Electric League News

Scholarship Applications

Applications for Electric League Foundation scholarships will be available from the League office beginning Jan. 2, 2002. Contact Olivia at the League office for more information or an application - 816-561-5323.

March 19-20, 2002 - Electric League Triennial Trade Show

Electric League members will want to mark their calendars on March 19-20, 2002, for the Triennial Electric League Trade Show. The show will be held at the Overland Park International Trade Center, Overland Park, Kan.

This year's theme, “Racing Ahead in 2002” will be brought to life with a simulated replica of a racetrack offering participants the chance to race electronically controlled scale models of NASCARs. In addition, a TV will be given away each hour to lucky attendees.

Booths at the show for members are priced at $950 each for a 10'x10'. Nonmember price is $1,250 for a 10'x10' booth. A five percent discount is offered with the rental of five or more booths - 10 percent when renting 10 or more. Each booth is fully carpeted and includes 8' back drape, 3' side dividers and a 7"x44" identification sign.

Members needing more information about the trade show and booth rental should contact Olivia Holcombe at the Electric League - 816-561-5323.

Missouri Chamber of Commerce Hosts Day at the Capitol

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce will host the 11th Annual Missouri Chamber Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2002 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, Mo. The event features appearances by legislators and statewide elected officials who will discuss business issues being considered by the Missouri General Assembly. Cost for the event is $69 per person. For more information or to register call Cynthia Bushmann at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce at 573-634-3511.

National Legislative News

Military Reservists' Job Protection
In the days following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the President authorized mobilization of as many as one million military reservists and National Guards.

Employers have responsibilities under the federal Uniformed Services Deployment & Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 to protect the jobs and benefits of reservists called to active duty.

In addition to allowing reservists to come back to their jobs, primary obligations include continuing health care benefits, protecting participation in pension plans, protecting seniority rights and offering training or retraining or providing alternative positions.

A summary of employers' responsibilities and employees' rights is available from the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment & Training Service at www.dol.gov/dol/vets.

Economic Stimulus Package
The Senate continues to grapple with provisions for an economic stimulus package. Republicans proposed a $100 billion bill including a payroll tax holiday, corporate AMT repeal, 20 percent depreciation bonus, immediate consolidation of the 28 percent tax bracket into 25 percent, 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits and emergency block grants to pay for health insurance coverage. House Republicans - and employment tax experts - object to the payroll tax holiday, saying it will deplete the Social Security trust fund and put too great an administrative burden on employers. Another idea under consideration is a sales tax holiday, with the federal government reimbursing states for lost revenue. Democrats continue to push for fewer tax cuts and more assistance for unemployed workers. By December 7, Republicans had broken off negotiations and President Bush was urging Congress to get a bill to him before Christmas.

Training Model for Employers
The American Society of Safety Engineers completed a voluntary national standard for the American National Standards Institute. American National Standard Z490.1 is intended as a safety, health and environmental training model for employers. It is designed to apply to a broad range of training programs and covers “all facets of training, including training development, delivery, evaluation and management of training and training programs.” Information is available from ASSE at 847-699-2929 or www.asse.org.Source: National Retail Hardware Association

Holiday Hours

The Association office's holiday schedule will be:

Christmas - Friday, Dec. 21 through Tuesday Dec. 25; and
New Year - Friday, Dec. 28 (noon) through Tuesday, Jan. 1

On behalf of the Electric League Board of Directors and staff, may you and yours have a blessed, joyous and safe Holiday season.

OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Requirements

OSHA has, after much wrangling and delay, decided to implement the new recordkeeping requirements as of Jan. 1, 2002. Following is a summary of the new requirements and how they differ from the requirements under the old OSHA 200 log system, and requirements that have not changed:

There are separate forms for recording injuries and illnesses - the 300 log; and for posting - the 300A form. The old OSHA 200 log combined the two onto one form. The new forms are completely separate.
The summary form - 300A must be posted from February through April 30 of the year following its completion. The old summary portion was only posted during February.
Injuries and illnesses must be recorded within seven calendar days of their occurrence or the employer's receiving information about their occurrence. Under the old requirements, employers had six working days to record incidences. For those businesses operating seven days a week, you get one extra day. For businesses operating Monday through Friday - watch those weekends because they now count in the total!
If you have multiple sites you must keep a separate log and summary for each site. Under the old system you could keep one master log and post copies at each site.
After Jan. 1, 2002, employers will not be required to go back and change or update the information contained on their previous OSHA 200 logs or 101 forms. Under the old system, any changes in the information about a recorded injury or illness, such as whether the employee died as a result of the injury/illness, required an alteration of the information on the old form. Some of the definitions have changed and trying to keep track of what used to be required and what is now required was deemed too complicated to justify requiring employers to update the old 200 logs on file. However, when you get into the second year of using the OSHA 300 logs, you will be required to go back and update them just as you did when you were operating under the 200 log system.
First aid cases are not recordable - do not enter them on the OSHA 300 log.
The types of establishments required to keep occupational injury and illnesses records has changed slightly. The list of SIC codes affected is listed in 29 CFR 1904, Appendix A.
OSHA has included lots of instructions in the new standard.

