BURLINGTON – Genesis Consolidated Services, Inc., New England’s largest professional employer organization (PEO), announced today that John Valle has joined the company in the position of Vice President of Sales. John will manage the growth of Genesis’ client base, and is responsible for building and growing the collective talent and results of the sales organization, while participating in the formulation and delivery of the company’s strategic objectives.

John brings extensive management expertise and industry knowledge to the organization. For the past five years, John has founded and grown a small Midwestern business, Top Resources. He has worn the very shoes of the company owners best served by Genesis’ services, understanding the challenges and opportunities facing businesses today. Prior to starting Top Resources, John gained industry know-how as a nine year award-winning sales representative and district manager with Administaff.

“We welcome John’s consultative approach to the Senior Management Team,” said Genesis President Bob Burbidge. “John brings to our organization a partnership approach that is the essence of our service delivery ethic. By filling this position, we acknowledge the vital role of the sales and marketing department in customizing our clients’ PEO experience,” Burbidge added.

The Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX), announced today that it has certified the 401K retirement plan of Genesis Consolidated Services, Inc. (Genesis), of Burlington, MA as adhering to a global standard of excellence for Investment Stewards. The Genesis 401K plan is among the first retirement plans in the U.S. to successfully undergo the independent CEFEX certification process.

The CEFEX standard of excellence for Investment Stewards is based on 22 fiduciary practices that seek to increase long-term investment performance by diversifying the portfolio across multiple asset classes and peer groups, evaluating investment management fees and expenses, and selecting or terminating Investment Managers. The practices also help uncover investment and/or procedural risk, which may assist in prioritizing investment management projects.

CEFEX General Manager Carlos Panksep said: “Through CEFEX’s independent assessment, the certification provides assurance to plan participants and constituents that Genesis has demonstrated adherence to the industry’s fiduciary best practices.”

“Genesis has implemented all fiduciary practices for investment stewards with notable support from a CEFEX-certified advisory firm: Slavic Mutual Funds Corporation.” said Christine Denton, the CEFEX analyst who led the assessment. “Genesis is a Professional Employer Organization, whose clients appear to be very well-served by well-established policies and procedures.”

The fiduciary practices are based on the Fiduciary360 publication: Prudent Practices for Investment Stewards and are substantiated by legislation, case law and regulatory opinion letters from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA), Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) and the Uniform Management of Public Employee Retirement Systems Act (MPERS) in the U.S. A summary of the fiduciary practices can be viewed by clicking on Genesis’ on-line CEFEX certificate.

The annual certification process involves a detailed review of plan documents, policies and procedures followed by on-site interviews with key personnel. A full copy of the Fiduciary Practices is available at www.cefex.org.

On April 14, 2008, a new Massachusetts law was enacted that will increase the exposure of Massachusetts employers in wage and hour claims by mandating the award of treble damages to all prevailing plaintiffs, regardless of whether the violation is intentional or inadvertent.

The law will become effective on July 13, 2008. While treble damages previously were only awarded for egregious violations, the new law removes the court’s discretion and imposes triple damages for any loss of wages or benefits under the state’s wage and hour law, even if the employer acted in good faith. The new law is expected not only to increase the financial exposure of employers in wage and hour actions, but also to increase the number of those claims. Because Massachusetts is now the only state to mandate treble damages for wage and hour violations, there is some danger of "forum-shopping" by plaintiffs' attorneys. It is also still unclear at this point to what extent the legislation will be held by Massachusetts courts to apply retroactively to existing claims.

The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, NAPEO, recently published a revealing report on the state of hiring and pay.

• The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says almost ¼ of the average company’s workers turn over every year.
• Almost 2/3 of small businesses surveyed said the average tenure of their employees was only 1-5 years.
• Benefits are becoming more competitive for small businesses, with baby boomers retiring and work force growth slowing.
• More employees rank corporate culture and satisfying workahead of pay when asked about job satisfaction.

The full report is available on the NAPEO website. You can also find a summary of the report that was published in The Boston Herald highlighting the trends and concerns of employers.

We have great news. Genesis has a brand new website, with new resources, helpful links and plenty of information to share. I encourage you to browse the site, and discover how a Genesis partnership can work for you and your organization.

