News


December 2020- EMERGENCY REGULATIONS – COVID-19 Workplace Safety Rules Take Effect

THE CAL/OSHA Standards Board has approved new emergency regulations that will impose strict rules on employers to implement safeguards in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the workplace. The sweeping rules extend the reach of protections to employer-provided housing and transportation, as well as THE CAL/OSHA Standards Board has approved new emergency …

December 2020 – COVERAGE ISSUES – Your New Year Insurance Checklist

AS 2021 gets underway and while you’re making New Year’s resolutions, you should also resolve to review the state of your business’s insurance program. The best way to do that is to start by reviewing your enterprise’s activities in the past year and how they may affect your insurance policies in the new year. What …

Worker’s Compensation – COVID-19 Prompts Rate Hike Recommendation – OCTOBER 2020

THE COVID-19 pandemic seems to have reversed years of falling workers’ compensation rates in California, as the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has recommended that average benchmark rates be increased by 2.6% for 2021. The recommendation was forwarded to the California Department of Insurance, which will schedule a hearing on the recommendation in the fall. …

New Law Creates COVID-19 Claim Framework – OCTOBER 2020

GOVERNOR GAVIN Newsom has signed legislation that creates a new framework for COVID-19- related workers’ compensation claims. SB 1159 replaces an executive order that Newsom made on March 18 that required all employees working outside the home who contracted COVID-19 be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they file a claim. The new law expands that rebuttable presumption” that a coronavirus case is work-related to front-line …

Ten Employee Lawsuit Risks During Covid-19 – July 2020

THE NOVEL coronavirus that broke out in the winter has caused immeasurable suffering, both physical and economic. For employers struggling to stay in business, this is a fraught time where mistakes in managing their workforces could lead to employee lawsuits. Here are 10 potential trouble spots to watch for. 1. Workplace safety – Businesses that …

Workers’ Compensation – New Telecommuter Class Code in the Works – July 2020

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 as companies ordered employees to start working at home after stay-at-home orders were issued to contain the …

Pandemic Transition – How to Reopen, Bring Staff Back to Work Safely – July 2020

IF YOUR business is reopening after a relaxation of shelter-in-place orders, you should proceed with caution and make sure you have safeguards in place to protect your workers, as well as customers if they are entering your premises. Here are some recommendations from the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and other sources that can …

COVID-19 Emergency Rating Changes Take X-MOD – July 2020

THE DEPARTMENT of Insurance has approved emergency workers’ compensation rules dealing with COVID-19 and California employers. The rules were recommended by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau to bring fairness for employers’ experience rating during the COVID-19 pandemic amid shelter-at-home orders and for dealing with claims of workers who contract COVID-19 on the job. The …