55

Who Pays for Benefits? 56

Two Extensions 62

Government Mandates 62

Differences in Benefit Cost Increases across Groups of Workers 64

Summary 65

Chapter 4 Regulating Employee Benefits 67

Labor Unions and Employee Benefits: The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 69

The Internal Revenue Code 72

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 73

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 75

Defining Pension Plans and Welfare Plans 77

Scope of Coverage for Pension Plans and Welfare Plans 78

Title I Protection of Employee Rights 78

Title II Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code Relating to Retirement Plans 82

Title III Jurisdiction, Administration, Enforcement, Joint Pension Task Force, and Other Issues 82

Title IV Plan Termination Insurance 83

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 86

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 88

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 90

Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws 91

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 92

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 93

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) 93

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 95

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 96

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 97

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 98

Summary 99

Part 2 Retirement, Health, and Life Insurance 103

Chapter 5 Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans 105

Defined Retirement Plans 107

Origins of Employer-Sponsored Retirement Benefits 107

Trends in Retirement Plan Coverage and Costs 108

Minimum Standards for Qualified Plans 109

Qualified Plans 109

Defined Benefit Plans 113

Benefit Formulas 113

Nondiscrimination Rules: Testing 114

Accrual Rules 115

Minimum Funding Standards 117

Benefit Limits and Tax Deductions 118

Defined Contribution Plans 118

Individual Accounts 118

Investments of Contributions 118

Employee Participation in Investments 119

Nondiscrimination Rules: Testing 119

Accrual Rules 120

Minimum Funding Standards 120

Contribution Limits and Tax Deductions 120

Types of Defined Contribution Plans 120

Section 401(k) Plans 120

Profit-Sharing Plans 121

Stock Bonus Plans 122

Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) 122

Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLEs) 123

Section 403(b) Tax-Deferred Annuity Plans 123

Section 457 Plans 125

Hybrid Plans 125

Cash Balance Plans and Pension Equity Plans 125

Target Benefit Plans 130

Money Purchase Plans 131

Age-Weighted Profit-Sharing Plans 131

Summary 132

Chapter 6 Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Programs 135

Defining and Exploring Health Insurance Programs 136

Origins of Health Insurance Benefits 137

Health Insurance Coverage and Costs 138

Individual versus Group Insurance Coverage 143

Regulation of Health Insurance Programs 143

Federal Regulation 143

Tax Regulations 146

State Regulation 146

Fee-for-Service Plans 148

Types of Medical Expense Benefits 148

Features of Fee-for-Service Plans 149

Major Medical Insurance Plans: Supplemental and Comprehensive 152

Managed Care Plans 153

Health Maintenance Organizations 153

Types of Health Maintenance Organizations 153

Features of Health Maintenance Organizations 154

Preferred Provider Organizations 156

Features of Preferred Provider Organizations 156

Point-of-Service Plans 157

Specialized Insurance Benefits 158

Dental Insurance 159

Vision Insurance 160

Prescription Drug Benefits 160

Mental Health and Substance Abuse 162

Maternity Care 163

Consumer-Driven Health Care 164

Retiree Health Care Benefits 166

Summary 169

Chapter 7 Employer-Sponsored Disability Insurance and Life Insurance 171

Disability Insurance 172

Origins of Disability Insurance 173

Short-Term Disability Insurance Programs 174

Long-Term Disability Insurance Programs 175

Funding Disability Insurance Programs 176

Employee and Employer Tax Obligations 176

Relationships between Company-Sponsored Disability Plans and Benefits Laws 177

Life Insurance 179

Origins of Life Insurance 179

Coverage and Costs of Life Insurance 179

Types of Life Insurance Programs 180

Group Term Life Insurance 180

Tax Treatment of Group Term Life Insurance 183

Universal Life Insurance 185

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 185

Summary 185

Chapter 8 Government-Mandated Social Security and Workers' Compensation Programs 189

