Vacations are always too short, and sometimes they don’t seem worth the effort. But they’re important, and we need to take them. I’m sure you appreciate time away with those close to you, and trusting your colleagues (both in house and outside) not to let the place fall apart while you’re flopped on a sandy beach, hiking in a national park or just doing something different.
So today, in the spirit of doing something different, I have not a rant, but praise.
While on vacation the immigration folks resurrected some regulations on what to do when you get a “no match” letter from the Social Security Administration. (Here is a link to the .pdf of the Federal Register listing, if you’re interested: http://tinyurl.com/27u3cw). This is a big deal for us because we have a lot of employees, and an overwhelmed human resources department. Driving to the airport, the news radio station chattered about the “stepped-up enforcement” policy, and something about social security, but my mind was on my vacation. Cue the smart outside counsel.
That evening, while checking voice mail (yes, we do that too while on vacation), one of our outside employment counsel left this short message (I’m paraphrasing): “Hi, I saw your “out of office” email notification, and figured you might not have heard about the new “no match” regs that go into effect September 15th. I know we’ve not talked about this, but I’m putting together a some guidelines for human resources departments on what to do with these letters to be sure you come within the safe harbor. Your company is a little different from most of my other clients, so I’m going to customize it for you guys, and will have it to you next week. If you think it’s useful, let me know. If not, there will be no charge. Hope you’re having a great vacation!”
Stress level at beginning of voice mail: moderate. At the end: low. Having a great vacation? You bet.
In House Rants 