Category: Commercial

AFL-CIO Sues to Force Issue of Who Pays for PPEs

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Both the AFL-CIO and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor so that the agency will be forced to issue a final rule mandating employers to pay for personal protective equipment (PPEs).

The controversy over whether employers should pay for PPEs first began in 1999. That year, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that employers must pay for all PPEs required under OSHA standards. The only exceptions were safety shoes, prescription safety eyewear, and logging boots in certain circumstances. However, the agency never followed through with a final rule.

In 2004, the Department of Labor was still wavering; saying it needed more time to evaluate the proposal and calling for more public commentary on the subject. The biggest stumbling block for the agency was how the proposed rule should address the types of PPEs that are usually supplied by the employee, and taken from jobsite to jobsite or from employer to employer. They felt the problem was an especially thorny issue in industries with high turnover.

In actuality, the question of who pays for what PPEs has already been settled on most union job sites in either of two ways. Either it has become the custom that the employer/employee pays for the equipment or it is spelled out in the contract who pays.  However, in the absence of direction from OSHA, nonunion employers can do as they please, often leaving it to their workers to provide their own protection.  Because of the expense, many workers choose to work with the appropriate PPE, jeopardizing their own safety as well as everyone else’s.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asserts that the agency’s failure to act is putting workers in danger. According to OSHA’s own estimates, 400,000 workers have been injured and 50 have died because there is no PPE rule in place. The labor groups say that workers in some of America’s most dangerous industries, such as meatpacking, poultry and construction, and low-wage and immigrant workers are being forced by their employers to pay for their own safety gear because of OSHA’s failure to finish the PPE rule.

The labor unions call the eight-year delay “egregious,” and they are asking the court to force OSHA to act. The suit asks the court to issue an order directing the Secretary of Labor to complete the PPE rule within 60 days of the court’s order.

Six Reasons Your Home-Based Business Needs a Small Business Policy

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Like most new home-based business owners, you believe your homeowner or renter’s insurance coverage offers sufficient protection.  That is unfortunate, because in most instances these policies offer little to no coverage for business-related losses.

Homeowner’s policies are not designed to cover business losses.  Most offer a small amount of business property coverage, meant to cover incidental items, such as a computer used for office work. 

Depending on your business, you may be able to purchase a homeowner’s endorsement to cover your business property.  Your insurer is naturally going to want to know more about your business.  Questions such as what type of business, how long you have been in business and how many employees are common.

If your business is small with a low risk profile, and with limited client visits to your home, your homeowner’s insurer may offer limited liability protection. This protection would cover slips and falls when a client visits your office, which otherwise would not be covered.

If this option is not available, you may want to consider a small business policy.  Your homeowner’s insurer might offer a home-based business package for a reasonable premium, or another insurer can offer a package policy to cover the liability and property of your business.

Take a look at the following list.  If one or more of the items below apply, you may want to consider a business policy for your business:

o                   Business Property, Stock or Equipment over $10,000 in value

A business policy will allow you to insure your office contents, equipment, and stock. A homeowner’s policy will likely have little, if any, coverage for business-related items.

o                   Clients visit your office/use your product/depend on your service

Liability insurance can help cover your exposure to lawsuits resulting from slip and falls, product liability claims, personal injury claims, etc.  Perhaps even more importantly, it will provide defense costs for such actions.  Homeowner’s policies do not have coverage for business liability.  In a few instances, you may be able to purchase an endorsement to allow coverage for slip and falls due to customer visits, depending on your type of business.

o                   Damage to your office/workspace would require you to relocate/find a temporary substitute

Extra Expense coverage in a business policy will provide funds for a temporary office/workspace or cost of a mobile trailer near your damaged office site.

o                   An Error or Omission could result in a lawsuit that would need to be defended/could seriously damage your business

Errors and Omissions coverage will protect you from judgments and defense costs resulting from past mistakes. 

o                   Damage to your workplace could cause you to lose business, perhaps even lose some customers permanently

Business Interruption Coverage will help pay for expenses until your property is repaired or sales return to normal (depending on the policy form)

o                   Your employees use their vehicles to make deliveries or run errands for your business

Non-owned automobile liability will protect your business in the event that your employee has a serious accident during the course of running an errand for your business.

