The document provides tips for employers to avoid an unannounced Department of Labor wage and hour investigation. It discusses ensuring fair compensation practices, understanding regulations, training managers, analyzing state vs federal laws, paying past overtime due, following child labor laws, properly classifying interns, responding to internal complaints, seeking DOL compliance assistance, and conducting a self-audit. It also summarizes several articles on using HR metrics to communicate value to an organization, the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program funds being exhausted, how HHS will define essential health benefits, Maryland allowing same-sex marriage, and San Francisco's healthcare reporting requirements.

1. HUMAN CAPITAL PRACTICE
HRFocus
May 2012 — Issue 59 www.willis.com
HR CORNER
10 TIPS TO AVOID
A DOL WAGE & HOUR INVESTIGATION
Knock, knock … Surprise! Believe it or not, the federal Department
of Labor (DOL) does not require an investigator to previously
announce the scheduling of a wage & hour investigation. The
investigator has sufficient latitude to initiate unannounced wage &
hour investigations, in many cases, in order to directly observe
normal business operations and quickly develop factual information.
The following are some strategies to prevent this knock from
sounding at your company’s front door!
AVOID UNFAIR COMPENSATION PRACTICES
Make sure employees are compensated in a consistent manner. If an
employer’s pay practices are consistent, complaints are less likely to
arise, and the employer will be in a better situation if DOL does
TABLE OF CONTENTS
launch a wage & hour investigation.
HR CORNER
UNDERSTAND THE REGULATIONS 10 Tips To Avoid A DOL Wage
It is important that employers take the time and make a concerted & Hour Investigation 1
effort to understand and familiarize themselves with the Fair Labor
HR Metrics: 10 Ways To Assess
Standards Act (FLSA). It is the law, and if employers fail to follow the
Strategic Business Context Of
law they may face litigation or a DOL audit. Your Organization 2
LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
TRAINING
Train managers so they are fluent in the language of the FLSA. ERRP Funds Exhausted 3
FAQS On How HHS Will Define
ANALYZE STATE VERSUS FEDERAL LAW Essential Health Benefits 4
Determine whether the state’s wage & hour laws conflict with federal Maryland Allows Same-Sex Marriage 5
law, then follow the law that is most beneficial to the employee.
San Francisco: HCSO Annual
Reporting Form Now Available 6
PAY PAST OVERTIME DUE CHIP Model Notice Revised 6
If it is determined that an employee is wrongly classified as exempt,
the employer should determine how many overtime hours the SINCE YOU ASKED
employee has worked in the past 2 years, then pay the employee the HSA Contribution Limits:
overtime due. The employer should also have the employee sign a Account Holders, Spouses And Adult,
release to free the employer from further liability. Paying past Non-Dependent Children 7
overtime due to employees now will be far less expensive than paying WELLNESS
them in a DOL settlement. Assessing The Health Of
Your Population 9
FOLLOW CHILD LABOR LAWS WEBCASTS 11
Employers must determine a minor’s age and set his or her job duties
and work schedules accordingly and carefully. Also, employers must CONTACTS 12

2. file the minor employee’s age certificate, keeping it for as
long as the minor is employed. HR METRICS: 10 WAYS
TO ASSESS STRATEGIC
PAY YOUR INTERNS, UNLESS THEY MEET A STRICT TEST
Internships in the for-profit, private sector will most often BUSINESS CONTEXT OF
be viewed as employment by the DOL, unless a strict test is
met. Interns who qualify as employees rather than trainees
YOUR ORGANIZATION
typically must be paid at least the minimum wage and
HR metrics are the key for HR professionals to be
overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a
active participants in a business’ strategic decisions.
workweek.
HR metrics provide the means for HR professionals
to communicate with management. However,
RESPOND TO INTERNAL COMPLAINTS EXPEDITIOUSLY typically, busy HR leaders can spend only 10 percent of
If an employee files a wage & hour complaint internally, the their time at the strategic level, and only 2 in 10 have a
employer should take it seriously. Since many process in place for measuring the business
investigations are prompted by an employee’s complaint, performance of employees. These numbers indicate
employers might be able to prevent an investigation by that success is not being measured as well as it should
addressing an employee’s initial internal complaint. be, which can ultimately keep HR from being the key
contributor to organizational success that it could be.
