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Employment Today™


"EMPLOYER GAINS, AND EMPLOYEE GAINS UNEMPLOYMENT PAIN"

Dear Kathryn:

I'm getting the old heave-ho just when I've made an incredibly valuable contribution to my company.

For the past eighteen months I've been working on a top priority project. I've given up my weekends and nights to design a new software program that will have our customers able to order on-line like they've never been able to do before. Just when we're about to launch this new Internet dream that we've needed for years, my company president announced a cost-cutting measure that puts me on the unemployment line.

Hey, I understand our business has been suffering but it's my program design that will make them major $$$! The bottom line is I feel I should own the rights to the program I designed. I could make myself very marketable to other companies with this hot ticket in my pocket. Even though I'm exempt, I never signed anything saying that this program I worked on was theirs. Additionally, I did do a lot of the work for the program at home on my own time.

Do I have any rights here or am simply as my boss said "a brilliant programmer", unemployed at that?

TED R., Madison, CT

Dear Ted:

Tricky situation as this matter will have me knocking on the doors of both my labor and intellectual property gurus.

My first thought is because you're an "employee", you're getting paid to do precisely what you did-create this program. Because your employer paid you to perform this task, they own the results of your action. The at-work home you did, even that "on your own time" is their time, because you're exempt. I ran all of this by Attorney Henry Zaccardi of Shipman & Goodwin and he agrees.

Intellectual property authority, Attorney Glen Cunningham tells me this entire intellectual property area is a very gray one, but given the situation as you've described, you've no chance of taking this program on the road to other employers. Cunningham says not only is the program you designed probably "copy-right-able", you were not an independent contractor, but an employee. If you had been an independent contractor you might have had a case of "Work Made for Hire" and been able to take the work result with you. Be if that's not the case, all three legal experts agree you're in very murky water should you attempt to take the program anywhere.

Given the great work you've just completed for your employer, I'm sure a terrific reference will be yours. Get not only the promise of a strong reference from your employer, ask for a letter as well.

Because of your terrific work these last eighteen months, try asking for an increased severance package.

You might consider offering your employer some "contract" hours should they need your talent to bring their new Internet ordering program alive. Remember, leaving on good terms will speak volumes throughout your future years of working and job hunting.

Dear Kathryn:

I didn't protest much when my contribution to my benefits skyrocketed (my employer used to pay 90% of the premium, they now pay 50%!). Now my employer has killed any incentive on our 401k plan. Where they had once matched dollar for dollar on the plan, they now match nothing as of July 1. Is this a big trend with employers these days?

One of the reasons I had taken this job was for the great benefits. I'm now worse off than I was five years ago. Anything I can do other than shop for a better employer with better benefits?

ROXANNE T., Enfield, CT

DearRoxanne:

Financial troubles plague employers of all sizes these days. Interestingly, though, it's been the larger employers, usually renown for their wonderful benefits, who have cut back or totally eliminated their matches this year! General Motors and Charles Schwab are just two of the major players that lead this trend.

The small employer is actually the smarter one. They're continuing the match as an incentive for their key employees to stay. It's cheaper to do a match on a 401k than it is to recruit and retrain!

What should you do? First, check what the maximum contribution you can make to your plan is and up your contribution. If you're determined to be with an employer that's more generous with their contribution, target smaller employers.

As for more detail on trends, 2006 statistics showed the average employer-match was 3.5%. 2001 showed the match was down an entire percentage. These days, it's the smaller employers that are contributing the most! Well-respected accounting and business advisors, Filomeno & Co tell me that it's the employer with 125 employees or less who haven't decreased their 401k match. Filomeno partner Jim Russell reports that these smaller employers are still doing a healthy 50 cents on the dollar, up to 6% of the employee's salary.

Two new tax laws allow you to contribute up to 12k of your pay but your employer has to make plan changes in order for you to do so. That's the latest on the 401k scene. I'll keep you abreast of other new workplace trends.

Dear Kathryn:

Our employer, we feel, has overstepped the line and is discriminatory by indicating they prefer thinner employees, and those that don't light up.

My employer's offering to pay a larger portion of our insurance premium if we'll join a weight loss program or smoking cessation workshop. They're even offering to pay a bigger share of our spouse's insurance if they join the programs.

That's bad enough, but for those of us who have a bad attendance record due to chronic illness, they're recommending we undergo more frequent doctor visits to limit our sick days! Next, they'll be asking for videos of me sleeping, and of my sex life!

I just want to say NO to this massive interference.

DAVE, SUE, TAMMY & PAUL, Norristown, PA

Dear Ticked off in Norristown:

You can't do much about what they've put into action so far. Until they become invasive to your own personal time, (insisting you don't smoke at home etc, making a weight reduction program mandatory), you're stuck with their suggestions.

Lawsuits are popping up from fast-food junkies against fast food chains for making fattening food "available". Some are insisting firms post warning signs that their food is "fattening and addictive"-duh!

In that climate, you can't blame an employer for encouraging a healthier lifestyle for their employees. The lower possible insurance cost to employers is just icing on the cake. Find a better issue to gripe about, this one's weak.