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(NEW YORK, N.Y., March 25, 2008) – As trademark law continues to grow and evolve, so do the reasons practitioners find themselves appearing before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Now professionals can turn to Aspen Publishers’ Guide to TTAB Practice for exclusive access to expert guidance on practicing before the TTAB as well as thorough coverage of the recent amendments to the Trademark Rules of Practice for TTAB cases, including the new rules relating to disclosure practice. Aspen Publishers, part of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business group, is a leading information provider for legal and business professionals and law students (www.aspenpublishers.com).
“Whether you’re new to trademark law or a veteran, Guide to TTAB Practice makes certain you’re fully prepared for every TTAB proceeding,” said Sharon Kube, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business product manager. “This unique resource written by expert practitioner Jeffery Handelman, takes you step-by-step through the entire process and tells you everything you need to know about practicing before the TTAB.”
Guide to TTAB Practice is a comprehensive tool that helps professionals with practice and procedure, as well as substantive law. It provides proven practice tips; detailed coverage of discovery rules; guidelines for presenting and objecting to evidence; briefs at final hearing and oral arguments; and useful timetables.
Presented in two convenient loose-leaf volumes, Guide to TTAB Practice covers important topics, including:
- Claims for relief;
- Defenses that can be asserted in opposition and cancellation proceedings;
- Motion practice;
- Filing and service;
- Discovery;
- Practicing under the latest amendments to the Trademark Rules of Practice, including the up-to-date rules relating to disclosure practice;
- Evidence – proving your case;
- Objecting to evidence;
- Discovery and testimony in cases involving foreign parties;
- Restriction proceedings;
- Priority determinations;
- Summary judgment;
- Consumer surveys;
- Testimony;
- Briefs at final hearing and oral argument;
- Appeals;
- International challenges; and
- Settlement methods.
Jeffery A. Handelman is chair of the Trademark Practice Group at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States with more than 160 attorneys. Handelman has specialized in intellectual property law since joining Brinks as an associate in 1984. His expertise includes trademark law, unfair competition, trade dress, dilution, false advertising, copyright law and licensing matters. His clients are throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. Handelman litigates before U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts around the country. Moreover, Handelman practices extensively before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. He is a member of the Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Mediation Panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Handelman is a prolific writer and frequent speaker on intellectual property topics.
For more information or to order Guide to TTAB Practice, call 800-638-8437, click here or visit www.aspenpublishers.com. The two-volume, loose-leaf set is priced at $295.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2007) of €3.4 billion ($4.8 billion), maintains operations in over 33 countries across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and employs approximately 19,544 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
EDITORS’ NOTE: Editorial review copies of Guide to TTAB Practice are available upon request for members of the press. Contact Neil Allen, 847-267-2179 or neil.allen@wolterskluwer.com or Brenda Au, 847-267-2046 or brenda.au@wolterskluwer.com.
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(NEW YORK, N.Y., March 19, 2008) – Professionals now have a practical, one-stop reference to guide them through the complexities of managing payroll for Ohio employees with the all-new Ohio Payroll Guide from Aspen Publishers, part of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business group. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students (www.aspenpublishers.com).
“Ohio has 800 tax jurisdictions and each has their own payroll rules making it tougher than ever to stay in compliance,” said the author, Jerri Langer. “Ohio Payroll Guide has tables, which centralize the tax rates for all the local municipalities and school districts and includes contact numbers so professionals can easily navigate the multitude of taxes and rates as well as the numerous and varied filing requirements to help them avoid costly fines.”
Ohio Payroll Guide has over 700 pages on the innuendos of Ohio payroll processes and includes informative, easy-to-understand charts; helpful pointers that caution against potentially problematic areas; and examples that demonstrate how other payroll practitioners have handled key situations. This comprehensive, up-to-date resource explains all of the payroll laws and regulations of Ohio, including state income and unemployment taxes, local taxes, workers’ compensation and nontax provisions. The only payroll resource dedicated exclusively to the state of Ohio, the Ohio Payroll Guide provides all the information professionals need to keep track of withholding requirements in all municipalities and school districts; adhere to complex, sweeping reforms that continue to become effective across the state; implement proper payroll procedures to handle all of Ohio’s requirements; and comply with wage and hour laws, including the minimum wage rules.
The Ohio Payroll Guide covers essential topics, including:
- How to handle municipal income taxes including how to calculate the secondary and courtesy municipal withholding taxes;
- Use of the Ohio Business Gateway;
- How to implement HB 119 to determine which withholding tax base applies;
- New Ohio minimum wage rules and wage and hour laws;
- Ohio income tax withholding;
- New hire and multiple worksite reporting; and more.
Jerri Langer, a founding member of Cokala Tax Reporting Solutions, is a nationally recognized information reporting and withholding consultant who provides a wide range of tax advisory services to many Fortune 500 companies around the world. She received her JD and LLM in Taxation from the University of Florida College of Law (1982) and is a member of the Florida and Michigan bars. She is a past member of the IRS Commissioner’s Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) and served IRPAC as its Subcommittee Chair on Legislation and Regulatory Matters. Langer was the founding Government Relations Chair for the National Association of Tax Reporting and Payroll Management (NATRPM) and currently serves on the NATRPM Board.
In her previous role as Director in Balance Consulting, an organization specializing in tax reporting and withholding compliance, Langer coordinated the firm’s professional payroll and accounts payable advisory services, as well as administration of tax advisory services to financial industries. Prior to joining Balance Consulting, she served ProBusiness Services Inc., a Fortune 500 payroll service company, as their chief tax compliance officer where she orchestrated a new merger and acquisition service, as well as managed tax controversy and government relations areas. Langer learned much of her trade as a director in Deloitte & Touche, where she gained a national reputation assisting clients in complying with domestic and international payroll tax, as well as other tax reporting and withholding requirements. Earlier, as a tax advisor on Wall Street, she gained significant operational experience in brokerage, banking and insurance operations and product development, as well as in retirement plan and employee benefits processing.
