Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies Meeting Recap: October 2011

 

The Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies (“Board”) met via teleconference on October 19, 2011.  Following is a report of the meeting proceedings:

 

Employee Leasing Company and Controlling Person Applications

The Board reserved review of its September 21, 2011 meeting minutes until its next meeting, and then moved onto consideration of the following employee leasing company and controlling person applications:

• RMI Management III, LLC (Group Member)
• RMI Management IV, LLC (Group Member)
• Reinaldo Lopez (Controlling Person)
• Reinaldo Lopez, Jr. (Controlling Person)

Following a brief discussion, Board members were satisfied that the two group member applicants met necessary financial criteria and approved those and the related controlling person applications.

The Board then approved the following two controlling person applications with little discussion:

• Marc E. Combs (Controlling Person)
  • Key Vista Associates, Inc.
• Effrain Rivera (Controlling Person)
  • Paychex Business Solutions, Inc.
  • PBS of America, Inc.
  • PBS of Central Florida, Inc.

The Board then considered the following controlling person application:

• Stephani Schaeffer (Controlling Person)
  • Paychex Business Solutions, Inc
  • PBS of America, Inc.
  • PBS of Central Florida, Inc.

Board Member Celeste Dockery inquired about a question on the application about whether applicants had prior involvement in any agency adjudicated bankruptcies.  Ms. Dockery noted that Ms. Schaeffer answered the question with a “yes,” but that she did not see an explanation included with the materials.

Kathleen Coons, Paychex Solutions’ Compliance Coordinator, stated that Paychex, Inc., is the parent company of Paychex Business Solutions, Inc., and of another subsidiary called Rapid Payroll Inc., which it acquired in 1996.  Ms. Coons stated that Rapid Payroll was still a Paychex subsidiary at the time it filed for bankruptcy, but was not a Professional Employer Organization (“PEO”) and had no involvement in the PEO business.  Rather, she said, it was a “time management company.”

Ms. Coons said that the bankruptcy was due to litigation with clients of Rapid Payroll prior to Paychex’s acquisition.

A Board member asked Mary Ellen Clark, Assistant Attorney General with the Florida Office of the Attorney General, about the appropriateness of a person answering questions on behalf of an applicant without being officially sworn in.

Ms. Clark said that the Board had discretion on whether to allow answers from Ms. Coons and that sworn testimony is not required.  She told Board members that a notary public would have to be physically present with Ms. Coons in order for her to be sworn in via teleconference.  Ms. Clark also reminded the Board that if answers provided outside of sworn testimony are later determined to be untruthful, there would be no effective way to base prosecution of an application on non-truthful statements.

Board members decided to table Ms. Schaeffer’s application until its November 17, 2011, meeting, and agreed that either Ms. Schaeffer or a certified representative would appear in person to discuss the issue in question.

 

Change of Ownership Applications

The Board approved the following change of ownership application and related controlling person relinquishment:

• Change of Ownership:
  • Odyssey One Source of Florida, Inc.
    • Mark Lowrey
    • John Udelhofen
• Relinquishment:
  • Odyssey One Source of Florida, Inc.
    • Mark Turner

Because of an unresolved issue pertaining to the company’s balance sheet, the Board tabled the following change of ownership application to its November meeting:

• Worklife Financial of Florida, LLC

 

Additional Controlling Person Relinquishment Application

• Donald Hess
  • Payroll Made Easy, Inc.
  • Payroll Made Easy II, Inc.

A meeting participant said that this is not a relinquishment, but a transfer of Mr. Hess’s license to another PEO.  He said, “[Mr. Hess] is no longer going to be at one company, but another.”

Because these types of matters are handled by the Board administratively, and not at Board meetings, it was discussed and agreed upon that Mr. Hess would submit a letter to the Board explaining the transfer situation.

 

Reports

Ms. Clark stated that she did not have a written report, but planned to present a report showing progress with Rules and other areas at the Board’s November meeting.

No reports were presented by the Office of the General Counsel, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”) Executive Director or the Board Chairperson.

 

New Business

There were no items brought forth for discussion under Old Business.  When the Board Chair called for New Business, a meeting participant and representative of United Group Service Centers (“United”) said that the company was advised by the DBPR that their de minimis application was supposed to be on that day’s agenda.

The application was tabled at the Board’s September 21 meeting due to workers’ compensation coverage clarification issues.  Specifically, Board members requested a letter from the company’s workers’ compensation carrier.

The United representative said that the company does not currently have any Florida employees and that a letter was presented from United’s broker, as well as a letter from an underwriter with The Hartford, where United has had workers’ compensation coverage since 2003.  She said that Krista Woodard of the DBPR was concerned because The Hartford does not typically write coverage for PEOs.

United’s application was tabled until a future Board meeting.

Roger Jordan of Transport Labor Contracting, Inc., inquired as to the lead time between submission of an application and its appearance on a Board meeting agenda. 

DBPR Executive Director Richard Morrison replied that complete applications should be received within the week following a Board meeting to make it onto the next meeting’s agenda.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.

 

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