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November 2017

Nov 06
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Which Dependents You Can Add To Your Group Health Insurance Policy

By Your Employee Matters

Open enrollment for employee health insurance plans begins in November. You may wish to add dependents to your current policy as you care for your loved ones. Here are the details about who you can add to your group health insurance policy.

    • Spouse

      Many group health insurance plans allow you to add your spouse to your plan during open enrollment or within 30 days after your marriage. You may also add a same-sex spouse if your state legalizes same-sex marriages and your plan allows this provision.

    • Dependent Children

      You may add biological children to your health insurance policy even if they don’t live with you. If you give birth to or adopt a child or if your child loses insurance coverage through Medicaid or CHIP, you have a 30-day window to add that dependent to your group health insurance plan.

    • Spouse’s Children

      You may add stepchildren to you health insurance plan if they’re under the age of 26. You may add them during open enrollment seasons or within 30 days of your marriage.

    • Grandchildren

      You may add a grandchild to your coverage if you have legal guardianship of that child and they reside with you. If a dependent child or dependent adult child on your current health insurance plan has a baby, you may also be able to add your grandchild to your policy. However, most states do not have this provision, so be sure to read your policy for details.

    • Dependent Parents

      Some health insurance plans do allow you to add dependent parents to your policy. However, the federal government doesn’t mandate this coverage, and it’s an uncommon practice.

    • Boyfriend/Girlfriend

      A small minority of group health insurance plans allow you to add a boyfriend or girlfriend to your policy. You may need to prove that you share a domestic partnership and have a history of living together.

    • Domestic Partner

      In some cases, you can add a domestic partner to your insurance policy. State, carrier and employer guidelines vary, so discuss your options with your HR department.

    • Separated or Divorced Spouse

      If you separate or divorce from your spouse, you typically cannot keep them on your health insurance policy. A separation or divorce does qualify your ex-spouse for COBRA benefits, though.

Paperwork Required to Add Dependents

To add a dependent to your health insurance policy, you may need to prove that they are legitimate dependents. Provide a marriage license, birth certificate and other documents that prove your dependent relationship.

This November, choose the health insurance plan that meets your needs. Add any dependents, too, as you provide health care coverage to your loved ones.

Nov 06
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The Importance of Disability Insurance to Workers and Their Employers

By Your Employee Matters

The need for Disability insurance is all too often underestimated. Although most people wouldn’t dare forgo necessary evils such as Homeowners insurance, insuring a new car, or even obtaining Life insurance, the need for Disability insurance is far too often underestimated. Underestimating the value of insuring earning power, especially considering the rate of personal savings in the U.S. is at an almost unprecedented low, could spell disaster if a disabling event was to occur.

Disability Insurance from a Worker’s Perspective. If you’re one of those who think you don’t need to purchase Disability insurance because you figure it’s unlikely you’ll ever become disabled, prepare yourself for some alarming statistics. According to government studies, younger individuals have a one-in-three chance of suffering a disabling event before they reach 65-years-old. Older individuals have a one-in-six chance of the same fate.

Others might be counting on alternative sources of income, such as Social Security Disability Benefits, to replace their income if they become disabled. Although this benefit is available after a disabling event, it comes with many rules and regulations. For example, the SSA will consider your ability to perform any type of work, not just whatever your previous line of work was prior to the disabling event, as they are determining your eligibility for benefits.

Furthermore, Social Security Disability Benefits are only available to someone that’s totally disabled and that has a disability expected to result in death or last longer than one year. Those suffering a short-term or partial disability don’t qualify. The SSA has a very strict definition of disability and assumes that working individuals who become unable to work temporarily will have access to alternative sources of income to support themselves until they return to work.

As mentioned above, alternative sources of income such as personal savings are at all-time lows. In fact, data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that personal saving rates have been in the red for several years now, with lows of -1.6. This essentially means that many individuals are living paycheck-to-paycheck or spending more than they earn and simply don’t have emergency savings to carry them through their period of disability.

Now that we’ve established why workers need Disability insurance, you might be curious how you can purchase it. Most individuals generally find purchasing their Disability insurance through their employer to be the most cost-effective and simple source.

