Lake Okeechobee News hosted Senior Expo

 

The Lake Okeechobee News team hosted a Senior Expo on Nov. 1 at the Okeechobee KOA. Pictured are  (back row) Kay Sheedy, Stephanie Larson, Cathy Womble (seated) Rick Lewis, Kris Schwartz and Angie Bridges. [Photo by Katrina Elsken]

Quarterly Shining Star Recognition Now Open

 The Quarterly Shining Star Recognition for the quarter ending December 2024 is now open. This is your chance to recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of your peers within Independent.

Here's how it works:

·       Purpose: Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA appreciates the efforts of its employees to achieve the desired goal and vision of the company.  Outstanding employees nominated in the categories of Teamwork, Initiative, or Journalism Excellence deserve to be recognized both as a reward for exceptional performance and as a model to other employees.

·       Eligibility: All full-time and part-time regular employees (except senior managers and executives) are eligible for to participate in the quarterly program. An employee may be designated as employee of the quarter only once during a calendar year.

·       Procedures: The employee recognizes an employee from Independent’s operational group. Nominations for the award may be submitted by any non-management employee using the nomination form available in ADP>Resources>Forms Library location. Nominations are based on excellent job performance in the above-mentioned categories during the quarter for which the award is to be given.

 

Completed nomination forms are to be submitted to payroll@ininusa.org between the first and 25^th of the month before the end of quarter. Before the end of each quarter, the Shining Star selection committee, comprised of the CEO/President and Vice President for Corporate Services will review the nominations and select the employee of the quarter. The selection is announced in the following month’s Presslines. The selected employees for the quarter will be recognized in Presslines, receive a certificate and receive a $75 gift card.  

 

Nominate a Shining Star

Nominee’s Name:

Location:

Reason for Nomination:

Demonstrated Values:  [ ] Teamwork  [ ] Initiative [ ] Journalism Excellence

Reason:

 

Let's take this opportunity to recognize and appreciate the exceptional work and dedication of our team members.

Please email Payroll@iniusa.org  if there are questions about the nomination process.

Benefit Corner

 

Did you know beginning January 1, 2025,

• There is a Bereavement Request form required when using Bereavement hours?  The form can be found in the Forms Library in ADP.
• Beginning January 1, 2025, the PHO limit will be reduced to 172 as the maximum allowed to earn and the maximum rollover?
• Paid Holidays for 2025 will decrease to 10: New Year’s Day - Martin Luther King Birthday - Washington’s Birthday - Memorial Day- Juneteenth National Independence Day - Independence Day - Labor Day - Veterans Day - Thanksgiving Day - Christmas Day
• The IRS has announced that the 2025 401(k) limit for employee deferrals is $23,500.  This is an increase of $500 from the 2024 limit of $23,000.  The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 or older are eligible to contribute an additional amount which remains unchanged at $7,500.  This raises the employee deferral limit for these individuals to $31,000.

Holiday Policy Update

 

Holiday Policy

 

Effective January 1, 2025, Independent’s  separate company paid holiday allotment will include 10 holidays. The addition of the separate company paid holidays will attract top talent because this increases the benefits offered by Independent to new hires, boost motivation since employees know they will be given a day off without losing wages while improving mental health and increasing productivity.

 The federal guidelines (FLSA) do not require employers to provide time off for holidays and do not require a higher hourly rate when an employee works on holidays (unless the hours worked are actual overtime hours – over 40 hours in a week). Holiday pay is a benefit that employers are free to offer at their own discretion.

 Holidays

Independent provides employees time off for the following holidays: New Year’s Day - Martin Luther King Birthday - Washington’s Birthday - Memorial Day- Juneteenth National Independence Day - Independence Day - Labor Day - Veterans Day - Thanksgiving Day - Christmas Day

 

·       Regular full-time employees will receive holiday pay. Holiday pay is paid at the employee’s normal rate of pay and based on their normally scheduled work hours. For hourly employees, time off for holiday does not count when determining overtime for that specific week.

·       Non-regular full-time employees are not entitled to holiday pay

·       Regular full-time employees on vacation or excused absence will receive the holiday pay.

·       Employees on unpaid leave are not entitled to holiday pay

·       Salaried exempt employees are entitled to their normal compensation without any deductions for holidays observed by the company

·       There is no PHO accrual for the holiday when used.

