Articles Posted in Human Resources

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A recent story in Employee Benefit News highlighted the top uses of legal plans by members. One of these happens to be dealing with creditors. People develop credit problems for one reason or another, and it is not against the law to be in debt. However, some of the things that creditors do to get their money come close to being criminal.

Creditors are notorious for harassment. They will make phone calls at any time of the day to pester a person about outstanding debts. This can be a serious problem for an employer because if a person has made public his or her office phone number, creditors can easily call the office and hound the individual at the workplace. People in credit debt need to understand collection laws and what can be done to stop the harassment. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) has outlined what a debt collector can legally do, but the average person is not too familiar with all the steps necessary to avoid harassing phone calls. This is where having a group legal benefit plan can be of great benefit to an employee.

Such assistance granted by the employer allows an individual to get in contact with experienced debt legal counsel. The attorneys can inform a person of his or her rights, and how to stop a debt collection agency from making life a holy hell. It is possible that debt collectors may be in violation of the law and can be sued. Group legal protection can help a person file a tort for all the distress caused and successfully seek damages caused by the wrongful activity. Best of all, the fees for such a lawsuit can be kept within reasonable bounds thanks to a legal benefit provided by an employer.

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Although the economy is currently an employer’s market, that doesn’t mean that every employee is willing to accept a job without some careful consideration of what the employment opportunity means for them. Quality employees carefully vet their options by measuring the salaries, work environment, and involuntary and voluntary benefits of each job before making a final decision. A recent study by SimplyHired unearthed some ideas about what employees are looking for in a job, identifying benefit opportunities as a leading attraction and retention opportunity.

With a stagnant economy, employees are counting on their job’s voluntary benefits to help reduce some of the financial pressure they’re experiencing. With a majority of employees concerned about having enough money to make ends meet, benefits help to close important gaps throughout numerous industries. Younger workers especially are looking to employers whose benefits help achieve financial goals. The situation goes beyond insurance and retirement planning options, however.

Only a small percent of employers found it critical to offer a choice of voluntary benefits, but employees highly valued these optional benefits, like legal services. Employer and employee valuation of other benefits, like salary, company culture, and health benefits are much more closely aligned, according to the SimplyHired study. More employees than ever are asking questions about benefits and carefully evaluating benefit options prior to accepting a job offer. There is a huge opportunity for voluntary benefits to help attract and retain quality employees with a high sense of company loyalty. The reality is that every person is going to need legal assistance at some point in their life. Those same people concerned about making ends meet would certainly benefit from have a legal support structure in place- whether it be to help them draft a will or to prepare for a small claims court issue.

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Information technology has truly exploded in the last 10 years. It isn’t just mainframe computers or PCs that store personal information, but also smart phones, and iPads and other tools of the social network revolution. There are quite a few places where personal information can be stored and that is not always a good thing. Identity theft has become an increasingly more serious crime.

Legally speaking, Identity theft is the actual taking of someone’s identity and assuming to be that person. It is ordinarily linked with credit cards and bank accounts but other areas such as health care savings accounts or retirement benefits can also be affected. It is a serious form of fraud that has been magnified by the accessibility of information through computer hacking and computer viruses. The consequences can be nothing short of a disaster, as identity theft can be used not only to break into an individual’s bank accounts, but even destroy a person’s credit rating before that individual even knows what is happening. The state of Pennsylvania has taken action and there are laws regarding identity theft in Pennsylvania statutes, which also include restitution. The laws are on the books but the damage may still have been done to person’s credit rating. Certain legal action may be needed to be taken to restore credit integrity, or process claims for reimbursement of electronically stolen funds. This can be a very involved process and group legal plans can help.

The illegal activity will require the processing of documents to restore a person’s good name after a serious case of identity theft. This may include filing paperwork germane to restoring a healthy credit status such as a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint, or a fraud alert on a credit file. A credit bureau may have disclosed privileged information and may be liable, necessitating legal action to collect damages. Not everybody has the financial resources to afford any of this, but if a company has a group legal plan the employees can take advantage of it to go about restoring financial integrity. A group legal plan can direct an individual to lawyers who are skilled in the area of identity theft. Perhaps the greatest service these barristers can do is cut the amount of time needed to undo the damage. For anyone who relies on credit for buying a house or even maintaining credit cards time is a critical concern. If litigation is necessary, the group legal plan can keep the costs manageable.

