Aflac Pays for FMLA Violation

Given its experience with time-off issues, Aflac is not the type of employer you would guess to settle with the DOL for a violation of FMLA.

That’s exactly what happened in April, to the tune of almost $17,000.

The DOL Wage and Hour Division (WHD) settlement was based on Aflac’s termination of an employee who took intermittent leave because of a serious health condition. Aflac contended that the leave was not FMLA-protected because the employee did not provide requested documents on a timely basis. The WHD investigation showed otherwise.

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Tip Tuesday! 5 ways to make your freezer your friend

By Melanie Polk, M.M.Sc., R.D., F.A.D.A.

If you have a freezer, you can have a wealth of meal options. Today's leftovers become next week's dinner. Frozen peaches can whirl into a luscious breakfast smoothie. A BOGO sale — buy one, get one free — saves you several dollars on skinless chicken breasts. You have a busy week ahead — so you cook a few extra dishes over the weekend.
Used properly, a freezer will preserve fresh foods without destroying nutrients. Yet, too many of us let this marvelous kitchen helper stand by, bloated with foods long forgotten and ignored.

Click Here to continue reading and for some cold, hard tips to make this underappreciated appliance your ally!

Steal these ideas: 3 ways Chrysler keeps healthcare costs flat

April 27, 2012 by Christian Schappel

While everyone else’s healthcare costs are rising, Chrysler’s managed to avoid those increases. The best part: You can steal the automaker’s cost control tactics for use in your organization. 

In 2011, Chrysler avoided healthcare cost increases for the vast majority of its 13,000 salaried workers in the U.S. after its healthcare spending jumped 9% the year before, according to The Detroit News.

Click Here to continue reading about the three secrets to its success that are worth considering:

Health insurers to issue more than $1B in rebates to customers, employers

April 30, 2012 by Christian Schappel

If you sponsor a health plan, and you’re not self-insured, you could be getting a nice fat check from your insurance carrier this August.

Beginning in the 2011 calendar year, the healthcare reform law has required insurers spend at least 80 cents of each premium dollar they take in over the course of a year — 85 cents for plans in the large group market — on medical care and healthcare quality improvement.

If they spent less than that, they have to pay the amount back to policy holders — either by issuing them checks or by reducing future insurance premiums. 

As a result, insurers are expected to refund between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion dollars in profits this August, according to two research groups.

This is the first time insurers have to issue rebates due to the healthcare reform law rule, most commonly referred to as the medical loss ratio requirement.  

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Wired and tired: 3 signs you’re over-connected

By Michael Rosen, M.D.

Reading this article on your laptop? You're connected.

Got four browser windows open simultaneously, your smartphone singing text alerts and your HDTV glowing in the background — all while you're in bed?

You might be over-connected.

Certainly, electronics and media can enhance our lives. They can inform and inspire us — and help us stay in touch with others.

But, sometimes, plugged-in time can take over our downtime. And, people may find that — as much as they enjoy technology — in excess, it makes them less fulfilled, productive and happy.  


Click Here to continue reading and view the three signs you may be depleting your own battery...

Tip Tuesday: Attention, please! 4 tips for mindful eating

By Arleen Fitzgerald, L.I.C.S.W.


When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, the word is out: Mindful eating is in. But, what exactly does that mean?
We all know its opposite — mindlesseating. That's what we're doing when we gobble a turkey sandwich at our computers or munch an entire bag of chips in front of the TV. We're putting food into our mouths without really thinking.

Mindful eating, on the other hand, is recognizing when we're actually hungry — and giving each bite our full attention. Experts say when we do this, we tend to consume less food — maybe as much as one-third less. And, that's good news for anyone who's also trying to be mindful of an expanding waistline.  


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Healthful foods that can boost your mood

By Melanie Polk, M.M.Sc., R.D., F.A.D.A., and Arleen Fitzgerald, L.I.C.S.W.

When it comes to the food-mood connection, it's not as simple as "eat this, feel that." A spinach salad can't cure the blues. But, nutrition and brain science shows us that what we eat during the day can affect our thinking and outlook.

Click Here for a few examples of how certain types of food can be a boon to moods: