The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a final rule increasing the federal salary threshold for overtime exemptions by 65%, with the full increase starting in 2025. Currently, any worker who does not earn at least $35,568 per year ($684 per week) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a […]
The Federal Trade Commission on April 23 approved a new rule that bans employers from requiring new employees to sign non-compete agreements. The rule will take effect in August 2024, after the commission voted 3-2 to approve it. Besides banning future non-compete agreements, the new rule also nullifies all existing non-competes and requires employers to […]
The organization that helps set workers’ compensation rates in California will recommend that benchmark rates increase 0.9%, with effect from Sept. 1, 2024. While the recommendation is less than 1%, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau noted that it was driven by increasing medical costs for injured workers and higher claims-adjusting costs for insurers. The […]
Many companies are leaving themselves exposed to lawsuits for errors and other issues that crop up in their work because they lack professional liability insurance. Traditionally it’s been architects, accountants and lawyers who would purchase this coverage, but with more work like coding, programing and other ventures spawned by technology, the need for this type […]
The average age of a construction worker is now in the 40s. Baby boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — represent 40% of the construction industry workforce, according to the Center for Construction Research and Training. The nature of construction work presents many hazards for workers, many of which may not appear until […]
The 2024 International Roadcheck — a high-visibility, high-volume inspection and enforcement effort conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance — is slated for May 14-16. During this annual three-day event, CVSA-certified inspectors fan out across the United States, Canada and Mexico to inspect commercial vehicles and drivers at weigh and inspection stations, as well as […]
Cal/OSHA has published a model plan to help California employers comply with a new law requiring that they have in place a workplace violence plan. The model is designed to provide structure for employers to create their own plans. Businesses have the option to use the model plan, create their own or use another plan […]
With the California commercial property and homeowner’s insurance markets increasingly stressed with fewer and fewer insurers willing to write policies in the Golden State, the insurance commissioner has floated a plan aimed at easing the crisis. The main thrust of the new proposal is to make it easier for insurers to get their rate-hike requests […]
The newest cyber and financial fraud threat facing businesses is deepfake technology, which criminals are using to extract money from unsuspecting accounts payable personnel. A finance worker at a multinational company in Hong Kong was duped into transferring $25 million to criminals who had used deepfake technology to pose as the business’s chief financial officer […]
Violence in the workplace is a growing problem for which many U.S. employers are unprepared. Business owners may believe that their workforces are like families and that a violent outburst could never happen at work. They may also think that they have adequate security in place to stop an outsider from launching an attack or […]