"8 Million Strong and Voting!" Small business is the heart beat of the United States economy. This blog searches for issues and answers to helping small business survive and thrive in California and the United States.
If you haven't done so already please complete the business survey we have put together along with the California Workforce Investment Board, NoRTEC, the Assembly Committee on Jobs,Economic Development and the California Workforce Association.
Data is being collected to determine possible gaps and overlaps in workforce services available to businesses throughout the State. Information will be used to help improve the design and delivery of program services.
By April 18. If you do not send there is a fine of $110 a day and you could have civil liabilities. If you need the forms please let me know and I will send them to you.
There is a lot of discussion about President Obama's budget. Do you support it as a budget that will get us out of the recession or do you think it is putting too much debt on the country?
I sent to all of you the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Actuarial Committee recommendation of 27% effective July 1 for all new and renewal workers compensation policies. Yesterday the Board of Governors of the Bureau recommended 24.4%.It now goes to the Insurance Commissioner.
Hank Ryan representing Small Business California spoke at a CPUC hearing a few weeks ago against a rate increase by PG&E for small businesses. Last week the CPUC ruled against the PG&E increase. I believe we were the only business organization that spoke against the rate increase. TURN represented residential users and that increase was denied also.
Hank Ryan representing Small Business California is an intervener at the CPUC and he speaks out frequently at the CPUC on behalf of California small businesses.
For those employers with 2 to 19 employees your insurance carrier will be sending notice and you will not be required to advance the 65%.
One interesting note is that if you are subject to Federal COBRA[20 or more employees] you are allowed to add 2% for administrative cost. If however you are under state COBRA[ 2 to 19 employees] the insurance company send the notice and bills the employee and can charge 10%.
The results of our survey are in. 616 of you completed the survey and we received at least one survey from every county in the state.
52% said you are reducing employees or reducing employee hours.
Awarding State Contracts to Small Business- 57% said this was the top or high priority.
I would like to thank Jim Ross and Jim Ross Consulting in SF for all the help he has provided us in making this survey possible.
Our partner the National Small Business Association is asking for help in developing a website on how small business owners are dealing with the increasing cost of health insurance.NSBA would appreciate any help you can provide and maybe you would be willing to provide a profile. See below. If I can provide any additional information please give me a call.
NSBA is in the process of developing a Web site which will focus on how small-business owners are dealing with the increasing cost of health insurance. The site will include information about NSBA's health care policy, resources and other policy statements that are in-line with NSBA's (including documents from NSBA CORE members), links to relevant legislation, data and statistics from both outside sources and the NSBA health care survey (see below), and profiles of small-business owners on the challenges they're facing.
I'd greatly appreciate any input you might be able to provide--reports, studies, statements from your organizations, etc... I'd also like to ask for your help in getting out two requests to some of your folks.
1) We're in the process of getting small-business profiles and, ideally, would like to get a high-resolution picture of the business. We're only looking for a brief description of the challenges their business is facing in coping with the costs of health care - anything from 3 sentences to 2 paragraphs will be perfect and we don't have to have a picture. These profiles can be e-mailed directly to me at mbrogan@nsba.biz. I've attached the e-mail request I used here for you.
2) The survey link below is active until middle-to-late next week. If you can send this survey along to any of your members, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or suggestions. Thank you in advance for your help on this!
I mentioned that under the COBRA provisions in the stimulus bill small business will have some additional obligations for employees that have been involuntarily terminated. I have received additional information since that email and would like to pass it on to you.
First this will not only apply to Federal COBRA but state COBRA so if you had two or more employees from September 2008 and have laid off employees you will need to notify those employees that they are eligible for a 65% subsidy on their insurance. This notification provision will be required until Jan 1 2010.
If you have 20 or more employees and your employees have opted for COBRA you will be required to advance 65% of the premium and then submit to the Government for reimbursement. When you submit your request to the Government you will need to file a report that includes and attestation of the involuntary termination of the covered employee, the calculation of the offset, a report of estimated offsets for the next reporting period, the TINs of covered employees, the amount of the subsidy to each individual and information as to whether the subsidy provided was for individual or family coverage.
If you have 2 to 19 employees your insurance company is probably billing the exemployee. Needless to say insurance companies are scrambling right now to figure out how they will do this especially given the required information that they must provide to receive reimbursement.
Another provision you should be aware of is that exemployees will have a second chance to take up this COBRA option so in effect it seems to me that if you have laid off employees you will need to advise them of this option.
Small Business California is a proactive, non-partisan business advocate whose only agenda is the well being of California's 3.2 million small businesses. Working for all small businesses for a better business environment, SB-Cal is responsive to the needs of small business owners. Section 6033(e) Notice and Disclaimer: Small Business California engages in lobbying activities on behalf of its members. Approximately 35% of your dues contribution goes to support these lobbying activities, and, we believe, is not deductible as a business expense under Section 162(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please consult your own accountant or tax attorney.