Disability Insurance from an Employer’s Perspective. Offering Disability insurance in the workplace makes good business sense for employers; after all, employees are one of your business’s most valuable assets. Employers can offer Disability insurance on a voluntary basis, which allows employees who desire the coverage to elect it and pay the entire premium themselves, or provide a base amount and give employees the option to pay for supplemental coverage on their own. Supplemental or voluntary, either option allows employees to pay the premiums conveniently through payroll deductions and allows them to benefit from reduced group rates.

Since lost work time from injury or illness has a substantial cost to employers, plans that include return-to-work and rehabilitation services might be a strong consideration when selecting a plan. Other attractive features to consider are the proactive management of disabilities through regular early contact with both the disabled employee and his/her physician; a reduced benefit for disabled workers able to return to work on a part-time basis; and working with the employee, employee’s physician, and employer to find creative and flexible ways to get the employee back to work.

Disability insurance plans have long been a highly-valued and appreciated benefit offering, but in today’s economy, such offerings are more important than ever to employees and employers

Nov 06
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Create A Social Media Policy for Your Business

By Employment Resources
The second generation of the World Wide Web, commonly referred to as Web 2.0, is ever expanding and giving users more ability than ever to collaborate and interact with each other in a virtual community. Even if you and your clients aren’t actively involved in Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Wikis, Digg, and so forth, it’s highly likely that at least some of your employees are using them.

There are actually many business benefits and opportunities to be had by using Web 2.0 portals to link your company with your clients and suppliers, such as lowering your cost to do business, increasing revenues, making marketing more cost effective, the speed and ease of access to information, and such. That said, using social media isn’t risk-free.

One way you can manage the risks associated with social media is by creating a social media policy. A comprehensive policy with the specifics on training, supervisions, and employee responsibility is especially vital if you require, or even encourage, any employee to blog or utilize social media on behalf of your business. You should also consider carrying a media liability insurance policy or a similar social media-specific coverage.

Regardless of whether you require, ask, or encourage employees to utilize social media on your behalf or not, you should still have a policy pertaining to what your employees do with their own time on social media. The following are some key areas that should be covered:

If you don’t have bargaining agreements or employment contracts that would limit your options for termination, then you can remind your staff that their employment is at-will, meaning you retain the option to end their employment at any time for any non-discriminatory reason.

You should make it clear that your policy on internet usage, privacy, non-competition, nondisclosure, ethics, and so forth will run concurrently with your social media policy. For example, your internet usage policy probably states that you have access to monitor the sent and received messages on your business’s communication systems. You will want to make it clear that you have the same access when the communication systems are used for social media purposes.

Inform employees of the risks associated with online publishing, particularly their risk of disclosing information that’s confidential. Give employees a specific contact, such as their supervisor, to check with if they have any doubts about the confidentially of a topic.

Your policy should clearly warn against displaying your business trademark or logo, as these may give viewers the false impression that the speaker is representing your business. Employees should also be aware that they’re to disclose their employment and state that their views are entirely their own if they decide to publish anything related to your business.

Employees should understand that they’re liable for the content they publish and can be sued for incidences like copyright infringement, libel, and plagiarism. Keeping in mind that state and federal laws allow some degree of privacy for social media communications that occur outside the workplace, have disciplinary actions outlined for the publishing of content that’s damaging or embarrassing to your business. Employees should be reminded that what they post about their employer, competitors, customers, and co-workers should be respectful and that they should delete inappropriate comments from any site under their control.

Remind your employees to fact-check, make appropriate attributions, specify all information that’s opinion, and provide a safe means of contact prior to publishing all content. Some bloggers publish anonymously, but anonymous publishing can make malice easier to prove in privacy and defamation cases.

Remind employees of the dangers of giving out personal information or clues that could allow online predators to obtain their personal information. Suggest that they review their privacy settings on all online social media sites. Identity thieves can often access sensitive personal information with nothing more than a birthday and name.

Nov 06
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How To Handle Online Harassment Properly

By Employment Resources
Online harassment in the workplace affects 6.5 million employees every year according to a 2014  U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey. Harassment can cause decreased productivity and motivation, increase physical and emotional health problems, and cause legal trouble. It can occur between employees or originate with a company client or other outside source via a company or personal computer, cellphone or other electronic device. Rather than ignore it, take harassment complaints seriously and handle them properly with these tips.

