TMK1536 0910Agent training only. Not for sales use. Legal & Human Resources TMK1536 0910Agent...

TMK1536 0910 Agent training only. Not for sales use.

Legal & Human Resources



Discrimination


TMK1536 0910 Agent training only. Not for sales use.TMK1536 0910

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.”

Elizabeth Cady StantonFirst Woman’s Rights Convention

Seneca Falls, New York,July 20, 1848

Agent training only. Not for sales use.


Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII)Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

The Equal Pay Act (EPA)Protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same company from sex-based wage discrimination.

The most common federal laws prohibiting job discrimination


The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)Protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)Prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities.

The most common federal laws prohibiting job discrimination


Discriminatory practices under these laws include:

• Harassment and employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or age.

• Retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation or for opposing discriminatory practices.


• Denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin or an individual with a disability.

• Employers are required to post notices to all employees advising them of their rights under the laws, as well as their right to be free from retaliation.

Discriminatory practices under these laws include:


Independent Contractorsvs. Employees



“When men are employed, they are best contented; for on the days they worked they were good-natured and cheerful, and, with the consciousness of having done a good day’s work, they spent the evening jollily.”

Benjamin Franklin



A worker who is required to comply with other persons’ instructions about when, where and how he or she is to work is ordinarily an employee.

Employee


• When – Is the Agent required to work a set number of hours?

• Where – Is the Agent required to work in a specified location?

• How – Is the Agent required to generate sales in a certain method?

Independent Contractor vs. Employee


Employment?

• Notice of Eligibility comes from Home Office

• New hires then directed to employee documents to complete necessary information


Employment?


Automobile Liability Insurance



Counseling & Terminations



Personnel Transaction Memo (PTM)


Termination of Employment

Field Procedures Section 310

• Here are a few of the behaviors that can be grounds for termination.

• See the Field Procedures Manual for a comprehensive list of behavior(s) that are grounds for termination.



• Failure to cooperate with associates / insubordination

• Failure to comply with instructions by management or home office

• Failure to report to work

• Drinking or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs during work hours



• Use Form 55 (Rev.05-22-09) to terminate personnel

• The form provides a selection box and fax number for Liberty National and United American. Please check the appropriate box and complete the entire form. Fax the completed notice to the number provided on the form

• BE SPECIFIC, INCLUDE DOCUMENTATION IF AVAILABLE


Termination of Employment (Form 55)


Record Retention



Record Retention

• Applicant files should be kept for only 1 rolling year; the files must be destroyed.

• Terminated personnel files should be kept for 7 years PLUS the current year. After three years, the files must be destroyed.


Payroll Checks



Payroll Checks

• A large number of Agent payroll checks are being returned to the Home Office because the Agent has not come to the Branch Office to pick up the check Many states require the payment of wages on

the date that they are due YOU CANNOT HOLD PAYROLL CHECKS The Company can be fined for each check held


Payroll Checks

• If an Agent does not pick up a check within 10 days, you must mail the check to the Agent

South Carolina is the exception to this rule

• Return checks for terminated Agents to the Home Office for disposition

• Direct Deposit


Harassment, Threats & Violence



Harassment, Threats and Violence

I. WHY WE HAVE A POLICY

• The policy is required by law and is designed to ensure a working environment free of offensive or threatening conduct that might interfere with maximum productivity or perceived safety.



I. PURPOSE OF THE POLICY

• There are several types of behavior that can interfere with this goal, including: (1) sexual harassment; (2) racial, religious and other forms of harassment; and (3) violence and threats of violence.


Compliance with the law and company policy regarding Sexual Harassment

• Unwelcome• Unwanted• Harmful• Illegal

According to the EEOC, sexual harassment is conduct of a sexual nature that is:


Compliance with the law and Company policy

• Unwelcome and unwanted conduct can include sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, and displays of sexually explicit or suggestive materials.

• Harmful conduct can harm the physical or emotional health of the victim, witnesses, or negatively affect the atmosphere of the workplace.

• ALL forms of sexual harassment are illegal and not to be tolerated.



• Sexual harassment of any kind by anyone associated with the Company.

• Sexual harassment that results in sexual discrimination.

EEOC definition of sexual harassment is basis for our Company’s sexual harassment policy.

The Company does not tolerate:



• Retaliation of any kind because an individual reports sexual harassment.

• Policy applies to all employees, staff members, Branch Managers, Unit Managers, and Agents.



