20 Nov

Posted at 17:22h in Risk Management White Papers by . .
Legal Update Header

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule requires employers to monitor employees’ drug and alcohol violations.

Employers must have drug and alcohol violation queries pulled from the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse by Jan. 6, 2021.

The rule applies to employers and commercial driver’s license (CDL) drivers. The FMCSA considers owner-operators as both employers and employees, so they must conduct queries on themselves as well.

The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is an online database that allows employers to conduct queries on prospective and current CDL drivers. Queries are electronic checks used to determine whether CDL drivers are prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions due to unresolved drug and alcohol program violations.

17 Nov

Posted at 16:29h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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Average health plan premiums rose more modestly in 2020. At 5.4%, up slightly from the 4.6% increase in 2019, but still considerably less than the nearly 10% increase seen in 2018 (which marked a ten-year high).

As the Coronovirus pandemic sweeps the nation in 2020, a crucial pillar supporting the U.S. workforce is employer-sponsored healthcare. While we wait to see how postponed preventive care and delayed elective surgeries will affect the health of the nation's workforce, and how the total costs of COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccinations will be financed, we are already leveraging our local knowledge, as well as the data from this survey to recommend renewal strategies for 2021.

13 Nov

Posted at 18:53h in Property & Casualty White Papers by . .
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There are numerous factors that can contribute to higher workers’ compensation expenses for an organization. Specifically, one emerging cost driver is the concern of comorbidities.

A comorbidity occurs when an individual experiences multiple health conditions at the same time. The presence of comorbidities within your workforce can carry significant consequences—namely, elevating the severity of workplace injuries and lengthening employees’ recovery time following an injury. These ramifications can, in turn, lead to an increase in both the overall cost and complexity of workers’ compensation claims.

13 Nov

Posted at 18:20h in Human Resources White Papers by . .
Legal Update Header

On Nov. 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published two new opinion letters providing the DOL’s official position on how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to employee pay when there is work-related travel or employee training.

Voluntary Training Programs

The FLSA requires employers to compensate their employees for all hours of work. While the FLSA does not define what qualifies as “work,” the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that employees should be compensated for any time that “is spent predominantly for the employer’s benefit.”

13 Nov

Posted at 16:41h in Cyber White Papers by . .

The COVID-19 pandemic has solidified remote work as a new operational standard.

Employers should expect this trend to only grow in the future. In fact, many major companies, such as Twitter and Microsoft, have indicated that remote work will be an indefinite option for their employees.

While this is exciting in many ways, remote work also comes with unique challenges—namely, cybersecurity. This article discusses some cybersecurity risks that remote employees face and offers potential solutions.

10 Nov

Posted at 20:33h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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While These National Trends Tell One Story, There Are Significant Differences In Some Areas Of The Country, As Well As Within Different Industries Or Group Sizes.

The balance of this report expands on these national trends but also uncovers more localized findings that are critical when benchmarking more strategically.