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
Under federal and state law, employment law posters are to be posted in a conspicuous place where all employees can see them. The list of notices is long, and they are required by a patchwork of state and federal agencies. It’s not easy to keep track of all the notices the federal and California state […]
January 24, 2020
The new decade is starting off with a massive swell of important new laws and regulations that will affect California businesses. There are so many new laws and regulations that companies have to be on their toes especially at the start of 2020 to get their bearings. This is the first of a two-part entry […]
January 24, 2020
While health insurance premiums aren’t going up as much as they used to, both employers and their workers are still struggling with higher health care costs. According to the “2018 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey,” published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute together with Greenwald & Associates, roughly half of all workers experienced an […]
October 3, 2019
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a measure into law that has implications for when employers are required to report serious workplace injuries to Cal/OSHA. The new law, AB 1805, broadens the scope of what will be classified as a serious illness, injury or exposure and is expected to increase the number of workplace incidents that […]
October 3, 2019
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation into law that will codify a court ruling from last year that set new ground rules for what constitutes an independent contractor, and which expands on that ruling. There’s been a lot written in the media about the legislation, AB 5, and unfortunately, much of it misses the […]
October 3, 2019
Starting in 2020, the threshold for California employers to be eligible for experience rating (X-Mod) has been reduced by order of the state insurance commissioner. Commissioner Ricardo Lara in September approved the recommendations by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau to lower thresholds for determining eligibility for experience rating and when a carrier needs to […]
October 3, 2019
As the job market tightens and competition for workers becomes fiercer, a majority of employers are boosting their employee benefits offerings and are paying less attention to reducing associated costs, according to a new study. The changes reflect the shifting priorities of the workforce and the newest generation to enter the job market. The challenge […]
April 18, 2019