Use Foresight When It Comes to Protecting Your Eyes

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The way we see involves a complex interplay between light, brain and eye. When light strikes an object in your field of vision, the rays enter each eye and hit the eye’s lens. The rays stimulate the nerves in the lens, which carry messages to the brain. The brain takes the message it receives from each eye’s lens and fuses it into a sharp single picture. Because this mechanism is so complex, it is also extremely vulnerable to injury. Therefore, protecting your eyes from damage at work should be one of your major concerns.

One of the best ways to protect your eyes is by using safety glasses. Safety glasses are so effective in preventing injury that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incorporated specific guidelines into its standard, 29 CFR 1910.1333, as to when you should use them. If your work exposes you to hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation, OSHA mandates that you wear safety glasses.

OSHA also requires that you use safety glasses with side protection when you face a hazard from flying objects. Detachable side protectors, such as clip-on or slide-on side shields, are permitted as long as they meet the agency’s requirements of providing full protection from flying objects.

If you wear prescription lenses, you are still required to wear safety glasses if the possibility of eye injury exists. You have two options. You can wear eye protection that has your prescription incorporated into its design. Or, you can use eye protection that can be worn over your prescription lenses, as long as doing so doesn’t disturb the proper position of the prescription lenses or the protective lenses.

In addition to wearing safety glasses, you should protect your eyes by having a thorough eye examination every two years. Many diseases can affect the eyes. However, changes in vision are usually gradual, which is why it is so important to monitor eye health with regular examinations.

Here are a few other tips to help you keep your eyes healthy:

·   Don’t use over-the-counter eye remedies or treatments unless advised by your doctor.

·   Don’t wear sunglasses for night driving or in fog.

·   Don’t look directly at the sun, even while wearing sunglasses.

·   Don’t work in dimly lit areas.

·   Don’t rub your eyes with dirty hands.

Sometimes you must accept a little discomfort, inconvenience or expense in order to protect your eyes, but the sacrifice is well worth it. If the unexpected happens, your protective eyewear could make the difference between keeping your sight and losing it.

Property Coverage for Businesses with Changing Needs

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Some businesses have very stable property insurance needs as the value of their non-building property doesn’t vary much during the year. For example, an accountant’s office will have furniture, telephones, computers, reference books, and so on. The replacement costs of these items won’t be much different in July than they were in April. Other types of businesses, however, experience wide variations in the values of their property. Florists tend to carry more stock around Valentine’s Day and Mothers’ Day than they do on most days of the year. Many retailers earn most of their profits during the holiday shopping season, so they must keep larger amounts of stock on hand. Warehouses and manufacturers may have highly variable amounts of goods for sale. Depending on the flow of orders, the value of their stock may change greatly from month to month or even more frequently.

A traditional property insurance policy, with one set limit of insurance for personal property, will not meet the needs of businesses like these. To secure enough insurance, they would have to buy an amount large enough to cover those times when values are at their peak. However, for much of the year they would be paying for more insurance than they need. Businesses in this situation may want to consider two coverage options: Peak season coverage and value reporting coverage.

Peak season coverage is appropriate for firms that can predict those time periods when their values will increase. Examples are florists, toy, electronics and clothing retailers during the holiday season, school supply stores in late summer, and costume shops in October. The coverage form states the location and type of the property, the amount of additional insurance, and the period of time during which the higher amount applies. For example, it might show that insurance on goods for sale will increase by $100,000 from October 1 to January 1. This gives the business plenty of coverage for the busy time but saves it from having to pay for all that coverage the rest of the year.

Value reporting coverage is for those firms with values that fluctuate all year long. This coverage requires the firm to buy an amount of insurance large enough to take care of the peak periods. However, the insurance company will charge a lower initial premium than that amount would ordinarily require. The firm then must make periodic reports of its values to the insurance company. Depending on the option chosen, the firm will send reports monthly, quarterly, or once per year. Again depending on the chosen option, the reports can show values as of the end of each business day, week, month, quarter or year. After the firm has submitted all of its reports for the policy period, the insurance company determines the firm’s average values and calculates the final premium.

Firms that choose the value reporting coverage must take care to submit the required reports on time and accurately. The form gives the insurance company the right to reduce claim payments for losses to the property when reports are late. The company can also reduce a loss payment if it finds that the firm underreported its values. The limit of insurance does not automatically increase if the reports show values higher than the limit; the firm must request an increase in coverage.

Any firm with variable property values would be wise to consider purchasing one of these types of coverage. With some careful planning, a business can limit its insurance costs while still getting the coverage it needs.