·       Time off is to occur on the actual holiday. With prior management approval, an employee may take the paid holiday on another day within the pay period in which the holiday occurs.

·       If there is a circumstance such as an ‘act of God’ (i.e., hurricane) impacting the office personnel’s absence within the month in which a holiday occurs, the holiday may be used within another pay period of the month if approved by the CEO.

Printing Operations

 What U.S. state is home to Acadia National Park? 

·       For the printing operations only, if/when a regular full-time, non-exempt (hourly) employee is scheduled by their manager to work on the holiday, the employee will be paid time and a half for the hours worked.

·       The maintenance-electrical technicians for the printing companies are scheduled off for the holiday. However, due to emergency reasons, these employees may be called in to repair equipment on a holiday. If they work less than eight (8) hours, the technician may use the remaining balance as holiday in the pay period in which the holiday occurs. The hours worked on the holiday will be paid as time and half. This applies only to this position.

·       The manager will make payroll@ininusa.org aware in advance of the scheduled full-time employees who are scheduled to work on the holidays.

·       When an employee from the printing operations works on a holiday, the time worked is counted when determining overtime for the week.

·       The employee who works on a holiday cannot use another day within that pay period to use time off for the holiday. However, an employee may use available PHO to take another day off within that pay period, provided they request the time off in advance and receive approval.

 

When an employee leaves the employment of Independent, they will not receive payout for the remaining holidays for the year.

The company paid holidays will be shared in Presslines and an email blast each December for the upcoming year. Unused holiday cannot roll over in the new year nor will it be considered a floating holiday.

 

Welcome to Jade Williams

 

I am happy to introduce Jade Williams.  She has joined the Delmarva Team as an Administrative Coordinator assisting in both advertising and Corporate Collections.

 “Hello Everyone, My name is Jade Williams. I am a Delaware native but growing up I spent my summers in North Carolina on a farm up until college.

During my spare time you can find me spending time with my kids and fishing with my husband. 

I come from a background of collections, fraud and customer service from Bank of America.

 I am excited to be a part of the team at Independent  and I can’t wait to use my professional skills to assist the team. 

W2's will be mailed in January

 

HAS YOUR ADDRESS CHANGED DURING THE YEAR?  If so, please make sure your correct address is in the payroll records to ensure an accurate W2 mailing in January 2025.  You can review and make changes in ADP  by selecting MySelf and then under My Information click on Profile .  Make all necessary changes.   Contact payroll@iniusa.org should you have questions.  

What gigantic owner of several US local newspapers, as well as USA Today, had its TV news division split into the company Tegna in 2015? It was founded by Frank of its namesake family in 1906.  

Inspirational Quote of the month

 

Employee Fact Sheet

 Making Meaningful Goals

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sr-ZF6bYNsHNDYyIpnYdHTI3o8dVnXTH/view?usp=sharing

December Anniversaries

 

12/3	1	YRS	Orozco, Jessica	Valley Printing
12/5	24	YRS	Matute, Zenaida	Valley Printing
12/11	1	YRS	Wood, Elle	De State News
12/11	18	YRS	Schwartz, Kristina	Okeechobee
12/12	8	YRS	Witt, Cindy	Corp. Acctng
12/14	15	YRS	Parks, Tonda	De State News
12/17	12	YRS	Riggin, Karen	Crisfield Times
12/22	10	YRS	Sample, Antoine	De Printing

According to Guinness World Records, what's the best-selling book of all time? 

Halloween at the Lake Okeechobee News office

 

Katrina Elsken and Kris Schwartz dressed for Halloween at the Lake Okeechobee News office. Katrina was a Jurassic Park Tour Guide. Kris was a wizard. Later, while taking photos at the community Halloween Party, Katrina found some dinosaurs!

INI offices closed to public Thanksgiving week

 

INI offices closed to public Thanksgiving week

The offices will be closed the week of Thanksgiving Nov. 25-Nov. 29 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. There will be early deadlines for the Thanksgiving holiday.

As always, some INIers will have to work a couple of days that week to cover the news and the printing operations. If you take the full week off, four days will be PHO, and one day will be holiday (Thanksgiving).

Advertising, Payment and News Submission deadlines are:

Friday, Nov. 15 for the Nov. 25-29 daily, weekly and monthly publishing dates

Wednesday, Nov. 20 for the Dec. 2-Dec. 6 daily, weekly and monthly publishing dates

We wish you a joyous and healthy holiday season.