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There are quite a few people in New Jersey who sincerely believe that there’s not much required to create a will and protect their New Jersey estate for loved ones. It seems so simple to just write something down, get it signed, and have a notary public stamp it.

They just feel there’s no reason to have a lawyer involved. That is a bad mistake.

New Jersey does adhere to the Uniform Probate Code to make these little bit easier but the process of drawing up an effective will takes some understanding of the legal code in the Garden State. Moreover, circumstances change and a beneficiary may die before the principal passes away, created complications which the originator of the will may not have considered. The worst-case scenario is that a beneficiary dies, and then the principal of the estate passes away, and survivors have to prove that the original beneficiary is deceased. Such estate disasters are the finer points of probate that attorneys who are part of New Jersey based prepaid legal plans recognize immediately. They can advise a person quickly about what to do to prevent something like this happening, making certain that the last will and testament has a contingency to cover the death of the primary beneficiary.

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Immigration is a topic that is widely discussed in New Jersey. Reforms enacted in Washington will have serious impact but until they are passed, existing law prevails. That can cause a problem for a number of employees in any given company. An individual may have problems with a work visa or the green card needed to be in United States. This would probably require legal assistance to sort out. Moreover, there is the question of family and possible issues arising from kin. An immigrant’s family is a source of support when thousands of miles away from home. Family members may have trouble with immigration law and once again an attorney might be needed. The stress of immigration problems can be considerable to say the very least. It can very easily affect an individual’s performance as worries about the current legal status of family members mount.

Federal law applies overall, but New Jersey does have certain statutes pertaining to immigrants within the state. The Work First New Jersey program which provides a number of benefits to families is off-limits for anyone who is an illegal immigrant. A person has to prove legal immigrant status and that is not something that’s easy to do alone. Altercations with law enforcement officials checking immigration status can also be a bone of contention. An employee who has family members who are immigrants is equally exposed to the stresses and concerns that non-US citizens often face.

A company can make things easier with a group legal plan. This helps employee sort through immigration concerns with credentialed attorneys who are grounded in immigration laws governing non-citizens in New Jersey. Depending on the specifics of the given plan, members of an employee’s family can also have access to such legal counsel, helping them better adapt in a similar to a new country. Problems about residency, worker status, or just eligibility for government programs can be quickly resolved with the services of the group legal plan. An employer who is sensitive to the needs of any employee, but particularly those who are non-US citizens, can quickly see how essential a group legal plan as an employee benefit can be. Most importantly, it really doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg and some or all the costs could be borne by the individual employee.

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It wasn’t too long ago that HR departments worried a lot about high levels of absenteeism. A struggling economy seems to be taking care of that situation, because people are now trying to hang onto their jobs and mental health days are things of the past. Unfortunately, there’s a new phenomenon that is creating a problem and it is known as presenteeism.

It happens when employees report to work but do not function at full productivity. In other words, the company is paying for a person who is present but not working very hard. The cost for this low efficiency can be very substantial. Business experts note that people reporting in when they’re sick is one of the causes, but being distracted by outside difficulties is just as bad. An employee who has worries on the mind is not working to capacity. In an intelligence driven workforce where cognitive skills are essential for profitability, this is quite serious. Major sources of such production threatening distractions are legal problems outside of the office.

It is estimated that over one third of all employees are confronted at one time or another with legal issues. While most anxieties involve estate planning and wills, matters such as family law and identity theft also plague a productive person’s thoughts. These have the ability to turn one’s attention away from a deadline and a company has to find the means to reduce the distraction. A group legal plan is a strong possible solution.

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Human resource departments are always looking for ways to keep employees satisfied and loyal to the company. It only makes sense because turnover costs can be frighteningly high, and whatever encourages retention is a good thing. A big problem is the cost of employee benefits and these can do some serious damage to the corporate bottom line. One benefit that is deeply appreciated and doesn’t cost a king’s ransom is

prepaid legal services.

