Heavy Weight Sits on America's Future

Were Uncle Sam able to remedy one of America’s most weighty issues with the stroke of his pen, he would reach into the pockets of his red, white and blue waistcoat, pull out a prescription pad and scribble a common sense message to today’s younger generation – eat sensibly, exercise regularly and put down the remote!

Otherwise, lifelong health issues like heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol will have lasting impact on your quality of life at home and in the workplace – and you might not even live as long as your parents.

That was the underlying message delivered to students recently at the Healthy Leap into Summer health fair hosted by the Elizabeth Board of Education, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce at Elizabeth High School.

The fair is the largest business/school/community initiative in the country, according to Jim Coyle, president of the Gateway Chamber. More than 50 vendors were on hand to distribute helpful information about healthy lifestyles to more than 3,000 students.

Participants included: Trinitas; Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield; AmeriHealth New Jersey; American Cancer Society; Occupational Health & Safety Administration; U.S. Army; American Heart Association; Institute of Heath and Community Education; Holy Redeemer Home Care; Northeast Spine & Wellness Center in Clark; Alliance for a Healthier Generation; Union County College and Rutgers University; Union County Sheriff’s Office; and Therapeutic Massage & Training Center in Westfield.

This is the third year the board of education, chamber and their partners have been on the offensive against childhood obesity, a growing problem among America’s adolescents blamed on everything from too much soda and fast food to an obsession with television and video games.

Yet there are other more disturbing socioeconomic issues at the root of the problem,

according to experts, such as parents who cannot afford nutritious, fresh food or working parents who do not have the time to shop for and prepare nutritious food or supervise their children’s activities.

Young Americans are beyond flirting with danger. Statistics provided by a variety of medical sources offer a disturbing assessment:

   • One in three children in the United States – roughly 25 million – are either obese or overweight.

   • Four out of five overweight adolescents will become overweight adults.

   • The percentage of children and adolescents defined as overweight has more than

doubled since the early 1970s.

   • By current estimates, 86 percent of Americans will be overweight and 51 percent obese by 2030.

The cost to the business community is staggering. According to ShapingAmericasYouth.org:

   • The annual healthcare cost of obesity in the U.S. has doubled in less than a decade and is estimated to now be as high as $147 billion dollars a year.

   • Obesity costs U.S. businesses more than $13 billion annually in health insurance claims, paid sick leave, disability and life insurance.

   • Obesity costs a 1,000-employee company approximately $285,000 per year.

The issue of obesity in young people has become so daunting that it is impacting even the least expected areas. The U.S. Army rejects seven out of 10 recruits, in part because of obesity, according to Capt. Rafal Stachowski, commander of the Army Recruiting Company stationed at Picatinny Arsenal. At the fair army representatives challenged hundreds of students to do pushups and pull-ups, with many walking around the gym with GO Army t-shirts draped around their necks.

“We turn away a lot of candidates because they are overweight,” Stachowski said.

Obesity spawns a spectrum of issues and can have a negative effect on every organ in the body. That has a direct impact on the business community and economy, according to Coyle, who said that the habits that feed childhood obesity carry over into adulthood and into the workplace.

Poor eating habits and a diet heavy in fatty foods and sugar leads to sickness, absenteeism, lower production and higher medical costs for company’s that provide medical insurance to their workers, according to Coyle. It also leads to increased overtime for other workers and added pressure to get the job done.

“People who are concerned about what they eat tend to be more healthy and more productive; all these things work together,” Coyle said. Those who are better educated about healthy choices also become better employees, he added.

Gathering the federal government, the health care industry and educators under one roof helps send a powerful message to the students, according to Coyle.

Dr. Jaime Torres, regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region II, told the students that when he left Puerto Rico to attend Fordham University in 1976, he weighed 250 pounds, grossly overweight. His arrival on campus was a turning point. “I made a commitment to be fit; it was time to make a change in my life,” Torres explained.

There is a renewed emphasis on intervention and education on the federal level, with

First Lady Michelle Obama championing the cause. She characterized obesity as an epidemic and one of the greatest threats to America’s health and economy at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in January, where she announced formation of the Childhood Obesity Task Force.

The group in May issued a 124-page report and blueprint to combat obesity, designed to involve the federal government with state and local officials as well as schools, non-profit organizations and others to ensure more nutritious foods are served in schools, encourage physical activity and make families understand the importance of sitting down and eating at home rather than grabbing fast food at a drive-through restaurant.

The Elizabeth school district has embarked on an aggressive intervention program, striving to educate students and staff on the merits of a healthier lifestyle, according to Superintendent Dr. Pablo Munoz.