    • Follow Established Procedure

      Your company’s employee handbook should outline the company’s procedure for addressing, reporting and handling harassment of any kind. Follow that procedure for every online harassment claim since it protects the victim and prevents company lawsuits.

    • Investigate Complaints Immediately

      As soon as an employee complains about online harassment, start an investigation. Gather supporting documents, such as printed emails or social media messages. You can request those records from your internet service provider or ask the police for assistance. You will also interview witnesses, including the complainer and any coworkers or friends who can support or dispute the harassment claim.

    • Don’t Retaliate

      Retaliating in any way against someone who files a discrimination complaint or is accused of discrimination is illegal. Examples of retaLiation include:

      • Threats
      • Shift or duty changes
      • Isolation from company functions
      • Demotion
      • Pay cuts
      • Discipline
      • Termination
    • Record Details

      Create a written record of your investigation for your company records and in case you need to take legal action. Include the steps you take to resolve the issue, who you interview and all the documents you receive. Document the outcome and any related actions, too.

    • Cooperate With Authorities

      If the police or other agency becomes involved in the harassment claim, cooperate fully. Provide documents and explain how you handled the investigation.

    • Implement the Appropriate Actions

      If you find that an employee was perpetrating the online harassment, take appropriate action, which could include a warning, counseling or termination. If the harasser is not an employee, consider blocking or filtering communication from them or report them to the police.

    • Maintain Confidentiality

      Protect the victim and the integrity of your case when you keep details of a harassment case private. Confidentiality also decreases interoffice rumors and drama and increases the likelihood of a fair and swift resolution.

    • Educate Your Team

      Host regular trainings that outline what online harassment is and how to prevent it. Be sure everyone knows that your company has a zero tolerance policy against harassment of any kind from any source.

These eight tips can help you handle online harassment properly. With them, you protect your employees, uphold the law and improve your company.

Nov 06
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‘GOT A MINUTE?’

By Employment Resources

One of the most difficult challenges managers or executives face is having their days ruled by “got-a-minutes.” The executive or manager is usually more proficient or knowledgeable about a certain subject, which makes it tempting for employees to avoid taking personal responsibility for finding an answer and going to an “easy” source.

All too often, this source is you. Answering a “got-a-minute” is like throwing that employee a fish: It disrupts your concentration and prevents them from learning how to fish.

To help avoid interruptions to your days by “got-a-minutes?,” tell your subordinates that you’re willing to give everyone at least five minutes between 4:00 and 4:30 to discuss any issues that are semi-urgent in nature, leaving less serious issues for the regular weekly meeting.

The only immediate “got-a-minute” questions permitted will be those rated as “emergency issues” (9 or above on a scale of 10). Work with your team to define these issues. Let employees voice their concerns and reach a consensus. Agree that you too will refrain from throwing “got-a-minutes” their way.

This approach should eliminate more than 80% of the trivial “got-a-minutes” that knock you off course. Moreover, during these 4:00 meetings, employees will be more focused on their requests. Let them know that if they think the matter will take more than five minutes they should be prepared and perhaps even use an outline. Encourage them to tell you what efforts they’ve made to deal with the issue and where they’re “stuck.”

Perhaps all they need is permission to move forward. Empower employees to figure things out for themselves. If your time is worth $100 an hour and theirs is worth $20 an hour, let them take a few hours to figure out the answer for themselves.

Nov 06
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Can An Employer Request Employee Credit Reports?

By Employment Resources

You’ve written and posted the job ads and are ready to interview candidates, or it’s time for annual reviews, terminations and promotions. Can you request credit reports for potential or current employees? Learn more about the legal guidelines surrounding employee credit checks.

Why Do Companies Perform Credit Checks?

Many employers perform credit checks as a way to verify an employee’s integrity. A credit check can also reduce potential liability that could come from negligent hiring practices.

When Can Companies Perform Employee Credit Checks?

Companies can check a potential employee’s credit as part of the hiring practice. After an employee is hired, a company can also perform a credit check before they renew the employee’s contract, give promotions or reassign employees to another position.

