Benefits March 13, 2007

U.S. Employers' Hiring Outlook Suggests Less Aggressive Q207

March 13, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - U.S. employers plan to scale back on hiring in the second quarter of 2007, with only 28% of companies planning to increase payrolls during the period, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
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The quarterly survey of about 14,000 U.S. employers suggests that employers are more likely to maintain or reduce staffing activity rather than boost their hiring efforts. Fifty-nine percent expect no change in hiring pace, 7% plan to shave staffing levels and 6% were undecided.

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In four of the 10 industry sectors surveyed, employers expect weaker hiring activity since the first quarter of 2007. Mining, Construction, Wholesale/Retail Trade and Services employers are less confident about hiring than they were in the first quarter, while Transportation/Public Utilities and Finance/Insurance/Real Estate hiring managers foresee improved job prospects during the spring months.

Employers in Durable and Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Education and Public Administration sectors said they foresee little change in hiring from the first quarter to the second quarter.

The survey also showed that hiring on a regional basis will remain relatively stagnant. Employers in the Northeast and South expect to maintain similar levels of employment activity, while those in the Midwest and West anticipate slightly weaker hiring conditions in the next three months. Employers in the South are the most optimistic about hiring and those in the Midwest are least optimistic.

For a the complete results of the Manpower survey go here

Compliance March 12, 2007

Court: Co. Without Employees Not Eligible for Workers' Comp.

March 12, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that officers of companies without employees cannot get access to workers' compensation coverage.
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In a 4-1 ruling involving Outside magazine contract writer Mark Jenkins, the high court upheld a state appellate court decision that, in turn, had upheld a determination by the Wyoming Workers’ Safety and Compensation Division that corporate officers could not obtain coverage when noncorporate officer employees did not exist.

According to the ruling, Jenkins hurt his wrist in October 2004 while on a rock climbing retreat for Outside’s staff and filed a workers’ compensation claim under a policy he purchased two years earlier for a Wyoming corporation he had set up at the suggestion of his tax adviser. The corporation had no employees and the only officers were Jenkins and his wife, the ruling said.   

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The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Division contested the claim but a hearing officer granted Jenkins’ coverage request. The appellate court threw out that decision and the most recent Supreme Court holding agreed.

But Justice Marilyn Kite parted from her colleagues in the majority, saying that underWyoming law Jenkins was entitled to coverage as an officer of a corporation that had purchased workers compensation coverage.

According to the ruling, Jenkins’ argument for coverage under was based upon a “dual capacity” theory where coverage for corporate officers is provided for if the corporation had elected coverage and the corporate officer suffered a work-related injury while acting in the capacity of an employee.  

However the state, the appellate court and the Supreme Court argued that the coverage is available for corporate officers only if the corporation employs individuals other than a corporate officer and the corporation elected coverage for its officers.

The full ruling in  Mark Jenkins vs. State of Wyoming is  here .

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