Pacific Pulmonary to create 200 jobs in Lexington
Pacific Pulmonary Services, a home respiratory therapy provider, will locate a customer care center in Lexington.†Company officials said the $1.6 million investment will create over 200 full-time positions.†
Those jobs include center director, customer care supervisors, facilities coordinator, clerical support, training manager, HR generalist, customer care managers, customer care leads, CO2 compliance, peak sleep compliance, pharmacy compliance, sales reps, respiratory therapists, billing, according to company Chief Financial Officer Chad Martin.
The base pay of these jobs ranges from $10 an hour to over $43 an hour, Martin said, with incentive pay opportunities at all levels. The company also provides a generous benefit plan at all levels of employment.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Pacific Pulmonary Services for tax benefits up to $2.5 million under the Kentucky Jobs Development Act, an incentive program designed to attract and expand technology- and service-related industries in the state.
Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pacific Pulmonary is the nation's largest privately-held provider of home oxygen, respiratory medications and sleep apnea equipment and services with more than 100 patient care centers in 15 states.
The company is locating in a 26,500-square-foot facility on Georgetown Road.†Martin said hiring and training are underway and operations are expected to begin by February 11, 2008.†
LexTran announces first Fare Deal partnership with ACS
Employees of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) will be the first to take part in a new program with LexTran allowing employers to partner with the Lexington mass transit system to offer their workforce a discounted monthly fare for commuters.
LexTran and ACS have established shuttles to two of ACS's three Lexington offices, allowing the company's 2,200 Lexington employees to buy monthly bus passes at half of the regular price through Fare Deal.
Fare Deal provides tax incentives either to subsidize or provide bus passes to employees. Beginning this year, companies can provide up to $115 per month per employee in tax-free transit commuter benefits.
A shuttle now serves the company's offices on Yorkshire Boulevard, and ACS provided the funding to install a bus shelter at its Fortune Drive facility.
The service, partially funded by ACS, creates pick-up and drop-off points at St. Joseph Hospital East, Man O'War and Darby Creek, and Yorkshire Boulevard. The company also purchased 200 monthly passes that have been made available to its employees at half price.
ACS is a business process outsourcing and information technology solutions company with more than 3,800 employees in Kentucky in areas including London, Pikeville and Richmond.
LexTran hopes to expand this program to other companies interested in finding ways to assist employees' commutes and relieve the parking situation at their offices. Even with the partnership, ACS is planning two new parking lots at its Yorkshire facility, the former Jerrico headquarters, as the current parking lot does not provide enough spaces for the company's employees. †
Work/Life: NYC versus Kentucky
Posted by Cali Williams Yost on FastCompany.com:
First, let's establish that the horses have been let out of the "flexibility barn." Whether we like it or not, flexibility is fundamentally reshaping how and where we live and work. Yet, while some communities are choosing to embrace and leverage this new flexible reality to fuel growth, others are surprisingly resistant. Case in point would be the contrast between New York City and Kentucky.
According to the New York Times, New York double taxes non-residents with jobs in New York City, but who work from home in other states. This is common since people can live in New Jersey, Connecticut or Pennsylvania and still work in New York.
It turns out that many people have challenged this rule. Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman (both from Connecticut) have introduced the "Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act" which would ban states from taxing non-resident telecommuters. But there is fierce resistance from New York officials. They argue that it's unfair for people who choose to live and work in New York to pay more taxes if they work from home than a colleague who lives in New Jersey. And they fear that jobs might disappear if telecommuting spreads too quickly. Sky-high commercial rents will fall and the merchants who support all of those commuters will suffer.
Okay, fair enough. But at the same time, New York City officials are grappling with congestion that they say "shaves up to $4 billion a year off of region's economy and as a result 52,000 jobs are not created," a problem that flexibility could help solve. So which is it?
Contrast New York's active resistance with that of the state of Kentucky. Not only is Kentucky embracing flexibility and innovation but sees it as a key lever for future growth and development. Business and community leaders from across the state, and within cities such as Lexington, are working with the Institute for Workplace Innovation at the University of Kentucky and its director, Dr. Jennifer Swanberg, as well as the University's President, Lee T. Todd, Jr. to achieve their collective vision.
According to President Todd, "I envision Kentucky as a state of choice, a place where employers want to locate and employees want to workÖBecoming a leader in workplace innovation is imperative for the growth and development of our economy." (To read more about Kentucky's initiative and what Kentucky employers are already doing download the Institute for Workplace Innovation's "Making Workplaces Work-Employer Best Practices in Kentucky, 2007" publication.)
There is no turning back the tide of flexibility. Technology is here to stay. Companies are only going to become more global, and talent is only going to be more discerning in where and when they work. Which communities are going to ultimately survive and thrive? Will it be New York City that steadfastly guards an out-dated rule that punishes telecommuters? Or will it be states like Kentucky, and cities like Lexington and Houston that are actively creating new innovative models of work?
Fiveash files federal suit against Commerce Lexington
Former Commerce Lexington executive vice president Shari Fiveash has filed a second lawsuit in relation to her Nov. 28 termination from the chamber. On Jan. 18, Fiveash filed suit in U.S. District Court alleging Commerce Lexington, its president Bob Quick, Humana and Delta Dental never contacted her as required by law to start her medical and dental coverage under COBRA.
Fiveash filed an earlier suit alleging defamation of character following her late November dismissal. According to that suit, Fiveash's departure was incorrectly classified as a resignation by Quick, costing her opportunities for further employment in the Lexington market.
The new lawsuit states she has received no information from any party regarding her ability to continue coverage. The suit asks for compensatory damages for each day from the date of failure to notify her of her rights to COBRA, reasonable attorneys' fees, COBRA and anything deemed reasonable by the courts.
Neither Fiveash's attorney Mark Wohlander nor Commerce Lexington's Quick would comment, as is often the case with pending litigation.
UK offers Certificate of Business Administration
The University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics is presenting the professional development program, "Certificate in Business Administration" this spring.
Specifically geared to people who work full time or who are in graduate or professional school in another field, the Certificate in Business Administration (CBA) is a 10-session evening course that will meet for three hours per session beginning on February 12 and continuing through April 24. The first two classes (Feb. 12 and 14) are scheduled in the same week. The remaining classes are scheduled one night a week on Thursday evenings.
A total of 27.5 course hours of continuing education credit will be offered.
Topics covered during the 10 sessions include organizational design and environment, accounting measurement and reporting, essentials of marketing, and many others.
For registration information on the Certificate in Business Administration program, call (859) 257-8746 or log on to www.gattonibmc.org/CBA.html.
Herald-Leader, union settle contract dispute
Members of the Lexington Newspaper Guild, CWA Local 33229 ratified a tentative five-year collective bargaining agreement with the Lexington Herald-Leader. Major points of negotiation had centered around company proposals concerning paid time off and health insurance for part-time workers. Under the new agreement, part-time health insurance benefits will be protected until Jan. 1, 2010. After that date, the Herald-Leader may, with 90 days notice, eliminate part-time health insurance. The Herald-Leader's current paid time off (PTO) plan will be preserved until Jan. 1, 2010. After that time the newspaper or union may renegotiate the PTO benefits. The company would have to reach agreement with the Guild or bargain to legal impasse to implement changes. The contract is retroactive to January 1, 2007, and will expire December 31, 2011.