Skyrocketing claims costs and higher accident rates are pressuring the commercial auto insurance market, as insurers impose increasingly larger rate hikes and more are pulling out of the market or restricting who they will cover. While rate increases have been the standard for nearly a decade, since 2022 hikes are growing larger — often in […]
July 26, 2023
Cal/OSHA has proposed its long-awaited indoor heat illness prevention standard as increasingly hot summers are affecting workers in indoor spaces like warehouses, production operations, restaurants and more. The proposed standard, largely based on the state agency’s outdoor regulations, will require employers whose workplaces at times are at least 82 degrees to have a written Indoor […]
July 26, 2023
After the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed new rules aimed at streamlining the prior approval process for most health plans in the U.S., a number of the country’s largest insurers announced their own steps to improve the process. UnitedHealthcare announced in late March that it would cut the use of prior authorizations by […]
April 26, 2023
Cal/OSHA has proposed its long-awaited indoor heat illness prevention standard as increasingly hot summers are affecting workers in indoor spaces like warehouses, production operations, restaurants and more. The proposed standard, largely based on the state agency’s outdoor regulations, will require employers whose workplaces at times are at least 82 degrees to have a written Indoor […]
April 26, 2023
As health insurance and treatment costs rise and recognizing the potential for tax savings and other benefits, more employers have started offering flexible savings accounts to their employees. FSAs are also an important way to enable employees who are not enrolled in high-deductible health plans with attached health savings accounts to save money over the […]
January 27, 2023
The “Monday morning surprise” — the term for when an employee approaches you on the first morning of the working week to report an injury he or she sustained at work on Friday — can be a dreaded situation for an employer. Nearly all organizations face this at some point and the injury report is […]
January 27, 2023
A slew of new laws and regulations that affect California businesses have taken effect for 2023. Last year was a busy one, with ground-breaking new laws on employee pay disclosures, a law prohibiting discrimination against cannabis-using employees and another expanding the circumstances when employees can take leave to care for a loved one. The following […]
January 27, 2023
When was the last time you or the person responsible for doing so walked around your facility, warehouse, office or other workplace and did a safety inspection? Your Injury and Illness Prevention Program should state that the owner, supervisor or person with authority and responsibility shall conduct monthly workplace safety inspections. To maintain a safe […]
October 25, 2022
One workers’ compensation claim can send your experience modifier spiraling out of control if the injured employee stays away from work for an extended period of time. The longer they are off work, the more costly the claim becomes since they will continue receiving temporary disability payments. That’s in addition to any medical expenses that […]
April 29, 2022
A surge in federal government subsidies has led many people to drop their employer-sponsored health insurance and instead seek out coverage on government-run Affordable Care Act exchanges, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Subsidies, which were increased substantially by COVID-19 stimulus legislation, are so large for some who purchase coverage on exchanges […]
April 29, 2022