Employee Benefits

While rank-and-file employees don't receive as many perquisites as chief executives -- or members of the House of Representatives, for that matter -- many get benefits that seem impressive in these financially difficult times.Airline employees receive free or cheap plane tickets. Utility workers get discounts on their telephone and energy bills. Retail clerks save money on clothing and stereos. Bank employees get free checking accounts and low-interest loans. These perks can save an employee hundreds and even thousands of dollars annually, and in many cases they are extended to retired employees as well.

Nearly half of Baltimore's municipal employees and retirees have a "critical or chronic" illness - a distinction that contributes to the high cost of providing their health insurance, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday. "We need to improve the wellness of our workforce to reduce costs by promoting fitness and smoking cessation," Rawlings-Blake said as she released a consultants' report about the city's long-term finances. "Our workforce is unhealthy and it's driving up our costs.

Are government employee pension funds across the country facing a painful reckoning, asks The New York Times? Absolutely. But guess what? Realistic funding of employee pension systems is only one of the fiscal time bombs that governments must address in a serious manner. The cost of employee health care is also placing governments in a fiscally untenable position. The one-two punch of pension and health care costs are threatening a knockout against government's already weakened ability to maintain services without raising taxes.

Tuesday of last week was such a great time to be a Baltimorean. Then came Wednesday. One day after approximately 200,000 fans helped the Ravens celebrate their second Super Bowl victory, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that without significant financial reforms, the city will face growing budget deficits every year for the foreseeable future. According to a budget forecast developed by Public Financial Management, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm, by 2023 the cumulative total of these annual shortfalls could reach $744.8 million.

You might never have heard of U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention in Rockville, but after reading this you likely will want to work there. The scientific nonprofit, which sets standards for drug production and quality in the United States, was recently recognized by the Principal Financial Group as one of the 10 "best companies for employee financial security. " The organization's benefits package includes a 10 percent annual contribution to workers' 401(k)s, up to $10,000 in yearly tuition assistance, and health and dental plan options in which the employer pays 100 percent of the premiums for workers and their families.

Gladys B. Gaskins, who has managed government workers for nearly 20 years, was named director of Baltimore's Department of Human Resources yesterday by Mayor Martin O'Malley. Gaskins will oversee recruitment, salary and benefits of city employees. Gaskins, who will be paid $127,000 annually, has served as the department's interim director since April, when Elliott L. Wheelan left for a similar job in Richmond, Va. Gaskins served as the department's chief of employee benefits, where she managed the city's $267 million health insurance program, according to the mayor's office.

Sarah Dabney, a program manager for InfoTeK Corp., says the Hanover-based engineering and information technology firm has a "family feel. " One of her colleagues, as part of the WorkplaceDynamics survey, wrote, "I feel like a member of the family. " The company, a partnership, likes get-togethers: It holds frequent events for employees and families, including an annual holiday party, and recently treated the whole staff to a Ravens game, munchies included. The idea, said Dabney, who spoke for the company, is that no employees feel they are "out on an island.

Advertising * gkv announced the appointments of Meredith Gilbert and Haley Ulloa as assistant account executives for the Baltimore-based marketing firm and named Johnny Vo as associate manager for GKV REACH, the agency's social marketing division. Finance * Wealth Advocacy Partners appointed Stephanie I. Dignan as a financial representative in the Sparks-based insurance and estate planning services firm. She had been with Metropolitan Life and is active with National Association of Female Executives and is a certified financial planner.

New positions Kerzel named manager of UB's information office The University of Baltimore announced the appointment of Pete Kerzel as manager of public information. He will be responsible for coordinating media coverage of faculty, staff and student activities. Formerly director of media relations for MedStar Health, Kerzel resides in Catonsville. Finance PSA names consultant on employee benefits PSA Financial Center named Doug Giauque an employee benefits consultant. Among his specialties are qualified pensions, 401(k)

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz writes in his op-ed "Keeping public employee benefits in check" (July 22) that the county needs to keep "finding efficiencies to fund additional costs. " Well what about the efficiency of him not double dipping the county pension system to the tune of $168,000 on a provision in the pension guidelines that was meant only to try and retain retiring experienced school bus drivers? After the Sun broke the story, he has remained silent! As a Baltimore County resident and taxpayer, I consider it outright dishonesty to line his personal pockets.