“We needy healthy kids, we need them to be gifted in body and mind,” Munoz said.

“They tend to work together. High absenteeism affects our ability to teach our children. “Having this public/private partnership is crucial. It is vital to emphasize to our students that this is serious business.”

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint endeavor of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Foundation, works nationally to combat childhood obesity in schools, according to Karen Buonocore, New Jersey relationship manager.

The organization started working with educators in the Elizabeth school district last year, helping schools to design programs that attack the core problems of obesity. The effort is paying off. Seven schools in the district have been recognized by the Alliance with its Bronze Award for achieving their goals designed to reverse obesity.

“There’s so much momentum, the folks in Elizabeth are so passionate about wellness,” she said.

Nancy DiLiegro, vice president of Clinical Services at Trinitas, said it is vital that parents and children work together to break bad habits and alter their routines.

“We’re busy, busy, busy, running around,” she said. “A lot of families are in situations where there are two working parents, there’s not enough time to cook and prepare food, parents aren’t overseeing their children’s activities, there’s a lack of oversight and as a result kids are getting lazy and overweight.

“This generation, these grammar and middle school kids are probably going to die younger than their parents because of the prevalence of childhood obesity. Kids are heavier than ever and it’s getting worse.”

Editor’s Note: Obesity generally is defined as being 20 pounds over one’s ideal weight or a Body Mass Index of 30 or more, as defined by the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control identifies a 5’9” male of more than 169 pounds as overweight and more than 203 pounds as obese.

Broadband’s Broad Appeal

Connects New Jersey

By Gina Diorio

Telephone line? Check. Dial tone? Check. Local access number? Check. Connection? Well…

As recently as a few years ago, this was the typical process of connecting to the Internet. Users accepted as a necessary evil the seconds spent staring at the computer screen hoping the “call” went through. Fast-forward. Today most consumers would not entertain the idea of waiting more than an instant for Internet access. With broadband technology, they do not have to.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) describes broadband as “high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access.” More specifically, broadband connections are “wired ‘lines’ or wireless ‘channels’ that enable the end user to receive information from and/or send information to the Internet at information transfer rates exceeding 200 kbps [kilobits per second] in at least one direction.” Under the broadband umbrella are several transmission technologies, including cable modem, fiber, wireless, satellite and broadband over power lines.

Whatever, Dude. As long as YouTube or CNN.com are there at a click.

Not so fast. Despite the benefits of speed and reliability, broadband use is not universal. Yet each day broadband continues to further its inroads into homes and communities.

In February the FCC issued a report on the status of high-speed services for Internet access as of December 31, 2008. At that time, 102 million business and residential connections nationwide transmitted at over 200 kbps in at least one direction. By numbers alone, California led the way, with 12.6 million individual broadband connections. With a total of 3.5 million households and businesses connected in New Jersey, the state ranked eighth behind Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

When considering the ratio of broadband connections to households only, however, New Jersey was among the leaders. With 3.2 million households, New Jersey had 2,408,000 broadband household connections, for a subscriber ratio of 0.75. Only Massachusetts and New Hampshire had greater ratios, at 0.76 each. By comparison, the ratio of broadband connections to households in neighboring New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware stood at 0.72, 0.64, and 0.70, respectively.

While broadband’s base qualification is a transmission speed of 200 kbps, New Jersey’s providers are taking the technology to the next level. Comcast serves approximately 1.4 million customers throughout New Jersey, including all of South and Central New Jersey and as far north as Jersey City and parts of Bergen County.

“One hundred percent of the footprint we serve has access to broadband speed,” said Jeff Alexander, vice president of public relations for Comcast Eastern Division.

Additionally, all of Comcast’s New Jersey customers, both residential and business, have access to the company’s wideband service, which Alexander describes as, “even more robust…than broadband…[with] download speeds up to 50 mbps [megabits per second].”

To put this speed in perspective, 50 mbps translates into the ability to download a 6-GB high-definition movie in approximately 16 minutes, a 2-GB standard-definition movie in approximately five minutes and a 300-MB standard definition television show in just seconds.

Verizon also serves customers throughout the Garden State, offering high-speed DSL (digital subscriber line) connections and FiOS, a fiber-optic broadband service that supports television, Internet and phone use and provides connection speeds of up to 50 mbps downstream. Approximately 1.7 million homes statewide have access to FiOS.

“In New Jersey today, our FiOS network is in 349 communities,” said Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey, adding that the company plans to expand availability and is even now building its FiOS network.

