Are your safety meetings a drag for your workers? Are they shifting in their seats as they sit through yet another presentation on slip and fall hazards? Safety meetings are a key part of a safety awareness program and are one of the best methods to motivate workers to take safety out of the classroom […]
July 30, 2020
One of the most perilous times for a company in an employment relationship is when a worker is leaving. Departing employees have taken customer lists, vendor lists and sometimes company secrets on the way out the door, whether they were laid off, fired or quit on their own. This unethical, and sometimes illegal, time-honored tradition […]
July 30, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, many employers have had to lay off or furlough staff due to a tremendous drop-off in business. Besides the loss of income they face, these workers will often also lose their employer-sponsored health insurance. With this in mind, many employers have been wondering if they can permit coverage to […]
July 30, 2020
The IRS has issued new emergency guidance that allows employers and insurers to waive the cost of coronavirus testing and treatment for workers who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). Major health insurers report that employers have been asking if they can make the change to their high-deductible plans without breaching IRS regulations regarding […]
April 9, 2020
COVID-19 is forcing businesses to face a number of risks, liability and insurance implications. Companies could seek coverage for a variety of claims stemming from the outbreak, including workers’ compensation, business interruption, liability and more. And, now that it is a pandemic, the economic fallout may be expansive – hitting your company’s operations in the […]
April 9, 2020
As the coronavirus spread ramps up and more people are being asked to self-isolate, many employers are scrambling to put systems in place to allow their employees to telecommute. Many companies are not set up for telecommuting arrangements, and they have legitimate concerns about productivity, communications ― and even the possibility of workers’ comp claims […]
April 9, 2020
Emergency rules are being developed to guide workers’ compensation classification and claims for coronavirus-affected employers and their workers in California. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is pursuing the temporary rules to ensure fairness for employers so that their workers’ comp rates and experience modifiers (X-Mods) are not adversely affected by COVID-19-related issues. The Rating […]
April 9, 2020
With the sudden eruption of economic calamity, and more than 247 million Americans under stay-at-home orders, some 3.1 million individuals filed for unemployment in the last week of March. To counter the blow to their income, Congress passed and President Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which in […]
April 9, 2020
One of the fastest growing parts of the health care system, and which touches significantly on group health plans, is telemedicine. From 2016 to 2017, insurance claims for services rendered via telehealth ― as a percentage of all medical claim lines ― grew 53% nationally, faster than any other avenue of care, according to “FH […]
January 24, 2020
California’s controversial independent contractor law suffered its first two legal setbacks in January after trucking firms and independent truckers were able beat back at the new law in court. On Jan. 8, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that AB 5 does not apply to independent truckers because they are covered by federal […]
January 24, 2020