SEEK COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE FROM DOL In a BLR webinar titled “HR Metrics: How to Measure
Various compliance tools and information are available on and Communicate Your Strategic Value in Bottom-
DOL's website. Line Terms,” Ronald Adler and Jennifer Burdick
outlined how the use of HR metrics allows HR
CONDUCT A SELF-AUDIT professionals to tell their story effectively.
Employers can hire attorneys to audit their companies—or
they can do it themselves before DOL initiates an HR METRICS: TELLING YOUR STORY
investigation. Conducting a self-audit helps ensure HR Metrics are about telling a story about your
compliance with federal and state laws. As part of an audit, organization. Like other stories, your story:
employers should:
Must have context
Review job descriptions to determine whether they are Should consider historical information (lagging
still accurate, reflect the jobs being performed, and indicators)
reflect the skills necessary to perform the job. Should report current information (coincident
Review employees’ actual job duties to ensure that they indicators)
still fall within the administrative, executive, Should indicate possible future events (leading
professional, computer, or outside sales exemptions. indicators and predictive analytics)
Make sure overtime for nonexempt employees has Should consider its audience (there is a growing
been properly calculated list of internal and external stakeholders and users
Make sure the required posters have been hung in the of HR metrics)
appropriate places in the workplace. Should engage the audience and motivate action
DOL investigators look for complete, accurate, and What stories do your metrics tell about your
unambiguous pay records for every employee for each pay organization’s human capital and HR management?
period from the past 3 years. As a result, it is imperative Are your executives listening?
that employers strive to keep accurate, well-organized wage
& hour records that can be produced quickly. If violations
are found, the employer may owe back pay, face penalties,
and be advised by DOL to make changes in employment
practices in order to avoid future violations.
This article provided by BLR.
2 Willis North America • 05/12

3. HR METRICS: STRATEGIC BUSINESS CONTEXT
The starting point in developing the right metrics to effectively tell your story is to fully understand
the strategic business context you’re working in. Here are 10 areas to assess in order to understand
the strategic business context of your organization:
How does your organization produce revenue?
How does human resources add value to your organization?
Are HR activities and employment practices aligned with your organization’s strategic and
business goals and objectives? How do human resources impact these objectives?
What are your organization’s key business measurements and metrics currently? How does your
organization measure success? What’s on your organization’s scorecard? Adler noted that this is
a starting point for your whole discussion.
How do human resources impact your organization’s key business measurements and metrics?
What are your organization’s business imperatives, i.e., what distinguishes your organization in
the marketplace? How do HR activities and employment practices impact these imperatives?
What are your organization’s risks and opportunities? How do HR activities and employment
practices impact these risks?
What decisions do you want to influence?
Can you connect the dots between the metric and decision making?
What happens if your organization misses the target?
By understanding these 10 areas, you can begin to best understand what HR metrics will be most
useful to develop and which will best tell your story to the organization’s leaders.
This article provided by BLR.
LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
ERRP FUNDS EXHAUSTED
On February 17, 2012, the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) announced that requests for
reimbursement had exceeded the $5 billion funding allocated to the program. Reimbursement
requests which exceed the program's $5 billion will now be held in the order of receipt, pending the
availability of funds. Plan sponsors with reimbursement requests on hold can expect to receive an
email notifying them that their reimbursement requests have been placed on hold pending the
availability of funds. Plan sponsors who have received such an email can call the ERRP Contact
Center to obtain updated information on the position of the reimbursement request in the list of held
reimbursement requests.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has indicated it will continue to pay
reimbursement requests in the order received until available funds are exhausted. If there are not
sufficient funds to pay in its entirety the first reimbursement request that causes the initial
exhaustion of the funds available for payment, CMS will partially honor that reimbursement request,
and will pay the balance of that reimbursement request if additional funds become available through
overpayment recoupment efforts. In the event that funds become available as a result of overpayment
collections, CMS will pay subsequent reimbursement requests in the order of receipt until funds are
once again exhausted.