Langer co-authors the California Payroll Guide and contributes to the Payroll Answer Book, both widely circulated publications.
For more information or to order Ohio Payroll Guide, visit www.aspenpublishers.com or call 1-800-638-8437. The price for this single-volume, loose-leaf guide is $209.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2007) of €3.4 billion ($4.8 billion), maintains operations in over 33 countries across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and employs approximately 19,544 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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((NEW YORK, N.Y., March 13, 2008) – Kluwer Law International now offers Kluwer EU Copyright Cases and Kluwer EU Patent Cases, two new online services designed to alert professionals to the latest decisions shaping European patent and copyright law (www.KluwerEUIPCases.com). Kluwer Law International is part of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business group, a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key legal and compliance specialty areas.
Kluwer EU Copyright Cases and Kluwer EU Patent Cases provide professionals with English language case summaries and annotations of the most important copyright and patent cases from the EU and EPC jurisdictions, expertly written by local correspondents and delivered on the Kluwer EU IP Cases database. To ensure professionals are aware of the latest information available to them, both Kluwer EU Copyright Cases and Kluwer EU Patent Cases include an e-mail alert service. Every two weeks an e-mail newsletter is sent out notifying subscribers of newly reported and summarized cases. Each case is also reproduced in full in the original language for subscribers to organize their own translation if desired. Cases include landmark decisions since 1980, plus other relevant copyright and patent decisions since January 2007 from the European Courts of Justice (all decisions); national courts of the EU and EPC Member States (all Supreme Court decisions and a selection of lower court decisions); and a selection of EPO Boards of Appeal decisions.
“The nature of intellectual property law in Europe changes rapidly and increased harmonization of EU law means you can no longer rely solely on national case law to guarantee success in court,” said Annie Cavlov, Kluwer Law International product manager. “Kluwer EU Copyright Cases and Kluwer EU Patent Cases bring your legal research to another level, extending the relevant cases you can call upon for support and giving you an edge when arguing cases.”
Kluwer EU Copyright Cases reports on significant copyright cases across Europe. Experts from 28 European states report on national cases of cross-border interest. English-translated summaries and case notes are delivered via e-mail, ensuring subscribers are up to date on the latest case law. The case law database is updated weekly and is fully searchable, by jurisdiction, court, keyword and more.
With Kluwer EU Copyright Cases, case research is simplified with convenient access to important copyright cases, including:
- Germany: Gebrauchtsoftware, Appeals Court of Hamburg (Oberlandesgericht Hamburg), 7 February 2007
- France: Google Video, District Court of Paris (Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris), 19 October 2007
- United Kingdom: Experience Hendrix v. Purple Haze Records, Court of Appeal (Court of Appeal), 24 May 2007
- Italy: Mod-Chips Case, Supreme Court (Corte Suprema di Cassazione), 3 September 2007
Kluwer EU Copyright Cases is edited by Professor Bernt Hugenholtz and Dr. Lucie Guibault from the Institute for Information Law, assisted by Marcel Dellebeke and Brenda van der Wal. The Institute for Information Law (IViR), directed by Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, is part of the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. The Institute is the largest research facility in the field of information law in Europe. It employs over 25 qualified researchers who actively study and report on a wide range of subjects in the field of information law.
Kluwer EU Patent Cases reports on important patent cases two weeks after their official publication date. The case reports are delivered straight to the subscriber’s desktop, so there’s no need to search for documents in a language they may not be familiar with. Every two weeks subscribers receive case reports in English, including summaries and case notes provided by a network of leading patent experts throughout Europe.
Kluwer EU Patent Cases provides easy access to English summaries and case notes of landmark cases, such as:
- Germany: Spannschraube (Tension Screw), German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof), 2 March 1999
- United Kingdom: Catnic, House of Lords, 13 November 1980
- The Netherlands: Ciba Geigy, Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad), 13 January 1995
- Italy: For.El v. Lisec, Court of Appeal of Milan (Corte d'Appello di Milano), 10 October 2006
Kluwer EU Patent Cases is edited by Brinkhof, The Netherlands, a law firm specializing in all legal fields concerning innovations. Brinkhof focuses on Patents, Life Sciences, IT and Communications. Brinkhof’s patent practice covers national and cross-border infringement and revocation proceedings before the courts of The Hague, often involving the coordination of parallel foreign proceedings, and oppositions before the European Patent Office.
For more information or to subscribe to Kluwer EU Copyright Cases or Kluwer EU Patent Cases, go to www.KluwerEUIPCases.com or contact a Sales Representative at 888-224-7377 or sales@kluwerlaw.com.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., March 11, 2008) – Wolters Kluwer Law & Business and Advanced Productivity Software (APS) have partnered to optimize APS’s LookUp Precision® tool to track online usage on the CCH Internet Research NetWorkTM, Kluwer Law International’s KluwerArbitration.com, KluwerManualIP.com and KluwerCompetitionLaw.com. Along with Aspen Publishers and Loislaw, CCH and Kluwer Law International are part of Wolters Kluwer Law and Business, a leading information provider for legal and business professionals and law students.
CCH and Kluwer Law International research activities can now be included in the detailed usage reports generated by APS’s LookUp Precision for users, practice groups and offices. Data on Kluwer Law International and CCH research sessions can also be exported to billing systems to aid in cost recovery.
LookUp Precision features password management that simplifies log-in, and client matter prompts allow specific research projects to be associated with valid cost codes.