• Sexually harassing conduct is unacceptable and prohibited in the workplace, in work-related settings outside the workplace, in business meetings, and at business-related social events.


Forms of Sexual Harassment

• Sexually explicit pictures, calendars, graffiti, or objects displayed in the workplace.

• Using “dirty” words, making jokes with sexual references, using obscene gestures, and making rude comments of a sexual nature.

Examples of hostile work environment include:


Who is Affected?

• Anyone can commit or be a victim of sexual harassment.

• Members of the opposite sex or same sex.

• Sexual orientation of persons involved is not important, but that the harassment is sexual, hostile and abusive in nature.



III. WHAT TO DO IF YOU EXPERIENCE HARASSMENT, THREATS OF VIOLENCE, OR VIOLENT BEHAVIOR

Any employee and/or business associate who feels that he or she is the victim of any of these types of behaviors must report the conduct immediately.




Further, any employee and/or business associate who observes conduct that could be a violation of this policy must promptly report the conduct.




Reports should be made to your Unit Manager, Branch Manager, Regional Director or other Field Manager.

Alternatively, reports may be made to Patti Herring, Vice President at (205) 325-2906 or to one of the attorneys in the Law Department at (205) 325-2780.



IV. HOW REPORTS WILL BE HANDLED

While all reports of inappropriate behavior will be

treated as confidentially as possible, the requirement to conduct an impartial investigation means that complete confidentiality cannot be assured.



V. YOUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY

First and foremost, each of us is responsible for our own conduct and should avoid the types of behaviors addressed in this policy.



V. YOUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY

Second, each of us has a responsibility to report inappropriate behavior that we experience or observe.

With your help in enforcing this policy, we can make

our Company a better and more productive place to work for all employees and/or business associates.


Service of Process – Legal Documents



“I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do . . . the day after.”

Oscar Wilde




Legal or regulatory documents addressed to the company that are received in the Branch Office should be forwarded IMMEDIATELY to the Home Office in McKinney (Attn: Legal Department).


• Lawsuit complaints• Subpoenas• Garnishment Orders• Wage Levies• Insurance Dept Correspondence (e.g. complaints,

inquiries, orders)

Common examples of such documents include, but are not limited to:




The Company’s failure to timely respond to such documents can result in monetary penalties or fines, contempt findings and/or default judgments against the Company. Your failure to assist in this process can lead to disciplinary action.



Should the Branch Office receive legal or regulatory documents addressed to an individual Agent, Unit Manager, or Branch Manager, such individual should respond as required.


Employment Verification & Inquiries



Do Not Call



“Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?”

James ThurberThe New Yorker



Do Not Call Overview

• The National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry is a list of phone numbers of consumers who have registered not to receive incoming telemarketing calls.

• With a few exceptions, if an individual’s telephone number appears on the National DNC Registry, federal law prohibits telephone solicitation calls to the registered phone number.


Do Not Call Overview

• Fax solicitations are also subject to federal regulation.

• Never send unsolicited faxes.


National Regulations

• Current Customers• Applications or Inquiries• Personal Relationships• Businesses

Exceptions or special circumstances apply to Federal Do-Not-Call regulations within these categories:


Established Business Relationships

• Exempts calls to those with whom you have an ‘established business relationship.’

• Exists for the duration of your business relationship and for up to 18 months after the customer’s final payment or financial transaction with the Company.

• Applies to both active and lapsed policyholders.• Terminates if the customer requests not to be

called.


Company-Specific

• Our Company maintains an internal DNC list.• If a contact requests not to be called again, you

must immediately record the following information and e-mail it to: [email protected] for United American or [email protected] for Liberty.

• Full name of contact• Phone number• Address (if available)• Policy number (if available)


Compliance

• Make calls from any phone as long as it does not block caller identification information.

• Give your name, the Company name, and the purpose of the call at the beginning of each call.

• Make telephone solicitation calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. only in the time zone you are calling and never on holidays.

Implement the following key items to help maintain DNC compliance:


Leads Lists and Compliance

• If you purchase a lead list from an outside vendor, you must verify the list has been scrubbed against the National and State Registries.

• Submit the purchased list to the Home Office to be scrubbed against the National Registry and the Company’s DNC list.

• Agents are individually responsible for complying with any applicable state DNC regulations.


Penalties for DNC Violations

• Federal – up to $11,000 per call

• State – up to $10,000 per call

• Private Suits – up to $500 per call


Fraud



“I can resist everything except temptation.”