Related to ongoing ERRP requirements, CMS has announced its expectation that plan sponsors will
use ERRP reimbursement funds they have received, or will receive, as soon as possible, but in no case
later than December 31, 2014. Plan sponsors can view the Common Question on this topic, 800-13,
which is posted in the "Use of Reimbursement" section of the Common Questions on www.errp.gov.
3 Willis North America • 05/12

4. BACKGROUND
The ERRP was established by the health care reform law with appropriated funding of $5
billion. It became effective June 1, 2010. The program provides reimbursement to plan
sponsors of participating employment-based plans for a portion of the cost of health
benefits for early retirees and their spouses, surviving spouses and dependents. In order to
obtain reimbursement under the ERRP, plan sponsors had to first submit a completed
application to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and be accepted into
the program. HHS began accepting ERRP applications on June 29, 2010 but stopped
accepting them in May 2011. The program was slated to end no later than January 1, 2014,
but HHS had the authority to stop taking ERRP applications based on the availability of
funding.
Once a plan sponsor’s ERRP application was accepted, the plan sponsor could submit
documentation of actual costs for early retiree health care benefits and receive
reimbursement from the ERRP. Claim reimbursements began in October 2010. In
December 2011, ERRP announced that reimbursements would be unavailable for claims
incurred after December 31, 2011.
For more information on the ERRP, see Willis Human Capital Practice Alert, Vol. 3, No. 7,
“It’s a Start: Guidance on the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program.”
FAQS ON HOW HHS WILL DEFINE ESSENTIAL
HEALTH BENEFITS
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has added a set of FAQs to its
previous releases on the approach it intends to follow in defining “essential health benefits”
(EHB).
NOTE: The health care reform law directs the relevant agencies to define EHB so that a plan
providing EHB will be similar in scope to typical employer-provided health benefits and will
include coverage in 10 broad categories of health care. HHS has indicated that it intends to
issue regulations under which each state chooses a benchmark plan from among several
options and then determines what must be added so that the resulting plan provides
coverage of all 10 categories of health care that the statute specifies for EHB. This means
that there will be multiple state-specific definitions of EHB, rather than a single definition.
The new FAQs primarily provide details on how HHS will work with states to define EHB.
They also include, however, information on how an employer would use the EHB definition in
complying with the lifetime and annual dollar limits provisions of the health care reform law.
WHY THE EHB DEFINITION MATTERS TO EMPLOYERS SPONSORING HEALTH PLANS
Employers generally are not responsible for ensuring that their group health plans provide
EHB. Insurers may be required, however, to ensure that the group policies they sell to
employers in the small group market or through an insurance exchange provide EHB. Self-
insured, grandfathered and large-market insured group health plans are not required to
provide EHB at all.
NOTE: The significance of the term essential health benefits (as well as the confusingly
similar term “minimum essential coverage”) is discussed in Willis Human Capital Practice
Alert, July 2011, “Looking Ahead – Compliance After 2011.”
4 Willis North America • 05/12

5. Employers are responsible for ensuring that the group health plans they sponsor –
whether insured, self-insured, grandfathered or non-grandfathered – comply with the
health care reform law’s provisions regarding annual and lifetime dollar limits. (There
are several types of excepted benefits programs which need not comply, as explained in
Willis Human Capital Practice Alert, July 2011, “Looking Ahead – Compliance After
2011.”) The annual and lifetime dollar limits provisions apply only with respect to EHB
– they do not limit plans’ ability to impose dollar limits on non-EHB.
FAQS ADDRESS COMPLIANCE WITH LIFETIME AND ANNUAL LIMITS PROVISIONS
The provisions regarding lifetime and annual dollar limits on EHB are currently in
effect, but one of the open questions about them has been which of the benefits a plan
offers is non-EHB which may be subject to such limits. See Willis Human Capital
Practice Alert, July 2010, “Patient’s Bill of Rights Guidance Issued.” The enforcing
agencies have said that they will take into account good faith efforts to comply with a
reasonable interpretation of EHB until regulations defining the term are finalized. With
specifics on exactly which benefits are EHB lacking, however, most employers have
simply not applied lifetime or annual dollar limits to any benefits. Multi-state
employers were particularly disappointed when previous HHS releases indicated that
regulations will allow each state to define EHB for itself.