Most employers must follow the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It outlines how employers can obtain and use credit information and stipulates that you must inform employees and get written permission before you can obtain credit report information.

Do All Companies Perform Employee Credit Checks?

While many companies can perform employee credit checks, it’s not mandatory. In fact, certain companies only perform credit checks on key positions such as those who handle sensitive financial information. Also, certain states ban the use of credit checks to determine employment status.

What Information is Included on an Employee Credit Report?

Employers obtain employee credit reports from numerous consumer and employment credit checking agencies. The report can contain a variety of personal information, including:

  • Social Security number
  • Birth year
  • Marital status, including spouse’s name
  • Current and previous addresses and employers
  • Credit card, loan and child support obligations, including payment history
  • Liens, judgments and bankruptcies
  • Identity of anyone who checked the credit report recently

Most employee credit reports will not contain a credit score.

Can Employees be Fired Because of Their Credit Reports?

Currently, no federal laws and few states prohibit employment discrimination based on an employee’s credit report. You must follow FCRA if you fire someone based on their credit report. The law states that employers must:

  • Provide employees with a copy of the FCRA and their credit report before firing or eliminating the employee.
  • Provide terminated employees with the contact information of the credit reporting agency.
  • Keep all credit report information confidential and not store it in personnel files.

Employers must also follow the Federal Bankruptcy Act and other civil rights laws. You cannot fire someone based on a past bankruptcy or use credit report information as an excuse to fire someone based on their gender, race or age.

Before requesting an employee’s credit report, check state and anti-discrimination laws. These steps ensure you use credit information properly as you make staffing decisions for your company.

Nov 06
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Severe Weather Driving Requires Extra Caution

By Personal Perspective

Severe weather can strike at any time of the year. It is not always possible to avoid driving during dangerous weather conditions. However, being a cautious driver can mean the difference between getting home safely and standing along the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

Snow and Ice

Winter often brings frozen precipitation, in one form or another. Ice and snow cause driving challenges for most of us, but we can all be safer on the road by following a few key driving tips. The first rule of thumb is to take the time to properly de-ice and clean your windows. An extra five minutes defrosting and scraping all your windows will enable you to see others and use defensive driving skills.

Once your windows are cleared and you are on the road, keep your speed slow and consistent. In deep snow, travel at a speed fast enough to keep your momentum going but slow enough to maintain control of the vehicle. Road signs usually warn us that bridges freeze before roads. Therefore, slow down before crossing bridges and overpasses and avoid sudden changes in speed or direction.

Use extra care when braking in winter weather conditions. Braking should be slow and deliberate. If you brake too quickly or abruptly, your brakes could lock-up, causing you to lose steering capability. Anti-lock brakes will help to keep you from losing steering control in a quick braking situation. To engage anti-lock brakes, push the pedal to the floor and hold; do not pump the brakes.

Ice and snow do not change the application of your anti-lock brakes; push and hold the brake pedal to avoid losing steering control. If these safety tips fail and you find yourself stuck in the snow, straighten your wheels and accelerate slowly. Try to avoid spinning your tires and, if necessary, use sand or cinders for added traction under the drive wheels.

Fog

During foggy conditions, stay to the right side of the road and turn on your low-beam headlights. If you cannot see the edge of the road, it might be safest to pull over. If you make the decision to pull off the road, be sure to pull to the far right, off of the traffic lane, and turn on your hazard lights.

Wind and Rain

Wind and rain present special challenges for drivers. If you have a high-profile vehicle such as a trailer or motor home, consider staying off the roads until the winds die down. The beginning of a rain storm is the most treacherous time to be on the road, as water mixes with road oils and dirt to create a slick surface. Be careful to avoid hydroplaning by slowing down and maintaining traction between your tires and the road surface. Turn on your lights to allow your vehicle to be seen by other drivers and use your defroster and/or air-conditioner to improve visibility.

Severe thunderstorms can result in tornados and hail. In the car, monitor your news radio station. If you see a tornado, the safest place to be is outside of the car. Pull over and find a ditch or other low-lying area where you can lay face down and protect yourself from flying debris. In a hailstorm, pull under an overpass or bridge to seek shelter while on the road. When a hurricane is in the forecast, head inland to high ground well before the storm approaches land.