Oscar Wilde



Fraud – What is it?

An intentional deception or misrepresentation made by a person with the knowledge that the deception could result in some unauthorized benefit to him/herself or some other person.


Type of Potential Fraud

• Forgery of Agent/applicant signatures.• Submission of insurance applications known by an

Agent to contain false information.• Submission of applications on fictitious people.• Knowing submission to Company of inaccurate time

cards or illegitimate requests for expense reimbursement.

• Intentional misrepresentation of policy benefits.


Example of Fraud - Forgery and Hot Checks

• Joe Agent submitted 50 applications with personal checks written by him on a closed account and personal checks written by his wife on an account with insufficient funds, in an apparent attempt to fraudulently obtain commissions


Example of Fraud - Forgery and Hot Checks

• All of the applications were forged and none of the applicants were aware of applications in their name.

• Returned checks totaled over $1,199. Advanced commissions totaled over $3,000.

• Joe Agent was terminated, reported to authorities and arrested.


Warning Signs of Potential Fraud

• Protective / Secretive Workers• Rule Breakers• Changes in Behavior• People with Financial Problems• Increase in Life Style – Big Spenders• Disgruntled Workers


Suspected Fraud - What Should I Do?

• DO NOT confront the person suspected of committing the fraud.

• DO NOT try to investigate the issue on your own.• DO NOT make a decision to do nothing.• DO report suspected fraud to your Regional

Director.• DO remember to report the facts and avoid

characterizations as not all questionable acts constitute fraud.


Sanctions and Penalties for Fraud

• Fraud convictions can result in civil and criminal penalties as well as disciplinary action by the Company, up to and including termination.

• Violations of Company policy that may not meet the legal definition of Fraud can still result in disciplinary action by the Company, up to an including termination.


Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act



“I might have been a goldfish in a bowl for all the privacy I got.”

Hector Hugh Munro



How does HIPAA affect us?

• We continuously transmit, receive, or maintain health information in some form or another

• We receive and retain personal health information from applicants and customers

• We receive information from healthcare providers electronically or in some other form


How does HIPAA affect you?

• Dates of service for health providers• Claims data• Underwriting details• Responses to health questions• Premium billing or payment data

You may be exposed to certain Protected Health Information as it relates to a policyholder:


Protected Health Information

• Name• Address• Date of Birth• Social Security Number• Financial (debts, assets, account numbers)• Health information• Family matters

In the course of normal Agent activity, you are exposed to certain applicant/policyholder information:


Protected Health Information

• Protected Health Information is considered to be Individually Identifiable Health Information.

• Under HIPAA, you may not disclose this Protected Health Information to anyone, other than what is required in the normal course of business.

• We are permitted to use or disclose Protected Health Information for payment of health claims.


Violation of HIPAA Privacy Rules

• Civil or criminal penalties for individuals and companies

• Civil penalties can range from $100 to $25,000. Criminal penalties from $50,000 to $250,000 and imprisonment.

• Company Sanctions for Agents up to and including termination of Agent appointments with the Company

Violations can also result in:


Legal

• Independent Contractors vs. Employees• Discrimination• Service of Process – Legal Documents• Do Not Call• Fraud• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act


Brian Mitchell

972-569-4020


Automobile AccidentsField Office Procedures

Section 202



Automobile Accidents

• Representatives must report to the Branch office all accidents in which they are directly or indirectly involved.

• The Branch Manager should immediately report the accident to the Risk Manager, Jeffrey Mingori on Form R-0222 - Report of Automobile Accident


Automobile Accidents Involving Injury

• If the accident results in injuries to any party, Heather Garrett at 205-325-2502 should also be notified immediately by telephone.

• The Branch Manager is responsible for ensuring that a copy of the report made by a local law enforcement agency is secured and submitted to Jeffrey Mingori along with Form R-0222.


Injuries and Workers Comp



Accidents

Field Office Procedures Section 202

• From time to time injuries occur in our branch offices to policyowners, employees, visitors and others who might be on company-owned property or property that is leased by the Company.

• The Branch Manager should report these accidents by completing the Accident Report Other than Automobile forms and forwarding the original to Heather Garrett at 205-325-2502.


Job Related Injuries / Workers Compensation

It is extremely important that all job related injuries must be reported to Human Resources.

•Once you become aware of any injury to one of your employees, fill out the “First Report of Injury” - Form R2380, fax it to Heather Garrett at 205-325-2502.


Short Term Disability or Sick Leave


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