The new FAQs provide some details on the meaning of EHB for purposes of the annual
and lifetime dollar limits provisions, at least for group health plans that are self-insured,
grandfathered or provided through large-market insurance policies. Such plans may
choose any one definition of EHB that is authorized by HHS, and the enforcing agencies
will treat that as a permissible EHB definition for purposes of the lifetime and annual
limits provisions. It seems clear that, once the individual states’ definitions are in place,
an employer may choose any one of those definitions and amend its plan to impose
lifetime or annual dollar limits on benefits that are outside of that definition. It is
unclear exactly what plans may or must do between now and the time that states
finalize their EHB definitions.
The National Legal & Research Group will continue to monitor developments involving
this issue and provide information on them as needed.
MARYLAND ALLOWS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
On March 1, 2012, the governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley (D), signed the Civil
Marriage Protection Act (HB 438). This law will allow same-sex couples to marry
starting January 1, 2013. Opponents of the law have stated their intent to gather enough
signatures to put the law up to a voter referendum that would appear on the November
2012 ballot.
Maryland currently requires insurance carriers to offer domestic partner coverage if
requested by the policyholder. Insurers will now be required to provide coverage to
same-sex spouses whether the policyholder requests the coverage or not. Self-insured
plans that are governed by ERISA will not be affected by the state law. Regardless of
what Maryland law says, it will generally be trumped by federal law. Therefore, same-
sex spouses are typically treated as non-spouses for all federal laws – that includes
COBRA, federal tax, FMLA, etc. However, same-sex spouses will be eligible for those
benefits and rights conferred by Maryland law.
5 Willis North America • 05/12

6. Maryland joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, the state of
Washington (legislation legalizing same-sex marriage was signed on February 13, 2012 and is effective
June 7, 2012) and Washington D.C. in legalizing same-sex marriage. For a discussion on how same-sex
marriage affects employers and employer-sponsored benefits, please see Willis Human Capital
Practice HR Focus, August 2011, Issue 50, “New York Enacts Same-Sex Marriage Law.”
SAN FRANCISCO: HCSO ANNUAL REPORTING FORM
NOW AVAILABLE
San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) requires that medium and large businesses
make certain minimum contributions toward their San Francisco employees’ health care. Under this
mandate, an employer may either contribute at least the minimum amount to a medical plan or other
health benefits or pay that amount into the publicly available program established by the HCSO. (See
Willis Human Capital Practice Alert, Issue 112, for additional details on the HCSO’s requirements.)
The HCSO requires covered employers to report on their health care expenditures by April 30 of each
year. A copy of the 2011 ARF is now available on the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement’s (OLSE)
website.
The ARF has been updated to reflect the HCSO amendments that were effective January 1, 2012. For
information about the amendments, please see Willis Human Capital Practice HR Focus, January
2012, Issue 55, “San Francisco Health Care Ordinance Amended.”
CHIP MODEL NOTICE REVISED
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has released an
updated CHIP model notice. The revised notice can be found by clicking here. A printable version is
also available by clicking here. The DOL also makes the notice available in Spanish; click here.
Employers who had already fulfilled the CHIP notice requirement prior to the release of the new
notice are not affected by the revised notice (redistribution of the notice is not required). However,
employers who have not yet complied with the notice’s annual distribution requirement will want to
be sure they use the most recent notice.
BACKGROUND
An employer is required under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act
(CHIPRA) to provide a CHIP notice if it maintains an insured or self-insured group health plan under
which it offers benefits in a state that provides a premium assistance subsidy under Medicaid or
CHIP. An employer must provide the CHIP notice to employees who reside in these states, regardless
of the employer’s location or principal place of business (or the location or principal place of business
of the group health plan, its administrator, its insurer or any other service provider affiliated with the
employer or the plan), and regardless of an employee’s enrollment status in the employer’s group
health plan.
