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Contagious Events Business Coverage	Business Continuation Coverage for Contagious Events Flu Outbreaks Excluded from Business Interruption Coverage In the aftermath of the recent Swine Flu outbreak, business officers have asked if there is available insurance coverage for business interruption in the event of an influenza epidemic. It’s probably not covered under your existing policy.
Contracts	Contracts: What You Don’t Know May Bite You Interview with Suzanne Bogdan, Fisher & Phillips LLP
Convenience Fees	CEO of Diamond Mind Comments on Convenience Fees We asked Katherine Novikov, CEO of Diamond Mind Inc., to weigh in on the subject of convenience fees. Currently Diamond Mind work with over 300 independent schools across the country in helping them uses credit cards in various schools transactions, including tuition collection. Hi Bill,
Corrective Action Form	CORRECTIVE ACTION FORM
Counting Employees for Federal Regs	Counting Employees for Federal Regs
Court Invalidates Sections of NLRB's Recent Notice-Posting Rule	Today (3/2/2012), Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated key provisions of the National Labor Relations Board's "Notification of Employee Rights" rule, under which all covered employers would have been required after April 30th of this year to post an 11" x 17" poster, or else to face possible legal consequences. While she left the actual posting requirement intact, she ruled that the proposed penalties attached to the Board's rule were unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Click below for complete article.
Coverage for Departing Teachers	Terminating Medical and LTD Coverage for Teachers Not Returning What about medical and LTD coverage of teachers during the summer months when they are not returning to the school for the following year. Some schools assume, incorrectly, that they can dictate to the insurance company coverage for teachers who have left the school. The problem with this practice is that it may not be in the contract for medical coverage or LTD coverage. SOS researched this topic. The article below points out the inconsistency between what schools were being told by insurance companies and the actual language in their group medical or LTD contracts for coverage of departing teachers.
Creating a Teacher Evaluation	Creating a Teacher Evaluation In Spring 2011, Connie Wootton, Executive Director of the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools (SAES), asked SOS to create an evaluation template for her members. (See SAES Evaluation Template and Implementing the SAES Evaluation Template in the HR Library under forms. We turned to Mark Crotty, head of school at St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas, to help us because of his past experience in creating and revising evaluation policies. We recently sat down with Mark to share again ideas he had given us in creating the template for SAES.
Credit Checks by Employers	Credit Checks by Employers - Are They Becoming a Thing of the Past? Checking job applicants' credit as part of the screening process is a common practice, but it is declining. In 2009, when only two states prohibited such inquiries, a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management reported that 60 percent of employers checked the credit of at least some prospective hires. Only a year later, that rate dropped to 47 percent. We expect that rate will continue to fall. Simultaneously, employers are realizing that screening everyone is generally a poor idea. For example, in 2010, only 13 percent of employers conducted credit checks on all prospective hires.
Credit Checks in California	Credit Checks in California Now Tougher Than Ever (Fisher & Phillips LLP Labor Alert) Credit Checks In California Now Tougher Than Ever (Fisher & Phillips Labor Alert). Effective January 1, 2012, California employers will have to avoid yet another potential legal hazard that haunts businesses with the threat of costly penalties: the unauthorized use of consumer credit reports regarding job applicants and current employees.
Criminal Background Checks	EEOC Issues New Guidance on Using Criminal Background Check In April 25, 2012, the EEOC voted 4-1 to adopt new guidance regarding employer use of criminal background checks to screen applicants and current employees. This guidance will affect nearly every employer in the country. Based on a recent SHRM survey, over 90% of employers use criminal background checks for some applicants or employees and more than 70% of employers screen all their applicants or employees.
Criminal Background Sample Procedures	Sample Procedures for Criminal Background Review Schools that review applicants' criminal background records must establish procedures that permit a systematic and thoughtful review of the information received. In addition, the procedures must protect the confidentiality of the applicant and ensure that the agency does not become a repository of criminal records. Praesidium, Inc. recommends the procedures outlined below.
Criminal Records	Criminal Records You have conducted background checks on new staff members at your school, and a criminal history is returned. What do you do? The answer is: it depends. If you plan to hire the applicant, then you don’t have to do anything. However, if the criminal history may affect the hiring of the applicant, and if the source of the information is a consumer reporting agency, then you must do a number of things.
