Insurers Don’t Have to Pay for Testing Returning Workers: HHS

Posted on: July 29th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

New guidance from the Trump administration absolves insurers of the responsibility of paying for COVID-19 tests that are required for workers who are returning to the job. The guidance, released by the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury, means that employers will likely either have to foot the bill themselves as they […]

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Five Steps for Protecting the Data of Your Firm, Customers and Employees

Posted on: July 14th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

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 […]

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New Telecommuter Class Code in the Works

Posted on: July 7th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

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 […]

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Insurance Costs Related to COVID-19 Could Top $100 billion

Posted on: June 10th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

COVID-19-related losses for property-casualty insurers are likely to top $100 billion, with workers’ compensation accounting for about a third of all payouts, according to a new report by Wells Fargo & Co. The report estimates that workers’ compensation could see total COVID-19 claims payouts of up to $34 billion, but that factors like the severity […]

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Adjustable Workstations Key to Reducing Injuries

Posted on: May 26th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

Musculoskeletal disorders from manual labor in factories, construction, printing and warehouse work are one of the most common types of workplace injuries and account for one-third of all workers’ compensation costs. These injuries take a profound economic toll on both workers who suffer these injuries and on employers who pay more for their workers’ comp […]

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More Older Workers’ Comp Claims Being Settled as COVID-19 Brings Uncertainty

Posted on: May 20th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

One bit of good news coming from the COVID-19 pandemic is that the economic downturn has boosted efforts to close older workers’ comp claims that have been lingering as both sides cannot agree on a settlement. Due to the financial pain brought on by the sudden downturn, injured workers who have been reluctant to settle […]

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Testing Workers for COVID-19 Raises Privacy, Discrimination Issues

Posted on: May 13th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

Employers whose businesses continue to operate are obviously concerned about the coronavirus spreading through their worksites, so many have started testing their workers. Recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance authorized employers to conduct COVID-19 testing and check temperatures of employees. But doing so could expose a business to a number of employee legal actions […]

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Workers Get Workers’ Comp Presumption for COVID-19

Posted on: May 7th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order requiring that workers who either test positive for COVID-19 or are diagnosed by a physician as having coronavirus are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. The order means that it will automatically be presumed that the employee contracted the virus on the job if they test positive […]

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State Fund to Accept All COVID-19 Claims by Essential Workers

Posted on: May 6th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

State Compensation Insurance Fund has announced that it will accept any workers’ comp claims for a diagnosed case of COVID-19 filed by essential workers. Workers deemed “essential” who contract COVID-19 would be presumed to have caught the virus at work, and hence would be eligible for all normal workers’ comp benefits under the law. Only […]

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Protecting Your Workers During the Pandemic

Posted on: April 28th, 2020 by Leaders' Choice Staff No Comments

If you are one of the companies that has been deemed an essential employer and are remaining open during stay-at-home orders, you should be doing all you can to protect your workers against contracting COVID-19. While some workers are really on the front lines of fighting the disease, like health care workers and emergency services […]

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