“Kluwer Law International and CCH Internet Research NetWork subscribers who also use LookUp Precision will benefit by including CCH in their password management and reporting systems. LookUp Precision will automatically fill in the CCH or Kluwer Law International IDs and passwords, as well as present a drop-down list of valid client matter numbers for the user,” said Scott Murray, CCH product manager.
“This provides a great opportunity for mutual customers of CCH and Kluwer Law International to take advantage of highly customized usage tracking features within LookUp Precision. Thanks to this partnership, the functionality can be enabled without any additional work on the part of firm administrators,” said Devin GawneMark, LookUp Precision product manager.
“Customers of Kluwer Law International online products will have ready access to up-to-date and accurate usage reports for their subscription activities. We are pleased to extend our range of services to ensure that subscribers possess the tools they need to work more efficiently,” said Joanne Nagano, managing director of Kluwer Law International, the leading publisher of English-language international legal products.
For more information on the CCH Internet Research NetWork, visit business.cch.com or call 800-344-3734. For more information on the Kluwer Law International online products, visit www.kluwerlaw.com or call +31 (0)172 64 1562.
LookUp Precision is the premiere solution for cost recovery, usage tracking and password management for online resources. Accurate, validated client/matter assignment is available for electronic resources at the point of access, and reports on research activity are at the administrator’s fingertips. Resource use can easily be managed as LookUp Precision auto-populates login fields and maintains updated password lists without staff intervention.
APS has remained at the forefront of the legal technology market since 1990, providing solutions to their customers' increasingly global needs to ensure business continuity, software performance, connectivity and functionality. Hundreds of thousands of users worldwide, including more than half of the Am Law 100, depend on the APS line of software products: DTE, Distributed Time Entry for the web, Blackberry and desktop; LookUp Precision, online time tracking, password management and cost recovery; and RollCall, web-based staff time and attendance. For more information about the innovative timekeeping products, please call 800-783-9231 or visit our web site at www.aps-soft.com.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill. The Wolters Kluwer Law & Business site is business.cch.com.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., March 4, 2008) – For some shift workers and their employers, there can be dollars-and-cents consequences when clocks are set forward one hour this weekend, notes CCH, a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business and a leading provider of human resources information and software (hr.cch.com).
The arrival of daylight saving time requires clocks to be moved forward one hour at 2 a.m. on March 9. Shift workers who are on duty at that time and who normally work an eight-hour shift will actually work only seven hours.
“Some employers decide to pay the normal eight hours of pay for that shift as a matter of policy, but under the Fair Labor Standards Act, they are not required to include the additional hour of pay when calculating an employee’s regular rate for overtime,” noted Heidi Henson, JD, CCH workplace analyst. “For example, if someone actually works 40 hours in the week, the additional hour’s pay for that daylight-saving hour would be at straight time, not overtime.”
On the other hand, because the extra hour of pay is not compensation for hours actually worked in the work week, no part of that amount may be credited toward overtime compensation that may be due if the employee qualifies for overtime during the rest of the work week.
“Let’s suppose an employee actually works 41 hours in the week, and is also paid for the hour that isn’t worked due to daylight saving. That employee is still entitled to overtime pay for one hour, and the pay for the daylight-saving hour can’t be credited against it,” Henson added.
When returning to Standard Time on the first Sunday in November, clocks are moved back one hour at 2 a.m. Shift workers on duty at that time will actually work an extra hour, for a total of nine hours of work. Employees must be paid for all nine hours. They are also entitled to overtime on the basis of all hours worked during the week, including the extra hour worked during the conversion to Standard Time.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(NEW YORK, N.Y., February 28, 2008) – Steve Emanuel, creator of well-known legal study aids such as the Emanuel Law Outline series, CrunchTime series and Law in a Flash flashcards, has created a new, live Multistate Bar Review program that will be offered this year for the first time by Aspen Publishers, a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business (www.EmanuelBarPrep.com).
Powered by the work and materials of Emanuel, Emanuel Multistate Review has developed the most current Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) Review materials available and is headlined by some of the most well-known names in legal education, including Loyola Law Professor Laurie Levenson, University of California-Davis Law Professor Vik Amar, Tulane University Law Professor Joel Friedman, New York University Law Professor Vicki Been, Duke University Law Professor Jim Salzman, Las Vegas Law Professor Nancy Rapoport, Southwestern Law Professor Catherine Carpenter and Denver University Law Professor Arthur Best among others.
“Steve Emanuel’s life work has been to help law students become lawyers. With new technologies, our great relationships with the legal education community, and a visionary like Steve Emanuel who takes complex legal concepts and presents them in formats that students can embrace, we believe we can do our part to reinvent Bar Exam preparation,” said Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Executive Vice President Rick Kravitz.
The Emanuel Multistate Review approach simplifies the mastery of the MBE by offering substantive law coupled with opportunities to learn from experienced Bar Exam tutors.
The Emanuel Multistate Review will be initially offered in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and New York City, in addition to various institutional locations with partnering law schools. Each location will offer two series of courses, the first in May for substantive review of MBE subject matter and the second in July covering the Multistate Bar Exam itself.
The MBE Refresher Course in May features a comprehensive lecture series by Steve Emanuel and a team of “superstar” faculty lecturers on the “Big Six” Multistate Bar Examination topics: Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Property and Torts. These in-depth lectures will cover all of the frequently-tested areas of law on the Bar Exam. Experienced Bar Exam tutors will be available to work with students each day in small groups on specific content areas or questions.
The May course not only acts as a refresher to the MBE topics, but can serve as either a stand-alone to MBE Bar Review study or be taken in conjunction with other state-specific Bar Review courses.
