Insurance Insights: The Cleary Insurance Blog
The Cleary Insurance blog covers insurance, risk management, and financial planning for New England businesses and individuals. Our team of licensed advisors and specialists publishes regular articles on commercial and personal coverage, employee benefits, life and financial planning, and insurance compliance. Browse recent articles below, or use the category filters to find topics relevant to your business or personal situation.
Client Spotlight
We are delighted to have the National Brian Tumor Society as one of our clients. Did you know that this year alone, more than 210,000 Americans will be diagnosed with a brain tumor?
National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) is fiercely committed to finding better treatments, and ultimately a cure, for people living with a brain tumor today and anyone who will be diagnosed tomorrow. This means effecting change in the system at all levels. Learn more about NBTS’s initiatives in research, public policy and advocacy, and how you can get involved.
Workers Compensation
Do your employees travel to states other than where your business is domiciled? Do your employees perform work in other states? Understanding how Workers Compensation laws respond to interstate operations is important to ensure that you are in compliance with state employment laws.
Workers Compensation insurance is regulated at the state level. Benefit schedules for claims, interpretation of laws, rates and requirements will vary from state to state. Considerations for establishing where an employee is domiciled include:
Where does the employee live?
Where does the employee primarily work?
In what state was the employee hired?
Extraterritorial coverage issues arise when employees travel and work in a state that is not listed on the Workers Compensation policy. In general, domestic short term business trips to other states should not present a coverage problem. However, a number of states, such as NY and NH, are requiring that they be listed on the Workers Compensation policy even if the work only lasts a few days. Noncompliance with these requirements could open you up to a possible fine.
ND, WA, OH, and WY are “monopolistic” states. Workers Compensation coverage for employees located in one these four states is only available through the respective state agency. For example, a Workers Compensation policy would have to be purchased directly through www.ohioBWC.com for an Ohio based employee.
International travel presents additional complications for Workers Compensation. It is likely that your carrier will not have the resources to respond to an employee injured in a foreign location. Traditional Workers Compensation may not apply if the employee was injured during the trip but not engaged in employment related activities. International insurance policies are available to provide 24 hour protection for workers travelling on an overseas business trip.
Understanding how state laws impact your Workers Compensation coverage is important for compliance issues as well as ensuring that your employees are protected. We encourage you to discuss with us any questions you may have regarding your inter-state operations.
At Cleary, we will evaluate your business exposures and work with you to develop a comprehensive plan to safeguard your business. Give us a call today at 617-723-0700.
Employee Handbooks
An employee handbook serves as a vital communications tool between a company and its employees. When well prepared, it informs employees about their employer’s mission, its employment policies and perks, and the consequences of not following the rules-all in a tone appropriate to the reading audience. A comprehensive, clearly written employee handbook also can be a protective shield for an employer to use in a lawsuit or less formal employee confrontation situation.
Set the tone for your handbook by opening with a bit of history about your company, its goals and mission, and how employees fit in to this. Your employees, and the products they produce or services they provide, are the face of your company, and your handbook should inspire them to strive for excellence, both individually and as a team. Review the process for employee evaluation and opportunities for employee advancement.
Your handbook should summarize the benefits provided to employees. Briefly describe the health, disability, life, other insurance and retirement benefits plans your company offers, along with work/life programs, absence, vacation and leave policies, and government-mandated benefits. Only brief summaries are appropriate, as the employee handbook is not intended to provide the level of detail found in a summary plan description.
Safety in the workplace is important for all companies, regardless of industry, and guidelines ensuring this belong in an employee handbook. Rules regarding building security, drugs and alcohol, weapons, and workplace violence should be covered, along with issues specific to the line of work your company is in that impact safety, such as workplace chemicals, protective gear, etc. Also let employees know the procedures to follow in case of an emergency.
Your employee handbook should also cover workplace rules that comprise what amounts to an employee code of conduct. These include, for example, policies on harassment, discrimination, any dress code, and the like.
The handbook is also the place to inform employees of the consequences of not following company rules, whether they be regarding attendance, company property, workplace decorum or job performance. Clearly spell out grounds for firing, along with procedures for disciplinary action, including warnings, probationary periods and termination.
Advances in technology (and its availability in the workplace) have added new layers to employee handbook content. In addition to the topics covered above, today’s employee handbook needs to address appropriate uses of technology in the workplace, and what employees can and can’t do while on the job (blogging, visiting Facebook and Twitter, online shopping, etc.). Parameters of email communications also should be addressed, including transmission of chain mails and links to inappropriate Web sites.
The process of writing the handbook can be farmed out to a firm specializing in employee communications, or undertaken in house. Templates are available that can be used for this purpose; they contain the basic information common to most employee handbooks, and beyond this can be customized to your company. If using the template approach, be sure to run the finished product past your company legal counsel or human resources professional for a final review.
At Cleary, we know how important a comprehensive benefits package can be to your continued success. Give us a call today at 617-723-0700 and we will work with you to create a plan that meets your business objectives, takes into account state and federal laws, and capitalizes on incentives and innovative solutions now being offered.