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Public Sector Benefit Trends By Tracie Chamberlin roviding a good employee benefits package has long been touted as an attractive feature of public employment. While a comprehensive benefits package is a selling point for public sector jobs, it no longer has the impact that it once did. Today's work- force is making it clear that basic bene- fits are still needed, but flexible benefits are what is really desired. As the employment market becomes tighter, cities are looking for new ways to attract and retain qualified employ- ees. Current public sector employees are interested in those programs and policies that allow employees to deter- mine for themselves what is best for ~em. The following are some of the programs enabling greater flexibility in today's public sector workplace: Paid time off In the past, a typical paid time off package consisted of va- cation time, sick leave, and perhaps some paid leave to be taken in specific situations (funeral leave, military leave, maternity leave, etc.). Actions taken in recent years by both federal and state government including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Minnesota Parental Leave Act, have caused many cities to revise and rethink their leave plans. In addition, employers are being challenged by employees wanting increased flexibility in the use of their paid time off. As a result, a common trend is for the employer to combine different kinds of paid time off and provide one kind of leave called "flex leave" to be used for any reason that an employee would need to be out of the office. Telecommuting. Telecommuting has become an accepted way of work- ing for many public and private sector ,rganizations. The most conm~on form of telecommuting consists of an office employee working a couple of days each week at home and reporting to the office the remainder of the week. Most telecommuters use the telephone to keep in touch with the office and other external contacts. The popular theory in support of telecommuting is that it eliminates wasteful commuting time and permits a better, more flexible balance of work and personal time. Telecommuting is also a tool used to retain the expertise of employees who are in need of a more flexible schedule. The consensus among those who have participated in a telecom- muting program is that it makes life a little easier for workers and a little harder for supervisors. Flexible work schedules. Flexible work schedule programs vary greatly among those cities that have chosen to implement them. Such schedules range from longer work days, which result in shorter work weeks, to flexible arrival and departure times, as well as many other options developed to meet the specific needs of employee and employer. A flexible work schedule is sometimes used to meet needs that may arise in conjunction with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fanfily and Medical Leave Act, etc. Similar to telecommuting, flexible work schedules provide employees with a greater opportunity to balance work and personal time. Cafeteria Idans. Cafeteria plans are popular because they allow employees to design individualized benefit pro- grams that suit their own needs. The), allow employees to choose between cash and a variety of employer-pro- vided benefits without having to include the value of their chosen ben- efits as taxable income. For example, an employee with a working spouse may opt out of the health insurance plan if his or her spouse has a better health plan. The extra cash, which then becomes available, could be used to establish a reimbursement account for uninsured health expenses or for child care costs, etc. Cafeteria plans can also be used to close the gap between the employer contribution for single coverage versus family cover- age. Each employee receives the same dollar amount to use in designing his or her benefits program. While cafete- ria plans are increasing in popularity, employers need to be aware that the mere fact that a benefit is offered under a cafeteria plan does not make the ben- efit exempt from taxation. To quali~ for tax exempt status, a benefit program must comply with the rules of IRS Code Section 125. The trends discussed in this article provide a mere glimpse of the benefit programs being implemented in an effort to meet employees' increased desire for flexibility in the workplace. The issue of achieving an acceptable balance between work and personal time has become big enough to cause some employees to decide not to work at all if they can't achieve a balance with their employer. Of course, not all cities can feasibly offer these kinds of benefit programs. However, being aware that increased flexibility in the workplace is the way of the future will better enable you to discuss the issue with employees when it does come up in your city. ~' Tracie Chamberlin is human resources representative u,ith thc League qf Minnesota Cities. SEPTEMBER 1999 MINNESOTA CITIES 45