The Intensive MBE Workshop in July will begin with a 200-question, simulated MBE. Experienced tutors will offer analysis of each question’s answer choices grouped by MBE subject. Following the simulated exam on Day One, the analysis of the questions for three MBE subjects will be covered each subsequent day of the three-day course. Tutors will also be available for additional questions or problems following each day’s lecture.
The July course serves as final Bar Exam preparation for anyone who has previously opted for home study, taken Course One or taken any comprehensive Bar Review lecture courses.
In addition to lectures and tutorials, enrollees will also receive a wealth of study materials: Emanuel’s capsule summary, a six-volume review of the MBE subjects highlighting only those topics appearing on the Bar Exam; a 200-question simulated MBE offered under test-taking conditions, with grading and analysis geared toward identification of frequent weak areas; an “Emanuel Confidential” mini-outline provided for last-minute review; Terri LeClercq’s Guide to Legal Writing Style; and James J. Rigos’ Rigos Bar Review Series Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) Review (two-volume set) including more than 1,700 MBE practice questions.
Emanuel Multistate Review can also be adapted for live course use by law schools or law firms for institution-sponsored Bar Review programs.
For more information about Emanuel Multistate Review classes or working with Aspen Publishers to utilize the course at your school or firm, visit www.emanuelbarprep.com, send e-mail to barreview@wolterskluwer.com or call 888-951-0309.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., February 28, 2008) – Aspen Publishers’ 5500 Preparer’s Manual on the CCH® Internet Research NetWorkTM can now be accessed by users of ftwilliam.com Form 5500 software through help buttons that link directly to the online content. ftwilliam.com is a provider of high-quality plan documents and government forms software. Aspen Publishers, along with CCH, is part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. The new feature will be called InfoLink.
ftwilliam.com users may link directly to the online version of Aspen Publishers’ 5500 Preparer’s Manual from the ftwilliam.com data entry screens without having to log on to the CCH web site. By clicking on special icons in the ftwilliam.com Form 5500 software, the appropriate content from the 5500 Preparer’s Manual will automatically appear in the user’s browser.
In addition, once a user has clicked on InfoLink they may follow other links on the CCH Internet Research NetWork to any original IRS and DOL source materials.
Written by Janice M. Wegesin, a well-known expert on Form 5500 preparation, the 5500 Preparer’s Manual is the definitive single-volume reference that helps readers handle the required annual Form 5500 filings for both pension benefits and welfare benefit plans.
For more information on the 5500 Preparer’s Manual on the CCH Internet Research NetWork, contact a CCH sales representative at 1-800-344-3734. For more information on ftwilliams.com, send e-mail to sales@ftwilliam.com.
ftwilliam.com offers the employee benefits professional the highest quality plan documents (retirement, welfare and non-qualified) and government forms (5500/PBGC, 1099 and IRS) software at highly competitive prices. The company offers all of the popular prototype and volume submitter plans, including cash balance and target plans. All plan documents are delivered instantly to the desktop in word processing format and 5500/PBGC Forms are delivered in Adobe PDF format.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., February 27, 2008) – With a persistent new strain of flu affecting workers nationwide, employers may need to be more assertive to help keep the workplace healthy at the height of flu season, according to CCH, a leading provider of human resources and employment law information and services and a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business (hr.cch.com).
Based on a CCH Survey, about half of employers (54 percent) send workers back home if they show up for work sick. Other common approaches for discouraging sick workers on the job, according to the survey, include:
- Educating employees on the importance of staying home when sick, used by 40 percent of organizations;
- Fostering a culture that discourages employees from coming to work sick, used by 34 percent of organizations; and
- Using telecommuting programs to allow workers to work from home, used by 30 percent of employers to deter “presenteeism,” a term used to identify when workers come to work ill.
“With 87 percent of employers reporting that sick employees who show up for work are suffering from colds, the flu or other short-term illnesses that may be easily spread, it’s apparent that companies have to get tough when it comes to telling employees to stay away,” said CCH Employment Law Analyst Brett Gorovsky, JD.
“At the same time, they have to provide options that allow employees to do the right thing, such as flexible absence control policies, educating managers on handling workplace illness and making sure employees know that showing up and infecting others – whether colleagues or customers – is not behavior that will get rewarded,” he added.
Among the suggestions CCH outlines for helping organizations maintain healthier workplaces include:
- Offer a flu-vaccination program: 66 percent of organizations CCH surveyed now sponsor flu-shot programs for employees, up from 61 percent in 2005.
- Tap your employee assistance program (EAP) and healthcare support services: Determine if they offer a hotline or web site your employees can use to access FAQs and get guidance and information about healthcare issues.
- Establish and communicate guidelines: Help employees understand under what conditions they should stay home, and when it’s safe to return to work. For example, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that individuals who get the flu may be able to infect others from the day before their symptoms develop, to five days after becoming sick.
- Provide tips on how to avoid spreading germs: A good source is the CDC web site: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/stopgerms.htm#GoodHealthHabits. Use posters or offer the information on your corporate intranet.
- Ensure absence control policies are not counterproductive: Programs such as disciplinary action need to be assessed to ensure they don’t unnecessarily pressure sick employees to report for work.
- Foster a healthy environment: Ensure managers are fostering an environment in which ill employees feel comfortable asking to leave the workplace or, better yet, not report to work in the first place.
- Set a good example: Managers should be urged not to come in sick as employees may then see the message to “stay at home” as lip service.
- Work with employees and your facilities group to keep common areas clean: Make sure these areas are cleaned regularly; this may even include cleaning conference rooms between meetings.
- Recognize helpful employees: Consider bonuses, rewards or other recognition for employees who step in to help do extra work for ill colleagues.