Employers were required to provide an initial CHIP notice by the later of either (1) the first day of the
first plan year after February 4, 2010 or (2) May 1, 2010. Accordingly, for plan years that began
between February 4, 2010, and May 1, 2010, employers should have provided the CHIP notice by May
1, 2010. For plans with plan years that began after May 1, 2010, employers should have provided the
CHIP notice by the first day of the plan year (i.e., January 1, 2011, for calendar year plans). After
distributing the initial CHIP notice, employers must provide the notice annually.
6 Willis North America • 05/12

7. SINCE YOU ASKED:
HSA CONTRIBUTION LIMITS:
ACCOUNT HOLDERS, SPOUSES AND
ADULT, NON-DEPENDENT CHILDREN
The National Legal & Research Group (NLRG) is frequently asked
about who may contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA) and
who is eligible for tax-free reimbursements from an HSA. NLRG was
recently asked several questions in regard to an employee, age 59,
who elected to cover an adult child under an HSA-qualified high de-
ductible health plan (HDHP). She elected full family coverage, cov-
ering herself, her spouse, age 60, and the adult child. The spouse also
has an HSA-qualified HDHP through his employer and has also
elected full family coverage (covering himself, his spouse and the
adult child). The adult child does not qualify as a tax dependent
under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §152 as a “qualifying relative”
but was added to the parents’ coverage following enactment of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). PPACA
requires employer-sponsored group health plans that provide cover-
age for employees’ children to make that coverage available until the
child reaches age 26.
NLRG received the following questions regarding this situation:
1. How much can the employee contribute to her HSA?
2. How much can the spouse contribute to his HSA?
3. What is the interaction, if any, between the employee’s and the
spouse’s ability to contribute to their individual HSAs?
4. Can the adult child contribute to her own HSA, and, if so,
how much?
BACKGROUND HSA CONTRIBUTIONS ANYONE, EVERYONE?
In order to make a tax-deductible contribution to an HSA, a person HSAs are individual accounts, owned by
must be an “eligible individual.” A person is an eligible individual, individuals. The HDHP, however, is an employer-
with respect to any month, if the person is: sponsored group health plan. While the employer
sets the eligibility criteria for the HDHP, federal
Covered by a plan that qualifies as a high deductible health plan tax rules determine whether an individual with an
(HDHP) HDHP can enroll in and contribute to an HSA.
Not covered at the same time by any other plan which is not an These rules also determine how much they can
HDHP, but which covers the same benefits as the HDHP (other contribute to the HSA.
health plans include general purpose health Flexible Spending
Accounts) The amount that the account holder or any other
Not claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return (a person (e.g., an employer) can contribute to the
spouse is not considered to be a tax dependent under either IRC account holder’s HSA depends on the category of
§§151 or 152, even though a taxpayer may claim an exemption for HDHP coverage the account holder has (i.e., self-
the spouse) only or family), the account holder’s age, the date
Not enrolled (not just eligible, but actually enrolled) in Medicare the account holder becomes an eligible individual,
Part A or B (eligible employees age 65 or over may contribute to and the date the account holder ceases to be an
an HSA, including the catch-up contribution, as long as they are eligible individual. For 2012, if the account holder
not enrolled in Medicare)
7 Willis North America • 05/12

8. has self-only HDHP coverage he can contribute up to $3,100, and if Finally, to answer the last question on
the account holder has family HDHP coverage he can contribute up whether the adult child can contribute to her
to $6,250. The HSA contribution limit for an HSA-eligible individual HSA and how much, the maximum
who has family HDHP coverage is not affected merely because one or contribution limit is determined for each
more of the other covered family members also has non-HDHP “eligible individual.” In the current situation,
coverage or HDHP coverage with a lower deductible. the adult, non-dependent child is not a
dependent eligible to be claimed on the
If the account holder is an eligible individual who is age 55 or older at parent’s tax return. In addition, she is also
the end of the account holder’s tax year (usually December 31), the covered by a plan that qualifies as an HDHP
account holder’s contribution limit is increased by $1,000. For (she is actually covered by two HDHPs).
