Guide to Company Holiday Parties

(from the November 2008 newsletter)

Company holiday parties are a great chance for employees to celebrate a successful year of business, recognize and reward employees for their hard work and provide them opportunity to mix and mingle and get to know each other outside of the workplace. They can also be a human resource tight rope walk, as employers try to create a fun event while mitigating risk to the company and keep their employees safe. A few DOs and DON’Ts can make a world of difference and ensure everyone has a good time.

Employers DO need to plan ahead on sticky HR issues. Will you serve alcohol? If you do, DON’T let employees pour – hire a professional bar tender trained in cutting guests off when they have had enough. DO hand out drink tickets (typically not more than two) and DON’T go the route of an open bar. Hosting a company-sponsored event means the company could be held liable for an employee’s behavior. This includes harassment, a workers’ compensation claim (in certain states) and drunk driving following the event.

DO have non-alcoholic drinks available and serve high protein foods to help off set the effects of alcohol. DO remind employees prior to the event that company functions are still a reflection of the company. They remain business functions.

DO make sure your employees understand that attendance at the social event is voluntary, particularly if you are calling it a “holiday” party. Many companies are moving to year-end celebrations to balance the needs and interests of all of their employees; some of whom celebrate different holidays or none at all.

Employees DO need to realize that they are solely responsible for their conduct and behavior at the party, just as much as if they were back in the office. DON’T assume your actions won’t follow you back to the office come Monday morning.

Out of courtesy to your coworkers, DON'T assume everyone celebrates the same holiday. DO avoid controversial subjects when conversing (such as religion, politics, etc.) and off-color jokes. DO interact with respect and courtesy toward everyone present.

DON’T spend all evening talking about work. You work shoulder to shoulder with your coworkers for a large portion of each day. Get to know their hobbies and personal interests. DO enjoy yourself and have some fun!

Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim

(from the November 2008 newsletter)

Do you know what to do when one of your employees ask to file a workers’ compensation claim for an injury on the job? And do you complete everything in a timely manner? Filling out the correct paperwork, taking the correct steps and turning it in on time can save you money and frustration.

• If your employee has received or plans to receive medical attention, then you need to fill out your state injury report form; in Oregon, it is the 801 form. In some states, the form is generated by the doctor and sent to the employer after initial treatment. You then need to send that form to your insurance carrier within 3 days of your knowledge of the claim. In states where the form is generated by the treating doctor, they will send it to the insurance carrier. Sending the injury form late can add to your claim cost.
• Make sure you have a medical release from your employee so that you know if they can come back to work and if there are any restrictions to the duties they will be able to perform.
• Work with your employee to bring them back to work after their injury. In most situations, even if they have been given restrictions to their duties, they can do their job with the modifications. Providing them modified work after an injury saves cost on the claim and keeps a valuable employee working and productive.
• Stay in contact with the employee and up to date on their situation and the changes in their restrictions. Keep communication open with them about their claim.
• Stay in contact with your insurance carrier as well on the status of the claim. Make sure to provide them with all the information they need to process the claim for you.
• At your next safety meeting, talk about the injury (without naming the employee) and discuss how a similar injury can be prevented in the future.
• If you have further questions or need assistance, contact a Xenium Representative or your Workers’ Compensation Insurance Carrier.

Bailout for Bikers

(from the November 2008 newsletter)

Effective January 1, 2009, commuters who go by bike may be eligible for a greater reimbursement for bicycle related expenses. The benefit can be up to $20 per month. Employers may reimburse employees, tax-free, for "reasonable" expenses related to their bike commute, including equipment purchases, bike purchases, repairs and storage if the bicycle is used as a "substantial part" of the commuter's trip to work for the month. If you already receive another commuter tax-free fringe benefit, you don't qualify, so multimodal commuters are out of luck.

Here is the full language of the bill:

SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.

(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’

(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking ‘and’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘, and’, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ‘(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.

(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-

‘(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.'(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term ‘applicable annual limitation’ means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.
‘(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting month’ means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee--
‘(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and
‘(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1)’.

(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting ‘(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)’ after ‘qualified transportation fringe’.

(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.