What does inflation have to do with healthcare? As far as consumers are concerned, just about everything. The cost of healthcare is not immune to historic levels of inflation: A recent report by WTW predicts that global healthcare benefit costs will jump 10% in 2023. Coupled with rising consumer prices, and unaffordable healthcare can have troubling and swift...
Despite all the headlines about layoffs hitting Silicon Valley and Wall Street, most employers will be feeling the tailwind of the war for talent in the new year. The labor market has remained stubbornly robust in the face of recession forecasts and the Federal Reserve’s campaign to raise interest rates. Hiring is especially competitive for small businesses. More...
No matter the time of year, when business owners think about the common risks involved with owning a business, the safety of their employees should always be top of mind. However, the summertime can bring unique hazards, with its soaring temperatures, busy travel times and potential for strong storms. In the summer, it’s important that employers take...
According to Dun & Bradstreet, in Q2 2022, the Global Business Impact (GBI) score increased to 315, up from 297 in Q1 2022. The GBI ranks the biggest threats to business based on each risk scenario’s potential impact on companies, assigning a score to each risk. As businesses continue to acknowledge the rising risk landscape, it is...
The U.S. inflation rate has increased by 8.3% over the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This has led to significant price increases across various consumer goods as well as employee benefits such as health insurance. In fact, one-third of U.S. employees have already seen an increase in their health costs...
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...
5 WAYS COVID-19 IS RESHAPING HR The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has upended the entire world, it seems. With fluctuating infection rates and conflicting official guidance, organizations will need to adapt quickly if they want to succeed in the post-coronavirus landscape. HR teams stand at the forefront of these efforts. For years, HR departments have...
STATEWIDE CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT: HOW HAS IT FARED WITH COVID-19? Construction employment declined in more than nine out of 10 metro areas from March to April, a time when industry employment typically increases in most locations, an analysis by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America of new government data shows. The San Francisco...
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CHANGES FOR COVID-19 Under most state workers’ compensation (WC) laws, COVID-19 may be a compensable, work-related condition only if an employee can show that: He or she contracted the coronavirus while performing services growing out of and incidental to his or her employment; and The disease arose out of that employment (work...
PREPARING FOR A SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19 Even as stay-at-home orders and restrictions are lifted, daily operations won’t be business-as-usual for many across the country. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is still going on, despite businesses reopening. Moreover, public health officials and experts are warning of a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases. Of course,...