If you are looking for information on PEOs or are simply curious about a Genesis partnership, you can review Frequently Asked Questions, read real Success Stories, and even browse Testimonials from satisfied Genesis clients. You can also watch our brief Video - it provides a 3 minute overview of our services and partnership approach. While you’re there, sign up for the Genesis Newsletter, and receive them directly.

To learn more, review our Sales Process, designed to help determine the ideal partnership approach. Our dedicated Sales Team takes a collaborative approach to understanding your unique business needs. We take the time to understand your industry, company culture, and expectations so we can better show you how a Genesis partnership can bring value to your organization.

Genesis Consolidated Services is pleased to announce that one of its Business Partners, NeuroLogica is a recipient of the Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) 2007 Innovation Award.

NeuroLogica, a Genesis Business Partner and a neuroscience based imaging company located in Danvers, Massachusetts develops, manufactures and markets advanced medical imaging equipment. The company's mission is to bring access to high quality medical imaging to all people regardless of where they live. Combining this imaging quality and access enables physicians to make more informed treatment decisions, especially in stroke emergencies, saving and improving patient lives.

Recently, NeuroLogica has achieved significant notoriety in the sports world in a number of venues. Their products were utilized at the De La Hoya - Mayweather fight (and undercards) in Las Vegas as well as the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend.

The article below appeared in the Jacksonville Times Union and chronicles NeuroLogica’s latest foray into the world of sports:

Heady move would assist NFL Players

The management and staff of Genesis Consolidated Services are pleased to announce that Christopher J. Daft has joined their Senior Management Team as the Company’s Risk Manager.

“Chris brings a wealth of experience to Genesis that will be tough to match in our industry” said Patty Hilger, Genesis’ Vice President of Human Resources. Daft’s record of experience clearly supports Hilger’s statement.

“With a Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Connecticut as well as an MBA in Global Business/Organizational Leadership from Johnson and Wales University coupled with more than 16 years experience with the Beacon Mutual Insurance Company will be significant in keeping with the Genesis mission to help our clients continue to maintain one of the best loss ratios in the industry” added Diane Stevenson, Genesis CFO and partner.

Genesis President Bob Burbidge participated as a panel member in a multi-member meeting of regional Chambers of Commerce to discuss landmark healthcare reform in Massachusetts in Arlington on June 7.

Along with Eric Dahlberg of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector, Josh Tobin of the Insurance Partnership and Jack McIntosh of Baystate Financial Services, the panel addressed the issues that address all businesses and offered suggestions as to how these important issues must be addressed.

“This was a great opportunity for Chamber members in the greater Boston area to gain a clear insight into the profound changes that will affect all businesses, particularly small and mid-sized businesses” said Burbidge.

“Health care reform is not coming, it is here. We feel that the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry is in a position to assist businesses to comply with this important legislation” he continued.

Genesis Consolidated Services has been serving the business community in the PEO business sector since 1991 and is the largest PEO headquartered in New England. Genesis is accredited by the Employer Services Insurance Corporation (ESAC) and is Best Practice certified for Workers’ Compensation compliance by the Certification Institute.

On March 29, a select group Genesis staff members were honored at the company's annual anniversary dinner. Each year, Genesis acknowledges the efforts of staff members who have worked for the company at five year benchmarks.

The staff at Genesis Consolidated Services celebrated 15 years of service to the PEO industry with a gala at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard Connecticut this past week.

Company President Bob Burbidge acknowledged the company's major accomplishments of the last 15 years at the reception: "I am extremely proud of the service and commitment our staff has delivered to the small and mid-sized business community in New England since 1991. Our reputation for customer service has set us apart from our competition and will continue to be the cornerstone of Genesis."

Genesis Consolidated Services is the largest privately held PEO headquartered in New England. It is the only New England domiciled PEO accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC). Genesis also has Best Practice Certification for Risk Management and Tax compliance issued by the Certification Institute.

Burbidge is a past president of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). CFO Diane Stevenson serves on NAPEO's Accounting Practices Committee.

In 1996, Genesis was named the 3rd fastest growing privately held company in the country by Inc. Magazine. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Mount Washington Inn in New Hampshire.