Cal/OSHA has issued a warning to employers located near the Los Angeles fires to take steps to protect their outdoor workers against unhealthy air quality. Wildfire smoke contains a number of harmful pollutants but the main danger to anyone outside in smoky conditions is particulate matter, which can lodge in the lungs. As well, with…
Soaring court judgments and jury awards are pushing up the cost of commercial liability and umbrella insurance policies, particularly for businesses that have been sued before. There are a number of factors at play, including massive “nuclear” jury awards for tens of millions of dollars, private equity-backed lawsuits and a phenomenon known as “social inflation”…
Group Health Plan Trends for 2025 As health insurance costs continue to rise at an uncomfortable pace, employers in 2025 plan to shake up the status quo with their health care vendors, particularly those focused on reducing pharmacy spend, a main cost driver, according to a new report. To address spiraling costs, they will also…
An allegedly Chinese state-sponsored hacker campaign dubbed “Salt Typhoon” has infiltrated major cell phone providers, including AT&T and Verizon, potentially exposing your company’s communications to threat actors. The attack has been described as the most significant telecommunications hack in U.S. history. While the breach is alarming for individuals, the implications for businesses are profound and…
Two new laws which took effect Jan. 1, 2025 will ease the Affordable Care Act annual tax reporting burden on health plan sponsors. In a bipartisan effort, Congress recently passed the Employer Reporting Improvement Act and the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act, both of which outgoing President Biden signed into law. The laws are aimed at…
A temporary exemption that construction trucking providers had enjoyed from the controversial AB 5 law, sunsetted on Dec. 31. AB 5, which took effect in 2021, created a higher standard for determining who is a worker or a contractor in California. This expiration will require employers who had benefited from the exemption for such service…