- Telecommuting: Consider using, but not abusing, telecommuting; making it an option for an employee who is improving, but is perhaps not ready to return to work full time.
A total of 317 human resource executives in U.S. organizations were surveyed on issues related to unscheduled absences and presenteeism as part of the 2007 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey. Additional findings from the survey and the methodology are available at www.cch.com/absenteeism2007. The survey was conducted for CCH by Harris Interactive.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill. The Wolters Kluwer Law & Business human resources site is hr.cch.com.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS AND WARRENVILLE, ILL., February 7, 2008) – CCH and CourseAvenue today announced the availability of the eComply for Human Resource Series of eLearning training courses. These crucial human resource training courses can be customized easily to meet an employer’s specific needs, and are written by industry experts at CCH, a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals.
Employers everywhere have a responsibility to ensure they maintain a safe, fair and productive work environment. With eComply for Human Resources, employers provide their supervisors and employees guidance on correct practices in areas that include:
- Discrimination and Harassment Prevention;
- Sexual Harassment Prevention;
- Workplace Violence Prevention;
- E-Mail and Internet Use;
- Interviewing and Hiring;
- Discipline;
- Termination;
- Substance Abuse Prevention; and
- Managing Disability Leaves.
Additionally, providing managers and employees critical human resource training demonstrates a good faith effort on the part of the company to comply with labor laws and create a safe working environment for employees.
Through CourseAvenue’s hybrid development approach, CCH has been able to identify specific elements of the off-the-shelf courseware as consumer editable, allowing an organization to tailor that content to their individual needs. In addition to personalization such as course introductions by corporate executives and specific rules and regulations, organizations can also incorporate their own look and feel, complete with logo, color schemes and navigational elements, into the eLearning courseware through CourseAvenue’s Hybrid eLearning program.
“One of the biggest drawbacks for employers to deploying online human resource training is the inflexible and expensive methods of customizing content with their own policies and procedures,” said Joe Gorup, CEO of CourseAvenue. “CourseAvenue now allows the consumer to purchase training content with the ability to add customized content directly into the course.”
“CCH is excited to partner with CourseAvenue, a company at the forefront of eLearning innovation. Combining CCH’s authoritative information with CourseAvenue’s eLearning system creates the perfect training solution for human resource professionals. Training has never been easier,” said Kristen Kaplan, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business product manager.
This series covers nine topics designed for managers and supervisors and four specifically written for employee training. The eLearning courses in the eComply for Human Resources series will be available through CCH and CourseAvenue distributors.
Since 2003, CourseAvenue has been simplifying the process of creating and distributing eLearning content through a unique online and on-demand platform allowing users to quickly build and publish standards-based eLearning courses. All courses are published in SCORM/AICC standards-compliant formats, integrating seamlessly into LMS systems used by organizations of all sizes in a wide range of industries. Global corporations, private publishers and eLearning distributors are discovering how CourseAvenue is making courseware development less complicated. Learn more at www.courseavenue.com.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(NEW YORK, N.Y., February 4, 2008) – Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism by Amos Guiora is an authoritative new resource from Aspen Publishers that provides comprehensive and insightful study of counterterrorism by examining four central aspects of the area — law, policy, intelligence gathering and operational decisions. This engaging resource is the latest in Aspen Publishers’ Elective Series designed to provide high-quality texts for emerging courses in the law school curriculum. Aspen Publishers is part of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business group.
Offering Guiora’s unique expertise and first-hand knowledge, Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism provides a comparison and analysis of five nations’ treatment of the subject — the United States, Spain, Russia, Israel and India. The book offers an inter-disciplinary understanding of counterterrorism, taking a thoughtful approach to a wide variety of issues including interrogations, the proper forum for trying terrorists, judicial review, international law, intelligence gathering and policy responses to terrorism.
“This is an important book at an important time,” said Publisher Carol McGeehan. “As the publisher of Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism, Aspen is proud to have one of the subject’s most established experts walking us through the topic.”
For educators, a detailed Teacher’s Manual is available for the book and discusses various approaches to each chapter as well as simulation exercises to help engage students through the decision-making process that surrounds counterterrorism issues.
Amos N. Guiora will testify before Congress at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on budget and accountability on homeland security and terrorism in March.
Guiora is Professor of Law at The S. J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah and teaches Criminal Law, Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism, Religion and Terrorism and National Security Law. Guiora writes and lectures extensively on the issues of Legal Aspects of Counterterrorism; Global Perspectives of Counterterrorism; Terror Financing; International Law and Morality in Armed Conflict; and more.
Recent publications which Guiora has authored or co-authored include: “Interrogating the Detainees: Extending a Hand or a Boot,” University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform; “Using and Abusing Financial Markets—Money Laundering as the Achilles Heel of Terrorism,” University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic; “Quirin to Hamdan: Creating a Hybrid Paradigm for Detaining Terrorists,” Florida Journal of International Law; “National Objectives in the Hands of Junior Leaders: IDF Experiences in Combating Terror,” in the book Countering Terrorism in the 21st Century; “A Framework for Evaluating Counterterrorism Regulations,” Mercatus Policy Series; “Transnational Comparative Analysis of Balancing Competing Interests in Counterterrorism,” Temple International & Comparative Law Journal; and “Where are Terrorists to be Tried – A Comparative Analysis of Rights Granted to Suspected Terrorists,” Catholic University Law Review.
Guiora has been quoted in the media worldwide, including CNN, The Washington Post, PBS, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, BBC, C-Span, The Christian Science Monitor, Fox TV, the New York Daily News, National Public Radio, Chicago Sun Times, Voice of America, Wall Street Journal and Associated Press.