Requirements that have not changed

Recordable cases may not be eligible for workers' compensation or other insurance benefits. The definitions used for determining whether a case is OSHA recordable have nothing to do with workers' compensation or other health insurance definitions.
Employees still have the right to access work-related injury and illness information. They do not have the right to know personal information about other employees' medical conditions, but they do have the right to know what is on file about their own cases, what types of injuries/illnesses are occurring in their workplace, where they are occurring, what their employer is doing about preventing or eliminating these injuries/illnesses and what OSHA is requiring concerning these types of injuries or illnesses.
Employers must still keep copies of their completed occupational injury and illness logs, supplemental information forms (OSHA 301 or other insurance forms) for five years.
First aid cases are not considered OSHA recordable cases. Do not record them on your OSHA 300 log.
You must keep supplemental records about each recordable injury or illness - either by filling out an OSHA 301 form or keeping insurance records which describe in fair detail the circumstances surrounding the injury or illness.
Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times within the previous year are exempt from keeping OSHA injury and illness records.
All employers who are requested in writing to keep injury and illness records by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must do so.
All employers covered by the OSH Act, even if not required to keep OSHA 300 logs, must report work-related deaths and multiple hospitalizations (three or more from the same incident) within eight hours. The report must be done in person or verbally over the phone to the nearest OSHA office or the central OSHA telephone number in Washington (202) 321-6742. For employers in state-run plan states, these or more strict requirements apply and they provide an in-state phone number. Some states require reporting of all amputations.

Source: Regulatory Consultants Inc. (RCI)

Missouri Chamber of Commerce Schedules Transportation Conference

Electric League members in Missouri will want to mark Jan. 31, 2002 on their calendars for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce Conference on Transportation. The event will be held at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, Mo. Issues on the agenda include:

Missouri's transportation future
DOT's construction plan
Transportation funding dilemma
Reconstruction and rehabilitation issues related to interstate highways

The cost to attend the conference is $99. For more information or to register, contact Cynthia Bushmann at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce at 573-634-3511.

Federated Named to Ward’s 50 Benchmark Group

The Federated Insurance Companies has been named to the 2001 Ward's 50 Benchmark Group of top performing insurance companies. Federated is one of only eight companies named to both the Property and Casualty list, as well as the Life and Health Insurance list.

The Ward Financial Group is a Cincinnati-based management consulting and investment banking firm that specializes in the insurance industry. To create the list, Ward reviewed 2,700 Property and Casualty companies and 1,300 Life Insurance companies.

The Ward Financial Group recognizes 50 companies each year that have excelled at balancing financial safety, consistency, and performance within the industry.

After receiving formal notification from the Ward Financial Group, Al Annexstad, Federated's Chairman, President and CEO, noted, “At a time of great turmoil in the insurance industry, we are very pleased to be recognized by this prestigious organization. This gives us great confidence that our disciplined approach to doing business continues to serve our policyholders and employees.”

The People Column

Happy Holidays to everyone ....

A few birthdays being celebrated this month:
Chris Dix of Rains Electrical Sales on Dec. 8, Jim Moore of C&O on Dec. 13, Tom Eads of Mercer- Zimmerman on Dec. 13, and Doug Carlson of C&O on Dec. 20.

Congratulations to Richard Meek of Graybar Kansas City Missouri on becoming the father of a new baby boy. A new face in the crowd at Rexel-Glasco is Roger Smith as a member of the sales staff.

French Gerleman was honored as the Mississippi Valley Family Business of the Year, one of six so honored by the Edwardsville School of Business (Southern Illinois University).

Best wishes from your people column to all for a wonderful holiday season - we hope each and every one of you enjoys the season and that we can all enjoy peace, good health, and happiness in 2002!

Keep those e-mails coming in: peoplecolumn@electricleague.org

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