California Employer Advisor Audio Conference

Tuesday, February 7, 2006
10:30 am to 12:00 noon (Pacific Time)

A federal judge recently fined an employer $307,000.

Why? Because the employer didn’t provide a former employee with the proper COBRA notice.

The court assessed the maximum statutory penalty of $110 per day for each beneficiary--the employee and his wife--as well as their actual medical expenses.

And the employer could STILL get hit with attorneys' fees and court costs.

The requirements for the COBRA notifications can be complicated. And as this example shows, the consequences for not giving proper COBRA notice can be steep, including having to pay an employee's uncovered medical bills, attorney's fees, and penalties.

Don't let this happen to you!

Join us on Tuesday, February 7, for a 90-minute audio conference. There's no faster, better way to get up-to-date on COBRA rules – specifically as they apply to employers in California!

As usual, California employers have to worry about more than just the federal rules. This conference is designed exclusively for employers in our state, and it will help you understand how the federal rules interact with the state rule, Cal-COBRA.

You'll learn:

• What the COBRA notification rules require

• How to ensure your COBRA notification forms and procedures are up to speed

• Which notices you're required to give employees--and when

• How to recognize a "qualifying event"

• How to establish "reasonable" notice procedures, as required by the rules

• The special notice requirements that come into play if COBRA coverage is unavailable or terminates early

• Why you need to take another look at your Summary Plan Description

• How to modify the model notices to meet your specific needs

• How Cal-COBRA and COBRA fit together and what this puzzle means to you

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS:

TIMOTHY G. VERRALL, Esq. is an associate at Morrison & Foerster in Irvine, California. His practice focuses on tax, investment management, and privacy issues, and he is the author of several articles on COBRA issues, including “California Adopts Legislation Extending COBRA and Cal-COBRA Benefits,” available on the Morrison & Foerster website. He is also a frequent speaker on benefits issues and other topics of interest to employers. He earned his B.A. from Mississippi State University and his J.D. from Tulane Law School.

ROBERTA KAREN CHEVLOWE, Esq., Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment Law Department at Proskauer Rose in New York, practices in the field of employee benefits law. She has extensive experience advising benefit plan sponsors with respect to all aspects of COBRA compliance, as well as the requirements of numerous other laws affecting benefit plans (such as ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and HIPAA). Roberta is a co-author of the COBRA Handbook, and she received her J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, and her B.A., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany.

Approved for Recertification Credit

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hour toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.

How Do Audio Conferences Work?

An audio conference is remarkably cost-effective and convenient. You participate from your office using a regular telephone. You have no travel costs and no out-of-office time.

Plus, for one low price you can get as many people in your office to participate as you can fit around a speakerphone.

Because the conference is live, you can ask the speakers questions—either on the phone or via e-mail.

With your registration, you also receive conference materials with additional practical information from California Employer Advisor sent to you via e-mail shortly before the conference.

Why You Can Sign Up To Attend This Event with Confidence

As with all California Employer Advisor products, you're completely protected. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with this audio conference, simply let us know and we will return your entire registration fee.