WASHINGTON (Jan. 29, 2008) -- Corporate Voices for Working Families, a nonprofit corporate membership organization in Washington, D.C., has released its 2007 Employer Guide: Educate Your Employees About the Benefits They’ve Earned. This is the fifth year that Corporate Voices has updated the Employer Guide and made it available to companies as a way to help low-wage employees take advantage of a host of federal benefits available to them. The guide provides detailed information about the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Medicaid and other federal benefits.
“Employees earn these benefits but many do not know how to take advantage of them because of the complexity of the programs and paperwork involved,” Donna Klein, president and CEO of Corporate Voices for Working Families, said. “The information in this reference guide helps employers inform employees and shows them how to keep more of what they earn. And by helping employees claim tax credits and federal benefits, companies build trust by making employees aware of valuable resources.”
The Employer Guide includes the following tools:
• Information on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Advance EITC, the Child Tax Credit, Medicaid/State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Food Stamps, Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) centers.
• Tips on how employers can talk to employees about tax credits and federal benefits.
• Step-by-step instructions on how to enroll employees in Advanced EITC.
• Guidelines to help employees avoid predatory tax-preparation practices.
• Corporate best practices on how to best use the Employer Guide to help employees access these programs.
• Calendar of important dates to remember when filing for these benefits.
• Facts on the “Stored Value Card,” often referred to as the pre-paid debit card.
• Paycheck stuffers – available in both English and Spanish.
• Fliers about SCHIP.
The Employer Guide is distributed to and used by Corporate Voices for Working Families’ 50 member companies that employ more than four million individuals in all 50 states. Corporate Voices for Working Families also distributes the Employer Guide through its strategic outreach partners, reaching millions more working families in the private and public sectors and thousands of elected officials around the country.
The Employer Guide also contains a CD that allows recipients to rebrand the toolkit with their logo and images.
The Annie E. Casey, Ford and Hitachi Foundations fund the production of the Employer Guide: Educate Your Employees About the Benefits They’ve Earned.
“The Employer Guide gives companies the tools and detailed instructions to talk with workers throughout the year and increase their awareness that they are eligible and should apply for these programs to supplement their income,” Klein said.
The Employer Guide can be downloaded at www.cvworkingfamilies.org. To simplify the process of gathering information about programs administered by state agencies, visitors can also link to state and local programs from the Corporate Voices for Working Families Web site.
About Corporate Voices for Working Families: Corporate Voices for Working Families is the leading national business membership organization representing the private sector voice in the dialogue on public policy issues involving working families. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, Corporate Voices for Working Families aims to improve the lives of all working families by developing and advancing innovative and sustainable policies that have bipartisan support built through collaboration among the private sector, government and other stakeholders. In helping to create this bipartisan support, we facilitate research in several areas that spotlight the intersecting interests of business, community and families: workforce readiness, family economic stability and flexibility in the workforce. Collectively our 50 partner companies, with annual net revenues of more than $1 trillion, employ more than 4 million individuals throughout all 50 states.
Editor’s Note: For a copy of the Employer Guide, contact Susan Holbrook at Corporate Voices for Working Families at sholbrook@cvworkingfamilies.org.
For additional information or to arrange interviews, contact:
Corporate Voices for Working Families
Rob Jewell
rjewell@cvworkingfamilies.org
330-631-9298