Prior to joining the S. J. Quinney College of Law, Guiora was Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Institute for Global Security Law and Policy at Case Law School. Prior to that, Guiora served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces Judge Advocate General’s Corps (Lt. Col. Ret.), where he held a number of senior command positions, including Commander of the IDF School of Military Law, Judge Advocate for the Navy and Home Front Command and the Legal Advisor to the Gaza Strip. Guiora graduated from Kenyon College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism is the latest addition to Aspen’s new Elective Series, which provides law schools with authoritative texts for emerging courses. Other titles in the series include Disasters and the Law; International Human Rights and Indigenous People; Race, Rights and Reparations: Law and the Japanese American Internment; Privacy, Information and Technology; and Environmental Crime: Law, Policy, and Prosecution.
The series provides “curriculum-building” coursebooks, with authors offering their vision of the core content for the course and appropriate commentary and pedagogy to facilitate a rewarding classroom experience. All of the authors in the series are nationally known experts and respected teacher-scholars.
Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism is 410 pages and $62. For more information or to request an evaluation copy of Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism or any of the resources in Aspen’s Elective Series, call 1-800-638-8437 or visit http://lawschool.aspenpublishers.com. For a preview of the Preface and Table of Contents, as well as information on Amos Guiora, please click here.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
EDITORS NOTE: Members of the press may request a complimentary review copy of Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism by contacting Leslie Bonacum at leslie.bonacum@wolterskluwer.com, 847-267-7153 or Neil Allen at neil.allen@wolterskluwer.com, 847-267-2179.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 30, 2008) – CCH, a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business and a leading provider of specialized health care compliance and reimbursement research products and workflow tools, has formed a partnership with Prospective Payment Specialists (PPS) in which the two organizations will market one another’s products to provide high-quality chargemaster review services and software solutions to health care organizations.
Specifically, PPS will use the CCH ChargeMaster Pro software tool in its consulting engagements and offer CCH ChargeMaster Pro to its clients. CCH ChargeMaster Pro allows hospital professionals to manage their Charge Description Masters (CDMs) on an ongoing basis. CCH will market PPS Services including comprehensive chargemaster reviews, ongoing maintenance programs and standardization projects and offer them through its health care sales force.
“We’re very pleased that PPS, which has provided over 3,300 chargemaster reviews over the last 16 years to over 1,600 hospitals throughout the country, is adopting CCH ChargeMaster Pro as a key tool for providing efficient services to its clients,” said Paul Gibson, Vice President of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. “We are looking forward to having our health sales team promote the PPS services to our 2,400 customers. The wide array of services offered by PPS will complement and enhance the CCH ChargeMaster Pro software solution.”
“At PPS, we believe that using automated methods of organizing the chargemaster for review maximizes the efficiency of the dedicated teams of experts who work on the engagement. CCH ChargeMaster Pro offers the functionality and unmatched authority that will allow us to offer the highest level of service to our clients,” said Jay Janov, President of PPS.
For more information about CCH ChargeMaster Pro, visit chargemasterpro.cch.com or find your CCH representative at 800-344-3734.
Prospective Payment Specialists was established in 1992 with a specific value proposition for hospitals and health systems — assisting hospitals in adapting to changes in payer policies by providing the most specialized expertise with up-to-the-minute information for compliance and revenue cycle efficiencies at the lowest possible cost.
In the last 16 years, PPS has provided its chargemaster validation and maintenance services nationwide to over 1,600 hospitals and has performed over 3,300 comprehensive chargemaster reviews. PPS is also a preferred chargemaster vendor for some of the largest hospital systems in the country. Chargemaster services include comprehensive validation, ongoing maintenance and standardization projects, audit services, coding and education programs. For more information, visit www.ppscompliance.com.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 24, 2008) – MediRegs, a leading provider of specialized health care compliance and reimbursement research products and workflow tools, is partnering with Strategic Management (SM), a leading health care management consulting firm, to deliver the best-in-class compliance risk assessment and management to health care organizations. MediRegs is a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Under the partnership, SM will employ the MediRegs® ComplyTrackTM Suite of software tools in its risk assessment engagements, advise MediRegs clients on effectively using ComplyTrackTM and help advance MediRegs’ solutions. ComplyTrack allows health care professionals to audit, investigate, manage, assess and mitigate compliance and enterprise risk through an automated enterprise toolset.
“Health care organizations are realizing that with improved data collection and scrutiny boards, communities and the government know much more than ever about an organization’s performance and expect increased attention to the wide spectrum of areas that can open them to risk,” said Steve LeFar, head of the MediRegs group. “Our partnership with SM allows organizations to access both a proven, powerful software tool and the insight of experts who know precisely what government auditors and executive boards are looking for and how to frame a compliance program and enterprise risk assessment.”
“ComplyTrack is a great tool for organizing risk assessments and makes even the most experienced compliance officers and consultants more efficient and effective,” said Richard Kusserow, Founder and CEO of Strategic Management and former Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Our firm is using ComplyTrack and recommending it to our clients as a way to keep up to date on the ever changing regulatory environment and to aid in quicker resolution of potential compliance issues.”
For more information on the ComplyTrack Suite, visit mediregs.com or call 800-808-6800. For more information on Strategic Management, please visit strategicm.com or call 703-683-9600, ext. 417.
