Every year starts with a flurry of new laws and regulations that California employers have to contend with. And 2022 is no different as the California legislature had a busy year and the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more activity. The end result is another round of new laws that employers need to […]
January 13, 2022
As autumn approaches with its heavy rains and storms that are becoming increasingly unpredictable, you should start now to make sure your home is properly protected against them. If a particularly heavy storm hits, you can lose outdoor furnishings and see parts of your house damaged by winds or falling trees or branches. Also, you […]
November 6, 2021
Rates for most commercial lines of insurance are likely to continue rising going into 2022, as claims costs mount across the board. A new report from Marketscout notes that rate increases have accelerated across all major lines, but have been most pronounced in liability coverages. The composite rate for commercial insurance pricing in the third […]
November 6, 2021
The IRS has announced the new affordability requirement test percentage that group health plans must comply with to conform to the Affordable Care Act. Starting in 2022, the cost of self-only group plans offered to workers by employers that are required to comply with the ACA, must not exceed 9.61% of each employee’s household income. […]
November 6, 2021
California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has proposed plans to start requiring COVID-19 claims to be included when calculating employer X-Mods, according to a report by an industry trade publication. The proposal, which would have to be approved by the state insurance commissioner, would bring to an end current rules that exclude the impact of […]
November 6, 2021
As this year sees increased health care spending due to pent-up demand after many people delayed medical procedures in 2020, a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicts employer medical costs will rise 6.5% in 2022. Last year was the first time that medical costs decreased, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people from going to […]
July 14, 2021
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has approved changes to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard that greatly loosen workplace restrictions that were implemented last year to protect California workers. The biggest news in the changes is that workers who have been fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear face masks as protection, regardless of the […]
July 14, 2021
It’s always an unwelcome surprise when an employer finds out that a workplace incident aggravated a pre-existing injury that one of your workers sustained at a prior job. Fortunately, there are steps you can take if you don’t want to inherit a claim that someone incurred at another employer, or an injury that they may […]
July 14, 2021
COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims have not been as widespread as insurers and ratings agencies around the country had predicted when the pandemic first started in early 2020. Also, a large chunk of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims filed by workers nationwide have been rejected, with insurers often citing lack of proof that the illness was contracted […]
April 13, 2021
The newly enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 contains a number of provisions that will affect group health plans, with most changes aimed at helping insured workers with flexible spending accounts (FSAs), cost transparency and surprise billing. Some of the provisions are permanent while others are temporary, slated to run through the anticipated end of the […]
April 13, 2021