Bone noted the penetration rate for FiOS broadband has been fairly close to expectations. Nationwide, FiOS TV has seen a 25 percent penetration rate while FiOS data services have seen an approximate 30 percent rate, meaning close to one of three customers nationally to whom FiOS is available has chosen to make the switch.

“We add hundreds of customers every week,” Bone said.

Beyond TV and Internet, Verizon is building the next generation of wireless network (“4G”), which will provide broadband speed connections for mobile users. This new network will be launched at the end of this year to approximately 125 markets, including New York and Philadelphia, which cover a large portion of New Jersey.

Whether through Comcast, Verizon or another broadband provider, more and more New Jerseyans are enjoying better and faster Internet connectivity.

Yesterday’s dial tone has given way to instantaneous connections. As companies continue to innovate and expand their services, broadband technology will keep improving. Some debate whether the need spurred the technology or the technology created the need, but on one point all sides can agree: with broadband, instant, uninterrupted and high-speed Internet access has become one necessity many simply cannot live without.

Not many salespeople realize they play jazz every time they

effectively sell. Even if the prospect doesn’t hear “Take the A Train” or “Rhapsody in Blue,” they are hearing jazz nonetheless.

Why?

The essence of jazz is structure and improvisation. The structure – the melody line, the interaction between the musicians – is the spine that inspires and permits the improvised solos and binds the music together.

How does the salesperson emulate jazz? By improvising around the standard sales call. The standard sales call – the step-by-step procedure for initiating, managing and closing the sale – is the structure that frees the salesperson to improvise – to express his personality yet remain in control.

Consider the intellectual burden of tracking dozens of strategic selling issues and simultaneously expressing your personality – being real, even entertaining, to the prospect.

These strategic issues include managing the three fatal flaws in the selling process:

 1. Assuming the prospect enters the conversation with serious intent

 2. Assuming the prospect believes what we say

 3. Assuming the prospect knows how to make a decision

As you maintain and manage this inventory of strategic issues, you have to be spontaneous, allowing your personality to flow.

It’s an almost impossible intellectual task without a very well defined and implemented structure. So most salespeople choose to be themselves and let strategy “take care of itself.”

But selling, like nature, abhors a vacuum. If as salespeople we abandon strategy and

structure, the buyer will cheerfully pick up strategy and bludgeon salespeople to death with it.

There is a deeper sense in which we are all playing jazz. The very essence of effective conversation evokes jazz. When we begin a new thought, a new sentence – either in discussion or when we write – we typically don’t know where it will end.  Certainly, we don’t know the paragraph’s final resting point. We improvise. We begin a thought and, on the fly, scanning the possibilities, settle on a direction.

As our sentences flow, they become more defined; we anchor ourselves in the structure of language – including grammar, syntax and meaning.

We have the potential to “play jazz” every time we talk, every time we express ourselves. It takes substantial practice to make this seem effortless.

The salesperson has the same potential. But he faces longer odds. He’s not just in a

conversation. The salesperson is in a complex, conflict-laden situation. The buyer wants quite a bit more than someone who not only seems real but who actually is a raconteur. The buyer wants to find and break through the bottom of the market.

The salesperson must maintain his command of strategy as he projects himself to the buyer as real. The salesperson needs tremendous structure to free him to be real. Theme and variation, structure and improvisation. The salesperson needs jazz. So do we all.

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Copyright James Coyle 2010

The dust from the latest flare-up between Gov. Chris Christie and the state’s teachers union over New Jersey’s application for federal education funding was as thick as if a thousand erasers had been clapped.

A compromise between Education Secretary Bret Schundler and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) that would have watered down the governor’s education reform principals in exchange for union support of the state’s application for Race to the Top funding was rejected by Christie, who then submitted the application they way he wanted it written. The governor dressed down his education secretary and loudly proclaimed he would not back down. The NJEA cried betrayal and withdrew its support.

Missing in all the grandstanding and emotional outbursts was a focus on the ultimate goal – the students. In the end, it is the best interests of New Jersey’s youth that is tantamount – not those of the governor or the teachers union. And what is best for the state’s young people, in the end, is best for the state – including parents of those students, the businesses that will one day employ them and the society they will help shape in the very near future.

That is why New Jersey is better off today running the Race to the Top.

Race to the Top is the federal program established by the Obama administration to help introduce education reform at the state level, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program makes available $4.35 billion in funding for states that advance reforms around four specific areas: standards and assessments; measuring student growth; recruiting, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals; and turning around lowest-achieving schools.