Crisis Management Planning	Crisis Management Planning Independent schools continue to be faced with the potential of multiple crises. It is essential that they coordinate their crisis management planning. The following checklist was summarized from “Practical Information on Crisis Planning” a publication of the U.S. Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/crisisplanning.html
Custodian of Records	Custodian of Records Pursuant to Penal Code section 11102.2(b); beginning January 1, 2011, the Department of Justice (DOJ) shall implement a confirmation program to process fingerprint-based criminal offender record information background responses on individuals designated by applicant agencies to serve as Custodian of Records. Effective July 1, 2011, no person shall serve as an agency Custodian of Records unless they have been confirmed by the DOJ. Every agency must designate at least one Custodian of Records. Criminal justice agency personnel who have undergone a state and federal criminal record background check are exempt from these requirements.
Cyberbullying: A Continuing Concern for Schools	Cyberbullying: A Continuing Concern for Schools By J. Freedley Hunsicker, Fisher & Phillips LLP (Philadelphia)
Data Surveys for Independent Schools	The Role of Data Surveys for Independent Schools Interview with Jim Pugh – Vice President of Statistics, SOS
Dealing with Katrina and Rita Hurricanes	DEALING WITH KATRINA AND RITA Frances (Boo) Kay is head of school at Bishop Noland Episcopal School, Lake Charles, Louisiana. Here is her story. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005. Although we never experienced any weather from Katrina, 80 new students (evacuees from New Orleans) increased our enrollment of 205. How could we say “no” to them? Less than three weeks later, Hurricane Rita, potentially more powerful than Katrina, was heading straight for Lake Charles with a 14- to 20-foot tidal surge. Rita hit on Sept. 24, and we didn’t reopen until Oct. 13.
Deducting Absences from Teachers Wage	Can You Deduct Partial-Day Absences from Teachers' Salaries? Here is the article on deducting teacher pay for partial day absences. This is general advice and may not comply with state law. Make sure you consult your employment attorney to confirm your deductions are correct for teachers.
Deferred Compensation IRS	IRS Says New 409A Rule Will Not Affect Teacher Salaries in Upcoming School Year On August 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service reassured teachers and other school employees that new deferred-compensation rules under Section 409A (discussed in the July/August 2007 issue of the Fisher & Phillips’ Education Labor Letter entitled “Are Teachers’ Salaries Deferred Compensation?”) will not affect the way their pay is taxed during the upcoming school year.
Deferred Payroll Election	DEFERRED SAMPLE ELECTION FORM (Sample payroll schedule election to comply with Internal Revenue Code 409A)
Deferrred Compensation for California School Teachers	CA May Require Deferred Salary Over 12 Months According to Kendra Frazier, Deputy Commissioner of California Department of Industrial Relations, California private schools may require teachers to defer their salary over twelve months if the provision is stated in the contract i.e. “Your salary will be paid during over the school year that lasts from September 1 to August 31.”
Dental and Vision Plan Subject to Reform	Are Dental and Vision Plans Subject to Health Care Reform? “Excepted benefits” under the HIPAA portability rules, such as dental-only plans, vision-only plans and most medical flexible spending accounts are not subject to Health Care Reform.
Depart. of Education Mandates on Sexual Assault on Campuses	Dear Colleague . . . " By Burton Dodd, Fisher & Phillips LLP (Education Update, No.4, October 2012) With that disarming salutation, a little over a year ago Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced new Department of Education mandates, issued under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, to eliminate sexual assault on American campuses. Simply worded, but vastly complex as well as controversial in application, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in public and private K-12 schools and universities that receive any federal financial assistance.
Disaster Coverage	WILL YOUR INSURANCE POLICY COVER LOSSES AFTER A DISASTER? ARE YOU SURE? Business managers of schools that have sustained major damage from hurricanes report that, to their surprise, their insurance policies excluded payment of some damages incurred. They had not carefully reviewed the actual insurance document before the emergency. We recommend that you sit down with your agent and walk through various emergencies to see what coverage you may or may not have.