The section of a newspaper which states the title, ownership, management, and other administrative information is known by what name, which is also a part of a sailboat? 

From the CEO - Employee Appreciation Bonus

 Dear INIers:

 This year has brought challenges, with a soft economy impacting top-line sales alongside increased costs in products and services. While we’re cautiously optimistic about an uptick in sales in the coming months, our focus remains on ensuring that INI continues as a fiscally sound operation.

 Despite these challenges, INI is committed to creating a great place to work, and this would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of team members like you. Thank you for all that you do!

 Some 2024 highlights include:

• Increase in the 401(k) match.

• Reduced the employee health insurance contributions.

• Wellness initiatives.

• Implementation of paid holidays.

• Established a bereavement policy.

• Rebranding and updating INIusa.org.

• Creation of Voters’ Guides for our local communities.

• Launch of the Greater Dover Independent.

• Launch of the Millsboro/Longneck Independent.

• Rebranding the Labelle newspaper into the Hendry County News.

• Acquisition of the Wrangler News, adding it to our Independent family.

• Implementing a new advertising and accounting platform.

 As we move forward in 2025, we have a lot to accomplish with new elective officials taking office, including the President of the United States. 

 Let’s continue working diligently on our mission to make our communities better places to live through our nonpartisan, data-driven journalism, supporting local businesses and neighbors alike. We look forward to a prosperous 2025 together.

 In appreciation of your hard work, despite lower sales revenue compared to last year, we are providing an employee appreciation bonus of $150 for each regular full- and part-time employee.

 Those who are employed with INI as of Nov. 15, 2024, and remained employed, will receive their employee appreciation bonus on Dec. 6 or Dec. 13, depending on your payroll cycle.

 Thank you, as always, for making INI a great, little company with big ideas. 

 

 

 

Inspirational Quote

 

Employee Fact Sheet - Tobacco Awareness

 Tobacco Awareness

Reasons to quit smoking

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1377zv1NueGaqIo6gvDp9wRDvfSXz4vAP/view?usp=sharing

GoodRx

 

Prescription too expensive? Have you tried GoodRx?

Use GoodRx for discounts of up to 80% on most prescription drugs at over 70,000 US pharmacies:

• No expiration. No fees or obligations.

• Search & Compare Prices

M&M’S Fruit Chews would eventually become what popular candy? 

• Save your Rx to track prices and receive savings alerts

• Show coupon to pharmacist at the time of pick up

Go to GoodRx.com or download the app to start saving today.

https://www.goodrx.com/go/homepage-sem-dsa?utm_campaign=12565334305&utm_content=118971975069&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=dsa-1204149910224&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIluj2l-K4iAMVdUhHAR12ShK_EAAYASAAEgK2h_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Anti-Harassment Policy

Did you know INI has a zero-tolerance for any type of unlawful harassment or discrimination?

 

Policy against Harassing Conduct - INI strives to maintain a workplace that fosters mutual employee respect and promotes harmonious, productive working relationships.  INI believes that harassment in any form constitutes misconduct that undermines the integrity of the employment relationship. 

INI has adopted a zero-tolerance policy as to any type of unlawful harassment or discrimination. We strive to provide a professional work environment free from physical, psychological, and verbal abuse. Harassment and discrimination are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. This policy is intended to ensure that INI takes all necessary steps to prevent unlawful harassment in the workplace and to correct harassing conduct, should it occur, before it becomes severe or pervasive.

Therefore, INI is committed to a work environment that is free of sexual harassment (which includes harassment based on gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), as well as harassment based on such factors as race; color; religion; national origin; citizenship; age (over 40); past, present, or future military service; disability; genetic information; marital status; family responsibility; status as a volunteer emergency responder; status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking; or any other categories protected by federal, state, or local law.

The prohibition against harassment applies equally to all persons in the workplace, including supervisors, co-workers, and non-employees.

Duty to Report Harassing Conduct - INI understands that victims of harassment may be embarrassed and reluctant to report acts of harassment for any number of reasons, such as fear of being blamed, concern about retaliation, or because it is difficult to discuss such matters openly with others.  However, INI has a duty to protect all employees from harassing conduct in the workplace, and therefore requires employees to report any incident of harassment immediately.  Prompt reporting of inappropriate conduct enables INI to take the corrective action necessary to stop the behavior before it becomes severe or pervasive.