Strategic Management (SM) is a premier leader in the health care industry providing regulatory and corporate compliance risk management services with a focus on ethics and corporate integrity. Specializing in health care management consulting since 1992, SM brings an unparalleled depth of knowledge and experience to the compliance risk issues facing health care organizations. SM is a veteran owned small business headquartered in Alexandria, Va., with regional associates in Boston, Mass.; Annapolis, Md.; Greensboro, N.C.; New Orleans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Denver, Colo.; and Seattle, Wash.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 23, 2008) – CCH securities law Principal Analyst and leading author on securities law, Jim Hamilton, JD, LLM, has released a white paper on the recent Supreme Court decision rejecting “scheme liability” in Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. CCH, a leading provider of securities law information, is part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
In Stoneridge, investors used the theory of scheme liability to sue the suppliers to a company for securities fraud after the company misreported its transactions with the suppliers. The Court rejected the theory, holding that secondary non-speaking actors were not liable to private action under Exchange Act Rule 10b-5 since the investors cannot be said to have relied on any of the suppliers’ deceptive acts.
“This case generated intense interest and involved many groups who filed friend-of-the-court briefs, including a number of former SEC chairs and commissioners,” Hamilton said. “Concerns ranged from the role of implied private securities fraud rights of action against secondary actors, such as investment banks and accounting firms, to the harm to U.S. market competitiveness that acceptance of scheme liability would work.”
In the white paper, Hamilton analyzes the Court’s reasoning and places the decision in context.
Hamilton has been tracking, analyzing and explaining securities law and regulation for nearly 30 years as an analyst for CCH. He has written and spoken extensively on federal securities law and has been cited as an authority by a federal court. His analysis of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Manual: A Handbook for the Act and SEC Rules, is considered a definitive explanation of the Act. Other works by Hamilton include the popular guidebook, Responsibilities of Corporate Officers and Directors under Federal Securities Law; the Guide to Internal Controls; and Informal Corporate Disclosure under Federal Securities Law.
In addition to his analysis for CCH, Hamilton’s blog Jim Hamilton’s World of Securities (www.jimhamiltonblog.blogspot.com) covers every level of securities regulation as it relates to public companies and serves as a forum to discuss Sarbanes-Oxley issues.
Members of the press interested in speaking with Jim Hamilton should contact: Leslie Bonacum at 847-267-7153, mediahelp@cch.com; or Neil Allen at 847-267-2179, neil.allen@wolterskluwer.com.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(NEW YORK, N.Y., January 22, 2008) – Aspen Publishers has entered into an exclusive arrangement with Jim Rigos to sell and market his national self-study bar review publications for the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) exams used by many jurisdictions. Aspen is launching revised titles under Aspen branding. The titles will be sold in bookstores, giving them the first chance to reach students in Bar Review with a full turnkey set of materials. Aspen Publishers, part of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business group, is a leading information provider for legal and business professionals and law students(www.aspenpublishers.com).
“Jim Rigos is a standout in Bar Review,” said Steve Errick, managing director, Aspen Publishers Legal Education. “We’re proud to publish and promote his materials for affordable, institutionally-sponsored and direct-to-student home Bar Review study. We’re ready and able to do our part to reinvent Bar Review.”
“Aspen Publishers is the right partner at the right time to take our trusted Bar Review materials to a greater audience,” explained Jim Rigos, author of the Rigos Bar Review Series and President of Rigos Professional Education Programs.
The Rigos Multi-State Bar Review consists of four titles in five volumes: the Objective Bar Exam (MBE, 2 Volumes), Subjective Essay Exam (MEE), Performance and Practice Exam (MPT) and the Professional Ethics Exam (MPRE). The books are accompanied by Magic Memory Outline® software to assist students in synthesizing and summarizing the black-letter law in their own words and use hundreds of acronyms and tips to assist them in memorizing legal elements. Mock practice exams aid in self- assessments and, where appropriate, helpful CD-ROM software question-answer drills including a “Make Your Own Exam” feature is included. The Rigos approach has been validated by 27 years of successful use.
“Jim Rigos stands for everything Aspen Publishers is about – excellent authors with excellent content,” said Carol McGeehan, publisher, Aspen Publishers Legal Education. “We welcome him to the Aspen catalog and look forward to supporting his vision for Bar Review study.”
To learn more about the new Rigos Bar Review Series visit http://lawschool.aspenpublishers.com/bar_review. Bookstores interested in carrying the Rigos Bar Review Series should contact Bookstore Sales Manager Michael Ford at Michael.Ford@wolterskluwer.com.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
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(RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 10, 2008) – As flu season gets under way, employers are gearing up for more sick employees dragging themselves – and their germs – in to work. According to findings of the 2007 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, 87 percent of employers report that sick employees who show up to work are suffering from short-term illnesses such as a cold or flu, which can be easily spread. CCH is a leading provider of human resources and employment law information and services and a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business hr.cch.com. The survey also found that just one in four organizations report they have a plan in place if a large percentage of employees become ill, indicating most organizations are less than well prepared in the event of a pandemic.
When sick employees show up for work, known as “presenteeism,” there is a significant and costly impact on an organization, not only in terms of risking the spread of disease, but also in terms of diminished productivity, quality and attention to safety. Overall, the CCH Survey found that 38 percent of employers report presenteeism being a problem in their organizations.
“We all know what it feels like to have the flu – you’re not operating at 100 percent, you may not even be operating at 50 percent,” said CCH Employment Law Analyst Brett Gorovsky, JD. “When you start thinking about that in terms of what you’re contributing to the workplace versus what risks you’re introducing – in terms of quality, safety and spreading germs – the bottom line for most organizations is that it’s in everyone’s best interest for sick workers to simply stay away.”
According to the 2007 CCH Survey, sending sick employees home is the single most common approach employers take to reduce presenteeism, used by 54 percent of organizations.
“Employers need to discourage both the ‘hero employee’ – and even more so, the ‘hero boss’ – who show up for work sick, ready to muddle their way through the day,” said Gorovsky. “Employees are in tune with the differences between what management says and what it means, and when they see their supervisors coming in sick, they’re convinced that’s what’s expected of them also.”
