As the United States prepares to activate thousands
of military reservists in response to the attacks of September 11,
2001, employers are making decisions on how to handle compensation
and medical benefits for affected employees and their families. This
survey collected data on how employers are handling these and related
issues.
51 employers representing a total of approximately 500,000 full-time
employees responded to the survey. |
Our research shows that
employers are facing the uncertainty of these times with generosity toward
military reservists and their families. At the same time, employers are
wary of the future negative financial impact this crisis will have on
their business.
Employer Pay and Medical Benefit Policies
The majority of employers
surveyed have compensation policies (80 percent) and medical policies
(74 percent) in place for reservists and many are considering revising
these policies.
Pay Policies
When asked how their
organization will handle compensation for reservists called to active
duty, more than half (60 percent) of employers reported that they plan
to institute differential pay policies for some period of time to make
up the difference between regular and military pay.
Medical Policies
Nearly half (47 percent)
of the employers surveyed report they will exceed the Consolidated Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986/Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act of 1994 (COBRA/USERRA) statutory minimum coverage for
reservists and their dependents by providing full medical benefits for
some period of time.
These benefits are often
provided for more than 5 months and in some cases more than 9 months.
Twenty-two percent of employers will provide minimum coverage to reservist
employees and 18 percent will provide minimum coverage to their families.
The Future
Companies are enhancing
employee assistance programs already in place before the September 11
terrorist attacks. Many employers in our survey are facilitating employee
contributions to disaster relief, conducting grief or other counseling,
placing restrictions on business travel, revising workplace emergency
procedures, etc.
Almost half of
companies surveyed (45 percent) do not know how the recent events will
financially impact their business and 31 percent are optimistic, saying
they do not predict a negative financial impact. Of the 24 percent that
do expect a negative financial impact, none are planning a workforce reduction
and only 2 percent say they plan to reduce their merit increase budget
for 2002.
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