Workers’ compensation fraud can be a major expense and therefore a significant risk to any employer. However, it is easier to prevent than you think. With a few easy steps, you can help prevent fraud from happening within your company.
Monitor The Trends Of Workers’ Comp Claims
Effective communication plays a central role in every successful corporate initiative. When we first created the GESOP in late 2010, we intended to do a great job of communicating its benefits with all our employee-owners. Unfortunately, we got busy running the business, and frankly didn’t work on the communication of our GESOP. We got serious about communication in late 2012, and established our GESOP Communication Committee.
As the Trustee, I work directly with the committee to establish a plan for increasing everyone’s interest in the GESOP and their knowledge of the plan and how it works. When we established the committee, we strategically planned representation from the various areas of our business. We started meeting in early 2013, with our first task to establish a game plan for the year, culminating in a lot of activity in October -National ESOP Month.
A company’s success or failure is often determined by the quality of its employees. Offering an attractive benefits package can be a key to attracting and retaining the highest quality employees. Long-term care insurance is a growing trend in the employee benefits arena. According to research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 22 percent* of companies now offer long-term care insurance to their employees as a voluntary benefit.
What Is Long-Term Care?
Effective December 1, 2013, your company will need to meet more stringent standards established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for training its employees on the handling of hazardous substances in the workplace. This new OSHA training is necessitated by the revised Hazard Communication Standard that OSHA put into place starting in March 2012.
November is American Diabetes Month. For those of you who know me well, you are probably aware that diabetes prevention and education is a subject about which I am very passionate.
While the holidays were once a time of family togetherness and peaceful rejoicing, today's world has made it a frantic rush to host the perfect party and outdo relatives with gift selections. With holiday work events, family meals, and parties with friends, you may feel pulled in several directions asyour calendar quickly fills up. Alas, the stress begins. But what to do? Make sure you schedule time for yourself to relax and enjoy the season or you run the risk of over-stressing, losing sleep, and becoming so exhausted you get sick.
During 2012, 55 percent of small businesses experienced at least one data privacy breach and 53 percent encountered multiple breaches, according to the Ponemon Institute. Despite this, the National Small Business Cybersecurity Study found that only 10 percent of small businesses have an allocated staff member who is responsible for online and cyber security.
The key to an effective wellness program is communication. Your employees must know about the programs and understand how they can benefit. Here are five strategies to help you achieve your goals:
Football, backyard campfires, multi-colored landscapes, pumpkin carving, and Halloween festivities. The month of October brings awesome activities and traditions that people of all ages can enjoy. However, for those working in the health care industry, the month of October brings in one of the busiest times of the year: the dreaded cold and flu season.
Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most individuals to obtain acceptable health insurance coverage for themselves and their family members or pay a penalty. This provision is widely known as the “individual mandate.” If you are covered under a health plan offered by your employer, or if you are currently covered by a government program such as Medicare, you can continue to be covered under those programs and will not be impacted by the individual mandate.
The penalty for not obtaining acceptable health insurance coverage under the ACA will be phased in over a three-year period. The amount of the penalty is the greater of two amounts—the “flat dollar amount” and “percentage of income amount.”
In 2014, the penalty will start at $95 per person, or up to 1 percent of income. For 2015, the penalty increases to $325 per person or up to 2 percent of income. In 2016 and after, the penalty increases to $695 per person or up to 2.5 percent of income. “Income” for this purpose is your household income minus your exemption (or exemptions for a married couple) and standard deductions. Families will pay half the penalty amount for children. The penalty is charged annually but calculated on a monthly basis - assessed for each month in which you go without coverage. There is no penalty for a single lapse in coverage lasting less than three months in a year.
Because this provision has the effect of “requiring” individuals to have coverage, it is often referred to as the “individual mandate.”
