Benefits March 29, 2005

Former ESPN Commentator Alleges Pregnancy Firing

March 29, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A former Hispanic language sports commentator is suing ESPN for allegedly firing her because she was pregnant.
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Luz Ramos Squillante has filed the claim in US District Court, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune and is seeking reinstatement and damages for her alleged firing because she was pregnant with twins.

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Squillante claims that once her boss found out she was pregnant, he started to find flaws with her voice tone and Spanish skills, despite three years of positive reviews. She had been commentating on the X-Games and NFL games for ESPNs Hispanic-language Deportes Network.

Squillante became pregnant in March 2003, but waited until the end of her first trimester before telling the network. She claims that she told some colleagues in early July, when her boss Larry Colon was on vacation. However, Squillante believes Colon found out, because on his return he sent an e-mail criticizing her performance, such as the terminology she used on the air, according to the Law Tribune. This was the first time her performance had been subject to criticism in writing, according to the complaint.

ESPN representatives have fought back, claiming that the case carries no merit. Vice President of Communications Mike Soltys says that two other contracts expired when that of Squillante’s did, and also noted that other anchors have continued on the job after their pregnancies became apparent.

Benefits March 28, 2005

Northwest on the Prowl for Unqualified Health Plan Dependents

March 28, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Northwest Airlines has kicked off an effort to force out unqualified employee dependents from its health plans, culling out 10% to 15% of such dependents.
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Already, Northwest has removed 1,400 disqualified dependents since January, according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune report. Starting Monday, it began a “dependent audit” to weed out the rest. If the airline comes up close to the average, it could disqualify 3,700 dependents, according to a recent internal memo to employees, the newspaper said.. That’s similar to Ford Motor Company’s experience, where the automaker forced out about 60,000 from the 610,000 on its medical plans in the past five years.

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The audit could save Northwest about $8 million a year, the memo said, out of the $400 million in Northwest’s medical and dental costs this year. Some $61 million of that is being paid by its workers and retirees.”Health care continues to be one of our most rapidly growing costs,” Tim Meginnes, Northwest’s vice president of employee benefits, said in the memo, according to the Star Tribune. “Covering ineligible dependents is expensive for you as a plan participant and for NWA.”

Budco, based in Highland Park, Michigan., is handling the Northwest audit. It’s an area of the consulting firm’s business that has doubled or tripled every year since 2003, according to Vice President Michael Watson.The process at Northwest is typical for Budco in which an initial random audit indicated problems. Then the company scheduled a two-month amnesty period, when employees could remove any relatives without penalty. By the end of the period on March 10, about 1,400 dependents had been cut, the company said.

Starting Monday, according to the paper, employees and retirees will have to provide documentation for every dependent. That could be marriage licenses, birth certificates or college enrollment forms – because young adults still in school are allowed to stay on their family plans. This audit period goes through June.

If employees are found to have ineligible dependents, they may have to repay the carrier for the medical costs of these dependents, and even lose their jobs, the newspaper said.

Ford Motor Co. began its dependents’ audits in January 2000, said spokeswoman Marcey Evans. After two amnesty periods in 2000 and 2001, the company instituted ongoing random audits at all its US operations.

Like big automakers, big airlines see saving money as a matter of survival. Northwest has lost $2.5 billion on its operations since early 2001. All its cost-cutting strategies so far have reduced its annual expenses by $1.7 billion, the newspaper report said.

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