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<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Top
Six FLSA Mistakes on the HR Hot-Line</font></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"> </span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Your
association<span style="font-size:16.0pt"> </span>has provided members with
the HR HotLine for many years. Originally all our calls were by telephone,
none were by email or cell phone. Now over 90 percent of the calls come
in via email. Of the remaining calls that come in by phone, about 20%
are by cell phone.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
reviewing the topics of the calls a number of observations stand out.
For example, the number one topic members call about is employee handbook policies.
The number two topic is questions regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">There
are many issues covered by the FLSA including minimum wage, overtime, equal
pay, recordkeeping and child labor. The HR Hot-Line has received calls
on all of these but the following list represents the top five items with which
members having problems.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Believing Salaried Employees Are Automatically Exempt From Overtime.
</b> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Even
though you may be paying an employee a salary, even a large salary, does not
make him or her exempt from the overtime regulations of the FLSA. There
are four distinct categories of employees who are considered exempt. The
categories are:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Executive</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Administrative</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Professional</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Outside sales </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>And some computer professionals</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Each
individual employee must qualify fully under one of those categories to be considered
exempt. And as for pay, even some jobs paying $100,000 annually can still
be non-exempt. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2.
Misclassifying Assistant Managers.</b> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Many
employers pay an assistant manager or assistant foreman a salary because they
see it as a stepping stone to the managers or foreman�s job. In many cases
the assistant wants to be on salary instead of getting overtime. Again
the position must qualify fully under one the exemptions </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>3.
Automatic Deductions for Meal Breaks</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Some
companies automatically deduct 30 or 60-minute meal breaks each day without
checking to see if the employee actually took that break. Although technically
this isn�t illegal, it is often a subject of litigation when an employee claims
that the breaks weren�t taken. You must have accurate, auditable time
records. Ideally the employee would clock in and out but of course that
is not always possible. You should make the lunch period mandatory by
written policy and have the supervisor enforce and assure that the breaks are
taken. In some cases if the company finds that an employee has worked
through the lunch period, the employee can be sent home 30 minutes early sometime
later in the week to avoid the overtime.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>4.
Refusing to Pay Overtime That Is Not Approved In Advance. </b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
FLSA does not distinguish between approved or non-approved overtime. If
the employee works overtime, you are required to pay time and one-half the regular
rate for that overtime. However, you may still have a policy that no employee
may work overtime without approval and if an employee does so anyway you may
discipline that employee up to and including termination of employment.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>5.
Allowing Employees to �Waive� Their Right to Overtime</b>. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Sometimes
an employee will request to work overtime for straight time because he/she is
aware of a no overtime policy but wants to earn extra income. Or it may
be that the employee wants to offer such an arrangement to assist the company
or to create a cooperative relationship. In some cases the owner owns
two separate enterprises and will have the employee agree to work extra hours
in the separately incorporated company to avoid the overtime. However,
the employee does not have the right to give away or sign away his or her FLSA
rights. All overtime worked by non-exempt employees must be paid at the
overtime rate.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>6.
Allowing Employees to Use �Comp Time�.</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Often
a company will grant an employee�s request to work extra hours now in order
to take off extra days on next summers� vacation time. More so, the problem
arises when office staff, even though non-exempt, are allowed to work extra
hours closing up at night or putting in extra hours on weekends or at tax-time
and having the extra hours �banked� for use at a later date. There is
no provision for Comp Time (compensatory time) in the FLSA except for government
employees. Private industry employees are not allowed to use Comp time.
Further, overtime time worked in your work week must be compensated for in that
work�s week pay. No hours may be �set-aside� or �held off� for pay on
a later payday. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">These
six items are also near the top of the list of FLSA claims and charges.
Penalties can be high and in some cases the employee may collect double back
wages. For more information on identifying FLSA exempt positions see the
Personnel Notebook �Fair Pay Rules� on the association�s website.</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: March 2008</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
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<blockquote>
<div align="center">
<div align="left">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <b><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why
Does My Health Care Cost Keep Increasing </font></span></b></h2>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt">While
Eggs Are Still Only a Dollar a Dozen?</span></b></font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Someone
actually figured this one out 25 years ago, but maybe we weren�t
listening. The gold standard in health care studies is the
Rand Health Insurance Experiment. Conducted in 1983 at a cost
of $50 million (approximately $300 million in today�s money) the
study sought to compare health care costs where there were fundamental
differences in the cost to the individual. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
basic differences between the plans studied were that:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Some plans required the patient to pay a share of
the actual cost of medical services received</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Others only required the patient to pay a higher share
of the premiums paid </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>And still other plans required the individuals to
pay no part of the either the medical costs or the premiums. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
results were predictable.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Where
patients were required to pay a share of the medical costs</b>,
they became consumers/ shoppers and began to examine more closely
the medical procedures and the costs to themselves. They started
to analyze their bills and to complain where they saw mistakes or
over-charges. They began to seek more information and
other doctors. Where they did not understand the medical documents
or the billing information they demanded clear plain-English translations.