By exercising caution in severe weather driving conditions, you can save yourself the headache of sliding off the road, having an accident, or suffering even greater damage to yourself and your property.

Nov 06
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How To Avoid The X Factor When Making A Home Offer

By Personal Perspective

There are those that negotiate for the most reasonable deal possible and those that negotiate for the sake of negotiating. Sellers and buyers alike need to realize that the best deal possible is one where both get what they want in the deal.

This isn’t necessarily an easy point to arrive at and is often a lesson in patience. In real estate, there’s something called the X-factor – a potential home buyer spends countless hours viewing properties until they finally find their perfect home. Instead of making an offer based on what the value of the home is to them and what comparable prices are, they immediately start to ponder how much less they should offer than whatever the asking price might be.

Sorry, but there isn’t some tacit X-factor percentage that should just automatically be subtracted from all listing prices. Home owners are more often than not just as eager to sell as the buyer is to buy. If so, the price of the home is usually realistically priced and priced closely to its comps.

Still, the quest for a deal spurs many to start with a low-ball offer that’s not only unrealistic, but often insulting to the seller. If the seller is offended, negotiations usually die before they’ve ever begun. So, any serious buyer shouldn’t have some magic automatic deduction from an asking price in their head. Look at the comps in the area and determine what the value of the home is for you based on how congruent it is to the needs and desires of your family.

How a purchasing price is arrived at for both owner and buyer is a very personal process. When accepting an offer, a buyer considers how fast they need to sell the home, how bad they need to sell the home, pressures from having already purchasing a replacement home, what is owed on the home, and so forth.

On the other hand, two potential buyers can look at the very same property and come up with two very different personal values for the home, depending on how congruent it is with each of their needs, the location of the home, appeal of the home, amenities, school system, and so forth. Aside from personal value, buyers and sellers must also look at the how much a lender will lend on the home based on it appraisal.

Price isn’t the only thing negotiated during the sale of a home. There’s also time lines, what will stay and go from the home, and who will pay for any problems found upon professional inspection. The most important thing for buyers and sellers to remember is that negotiating isn’t about one side getting everything they desire; it’s a give-and-take process of compromise.

To avoid a winner-take-all complex from forming, buyers and sellers should both have a list of top priorities prior to starting any negotiations. As new issues arise during the process, priorities might need to be re-evaluated to see if the priority is truly a must have for the home to change hands.

Many problems, such as fees and repairs, often can be solved by the buyer and seller meeting in the middle. Agreeing to split the costs evenly can be a much better option than wasting time and money to negotiate for weeks. For example, a seller that will pay another mortgage payment because of the additional time spent negotiating might actually find it cheaper to pay half the cost of a minor repair and close the deal before the next note is due.

Sometimes there are legitimate deal breakers. If so, then it just wasn’t the best option for the parties involved. But, before giving up, do try mulling over the troubling aspect of the negotiation for a few days. You can move on to the other areas of the negotiation. If everything else is agreed on, then there may be more encouragement to compromise on the problematic area.

Nov 06
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10 Security Tips Prevent Commercial Building Break-Ins

By Risk Management Bulletin

Security should be one of your company’s top priorities as you protect your merchandise, equipment and technology. Consider 10 security tips that reduce your risk of break-ins.

    • Erect a Fence

      If possible, erect a security fence that allows visibility for neighbors and police but keeps intruders away from your building. A vertical iron bar fence or vinyl-coated chain link fence are two adequate options.

    • Trim Landscaping

      Bushes, shrubs and trees can hide burglars and give them access to the second story of your building. Remove unnecessary landscaping or trim it regularly as you improve security.

    • Remove Potential Access Points

      Trash receptacles, sheds, ladders and vehicles located near your building give burglars access to the roof and provide hiding spots. Remove these items away from your building as you eliminate potential access points.

    • Turn On Lights

      Lighting around the exterior of your building illuminates potential hiding places and entry points as it deters burglars. Use unbreakable mercury vapor lamps or cover the lights and power sources with vandal-proof covers. You may also turn on select interior lights after-hours and install motion sensors on strategic lights.