example, if the account holder has self-only coverage, he can Assuming she is not covered by a non-HDHP
contribute up to $4,100 (the contribution limit for self-only coverage and she is not enrolled in Medicare, she will be
($3,100 for 2012) plus the additional contribution of $1,000). an “eligible individual.” This means she would
be eligible to establish her own HSA. Since
There are special contribution rules for married individuals. If she has family HDHP coverage, she would be
either spouse has family HDHP coverage, both spouses are treated as allowed to contribute up to the maximum
having only that family HDHP coverage. If each spouse has family family contribution amount ($6,250 in 2012).
coverage under a separate plan, their combined contribution limit
for 2012 is $6,250. The contribution limit is split equally between CONCLUSION
the spouses unless they agree on a different division. If both spouses To summarize who can contribute what in the
are 55 or older, each spouse's contribution limit is increased by the fact pattern provided above, the employee and
additional $1,000 catch-up contribution. If both spouses meet the spouse could make a combined HSA
age requirement, their total HSA contributions cannot be more than contribution of $6,250, split between their
$8,250 ($6,250 plus the additional $2,000 in catch-up HSAs however they see fit, plus they can each
contributions). Each spouse must make the additional catch-up make an additional $1,000 catch-up
contribution to his or her own HSA (“joint” HSAs do not exist). contribution, as they are both over age 55, to
their respective HSAs (a grand total HSA
The maximum annual HSA contribution for the year is based upon contribution between them of $8,250). The
the individual’s category of HDHP coverage (self-only or family) on adult, non-dependent child could contribute
the first day of the last month of the account holder’s tax year up to $6,250 to her own HSA.
(December 1 for most taxpayers). For example, if the account holder
had family HDHP coverage on the first day of December, his Taken as a group, the family is essentially able
contribution limit for 2012 is $6,250 (this is true even if the account to contribute a combined $14,500 into HSAs
holder had single coverage earlier in the year). In other words, the in 2012. And, if the parents had a second
account holder is treated as having the same HDHP coverage for the adult, non-dependent child under the same
entire year as he had on the first day of that last month. This HDHP, the total would be $20,750. The tax
maximum contribution level, however, is contingent on maintaining code provides an incentive for adult, non-
HDHP coverage throughout a specified testing period. The testing dependent children, to aggressively fund an
period begins with the last month of the account holder’s tax year HSA (on a tax preferred basis) while covered
and ends on the last day of the 12th month following that month (a under a parent’s employer-sponsored HDHP.
total of 13 months). For example, December 1, 2012 through
December 31, 2013 would be the testing period for contributions For questions about whether an adult child
made in the 2012 tax year. who is not a tax dependent may have his
medical expenses reimbursed through a
So, to answer questions 1, 2 and 3, each spouse, as they both meet the parent’s HSA, please see Willis Human Capital
age requirement, can fund their own HSA with the $1,000 catch-up Practice HR Focus, June 2011, Issue No. 48,
contribution and they can contribute an additional $6,250 – either “Since You Asked: Who is Eligible for Tax-
put $3,125 in each HSA account or split any other way the spouses Free HSA Reimbursements?”
agree upon (the spouses should discuss with their tax adviser the
issue of who should make what HSA contribution).
8 Willis North America • 05/12

9. WELLNESS
ASSESSING THE HEALTH OF YOUR POPULATION
Identifying risk factors in an employee population is the first step toward improving overall health and controlling
health care spending. Perhaps the most effective way for employers to do this is to offer questionnaires, commonly
referred to as a health assessment (HA) to their employees.
WHAT IS A HEALTH ASSESSMENT?
An HA is a questionnaire that gathers information from individuals in order to identify their risk factors for health
conditions and diseases. Typically HAs collect information on demographics, individual medical history, lifestyle
behaviors and biometric data such as blood pressure and cholesterol level. After completing an HA, participants are
provided with individualized feedback and information on any identified risk factors in order to improve health,
sustain health and/or prevent disease. According to the 16th Annual National Business Group on Health/Towers Watson
Survey Report, 79% of employers’ surveyed offer HAs.
WHY OFFER A HEALTH ASSESSMENT?
