On March 2^nd, the U.S. Senate passed and the President immediately signed a bill, H.R. 4691, to extend the COBRA subsidy through March 31, 2010. The subsidy had expired on February 28^th.

Employees involuntarily terminated through March 31, 2010 are eligible for the 65 percent premium subsidy for 15 months of their COBRA period.

Congress is also studying a bill to extend the subsidy through the end of the year. We’ll have to stay tuned for that possibility.

The Albany Times-Union’s Rick Karlin reports that the number of state workers taking Gov. Paterson’s $20,000 buyout offer to trim the state payroll to balance the budget is falling far short of what is needed.

He writes: “The plan was originally set to end this month, but so far only 1,089 people have signed up — well short of the 4,500 workers that state officials originally estimated would take the buyouts.

As a result, Paterson’s Budget Division is once again urging state agency heads to look high and low for people who may be able to retire or leave with the severance package.

Initially, state workers had to put in for the buyout by the end of August, and only after they received permission from their bosses. They now have until Dec. 22, and must be off the payroll by Jan. 20.

“It has come to our attention that thousands of employees expressed an interest in participating in the program but certain agencies chose not to accept these employees into the program,” Budget Director Robert Megna wrote in a letter that went out to agency commissioners Wednesday. “Accordingly, you should recanvass your employees for interest in the program.”

Read the story.

The New York Post editorializes against a proposed New York City law that would require all employers to provide paid sick leave to employers.

The Business Council of New York State provided testimony to the City Council in opposition to the proposed law.

The Post writes:  “You’d think the far-left Working Families Party would be more sympa thetic to the plight of businesses in the city — after all, it owns one.

The union-backed political outfit rose to power in recent elections thanks to the success of its for-profit campaign arm — a lurking-in-the-shadows, one-of-a-kind entity all but certainly created to skirt campaign-finance laws.

Now, fresh from some significant wins, the party is testing its clout by pushing a bill in the City Council meant to saddle firms of all sizes with job-killing new mandates.

That’s gratitude for you.

Or maybe the party only objects to honest businesses.

The bill, on which the council heard testimony yesterday, would require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees — at least five days a year from all businesses, and nine if it employs 10 or more people.

That may be nice for workers in the very short term — but at a time when firms are still struggling just to survive, the last thing they need is steeper operating costs.

And as for expansion, well, just forget about it.

So let’s call this what it is: a jobs tax, pure and simple.”

Read the editorial.

Over thirty HR Professionals from Business Council member companies joined me on August 26th in Cheektowaga for a 2 hour update on HR related issues coming out of the 2009 legislative session in Albany. Despite the confusion in the state Senate, we saw two major changes in the insurance law concerning insurance continuation after leaving employment and a new higher aging out of coverage for dependent children. We also have a new written wage and hour notification requirement involving pay and overtime rates. I also updated the group on federal card check and state pay equity proposals and a new state paid family leave proposal.

For our Northern New York Business Council members, I’m conducting this briefing in Gouverneur on Thursday, September 17th hosted by Kinney Drugs at their Corporate Offices. Please join me.

Here are the details.