While it would seem difficult to argue against the positives of these core goals, a major component of Race to the Top is the introduction of tying teacher compensation, promotion and retention to measurable student performance – merit pay.

This is the rub – or to the NJEA, the sound of nails on the chalkboard. The NJEA is adamantly opposed to merit pay, claiming it will undermine teacher commitment to education by rewarding them for simply passing students. That is debatable, particularly if teachers chose their careers due to their love of teaching, as so many claim.

What merit pay certainly will undermine is the current system of paying, promoting and retaining teachers based not on performance but instead on longevity and tenure. Christie has introduced an education reform strategy that includes: basing teacher pay and raises to a large extent (but not exclusively) on measurable student performance; placing greater emphasis on performance rather than tenure for promotion and in the event of layoffs; identifying and implementing the best teacher training programs; and financially rewarding strong performing principals who relocate to low-performing schools.

While it has been popular to criticize the governor for being a maverick, it should be noted that on this issue he is in step with the Obama administration; that his application proposal was unanimously approved by both houses of the Legislature; and that there is a growing movement across the nation toward merit pay for teachers.

At the time New Jersey submitted its application for Race to the Top funding – including merit pay and tenure reform – 12 states also had either passed or were working on legislation introducing performance-based compensation for teachers. Of those 12, all but two also applied for this year’s funding and are in competition with New Jersey. The two merit-pay states that did not apply – Tennessee and Delaware – already received Race to the Top funding in 2009.

The NJEA may see the writing on the chalkboard but seems intent on holding back the tide and protecting its turf. In the compromise worked out between the union and Schundler, the governor’s plan for merit pay was scrapped and replaced with a trial program. That did not pass Christie’s test, nor should it have.

New Jersey is the second-ranked state in the nation in spending per student. The state’s taxpayers have a right to measure how well their money is being spent. While it is true that New Jersey’s overall student performance is strong, there still are many low-performing schools and students not receiving the benefits of one of the nation’s best school systems.

In addition, as New Jersey fights to recover from the recession and its own budgetary

mismanagement, the state must fiercely protect one of its finest resources – the quality of an educated workforce.

That would be the students in today’s classrooms who will benefit from a successful bid for Race to the Top funding.

Therapeutic Massage & Training Center (TMTC) of Westfield announced that one of its graduates recently was named 2009 Regional Massage Therapist of the Year for New Jersey by massage and spa chain Massage Envy Spa. Nicole Brunetto of Fanwood graduated TMTC in 2007 and works in the Warren Massage Envy facility. TMTC offers a 10-month massage therapist certification program with day and evening classes that start each March and September.

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The Irish Business Association (IBA) recently honored its 2010 winners at its second

Annual Awards Dinner. Denis Connell, Clark chief of police, was named Man of the Year; Kate Conroy, vice president of the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, was honored as Woman of the Year; Business of the Year honors went to Red Flannel Group of Freehold.

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Community Access Unlimited (CAU) recently celebrated the accomplishments and achievements of members, staff and community supporters at the agency’s 26th Annual Awards Night Celebration. CAU supports people with disabilities and at-risk youth. The agency honored eight community partners – businesses, organizations and public agencies – that support CAU and its members throughout the year. Community Partners honored included: Hillcrest Academy-South, the Elizabeth Police Department, Union Avenue Pharmacy, Five Star Medical Day Care, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Trinity Pediatrics, the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities and Union County Savings Bank.

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Infineum USA L.P. recently was honored for supporting employees who serve in the NJ National Guard and Reserve. Recognition consisted of a “My Boss is a Patriot” award and an American flag presented by the New Jersey Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an agency of the Department of Defense. The flag was carried during a combat mission over Iraq by Chief Warrant Officer Anthony Giano, an Infineum employee who is a member of the 1st Battalion 150th Aviation Regiment Task Force Vandal. Giano served a third tour in Iraq from December 2008 to April 2010 and nominated Infineum and his manager for the outstanding support provided to him and his family during the time he was deployed.

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Members of Fazio, Mannuzza, Roche, Tankel, LaPilusa, LLC, of Cranford (FMRTL), recently participated in their 5th Annual Relay for Life Jean Day, wearing denim and purple shirts supporting a Cancer Survivor. The firm hosted a healthy breakfast and a FIGHT BACK Raffle in exchange for donations toward cancer research. FMRTL was a proud Closing Ceremony Sponsor at the Cranford Relay for Life.

Two recent decisions from the United States District Court for New Jersey illustrate the difficulties confronting employers considering the termination of an employee during an extended medical leave of absence. In each case, the key question before the courts was the scope of the obligation imposed on employers by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to engage in an “interactive process” with disabled employees to identify reasonable accommodations that must be considered prior to termination.

