Presentation by the U.S. Department of Labor

Printer Friendly PDF Version

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The Siouxland Employers’ Council and Iowa Workforce Development will be hosting a meeting for employers to learn about federal employee benefit laws. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 7, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The training session will be conducted at Western Iowa Tech, Building B, Room 138, Sioux City. All employers, human resource personnel, and payroll staff are invited to attend.

Ruth Privette and Mary Bartkoski, benefits advisors with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Kansas City Regional Office, will be the presenters. Both advisors provide education and compliance assistance relative to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) which regulates employee pension and welfare plans sponsored by employers in the private sector. They provide information to plan sponsors, plan officials, participants, beneficiaries, as well as third party administrators and other professionals regarding compliance assistance and general inquiries on the ERISA laws.

The topics to be discussed at the seminar include a general overview on:

• ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
• EBSA (Employee Benefits Security Administration)
• COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, i.e. continued health care coverage)
• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, i.e. the privacy act)

Ruth and Mary will also speak on detailed compliance assistance and enforcement information for professionals, information on retirement savings options for small businesses and regulations on mandatory distributions.

There is a $10 registration fee to attend this meeting. To register for the seminar, contact Diane Neri, Iowa Workforce Development, at (712) 233-9030, Ext. 1037 or by e-mail at diane.neri@iwd.state.ia.us. Please register by Friday, June 3, 2005.

The Siouxland Employers’ Council is an employer group in Region 12, supported locally by Iowa Workforce Development, and is part of the statewide Employers’ Council of Iowa system. This employers group addresses workforce issues, and provides both educational and networking opportunities for employers.