Business property coverage is getting more difficult to come by for operations located in areas that are susceptible to wildfires. The devastating wildfires of the last few years, along with the thousands of homes and businesses that have been burned or damaged due to these events, has resulted in insurers becoming more selective about the […]
Workers’ compensation insurance rates will likely continue sliding in 2020 after California’s rating agency submitted its recommendation that the state insurance commissioner reduce the average benchmark rates by 5.4%. If the recommendation is approved, it will be the ninth consecutive rate decrease since 2015 (some years had two decreases), which have resulted in the average […]
A recent appeals decision denied coverage to a company on its directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance policies for taking too long to file the claim. In this case, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with an insurer that had denied a claim a company had made after being sued […]
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation that will make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees and job applicants based on their hairstyle if it is part of their racial makeup. The law, known as the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair), amends the state Education and Government […]
Cal/OSHA has issued emergency regulations that require employers of outdoor workers to take protective measures, including providing respiratory equipment, when air quality is significantly affected by wildfires. Smoke from wildfires can travel hundreds of miles and while an area may not be in danger of the fire, the smoke can be thick and dangerous, reaching […]
Workplace injury rates rise during the summer months. When summer rolls around, companies in many sectors, including agriculture and construction, significantly increase production. Increased road construction raises risks for workers and drivers. Many of the newly hired workers are young and inexperienced, creating a high potential for workplace injuries. Toiling in the sun is also […]
Companies in states that have legalized marijuana are wrestling with how to deal with employees that use, particularly if they did so the night before and are still feeling the effects the following day. A new survey found that one-third of business owners are not prepared for managing the effects of legalized marijuana in the […]
After R&B star SZA said she had security called on her while shopping at a Zefora store in California, the chain closed all of its U.S. stores for an hour to conduct “inclusion workshops” for its 16,000 employees. Zefora understood the swift backlash that can hit a company that has acted inappropriately towards a customer, […]
Employers that are hit with a discrimination complaint must act fast to compare the allegations in the lawsuit to the earlier complaint the worker filed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the employer can find that the allegations in the complaint filed with the EEOC do not match those in the subsequent lawsuit filed […]
Many businesses that produce some type of pollutant throughout the course of daily business operations don’t know they are doing so. Others know they are producing pollutants and have processes and safeguards in place to reduce their release into the environment. A business can be held liable for some very costly damages when these byproducts […]