In both cases, the court concluded that the employer violated the rights of the disabled employee by terminating their employment during a medical leave of absence before fully exploring alternative accommodations.

In Brown v. Dunbar Armored, Inc., Ronald Brown claimed his employer violated the LAD by failing to engage in the interactive process prior to terminating his employment after he fully exhausted his 12-week leave entitlement under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Brown was placed on an FMLA medical leave following coronary bypass surgery.

Following 10 weeks of leave, Brown’s physician indicated he could return to “light duty.” Brown claims he requested to return to work on light duty until he was able to return to full duty. The employer rejected Brown’s request and terminated his employment during the 13th week of his medical leave. The employer maintained that Brown did not request an extension of his medical leave and was terminated when his protected leave under the FMLA was exhausted. On the same day Brown was terminated, his physician reiterated that Brown could return to light duty and estimated a return to full duty five weeks later, two months after his 12-week FMLA leave entitlement expired.

The court concluded that the employer did not engage in the interactive process with Brown in good faith prior to terminating his employment. The court observed that the LAD requires employers to initiate the interactive process with the employee to “identify the potential reasonable accommodation that could be adopted to overcome the employee’s precise limitations resulting from the disability.” The court concluded that Brown’s request for light duty work, even if unreasonable¹, triggered the employer’s duty to engage in the interactive process to determine if reasonable accommodation could be made.

Moreover, although the employer did not have a date certain when Brown could resume full duties when it made the termination decision, it was not excused from considering the possibility of a temporary leave of absence as a form of reasonable accommodation where, as here, the employer was provided with a general estimated date when Brown would be fit to return. The court cautioned that if an employer “chooses not to engage in this process, it proceeds at its own risk.”

In Ellis v. Ethicon, Ellis likewise charged her employer with failing to engage in the interactive process required by the ADA. Ellis had an initial nine-month medical leave for cervical strain and one-and-one-half years later was placed on a second leave for related reasons.

Six months into the second medical leave, one of Ellis’ treating physicians recommended that she be permitted to work three days a week from home and provided the employer with a detailed, gradual return to work plan. Shortly thereafter, another of Ellis’ physicians recommended that these accommodations be maintained “indefinitely.”

Believing that Ellis’ work-from-home restrictions were permanent, the employer rejected the recommendations as unreasonable and offered Ellis a part-time position. Ellis rejected that offer and requested a meeting with her employer and her doctor to “iron out accommodations.”

The employer declined to meet and instructed Ellis to secure revised accommodations from her physician before it would engage in further discussion. Ellis did not submit revised accommodations and was terminated in the seventh month of her medical leave.

At trial, the jury found that the employer engaged in the interactive process in bad faith, rejecting its argument that the process was discontinued when Ellis failed to provide revised accommodations from her physician. On reconsideration of the verdict, the court observed that once an employee has requested accommodation, the employer is obligated to undertake all reasonable efforts to identify reasonable accommodation through “a flexible, interactive process that involves both the employer and the employee.”

The court faulted the employer for rejecting Ellis’s work-from-home proposal without seeking further explanation about whether her physician’s recommendation of an “indefinite” accommodation meant that it was to be maintained permanently. In fact, at trial the physician testified that the recommendation was not permanent in nature when it was proposed. Moreover, Ellis’ supervisor testified that she would have considered permitting Ellis to work at home had she known that this would be a temporary, not permanent, accommodation.

The court also faulted the employer for failing to explore other alternative accommodations once Ellis rejected the offer of a part-time position. As a result, the court concurred with the jury, finding that the employer acted in bad faith during the interactive process.

Employers are not necessarily free to terminate employees at the exhaustion of an  employee’s FMLA leave entitlement. They must engage in a good-faith interactive process with the employee to determine what, if any, accommodations can be made to enable the employee to return to work. This process may include consideration of whether the employee can return to work with an additional, temporary leave of absence and whether that leave can be reasonably accommodated.

It may also include an obligation to make further inquiry to the employee’s physician to clarify the duration of any recommended accommodations.

Only after engaging in this process, exploring alternative accommodations and  finding the accommodations unreasonable should the employer consider terminating the employee. The employer cannot point to the employee’s failure to provide alternative accommodation proposals as an opportunity to “pull the plug” on the interactive process.

The courts continue to find room to place added burdens on employers when it comes to protection of employee rights. Employers that fail to heed these burdens “proceed at their own risk.”