Governor Newsom has signed legislation that creates a new framework for COVID-19-related workers’ compensation claims. SB 1159, which takes effect immediately, partly replaces an executive order that Newsom made on March 18 and which expired on July 5. That order required all employees working outside the home who contracted COVID-19 be eligible for workers’ compensation […]
As wildfires continue raging throughout California, Cal/OSHA has issued a reminder to employers that they are required to protect their outdoor workers from smoke if the air quality index exceeds 151. Cal/OSHA has extended an emergency regulation it put in place in August 2019 through January 2021 as it works on a permanent regulation on […]
A new law has come to the rescue of a number of freelance professions by exempting them from the onerous requirements of AB 5, which required most independent contractors to be classified as employees in California. Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 1 signed AB 2257 as an urgency measure, so that it took effect immediately […]
As many states and municipalities have issued mandatory mask orders for businesses that are open to the public, operators like retailers and restaurants have been thrust into the front lines of reducing the spread of the virus by requiring customers to wear masks when on their premises. This has led to confrontations that sometimes result […]
As second court has ruled that an insurer does not have to pay business interruption claims by businesses that saw their revenues run dry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will further make it difficult for business to successfully file such claims. In the most recent case, a Superior Court judge in the District of […]
As lawsuits against employers continue rising amid the coronavirus pandemic, some businesses are requiring workers to sign waivers absolving them of liability and responsibility should they contract the virus. Eight percent of executives surveyed by law firm Blank Rome said they would require that their workers sign waivers of liability before returning to the workplace. […]
Commercial property insurance rates are on the rise across the country as insurers continue wrestling with the toll of increasing natural disasters, rising social unrest around the world (including the U.S.) and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, insurance companies have become more stringent in their underwriting by restricting some coverages and excluding risks that may have […]
In this era of connectedness, increased telecommuting, smartphones that keep staff connected to the office and cyber criminals constantly waging attacks on businesses, you need to do all you can to protect your firm’s, employees’ and customers’ data. It’s a heavy lift to try to set up protocols for the various areas where hackers and […]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s workers’ compensation rating agency plans to implement a new class code for telecommuting employees on Jan. 1, 2021. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California started work on the new classification after swaths of companies ordered employees that could work remotely to start working at home after the […]
As more of America’s workers were asked to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber criminals jumped at the opportunity to take advantage, it seems. Remote work means work being handled on the cloud as employees share files and need a convenient way to access them. But cyber criminals are banking on workers […]