Employee Benefits
October 21, 2020
5 Things to Watch Out for During Open Enrollment Amid a Pandemic
With millions of people suddenly out of work, employer-sponsored health insurance is a benefit that employees may not so quick to take for granted this year. About 157 million Americans rely on employer-sponsored coverage and yet, before 2020, most people spent very little time reviewing their workplace health-care plan during the open enrollment period. Now, in the...
October 15, 2020
Catastrophic Workers’ Comp Claims During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic surprised all of us in January 2020, with its speed of viral infection transmission causing high mortality and morbidity among those afflicted in the United States. This newly formed mutant coronavirus, now known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2, took the world by storm and many in this...
October 14, 2020
How to Reopen Professional Offices with COVID-19 Safety Measures in Mind
While a handful of states are reversing their reopening plans as COVID-19 cases jump again, in many regions businesses operating in professional offices have returned to work in some way, shape or form. For businesses that have employees coming back to their pre-COVID desks, there are many important safety measures that they should be...
October 12, 2020
Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
As school, socializing, and many aspects of life have moved online this year, it’s more important than ever that you protect your digital devices and steer clear of cybercriminals. So during National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), observed each October, the FBI and partner agencies remind you to do your part and #BeCyberSmart all year long. Now...
October 8, 2020
Enrollment Support Is Critical For Workers
This year’s open enrollment season for workplace benefits is seeing more than one-third of workers saying they want more guidance and support in choosing benefits than they did before the pandemic hit. That was one of the findings from the inaugural Workplace Wellness Study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. “This is...
September 9, 2020
National Preparedness Month: Workplace Safety
No matter where you live, you’re sure to encounter and have to deal with emergencies, whether they be tornadoes, fires, chemical or toxic spills, or any number of other natural and man-made disasters. In these situations when conditions can so quickly become life-threatening, workplace preparedness is key and could mean the difference between life...
September 8, 2020
How to Support Employee Behavioral Health During the Pandemic
Fear, worry and stress are normal responses to perceived or real threats, or when faced with uncertainty. Understandably so, it is normal that people are experiencing worry or stress during the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of daily life. Americans are increasingly suffering from behavioral health issues during the...
September 2, 2020
California COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Claims Soar
Early in the pandemic, José Guzman said he asked his managers at the Farmer John meat packing plant in Vernon, just south of Los Angeles, for a mask and hand sanitizer. “They said they were not responsible. They could not give us masks because they had no masks,” said Guzman, a 61-year-old from San...
August 27, 2020
Jobless Claims Exceed 1M Again, Number Down From Previous Week
The number of Americans who filed for jobless claims exceeded 1 million last week, but it was down slightly compared to the previous week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported on Thursday (Aug. 27). “There’s lots of pain out there,” Jared Kushner, senior White House advisor to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, told CNBC. “But...
August 17, 2020
Unemployment Scams: How to Prepare and Respond
The presence of unemployment-related scams has grown in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Current unemployment scams include both fraudulent claims and unemployment-related phishing attempts. As many employers are currently dealing with the reality of a high amount of unemployment claims, organizations can take steps to prepare for fraudulent activity and to accurately...