Benefits Business Blog

There has been a raise in companies filing defamation lawsuit against anonymous poster, posting negative comments about their company.  The process is fairly simple.  The company files a defamation claim against a “John Doe”.  The complaint enables the company to issue subpoena against websites where the comments were posted asking for information concerning the  identity of the poster.  The information will come in the form of server logs, user account information and ip addresses.

These days, one’s ip address is the equivalent of one’s home address or finger print.  As each home is appointed to a unique ip address.  Once they have your ip address, they can subpoena your Internet Provider for the account associated to your ip address.

With this information, they can now connect you to the comments being made on the Internet.  They then amend their complaint to add you as a Doe.  Serve you and the lawsuit begins.

With Congress sitting on their asses and failing to get a Health care plan worked out because the Democratic lost their majority, individual who buy their own health insurance are facing a huge rate increase in at least four states.

Blue Cross has announced or has notified some of its 800,000 individual policyholders in California that it plans to raise their rates by up to 39 percent on March 1, 2010.

Blue Cross has also elected to raise the rates of their consumers in Maine up to 32 percent.

Individuals in Kansas and Oregon will also face rate increases in varying amounts.

Premiums are far more volatile for individual policies than for those bought by employers and other large groups, which have bargaining clout and a sizable pool of people among which to spread risk. As more people have lost jobs, many who are healthy have decided to go without health insurance or get a bare-bones, high-deductible policy, reducing the amount of premiums insurers receive.

Its fucking crazy what these insurance companies are allowed to do especially in such hard economic times.  Who these days can afford to survive much less pay for their insurance policy.

The US Supreme Court recent ruling on campaign spending could have long time effects.  If you haven’t heard, the overturn a 63 year old law limiting political spending by labor and big business on the grounds of free speech.

The ruling paves the way for corporations, labor unions, and religious groups to give money to sway votes to push their agenda.

The ruling covers the money corporations and unions may spend from their own profits on independent ads and other advocacy efforts on behalf of candidates or issues. It does not change restrictions on direct contributions to candidates for federal office, which remain prohibited under federal law, but are allowed in New Jersey state races.

The decision essentially means that if a corporation wanted to spend millions of dollars of its own money on its own issues ads in support of a candidate, it may do so. The ruling does not change spending rules covering the thousands of political action committees by corporations and special interest groups.

Now Congress will have to decide how they want to react to the high court’s ruling.

An apartment manager plead guilty to making false statement to the government about the income of Section 8 tenants in exchange for sexual favors, in Kansas.  The former apartment manager made false statement about tenant income and household composition of HUD tenants.  The results caused HUD to overpay tenant rent subsisideis by approximately $34K.

Court documents also show the defendant improperly moved applications on the Section 8 waiting list ahead of other applicants in exchange for sexual favors.  That caused HUD to overpay more rent subsidies by more than $104,000.

He is also accused of using his work computer to create 15 false letters, and forged signatures on those letters for tenant files to support the false income information provided.  He now faces up to five years in prison without parole and a fine of up to $250,000.

It is being reported that the Tiger Wood incident is causing a ripple effect in the Insurance industries.  Large corporate sponsor are seeking insurance protection in the effect that their top spoke person fulls a “Tiger Wood”.

It was originally thought that Tiger Woods was the perfect spokesmen.   Now with everything that has happened, companies are running for protection.  The thought process is that if something like this can happen to Tiger Woods than no one is safe.

This run for cover drive is driving new avenues of revenue to the insurance company as they create new policy to protect companies against these types of incidents.

Now that the Democratic party has lost its majority hold in the Senate, what will happen to the Health Care plan.  Scott Brown’s victory in the state that has fought for health care under Senator Kennedy is perhaps a message to the Democratic that they need to get their act together.

The Republicans now have enough votees to block any measure in the chamber.

Administration officials and top congressional Democrats are reviewing a diminished range of options to pass a health care bill and salvage victory on President Obama’s top domestic priority.

Among the options under consideration is to draft a new, stripped-down version of the bill capable of passing both chambers.

A second option is having the House pass an identical version of the bill approved by the Senate in December. Doing so would allow the measure to proceed straight to Obama’s desk to be signed into law.

A number of House liberals, however, are pushing back hard against the idea of adopting the Senate plan without major changes. The more conservative Senate measure contains a number of provisions unpopular with progressives, including a 40 percent tax on high-end “Cadillac” health plans which would be imposed on the insurance companies that provide them.

Our best wishes to the families and victim of the Haiti earthquake.  It was reported that over 100,000 people could be dead.

Death was everywhere in Port-au-Prince. Bodies of tiny children were piled next to schools. Corpses of women lay on the street with stunned expressions frozen on their faces as flies began to gather. Bodies of men were covered with plastic tarps or cotton sheets.

President Barack Obama promised an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort, adding that the U.S. commitment to its hemispheric neighbor will be unwavering.

Here are some new laws going into effect in 2010:

1.  Increases employee withholdings, supplemental wage withholding, and wage stock options and bonuses. As part of California’s new state budget adopted in the summer of 2009, state income taxes withheld from paychecks will increase 10 percent. Employees’ individual annual income tax bills will not increase; the amount owed in taxes in April 2010 will be adjusted to reflect the withholding increase.

2.  The new Form I-9 for employment eligibility verification contains an updated list of acceptable documents employees must present upon hiring. The purpose of this form is to document that new employees – both citizen and noncitizen – are eligible to work in the United States. Within three days of hire, all employees must complete the form and provide documents that establish identity and employment authorization.

3. Federal legislation changed the definition of who is covered for “qualifying exigency” leave related to servicemembers. Part of the National Defense Authorization Act, this new definition also expands FMLA provisions pertaining to military caregiver leave. Both qualifying exigency and military caregiver leave now include time off to care for veterans under certain circumstances.

4. Code. All licensed hospitals are required to annually conduct a safety and security assessment. Under the new law, hospitals must review and update their security regulations to ensure that patients and workers do not become victims of violence.

The Los Angeles Times reported that in South Korea, Cyber Bullies were bullying people to watch what they say on the Internet.

In recent years, celebrities, authors and ordinary South Koreans have been subjected to relentless online assaults — at times with disastrous, or even lethal, effects.

Most South Korean cyber bullies are teenagers hiding behind the cloak of Internet anonymity, analysts say, products of a highly regimented culture in which the young are discouraged from speaking their minds with parents, teachers and bosses. At home in their rooms, they let loose, often at the slightest provocation.

In an effort to bring civility to the Internet, the government of South Korean, has put together a bill that would punish those who insult others on the Internet with up to three years of jail or a $30k fine.  The bill was unsuccesful.

Your 401(k) contribution ceiling will stay the same next year.  The maximum will remain at $16,500

Workers with a retirement plan who earn less than $66,000 annually ($109,000 for couples) also can contribute up to $5,000 to a traditional or Roth IRA, and workers age 50 and over can contribute up to $6,000. The income limits don’t apply to couples who don’t have a retirement plan through their jobs.