To:
Provide behavioral motivators for your employees and their dependents
Predict future health care trends
Create targeted messaging for worksite wellness programming
Provide employee health awareness and determine appropriate program intervention
Improve health plan design and services through valuable feedback
Employers should examine their organizational culture and choose an administration format that will best meet the
needs of the majority of their employees. All assessments should be written at or below a sixth grade reading level.
Typically, an older workforce and retirees prefer a paper-based questionnaire. Most employers are offering an
electronic HA to their workforce, or transitioning from paper-based to electronic HAs. Reasons for the migration
include greater freedom over question customization, better integration with other program data and the opportunity
to provide instant feedback.
HEALTH ASSESSMENT COMPONENTS
These should be structured so that they:
Provide a personalized follow-up report to employees
Are electronically available
Assess readiness to change
Cover risk factors recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force
Incorporates clinical values, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body mass index and/or waist
circumference
Assess stress level
Assess physical activity level
9 Willis North America • 05/12

10. Assess tobacco and drug use
Assess absenteeism and/or presenteeism (ideally, both)
Can, if the employer has a clinical staff onsite be integrated with
clinical information gathered by onsite staff
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF FOLLOW-UP TO A HEALTH
ASSESSMENT?
Employees should always be granted the option of being contacted after
an assessment. Once a risk factor is identified and the employee has given
his or her consent to be contacted, a variety or a combination of different
follow-up methods can be used.
POPULAR FOLLOW-UP METHODS INCLUDE:
Health coach contact; telephonic (recommended for first contact),
electronic or in person
Electronic personalized materials or links to resources
24-hour nurse line
Tear-off sheet to take to the employee’s physician
Review with personal wellness coordinator
Follow-up with occupational health nurses/health professionals at
the work site
Immediate one-on-one counseling by subject matter expert/health
professional
Offering several options for employee follow-up allows the greatest
chance of achieving high satisfaction as well as removing potential
barriers to compliance. Reports indicate that when information and
resources are convenient for people to access they are more likely to use
them. Reports indicate that one-on-one counseling sessions achieve the
greatest employee satisfaction levels, and they are highly recommended
for initial contacts. Once the employee has been contacted, the contacting
party can ask how the employee prefers to be reached in the future.
Implementing a health assessment can be the first step in creating a
comprehensive wellness program in your organization. For additional
tools and resources, please contact your local Willis Associate.
10 Willis North America • 05/12

11. WEBCASTS
SOLVING COMPLIANCE HEALTH REFORM:
PROBLEMS WHAT THE SUPREME
UNDER THE NEW FMLA COURT SAID; WHAT
REGULATIONS THE SUPREME COURT
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012
WILL SAY.
2:00 PM EASTERN TIME TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012
Presented by:
2:00 PM EASTERN TIME
KIMBERLY HARRELL, MS PHR, SR.
Presented by:
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSULTANT,
PRESENTED BY
HR PARTNER
JACK TOWARNICKY, JD
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ATTORNEY,
The recently issued Family and Medical
WILLIS NATIONAL LEGAL &
Leave Act (FMLA) regulations are requiring
RESEARCH GROUP
employers to rethink their FMLA policies,
procedures and documentation.
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court heard
oral arguments about four specific issues
The new regulations also provide
regarding the Patient Protection and
interpretations to major FMLA
Affordable Care Act of 2010. The issues
developments, including GINA’s safe harbor
were whether the legal challenge was
rules and the in loco parentis rule.
timely, whether the individual mandate is
constitutional, whether the individual
These new regulations have not lessened the
mandate can be severed from the rest of
confusion for employers, especially in areas
the law and whether expanded Medicaid
such as determining what is a qualifying
coverage is an impermissible mandate on
serious health condition, complying with
the states.
notification and certification requirements,
and providing intermittent leave.
Join Willis’ National Legal Research
Group for a Health Reform Update.
Please join us for an informational overview
We will review the implications of the
of FMLA as it exists today, including recent
Supreme Court decision as well as next
court cases interpreting FMLA, as well as an
steps in terms of compliance for
updated look at what the future holds for
employer-sponsored health plans.
FMLA legislation and strategic enforcement.