You might never have heard of U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention in Rockville, but after reading this you likely will want to work there. The scientific nonprofit, which sets standards for drug production and quality in the United States, was recently recognized by the Principal Financial Group as one of the 10 "best companies for employee financial security. " The organization's benefits package includes a 10 percent annual contribution to workers' 401(k)s, up to $10,000 in yearly tuition assistance, and health and dental plan options in which the employer pays 100 percent of the premiums for workers and their families.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz writes in his op-ed "Keeping public employee benefits in check" (July 22) that the county needs to keep "finding efficiencies to fund additional costs. " Well what about the efficiency of him not double dipping the county pension system to the tune of $168,000 on a provision in the pension guidelines that was meant only to try and retain retiring experienced school bus drivers? After the Sun broke the story, he has remained silent! As a Baltimore County resident and taxpayer, I consider it outright dishonesty to line his personal pockets.

Are government employee pension funds across the country facing a painful reckoning, asks The New York Times? Absolutely. But guess what? Realistic funding of employee pension systems is only one of the fiscal time bombs that governments must address in a serious manner. The cost of employee health care is also placing governments in a fiscally untenable position. The one-two punch of pension and health care costs are threatening a knockout against government's already weakened ability to maintain services without raising taxes.

Sarah Dabney, a program manager for InfoTeK Corp., says the Hanover-based engineering and information technology firm has a "family feel. " One of her colleagues, as part of the WorkplaceDynamics survey, wrote, "I feel like a member of the family. " The company, a partnership, likes get-togethers: It holds frequent events for employees and families, including an annual holiday party, and recently treated the whole staff to a Ravens game, munchies included. The idea, said Dabney, who spoke for the company, is that no employees feel they are "out on an island.

Economic experts say it all the time: Amid the fierce competition of the new global marketplace, job one for America is getting the most out of our human capital. Yet even as this asset is deemed of high importance to individual companies and the overall economy, managers have become increasingly reluctant to invest in employee education and training. Labor Day's arrival can serve to remind employers that such investments are critical to an economy whose competitive advantage stems not from how inexpensive our labor is relative to other countries', but rather how capable it is of doing complex work with cutting-edge technology.

Although war is the biggest racket of them all, public education isn't far behind. A wise observer once noted that all things that start as a mission become a business and finally morph into a racket. Judging from several stories in the news this week, it's hard to argue that the gargantuan American education system doesn't fit that definition. Take New York City and its laudable desire to fire incompetent or even criminal teachers. As The New York Times reports, "The Bloomberg administration has made getting rid of inadequate teachers a linchpin of its efforts to improve city schools.

WASHINGTON -- Federal employees can continue to collect money for speeches and articles that are unrelated to their work, according to a federal court ruling.U.S. appellate court judges in the District of Columbia maintained yesterday that when lawmakers restricted their own ability to receive honoraria from private organizations, they unconstitutionally imposed a ban on federal workers' rights to receive those fees.Federal employee unions hailed the decision, which follows the Justice Department's appeal of the judges' earlier decision to lift the honoraria ban."

CORPORATE DOWNSIZING has ceased to be a novelty, but the legal ramifications of these plans are still playing themselves out in the courts. This week, the Supreme Court handed employers an important victory in a case involving the laws governing the retirement and pension funds that companies maintain for their employees.The court agreed unanimously that in exchange for providing enhanced benefits to those taking early retirement, a corporation can require that an employee waive the right to pursue legal claims against the company.

Advertising * gkv announced the appointments of Meredith Gilbert and Haley Ulloa as assistant account executives for the Baltimore-based marketing firm and named Johnny Vo as associate manager for GKV REACH, the agency's social marketing division. Finance * Wealth Advocacy Partners appointed Stephanie I. Dignan as a financial representative in the Sparks-based insurance and estate planning services firm. She had been with Metropolitan Life and is active with National Association of Female Executives and is a certified financial planner.

Workers feeling uneasy about their retirement safety nets will find little comfort from a new government watchdog report that is critical of the Labor Department's enforcement of employer retirement-plan laws. The Government Accountability Office criticizes the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Labor Department office charged with enforcing retirement-plan laws, for failing to fully implement enforcement upgrades that GAO recommended several years ago. "Since our 2002 review, EBSA's enforcement program continues to use performance measures that generally focus on how well the agency is managing and using its resources rather than on its overall impact on the security of employee benefits," said the GAO report, which can be found at www.gao.