The issue of civil rights has always been hotly contested in this country. Heated debates resulted in the passageof the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Originally intended to secure the rights of African Americans, it waslater amended to safeguard women's rights.

Title VII of this law prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, national origin, gender, or religion. In the late 1970s courts began ruling that it applied to sexual harassment as well. Though Title VII only applies to employers with fifteen or more employees, it is how the definition of employee bears on the case that is the center of the most significant controvery regarding discrimination suits.

Consider the case of Jenifer Arbaugh vs. Y&H Corp. The suit involves an employee of the Moonlight Café in New Orleans who alleged she was victimized by a sexually hostile work environment while employed as a bartender and waitress. Y&H Corp., a corporation with two individual owners, owned the Moonlight Café. The case was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and in 2002, a jury awarded Arbaugh $40,000 in damages.

Y&H Corp filed a motion, arguing the action should be dismissed because the federal court had no jurisdiction as the company had less than 15 employees, which meant Title VII didn't apply. The methodology they used in determining the number of employees involved excluding the two owners, their wives, who also worked for the business, and their delivery truck drivers.

In 2003, the district court agreed with Y&H Corp and dismissed the case on the grounds of subject matter jurisdiction. That is they agreed that given the number of employees was less than 15, the court had no authority to decide on the case. A year later, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court's 2003 decision.

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However, Arbaugh made an appeal to the Supreme Court and it began hearing arguments on January 11, 2006. The basis of the appeal is that Section 701(b) of Title VII does, in fact, state that the prohibition against employment discrimination applies to employers with fifteen or more employees. The question is whether this provision also limits the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts as was previously decided, or does it only raise an issue about the merits of a Title VII claim? Arbaugh's attorney argued that the number of employees went to the merits of the case, rather than to the question of whether or not the court had the right to rule.

What stands at the heart of this case is whether the definition of an employee is decided as one of the facts of the case or as determination of the court's authority. This decision has profound implications for employers. If the definition of an employee is a deciding factor in the court's right to rule, an employee can postpone raising the question of who are the legitimate employees of the company being sued until after he/she knows the outcome of a trial on the case's merits. This means a suit of this type can drag on costing the company being sued millions of dollars in legal fees. If the definition of an employee is determined to be part of the merits of the case, than a jury would decide on that factor along with the rest of the case's merits, which would expedite litigation.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide on this issue as part of their ruling in the Arbaugh case.

If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, you know that preparedness is key to weathering the storm safely. Making sure that your property is as safe as possible includes making sure that you take precautions both inside and outside your home.

If your home is in danger of being hit by a hurricane, protecting windows and sliding glass doors is amongst the most important measures to take to shield your house from extensive damage if the storm hits directly in your area. Once a window is broken, wind and rain will not only damage the interior of the home, but could also apply upward pressure on the roof that might be enough to tear it off. If this happens, the walls collapseand the house is lost.

Taping windows is an alternative to boarding them, but taping will only ensure that glass does not scatter if broken. Removing tape your windows after the storm has safely passed can also be difficult. While tape does not offer enough protection, heavy plywood or metal shutters certainly can.

The key is to prepare covers for your windows prior to the storm. Experts recommend using ¾ inch plywood cut to fit and securing with screws 18 inches apart around the window. When the fitting is done ahead of time, the window covers can be safely stored with other items needed, such as with a ladder and tools close at hand. It is also important to find someone who will install the covers if you are unable to put them up yourself.

Here are some other things you should do before a tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning is posted:

• Remove any weak or dead trees or limbs on your property.
  
• Bring items indoors that are at risk of being blown away.
  
• Know whether or not your home is in a zone that could be flooded by storm surge.
  
• Designate a "safe room" inside the house where you can stay during a storm.
  
• Designate a location to meet in case of an evacuation and plan a way for family members to contact each other.
  
• If case of evacuation, pack and have ready important papers such as your homeowner's insurance policy and prescription drugs.
  
• Also, pack an evacuation survival kit with nonperishable food, water, and a first aid kit.
  
• Have a battery-powered radio, and/or battery-powered television set for keeping up with the latest advisories and warnings.

When a hurricane watch is posted you should have completed all of the above and stay tuned to forecasts and possible warnings. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding then you should prepare to evacuate. If you live in a mobile home you should evacuate to a shelter or elsewhere. The main thing to remember is that all preventative measures should be in place well ahead of time and not when a storm is bearing down on your area.

Providing executives with long-term care (LTC) coverage is becoming increasingly more prevalent. Small and medium-sized companies realize that offering LTC benefits can help them attract and retain quality senior managerial staff. In the past, these employees would have been lost in a bidding war with a larger company who could offer the employee a bigger paycheck. As medical costs continue to skyrocket and individuals face the likelihood of living well into their eighties and nineties, however, employees are foregoing larger salaries in favor of benefits, such as LTC coverage.

There are several significant aspects to an executive LTC plan that make it an attractive lure:

• Addresses an important retirement planning need at a time when most executive employees are beginning to contemplate retirement.
  
• Removes stress about providing for the future off the employee.
  
• Offers both uncomplicated underwriting and lower premiums than the employee can obtain on their own.

There are other features employers should keep in mind when considering whether to offer executives a LTC plan. These policies are generally guaranteed renewable. In other words if premiums are paid on a timely basis, the insuring company cannot cancel the policy. Insurers can, however, raise premiums.

LTC policies for your executives can be contractually paid up within 10 years or even with a single premium depending on the policy. In addition to the substantial tax deduction for the shorter duration premium period, the insurer cannot increase premiums after the policy is paid up.

Policies are underwritten either as indemnity or reimbursement plans. An indemnity policy pays a specific amount of daily benefit without concern for actual expenses. The reimbursement policy pays either the actual expenses for covered reimbursements or a specified percentage.

The employer can purchase optional riders for executive policies. One of the most common provides a cost-ofliving allowance to keep up with inflation in health care costs. These riders set a percentage of increase each year, and continue to increase until they reach the designated multiple of the base policy.

Employers should consider providing a plan that allows benefits for care provided in the employee's home instead of in a nursing facility. It might be included as part of the base policy or as a separate rider. Some policies will even pay benefits to a family member or friend who provides care.

LTC plans must be flexible enough to accommodate changing medical technology, but offer paid up coverage by the time the employee retires. Policies should permit plan participants to keep benefit limits current, while offering a complete menu of both in-home and assisted-living benefits. LTC is more than just nursing home coverage.