The quality of their medical care was not only as good as but in
many cases considered superior to all those in the study.
This group actually saw a lowering of medical care costs and of
the premiums. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>The
second group was not directly affected by higher health care costs</b>,
but only by the premiums. They had little if any confrontation
with their doctors on any of these issues. But when the premiums
were raised (for those whose health insurance coverage was provided
through their jobs) they did complain to their employers about the
increased costs of premiums. This group had much higher health
care costs than did those above. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>The
third group was not required to pay any part of the medical costs</b>
and the employer paid the entire premium. This group was not
aware of the increasing medical costs and had no idea of what the
employer was paying in premiums. This group experienced the
highest medical care cost as well as continuous increases.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">What
does this have to do with dollar-a-dozen eggs? Consumer/shoppers
will change grocery stores based on what they have to pay for bread,
milk and eggs. Back in the 1980s when this study was carried
out, there were nation-wide boycotts against grocery chains that
raised their prices too high on these items (the boycotts also included
toilet paper). Grocery stores today, having often seen the
result of their price sensitive customers, often sell these items
at below costs just to attract shoppers. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
of the major conclusions drawn by the researchers was that both
patients and doctors are responsive to costs when it�s their costs.
If you�re getting it for free, who cares what it costs?</font></p>
<p>
</div>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="78">
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid white 1.0pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid white 1.0pt;border-right:none;padding:
10.0pt 0in 10.0pt 0in">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�<b>We
have found the enemy </b></font></i></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>and
he is us.�</i></b></font></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>Pogo</i></b></font></h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h1 align="center" style="text-align:center"> </h1>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size:18.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Paid
Sick Leave Has a Price</font></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">While
we�re on the subject of free stuff let�s take a look at the next big
one coming around the corner; paid sick leave. Two cities have
now passed a mandated paid sick leave, San Francisco and Washington
D.C. San Francisco�s is already in full effect while D.C.'s
is awaiting the final go-ahead from the city council. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>San
Francisco:</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Applies to every business in the city</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Applies to both full time and part time employees</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Employee gets one (1) hour of paid sick leave for every
30 hours worked</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>For companies with less than ten (10) employees, each
employee may accumulate up to 40 hours of paid time </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>For companies with ten (10) or more employees, each
employee may accumulate up to 72 hours of paid time</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Sick
leave also includes care for a child, parent, sibling, grandparent,
grandchild, spouse or domestic partner. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Washington
D.C.:</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Applies to every business in the city</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Applies to both full time and part time employees</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Includes �Safe� pay; for victims of stalking or domestic
violence</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Companies with ten (10) or fewer employees must provide
three (3) paid sick days per year.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Companies with 11 to 30 employees:
Five (5) Days</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Companies with 31 to 50 employees:
Six (6) days</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Companies with 51 employees or more:
Seven (7) days</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>The
price is paid by everyone; </b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
National Federation of Independent Businesses, (NFIB) along with other
business leaders are opposing such laws. They point out some
of the problems to be faced.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Cities:</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Businesses planning to expand are notifying city officials
that the expansion will have to open their businesses elsewhere.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Companies are avoiding hiring those extra few employees
that will take them to the next higher level of compliance</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Businesses planning expansion are moving that expansion
outside the city. Almost all federal government growth is now
in Virginia and some in Maryland. </font>
</div>
<p> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Companies:</b></font></p>
<div align="center">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Absenteeism is already a significant problem in most
industries, particularly in the service industries. This law,
as in the FMLA, does not allow the employer to count those absences
as absences. Combined paid leaves are getting close to an average
of one (1) month in every year. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Higher costs with the current business tax increases
sweeping the country will certainly impede many businesses from expanding,
hiring or even staying in business.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>The cost of unpaid absence is enormous. The cost
of paid absence is much higher.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Customers:</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>The higher costs are passed on to the prices customers
pay. Although in polls customers say they�re willing to pay more,
in realty customers make that decision on price quite often.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Service is impacted when employees are unexpectedly
absent. Lack of adequate service drives customers away.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Employees:</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">American
business people are innovative and industrious. They seldom
sit back and let difficulties roll over them. Business people
will adjust to survive and find a way to prosper. If they are
faced with costs that they cannot successfully pass on, they will
find ways to cut those costs. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Hire fewer employees</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Cut other benefits</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Reduce pay raises in quantity and frequency</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Expand technology to replace workers</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Subcontract parts of the work to smaller outside companies</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Outsource to other companies in other communities, states
and countries. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Whenever
employee costs increase, some employees will get those benefits, but
many jobs are lost forever. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Your
State?</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">There�s
always a few pilot programs that are ventured out to test the waters
for acceptance. In this case San Francisco and Washington D.C.