Litigation has become an unfortunate fact of life and it is not easy to dodge. The American Bar Association estimates that more than one third of all employees will have need of a lawyer for one reason or another. Certain fundamental documents such as wills and estate plans can have different requirements depending on the state of residence, and using online do-it-yourself services can be incredibly risky. Prepaid legal services permit an employee to have access to credentialed attorneys who are specialists in areas such as probate, personal property, and issues of personal debt.

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Modern society floats on a tide of legal documents and requirements. It doesn’t matter that the Internet has reduced paperwork and old-fashioned communications, there still is a need for certain documents to be filed and certain procedures to be followed. It’s all part of the legal world in which we live and one that is becoming increasingly more complicated as laws are introduced and old ones are amended. Common legal procedures such as a will can be done online, but terrible mistakes can also be made. If person is not familiar with the legal requirements of a given state or jurisdiction, it can result in any legal document including a will being declared invalid. This can cause very serious delays and even more expenses. That is what group legal plans are meant to prevent.

Companies will offer group legal plans as a benefit for their employees. Essentially the plan provides access to legal counsel for members, and services can range from basic legal filings to more complicated matters such as bankruptcy processing or personal injury. What makes legal services attractive is the cost. Attorneys are provided at fees that are much lower than what would ordinarily be charged to an individual. Members thus have better access to legal assistance and at highly affordable rates.

The value of group legal plans should not be underestimated. Daily life is awash with the need for various forms of documentation to address issues such as adoption and immigration. Even issues such as name changes or tenant matters may need the guiding hand of an attorney to keep things within the guidelines of the law. These are not do-it-yourself projects. Anyone who is an amateur is prone to making mistakes but the errors made in legal matters can be catastrophic and incredibly expensive to fix. Personal injury situations that are mishandled can even result in possible prison terms. As an employer gets a better understanding of the sheer complexity of legal issues that the employees face, it becomes incredibly clear that legal service can be a very highly valued employee benefit, if for no other reason than to relieve a hard-working employee of the stress and strain that can arise with matters that are deliberated in a court.

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Due to economic restraints companies are losing valued employees at an alarming rate. The two main reasons seem to be the inability to increase salaries as well as employees either finding a better offer or they simply wish to go into business for themselves. While the rate of cutbacks has significantly dropped since 2010, studies have shown companies are now in a panic as they struggle to find experienced, well qualified individuals who are willing to work for salaries equal to or less than what they were making even a few years ago. As a result, the term employee poaching has become popular because larger companies are offering positions to people who currently have a job rather than to those who are looking for a job. The belief being that if someone was able to keep their job through the years of downsizing they must be a valued employee and therefore have more to offer than someone who was a victim of downsizing. Smaller companies are then forced to hire someone who is either inexperienced or not as qualified to handle the tasks of the former employee who has left them. The irony is that it actually is not about the money, in fact here are some of the main reasons why top employees leave their current job for another.

• Benefits packages: top ranked companies offer better benefits that include health insurance, prepaid legal services, dental care, and even financial assistance such as credit unions.

• Performance bonuses: Larger companies are not actually offering higher salaries but they do offer quarterly or annual bonuses as well as stock options to their employees based on performance. This gives an employee more incentive to go with a company where their hard work will pay off.

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“I called off work on a Monday morning the weekend after Irene hit,” Paul Schollenberger says. He went on, “My basement was a flooded mess.” Schollenberger got to experience first-hand how unfortunate it is to not have legal counsel for insurance issues. Prepaid legal services could have helped to be the calm after the storm.

“I had no idea my homeowner’s policy did not include flood insurance,” Schollenberger reflected. He, like so many others, figured that reading comprehension and patience was enough to be able to decipher legal documents. Sadly, legal jargon and formalities used in binding legal documents often require an attorney to interpret.

Countrywide Prepaid Legal Services can help provide counsel to employees in need of review of legal documents. In fact, at Countrywide, members (who can sign up for benefits individually, or through employment benefits and pay via simple pay-roll deductions) receive unlimited legal counsel. This includes, but is not limited to, the aforesaid legal document review, unlimited telephone consultation, and legal letters on the individual’s behalf. All of this is, of course, included in one fee -far more affordable than an expensive retainer that dwindles quickly!

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