Any employee who observes, or believes he or she has observed, any harassing conduct in the workplace—whether or not the witness is the target of the harassing conduct—must report that conduct immediately. Any complaints should be immediately emailed to inicorporate@iniusa.org  or telephoned to Corporate Services’ vice president Wanda Ford-Waring at (302) 741-8206.

Failure to report workplace harassment, by the target of the harassment or a witness, is considered a serious breach of policy.

Investigation of a Report of Harassment - Every reported complaint of harassment will be investigated thoroughly and promptly.  Typically, the investigation will include the following steps: (1) an interview of the employee who lodged the harassment complaint to obtain complete details regarding the alleged harassment; (2) interviews of anyone who is alleged to have engaged in harassing conduct; and (3) interviews of any employees who may have witnessed or who may have knowledge of the alleged harassment.  Whenever possible, we prefer to conduct investigations in writing via confidential email to ensure complete and thoughtful responses and information.  However, telephone or face to face interviews may occur depending on the circumstances. 

The investigating official will notify the complainant of the results of the investigation.  The investigation will be handled in as confidential a manner as possible consistent with a full, fair, and proper investigation.

Corrective action will be taken if the results of the investigation indicate that wrongful conduct has occurred.  Corrective action may include, for example:  training, referral to counseling, or disciplinary action ranging from a verbal or written warning to termination of employment, depending on the circumstances.

INI prohibits retaliation of any kind against an employee who, in good faith, reports harassment or discrimination or who assists in the investigation of such a complaint.  If an employee feels that he or she has been subjected to any form of retaliation, the employee must report that conduct to inicorporate@iniusa.org without delay.

Definition of “Harassing Conduct” – For the purposes of this policy, harassing conduct is defined as any unwelcome verbal, physical, or visual conduct that is based on any characteristic protected by law when:

1.     the behavior can reasonably be considered to adversely affect the work environment;

2.     an employment decision affecting the employee is based upon the employee’s acceptance or rejection of such conduct; or

3.     it has the purpose or effect of interfering with an employee’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Harassing conduct can take many forms and includes, but is not limited to: slurs; jokes; statements; gestures; impeding or blocking another’s movement or otherwise physically interfering with normal work; or pictures, drawings, or cartoons based upon any characteristic protected by law.

Sexually harassing conduct, in particular, includes all of these prohibited actions, as well as other unwelcome conduct, such as: unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances, or propositions; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; subtle pressure or requests for sexual activities; unnecessary touching of an individual; graphic comments about an individual’s body; a display in the workplace of sexually suggestive objects or pictures; sexually explicit or offensive jokes; or physical assault.  Sexually harassing conduct can be by a person of either the same or opposite sex.

What sport was featured on the first curved U.S. coin in 2014? 

 

November Anniversaries

 

11/2	4	YRS	Norman, Lisa Ann	AZ Publications Advertising
11/4	48	YRS	Daisey, James Edward	De Printing Press
11/5	6	YRS	Wills, Nancy Ann	Okeechobee News/Editorial
11/5	45	YRS	Jacobs, Michael Lee	Valley Printing Administration
11/6	8	YRS	Riggan, Lori Ann	Valley Printing Shipping & Bindin
11/7	5	YRS	Delaney, Lorelei	AZ Publications Advertising
11/8	3	YRS	Luke, Debra Diann	Corp. Accounts Receivable
11/13	11	YRS	Kilpatrick, Norma	AZ Publications Circulation
11/15	5	YRS	Plazola, Samuel	Valley Printing Press
11/15	8	YRS	Millner, Nicole Carter	Corp. Acctng/payables/payroll
11/16	10	YRS	Lopez-Beltran, Jose	Valley Printing Press
11/19	1	YR	Pozos, Moses Noah	De Printing Press
11/21	46	YRS	Devlin, Deborah	De State News Advertising
11/22	4	YRS	Webb, Terry D	Valley Printing Press
11/24	1	YR	Rothstein, Benjamin	De State News/editorial
11/26	12	YRS	Dias, Frank C	AZ Publications Advertising
11/27	1	YR	Gavagan, Michelle	AZ Publications Advertising
11/27	7	YRS	Luff, Sherry M	De State News Circulation