are out there alone. If it works there, others will follow.
In fact 13 states now have mandatory paid sick leave proposals on
the table:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Connecticut</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Florida</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Maine</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Maryland</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Massachusetts</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Minnesota</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Missouri</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Montana</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>North Carolina</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Ohio</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Pennsylvania</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Vermont</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Virginia</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">As
Ty Pine the legislative director of NFIB told USA Today, �Paid sick
leave isn�t free. Show me the law that guarantees the business
owner extra revenue to cover the costs�. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p>
</div>
<span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table19" height="87" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td height="109" valign="top">
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid white 1.0pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid white 1.0pt;border-right:none;padding:
10.0pt 0in 10.0pt 0in">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�<b>Yes
there is a free lunch. There�s always a free lunch if
you can leave the bill on the table for someone else to pay�</b></font></i></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>Anon</i></b></font></h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
</div>
</span>
<div align="center">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size:18.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Starting
At the Bottom.</font></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Two
inspiring examples that persistence, enthusiasm and planning can lead
to success by starting at the bottom.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Chuck Yeager, on his first flight as a passenger, threw
up all over the back seat. He vowed never to go back up again.
Yet later he became the fastest man in the world and the first to
break the sound barrier. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .25in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>A woman once said to the great violinist Fritz Kreisler
after a recital, �I�d give my life to play as beautifully as you�.
�Madam�, Kreisler replied, �I have�. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table20" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid white 1.0pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid white 1.0pt;border-right:none;padding:
10.0pt 0in 10.0pt 0in">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<b><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Your
system is perfectly designed to produce the result you are
getting�</font></i></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>Fredrick
Taylor </i></b></font></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; border: medium none; padding: 0in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>(Thanks
to Todd�s Enviroscapes)</i></font></h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<blockquote>
<hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Federal Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.85/hr. </font></h3>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <u><font size="-1"><b>February</b></font></u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
2006</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$17.12</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>February</b></font></u></font></span><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
2007</u></span></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$17.80</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>February</b></font></u><b><u>
2006</u></b><br>
</font></span> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$578.63</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>February</b></font></u><b><u>
2007</u></b></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$599.86</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$10,210</font>
</td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$20,650</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
</font>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<b></b>
<tr> <b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
</font></b>
<center>
<b></b>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>January
1, 2008, IRS mileage allowance:</u></font></b></div>
<div align="left"> </div>
<div align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Business Purposes: 50.5 cents per mile<br>
Medical or Moving Purposes: 19 cents per mile<br>
Charitable Purposes: 14 cents per mile</font></b></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="34%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
<td width="34%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>May
12. 2008</b></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.41</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">.42</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.17</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2
oz. .27</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.26</font></td>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">.27</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.5 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%" valign="top">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">300
Million</font>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>One
birth every 8 seconds<br>
One death every 13 seconds<br>
One new immigrant every 30 seconds<br>
Net gain = 1 person every second</i></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>February</b></font></u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
2006</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>February</b></font></u></font></span><u><span style="font-weight:700"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
</font></span> </u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b> 2007</b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">152,725,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">153,374,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">145,888,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
146,993,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">6,837,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">7</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">,331,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><span style="text-decoration: none"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Persons Who Currently Want A Job</font></span></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4,740,000</font></span></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4,772,000</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.7</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.8</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.0%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> <span style="text-decoration: none"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2007</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%"> <font size="-1">2.5%</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="21"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
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