With confrontations between angry customers and employees just trying to do their jobs increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic, employers need to make sure they have policies in place to protect workers who are confronted. As well, many customer-facing companies — mainly retailers, restaurants, retail printers and entertainment venues — have seen an uptick in customers […]
The Biden administration has announced plans to require businesses with 100 or more employees to require their workers to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or be tested for the coronavirus on a weekly basis. The order is part of a sweeping six-part “Path Out of the Pandemic” plan, which focuses on expanding vaccinations, opening schools safely, […]
In courtrooms all over the country, battles are occurring between businesses who endured COVID-19-related shutdowns and insurance companies who believe they are not obligated to reimburse them for their losses. According to the Covid Insurance Litigation Tracker from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, more than 1,800 lawsuits have been filed in state and […]
Despite accounting for 19% of revenues among firms in the United States, small businesses shoulder more than 53% of all commercial tort liability costs, according to a new report by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. The story is worse for the business with less than $1 million in revenue. They account for only […]
California is opening a new funding round for its Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program for companies that have taken a financial hit due to the pandemic. The new funding round opens Sept. 9 and runs through Sept. 30. The new round will take place thanks to an additional $1.5 billion in funding authorized in […]
As wildfires continue ravaging the West, more businesses in wildfire-prone areas are facing a difficult commercial property insurance market as insurers reduce their exposure and some have left the market altogether. Many businesses in areas that have already been ravaged by fires in the past, or those located in areas that are near forests and […]
Despite a law requiring that Cal/OSHA create indoor heat illness regulations by 2019, no regulations are yet on the books, making for a difficult situation as many parts of California are experiencing some of the highest temperatures on record. The workplace safety agency implemented heat illness prevention regulations for outdoor workers in 2013, but as the sustained heat wave […]
The Department of Labor has sued a Texas dental practice on behalf of a dental hygienist and a dental assistant who were not reinstated after raising concerns about what COVID-19 safety measures would be in place when the practice reopened in spring 2020. As more employers are bringing people back to the workplace, OSHA has […]
California’s insurance commissioner has approved a 3.4% reduction in the average workers’ compensation benchmark rate as of Sept. 1, 2021. Ricardo Lara decided to order a rate decrease despite the fact that the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the state’s rate-making agency, had recommended that the average benchmark rate be increased 2.7%. The 3.4% reduction […]
As many parts of the country are wrestling with ever-increasing temperatures during the summer months, a new study has found that the hotter the weather gets, the higher the risk of workplace accidents and injuries for both indoor and outside workers. The study by the University of California, Los Angeles, based on claims data from […]