    • Buy an Alarm

      A full-building or strategic silent or audible alarm system connected to a remote monitoring station provides 24/7 protection. Post signs prominently around your building to advertise the alarm’s presence.

    • Install Locks

      Locks and padlocks secure exterior and interior entrances and interior doors. Use double-cylinder deadbolts with a one-inch throw, hardened steel insert, latch guard and removable cylinders. Hide serial numbers, too, so a burglar can’t make new keys for the locks.

    • Replace Doors

      The exterior and interior security doors throughout your building should be solid. Purchase metal-lined doors with metal crossbars, then pin the hinges. double-check that the jambs are solid, too.

    • Secure Windows

      Every window in your building must remain locked. Add burglar-resistant glass treatments such as a polyester security film, too. A glass break sensor alarm or metal grates add an extra layer of security.

    • Control Keys

      A master key system offers convenience for you and burglars, so consider distributing a limited number of master keys. You can also code keys, lock up extra keys when they’re not in use and implement a strict return policy. Change locks if you suspect a compromised key, too.

    • Create an Inventory

      Photograph and record the serial numbers of all your equipment, technology and over valuables. Also, clearly mark an ID number on equipment to deter burglars.

These 10 security tips can prevent break-ins at your commercial building. Be sure to update your commercial building insurance policy after you make these security improvements and reduce your risk.

Nov 06
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Nuclear Power Plant Consultants Errors and Omissions Insurance

By Risk Management Bulletin

Nuclear energy is the future of our energy needs both domestically and around the world. This atomic energy has been proven to be much more cost-effective over conventional methods of attaining energy. Essentially, nuclear power plants can cover more customers using less energy and it is considered environment-friendly.

The NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Committee) has available data on everything nuclear including consultants. Errors and Omissions insurance allows for protection against unknown mistakes. For everything Nuclear, the NRC has pages of information available. A registrant list can also be found for consultants in the NRC. There are many reports, documents and information within the NRC website to support errors and omissions insurance.

Nuclear Power Plant Consultants are pertinent personnel to plants. Consultants handle a variety of responsibilities including design, materials, analysis, vibration/seismic concerns, fracture mechanics and improvement processes. They are responsible for testing and troubleshooting. Along with the variety of jobs handled, consultants also have major accountabilities and obligations within the organization.

Nuclear Power Plant Consultants handle everything from engineering to a wide range of technical support services. Consultant jobs are crucial to running and maintaining the plant effectively and efficiently. Many engineers are involved in the daily operating procedures for Nuclear Power Plant Consultants.

Nuclear Power Plant Consultants are directly responsible for many of the daily functions. Being a consultant can be a stressful business. Mistakes, whether major or minor, made by the consultant, can become a financial disaster. The consultant is personally and financially responsible for any loss a nuclear power plant experiences if negligence is proven. For this reason, Nuclear Power Plant Consultant Errors and Omissions Insurance is a necessity for all consultants.

A claim in errors and omissions is not only financially devastating, it’s also time-consuming. The consultant is responsible for research, but Nuclear Power Plant Consultant Errors and Omissions Insurance would ease the financial burden. The Nuclear Power Plant Consultant Errors and Omissions Insurance gives consultant’s opportunities to service their clients without the added burdens. In a case where negligence on the consultant’s part is validated, the Consultants Insurance stabilizes the issues that arise. Nuclear Power Plant Consultant Errors and Omissions Insurance can handle all financial obligations for any errors the consultant makes. The Nuclear Power Plant Consultants Error and Omissions Insurance outweigh burdens of non-insurance.

Nuclear Power Plant Consultant Errors and Omissions Insurance is a necessity when protecting Consultants. Having this insurance can mean the difference between staying afloat when a mistake is made or a career-ender. It is financially responsible to have Nuclear Power Plant Consultant Errors and Omissions Insurance and not use it. Troubles and problems are never planned and when something happens it is better to be insured. Mistakes happen and are often unavoidable.

The NRC provides a multitude of information from nuclear power plants to errors and omissions for nuclear power plant consultants. Typographical, environment and infrastructure, administrative, project and technical information are only a few items errors and omissions insurance handles. Nuclear Power Plant Consultants cannot afford to overlook E&O insurance.

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