Other ways employers discourage presenteeism include educating employees on the importance of staying home when sick, used by 40 percent of organizations; 34 percent foster a culture that discourages employees from coming to work sick; and 30 percent of employers say they use telecommuting programs as a way to deter presenteeism.
“Employers need to be cautious about encouraging employees to work, even from home, while they’re ill,” noted Gorovsky. “But there can be instances where allowing telecommuting as an option can keep a sick worker, perhaps someone with a sprained ankle, in the loop without requiring them the additional strain of coming into the office.”
The 2007 CCH Survey found that the most common reason that employees come to work sick, cited by 65 percent of respondents, was because they have too much work / deadlines. Fifty-six percent say there is no one available to cover workload; 55 percent don’t want to use vacation time; 49 percent want to save sick time for later in the year; and 49 percent report fear of discipline as the reason sick workers are on the job.
“If you have too much work to do, there is no one to cover for you, and you fear you’re going to be disciplined, you have some very strong incentives to show up for work no matter how sick you are,” said Gorovsky. “As a result, employers have to examine their absence control and workplace policies to make certain they are not causing unintended consequences.”
Among the policies and programs Gorovsky recommends employers looking to curb presenteeism review are:
- Disciplinary policies – an organization that disciplines an employee for taking an extra day of sick time, for example a sixth day when only five are allowed, needs to be aware of the consequences of this action – namely, sick employees will be at work and may be spreading germs as well as exposing the organization to additional risks. According to the CCH Survey, 89 percent of organizations use disciplinary action to control absences.
- Paid Sick Leave / Paid Leave Banks – providing paid time is an effective way for employers to help manage presenteeism, and 69 percent of employers reported having paid sick leave or paid time off in place as preventive measures to help control presenteeism, according the CCH Survey.
- Carry-over policies – Because not every flu season is as severe as the next and employees often have good and bad years when it comes to their health, employers that allow employees to carry over some or all of their unused sick days may allow employees a better way to manage the time they need to recoup. Only 42 percent of organizations surveyed, however, allow employees to carry over sick time from one year to the next.
- Wellness and flu shot programs – taking a proactive approach to helping employees manage their health, both in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking preventative measures that reduce illness, also reduces the risk of presenteeism. According to the CCH Survey, 60 percent of employers offer wellness programs and 66 percent offer flu shot programs.
“With the costs of health care continuing to rise and presenteeism adding to that cost, employers are recognizing that keeping workers healthy is the most cost-effective approach they can follow,” said Gorovsky. “Wellness and flu shot programs are now among the top three work-life programs organizations offer, topped only by employee assistance programs.”
Presenteeism becomes an even more serious issue when considering the possibility of a pandemic. Twenty-seven percent of companies report they have a plan in place in the event that a large percentage of employees become ill. This is almost a 100-percent increase since 2006, when only 14 percent of companies surveyed had such plans, however, it still represents just over one in four organizations.
“In a global economy, where workers are traveling across the world and easily capable of spreading a potential illness, more organizations are starting to realize the very real vulnerability a pandemic has on their business,” said Gorovsky. “Just as it’s become standard business practice for organizations to ensure their key providers have business continuity and disaster recovery plans, having a pandemic plan is fast becoming an expectation.”
Organizations that build pandemic plans may also help address their every-day presenteeism issues.
“As part of developing a pandemic plan, organizations need to thoroughly examine all their practices and procedures related to employee attendance and illness and take steps to formalize approaches to identify patterns of illness and the employer’s response,” said Gorovsky. “Many organizations that take these steps will then roll them out as part of their overall HR practices, making sure they’re adequately addressing employee illness, whether it’s just a mildly severe flu season or a serious pandemic.”
When it comes to ensuring a healthier workplace and minimizing potential disruptions during flu season, CCH suggest employers:
- Offer a flu-vaccination program: Sixty-six percent of organizations CCH surveyed now sponsor flu-shot programs for employees, up from 64 percent last year and 61 percent in 2005.
- Tap your employee assistance program (EAP) and healthcare support services: Determine if they offer a hotline or web site your employees can use to access FAQs and get guidance and information about healthcare issues.
- Establish and communicate guidelines: Help employees understand under what conditions they should stay home, and when it’s safe to return to work. For example, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that individuals who get the flu may be able to infect others from the day before their symptoms develop, to five days after becoming sick.
- Provide tips on how to avoid spreading germs – a good source is the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/stopgerms.htm#GoodHealthHabits. Use posters or offer the information on your corporate intranet.
- Ensure absence control policies are not counterproductive: Programs such as disciplinary action need to be assessed to ensure they don’t unnecessarily pressure sick employees to report for work.
- Foster a healthy environment: Ensure managers are fostering an environment in which ill employees feel comfortable asking to leave the workplace or, better yet, not report to work in the first place.
- Set a good example: Managers should be urged not to come in sick as employees may then see the message to “stay at home” as lip service.
- Work with employees and your facilities group to keep common areas clean: Make sure these areas are cleaned regularly; this may even include cleaning conference rooms between meetings.
- Recognize helpful employees: Consider bonuses, rewards or other recognition for employees who step in to help do extra work for ill colleagues.
The 2007 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, which surveyed 317 human resource executives in U.S. organizations, found that most unscheduled absences are for reasons other than illness and that the cost of unscheduled absences can cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in direct payroll costs. Findings related to the cost, rate and reasons for unscheduled absences were released in mid-October and are available on the CCH press center at www.cch.com. The survey was conducted for CCH by Harris Interactive.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill. The Wolters Kluwer Law & Business human resources site is hr.cch.com.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, and legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2006 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.