Workplace Assaults on the Rise

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A new study on workplace violence, sponsored by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), finds that while workplace murder rates have declined, the number of assaults has been rising. The NCCI noted that from 1992 to 1999, the assault rate had been declining until it reached a level of about 16,000 incidents. However, for the last five years this level has ranged from 16,000 and 18,000 while normal workplace injuries continue to decline.Even though workplace assault rates have increased, NCCI said these rates are still significantly lower than the assault rate experienced by the general population.

The report found that 60 percent of all workplace assaults are concentrated in health services, social assistance, and personal care occupations.The NCCI said research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health uncovered a number of factors that increase the likelihood of workplace violence:

·   Working in health care or social services fields with persons who may tend to be mentally unstable or violent

·   Having contact with the public, especially involving the exchange of money

·   Having a mobile workplace, such as a taxicab or delivery truck

·   Guarding property or possessions

·   Working alone, especially in high-crime areas

The design of the workplace shouldn’t make it easy for a worker to be assaulted. Workers should be physically separated from the general public by installing counters that are high enough and with enough depth to make physical contact impossible. Bullet-resistant barriers can provide additional protection.

Large amounts of cash on premises can create an incentive for assault. To minimize this risk, keep only enough cash on hand to operate efficiently. Use drop safes to store excess cash, and post signs stating that only a limited amount of cash is on site. Wherever possible, install machines that accommodate automatic teller cards, credit or debit cards.

Entrances and exits should be assessed to see how easy it is for the general public to gain access to work areas when doors are left unlocked or propped open. Survey hallways and other recessed areas where attackers can hide. Include refuse areas, outdoor refrigeration areas and other storage facilities that workers must use during a shift in this evaluation. Install security cameras in these places so they can be continually monitored.

Check landscaping to see if bushes provide enough coverage for an attacker to lay in wait and surprise a worker. Evaluate parking lots to determine if they have good lighting and that all parking spaces are visible; not hidden by refuse containers or foliage.

Security technology also reduces the risk for assaults against workers. Such technology includes exterior lighting that illuminates doorways, closed-circuit cameras, silent alarms, two-way mirrors, key-card access systems, and panic-bar equipped doors that lock from the outside only. 

Do Your Employees Drive Personal Vehicles for Business-Related Purposes?

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If an accident occurs while an employee or volunteer is operating their personal vehicle for company business, your company could be held liable.  Even when an employee is just running an errand, such as making a bank deposit, dropping off a proposal or picking up a part, if an accident occurs your company could suffer as a result.   

While you cannot insure a non-owned vehicle, there are other steps you can take to protect your company before a loss occurs. If your employees or volunteers use personal vehicles for company business, even if just occasionally, the following guidelines can help reduce your risk:

1.   Determine a minimum level of auto liability insurance your employees and/or volunteers must carry.  Also consider what documentation should be provided to your company to demonstrate that proper insurance coverage is in effect.  For example, you might require that employees or volunteers submit a certificate of insurance each year that verifies coverage limits.

2.   Driving records should be checked prior to an employee’s hiring.  Validate driving credentials and check for accidents and moving violations over the past 5 years.  All recruiters, managers and human resource people should be aware of this policy.

3.   Avoid having youthful drivers, those with little driving experience, or drivers with more than one moving violation or accident use their vehicle for business-related purposes.

4.   Periodically check driving records for new offenses and moving violations.  Introduce a procedure for how discovery of new offenses will be handled.

5.   Develop a written policy on business use of personal vehicles and communicate to all employees. Managers, human resource personnel and recruiters should share this information with any potential new hires.

6.   Be sure you remain in compliance with local, state and federal statutes while obtaining private information about your employees. 

Insurance can play a role in helping to protect your business from this exposure. Non-owned auto liability insurance may be obtained on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with your general liability coverage.  Coverage for hired vehicles may also be available, if needed.

Insurance premiums for non-owned automobile liability depend on the frequency of personal vehicle use and how employees use their vehicles for your business. Premiums for this line of coverage are generally fairly reasonable.

Another way to reduce risk is to eliminate the exposure.  If employees or volunteers are prohibited from using their personal vehicles for business-related purposes, it eliminates the possibility of an accident that will affect your company.

In the meantime, while you are mapping out your risk reduction strategy, maybe you should consider making that bank deposit yourself…

Take Care of Your Hard Hat, So It Can Take Care of You

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Of all the pieces of personal protective equipment you wear, your hard hat is probably one of the most important. In order for it to protect you, it has to be properly worn and maintained.

