Break from the Grind November 5, 2019

Employees Are Making Each Other Sick

Having too much work to do and feeling pressure from employers are some reasons employees report coming into work while under the weather.

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Ninety percent of employees admitted in a survey from Accountemps they’ve at least sometimes come to the office with cold or flu symptoms.

Of those respondents, 33% indicated they always go to work even when they’re under the weather. More employees ages 25 to 40 (39%) reported always coming to work sick than respondents ages 18 to 24, 55 and older (27% each) and ages 41 to 54 (26%).

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More than half (54%) of respondents said they go into work sick because they have too much work to do, 40% don’t want to use a sick day, and 34% reported they feel pressure from their employers to come into work.

“Staying home when you’ve got a cold or the flu is the best way to avoid spreading germs to others and fight the illness faster,” says Michael Steinitz, senior executive director of Accountemps, a division of Robert Half. “Bosses should set an example by taking time off when they’re under the weather, encouraging employees to do the same and offering those with minor ailments the ability to work from home.”

The survey included responses from 2,800 workers ages 18 and older and employed in office environments in 28 U.S. cities.

Compliance November 5, 2019

U.S. Business Leaders Call for SECURE Act Passage in Senate

Their plea, addressed both to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, comes some six months after the U.S. House passed its version of the SECURE Act.

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A group of more than 90 CEOs and senior executives from leading American corporations and business groups has issued a public letter calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, commonly referred to as the SECURE Act.

The plea, addressed both to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, comes some six months after the U.S. House passed its version of the SECURE Act with a nearly unanimous and bipartisan vote. Since that time and for a number of reasons, the SECURE Act has remained stalled in the Senate, despite the fact that the vast majority of Senators have voiced support for passage of the bill in its current form.

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In their letter, American business leaders suggest that, if the SECURE Act is not signed into law, more than 700,000 small business workers will not be able to save for retirement at work; more than 4 million workers in private-sector pension plans will be at risk of losing future benefits; 1,400 religiously affiliated organizations will be at risk of losing access to their defined contribution retirement plans; and more than 18,000 children and spouses of fallen service members will continue to be economically disadvantaged by unfair taxation on their survivor benefits.

The full text of the letter runs over six pages, the last five of which include a long list of well-known signatories. Many of the executives signing the letter work in the insurance, advisory and asset management industries, but other sectors of the economy are represented as well: Michele Stockwell, executive director of Bipartisan Policy Center Action; Joseph Annotti, president and CEO of American Fraternal Alliance; Jess Roman, CEO of the Arizona Small Business Alliance; Glenn Hamer, CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Annette Guarisco Fildes, president and CEO of the ERISA Industry Committee; Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of the Rural Broadband Association; and Gary Ludwig, president and chairman of the board for the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Important to note, sources tell PLANSPONSOR the SECURE Act’s holdup is more logistical than substantial. That is to say, with the GOP’s clear focus on making appointments to the judicial branch, there is actually a great premium on floor time for the remainder of this year.

This is why the Senate leadership initially pushed first for the SECURE Act’s passage under a technical loophole known as “unanimous consent.” In short, if a bill enjoys unanimous consent among every Senator, it doesn’t require the standard procedure of debate—i.e., no floor time.

At this juncture, it appears three GOP Senators are refusing to allow the bill’s passage under unanimous consent: Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Pat Toomey. Senator Cruz has concerns about certain 529 college savings plan provisions. Senator Lee has concerns about a provision that provides some relief for small community newspapers. And Senator Toomey has primarily voiced concerns about certain technical tax corrections that impact retailers, which he wants to see addressed through floor debate and amendment.

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