PARTICIPANT ACCESS If the decision is delayed, we will scope
out the various permutations of these
Advance reservations are required to
issues and how a favorable or unfavorable
participate. Click here to RSVP for
ruling for each might impact employer-
this call.
sponsored coverage. Immediately after
These programs have been approved for 1 the decision is announced, we will follow
(General) recertification credit hour toward PHR,
SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR
up with an Alert.
Certification Institute. For more information
about certification or recertification, please visit
the HR Certification Institute website at
PARTICIPANT ACCESS
www.hrci.org. The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Advance reservations are required to
Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that participate. Click here to RSVP for
this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be
pre-approved for recertification credit. this call.
11 Willis North America • 05/12

12. KEY CONTACTS
U.S. HUMAN CAPITAL PRACTICE OFFICE LOCATIONS
NEW ENGLAND Wilmington, DE Jacksonville, FL
302 397 0171 904 355 4600
Auburn, ME
207 783 2211 ATLANTIC Marietta, GA
770 425 6700
Bangor, ME Baltimore, MD
207 942 4671 410 584 7528 Miami, FL
305 421 6208
Boston, MA Bethesda, MD
617 437 6900 301 581 4261 Mobile, AL
251 544 0212
Burlington, VT Knoxville, TN
802 264 9536 865 588 8101 Orlando, FL
407 562 2493
Hartford, CT Memphis, TN
860 756 7365 901 248 3103 Raleigh, NC
704 344 4856
Manchester, NH Nashville, TN
603 627 9583 615 872 3716 Savannah, GA
912 239 9047
Portland, ME Norfolk, VA
207 553 2131 757 628 2303 Tallahassee, FL
850 385 3636
Shelton, CT Reston, VA
203 924 2994 703 435 7078 Tampa, FL
813 490 6808
NORTHEAST Richmond, VA 813 289 7996
804 527 2343
Buffalo, NY Vero Beach, FL
716 856 1100 Rockville, MD 772 469 2842
301 692 3025
Cranford, NJ MIDWEST
908 931 3005 SOUTHEAST
Appleton, WI
Florham Park, NJ Atlanta, GA 800 236 3311
973 410 4622 404 224 5000
Chicago, IL
Morristown, NJ Birmingham, AL 312 288 7700
973 829 6374 205 871 3300 312 348 7700
973 829 6465
Charlotte, NC Cleveland, OH
New York, NY 704 344 4856 216 861 9100
212 915 8802
Gainesville, FL Columbus, OH
Norwalk, CT 352 378 2511 614 326 4722
203 523 0501
Greenville, SC Detroit, MI
Radnor, PA 704 344 4856 248 539 6600
610 254 7289
12 Willis North America • 05/12

13. Grand Rapids, MI San Antonio, TX
616 957 2020 210 979 7470
Milwaukee, WI Wichita, KS
414 203 5248 316 263 3211
414 259 8837
WESTERN
Minneapolis, MN
763 302 7131 Fresno, CA
763 302 7209 559 256 6212
Moline, IL Irvine, CA
309 764 9666 949 885 1200
Pittsburgh, PA Las Vegas, NV
412 645 8506 602 787 6235
602 787 6078
Schaumburg, IL
847 517 3469 Los Angeles, CA
213 607 6300
SOUTH CENTRAL
Novato, CA
Amarillo, TX 415 493 5210
806 376 4761
Phoenix, AZ
Austin, TX 602 787 6235
512 651 1660 602 787 6078
Dallas, TX Portland, OR
972 715 2194 503 274 6224
972 715 6272
Rancho/Irvine, CA
Denver, CO 562 435 2259
303 765 1564
303 773 1373 San Diego, CA
858 678 2000
Houston, TX 858 678 2132
713 625 1017
713 625 1082 San Francisco, CA
415 291 1567
McAllen, TX
956 682 9423 San Jose, CA
408 436 7000
Mills, WY
307 266 6568 Seattle, WA
800 456 1415
New Orleans, LA
504 581 6151
The information contained in this publication is
not intended to represent legal or tax advice and
Oklahoma City, OK has been prepared solely for educational
405 232 0651 purposes. You may wish to consult your attorney
or tax adviser regarding issues raised in this
Overland Park, KS publication.
913 339 0800
13 Willis North America • 05/12