Origins of Social Security and Workers' Compensation Programs 190

Introduction to the Social Security Programs 191

Employers Required to Participate in Social Security Programs 192

Administration of Social Security Programs 196

Social Security Numbers 197

Old-Age, Survivor, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) 197

Qualifying for OASDI Benefits 197

Determining Benefit Amounts 197

Old-Age Benefits 198

Survivor Benefits 202

Disability Benefits 204

Medicare 205

Eligibility Criteria for Medicare Benefits 205

Medicare Part A Coverage 207

Medicare Part B Coverage 207

Medigap Insurance 207

Medicare Part C: Medicare Advantage 208

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit 209

Medicare as the Primary or Secondary Payer 209

Financing OASDI and Medicare Programs 210

Unemployment Insurance 212

Eligibility Criteria for Unemployment Insurance Benefits 212

Unemployment Insurance Benefit Amounts 213

State Compulsory Disability Laws (Workers' Compensation) 215

Coverage of Workers' Compensation Programs 216

Cost of Workers' Compensation Insurance 217

Workers' Compensation Claims 217

Types and Amounts of Workers' Compensation Benefits 218

Employers' Rights under Workers' Compensation Programs 220

Financing Workers' Compensation Programs 222

Employer and Employee Tax Obligations 223

Relationship between Workers' Compensation and Benefits Laws 224

Summary 225

Part 3 Services 229

Chapter 9 Paid Time-Off and Flexible Work Schedules 231

Defining and Exploring Paid Time-Off Programs 232

Paid Time-Off Practices 234

Holidays 235

Vacation 236

Sick Leave 239

Personal Leave 239

Integrated Paid Time-Off Policies or Paid Time-Off Banks 240

Bereavement or Funeral Leave 241

Jury Duty and Witness Duty Leaves 241

Military Leave 242

Nonproduction Time 243

On-Call Time 243

Sabbatical Leave 244

Volunteerism 245

Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 245

Flexible Scheduling 249

Flextime Schedules 249

Compressed Workweek Schedules 250

Telecommuting 251

Summary 252

Chapter 10 Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits 255

Defining Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits 256

Rationale for Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits 256

Tax Benefits for Employers and Employees 257

The Mental and Physical Well-Being of Employees and Family Members 257

Employee Assistance Programs 257

Wellness Programs 263

Family Assistance Programs 266

Adoption Assistance Programs 267

Educational Benefits for Employees 268

Educational Assistance Programs 268

Tuition Reimbursement Programs 269

Scholarship Programs 269

Support Programs for Daily Living 271

Transportation Services 271

Physical Fitness 272

Summary 272

Part 4 Extending Employee Benefits: Design and Global Issues 275

Chapter 11 Managing the Employee Benefits System 277

A Comparison of Traditional Benefits Plans and Flexible Benefits Plans 278

A One-Size-Fits-All Approach 278

Employer Choice to Customize Benefits 279

Cafeteria Plans under Section 125 280

Types of Flexible Benefit Plan Arrangements 282

Communicating the Employee Benefits Program 286

Legal Considerations in Benefits Communication 286

The "Good Business Sense" of Benefits Communication 288

Managing the Costs of Employee Benefits 292

Cost-Control Methods 293

Employee Education 294

Utilization Revieius 294

Case Management 295

Provider Payment Systems 296

Lifestyle Interventions 296

Outsourcing the Benefits Function 297

The Future of Employee Benefits 298

Changing Employment Contract 298

Accountability to Shareholders 299

Recent and Proposed Legislation 299

Domestic Partner Benefits and Same-Sex Marriage Issues 300

Generational Diversity and Workplace Conflict 302

Presidential-Year Politics 303

Summary 305

Chapter 12 Global Employee Benefits at a Glance 307

Not All Employee Benefits Are Alike 308

North America 308

Canada 309

Mexico 312

South America 313

Brazil 313

Argentina 315

Europe 316

France 317

Germany 318

Spain 320

United Kingdom 321

The Netherlands 322

Italy 324

Poland 325

Sweden 326

Russia 328

Asia 329

The People's Republic of China 329

Hong Kong 331

Japan 332

South Korea 334

India 335

Saudi Arabia 337

Africa 338

South Africa 338

Australia 339

Summary 340

Glossary 347

Index 371