The following tips will help you use your hard hat appropriately and keep it in optimal condition:

·   Inspect your hard hat before each use. Your hard hat is made up of the shell and the suspension. Begin your shell inspection by looking for cracks, nicks, dents, gouges and any damage caused by impact, penetration or abrasions. If your hard hat is made of thermoplastic materials, you should check the shell for stiffness, brittleness, fading, dullness of color or a chalky appearance. If any of these conditions are present, or if the shell is damaged, replace it immediately.

Ultraviolet light can cause deterioration to the hat’s shell over time. If your work is predominantly in sunlight, replace your hard hat every two years. The same is true if you work in an environment that has a high exposure to temperature extremes or chemicals. Most hard hats have date codes on the underside brim of the cap so you can readily determine a hat’s age.

Inspecting the suspension system is just as important as inspecting the shell, because the suspension absorbs the shock of a blow to the top of the hard hat. Look for cracks or tears, frayed or cut straps, or lack of pliability. All keys should fit tightly and securely into their respective slots. Any suspension that shows signs of damage should be removed from service and replaced immediately.

·   Limit the use of stickers. Stickers won’t necessarily interfere with the hat’s performance, but you should limit their use so you are able to thoroughly inspect the shell for signs of damage.

·   Replace a hat that has been struck by a forcible blow. Any impact can reduce a hard hat’s effectiveness, so a hat that has suffered a blow should be replaced, even if it is relatively new or shows no visible damage. A hard hat that has been dropped more than eight feet requires replacement.

·   Never modify the shell or suspension. Do not drill ventilation holes in the shell. Avoid having your hard hat come into contact with electrical wires. Never use a suspension that is not intended to be worn with a particular shell or use a shell made by one manufacturer with a suspension made by another. Never carry or wear anything inside of your hard hat between the suspension and the shell.

·   Don’t wear your hard hat backwards unless the manufacturer says you can. Before wearing the hat backwards, you should have written verification from the manufacturer that your hard hat has been tested and found to comply with the requirements of the American National Standards Institute when worn with the bill turned to the rear. The manufacturer may specify that the suspension must be reversed in the helmet, so that the brow pad is against the forehead and the extended nape strap is at the base of the skull, leaving only the shell of the helmet positioned backward on the head.

Following these tips can help to ensure that your hard hat can protect you as it was intended to do.

Construction Vehicle Classification Can Affect Your Wallet

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Several factors influence how much a contractor pays for business auto insurance. The amount of insurance bought, the firm’s loss history, employees’ driving records, the condition of the vehicles, deductible levels – all of these have a major effect on the policy premium. However, the way the insurance company classifies the vehicles also impacts the premium in very significant ways.

Under the rating rules for business auto insurance, insurance companies use three factors to classify a vehicle: Its gross vehicle weight, how the business uses it, and the normal radius of its operation. The size classifications are:

  • Light – 0 to 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight;
  • Medium – between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds;
  • Heavy – between 20,000 and 45,000 pounds;
  • Extra-heavy – More than 45,000 pounds.

The heavier a vehicle, the higher its premium due to the increased potential for severe losses.

The use classifications relevant to contractors are:

  • Service – Vehicles used to transport the business’ personnel, tools, equipment and supplies to or from a job location. Only vehicles that the business parks at job locations for most of the working day or uses to transport supervisors between job locations get the service classification.
  • Commercial – Construction vehicles that are not eligible for the service classification.

Service vehicles, because they are parked for most of the day, qualify for a lower premium than do commercial vehicles.

The radius classifications are:

  • Local – Not regularly operated beyond a 50-mile radius from where the business garages them;
  • Intermediate – Operated within a radius of between 50 and 200 miles;
  • Long Distance – Operated within a radius of more than 200 miles.

The larger the radius, the more miles the vehicle is likely to be driven and the higher the premium.

The rules also contemplate the type of contractor that uses the vehicle, though the rating factors tend not to vary greatly from one type to another.

The rating rules have charts showing the mathematical factors that apply for different combinations of size, use and radius. The insurance company multiplies these factors by its basic premium for the vehicle. For example, the factor for liability insurance for a light service vehicle (a pickup truck) with a local radius might be 1.0. The company will take the basic premium for a truck (for example, $500) and multiply it by 1.0. Conversely, the factor for a heavy commercial vehicle (a dump truck) with a local radius might be 1.50. Multiplying this factor by the $500 basic premium produces a premium $250 higher. This vehicle is on the road more than the pickup and has the potential to cause more severe injuries and damage in an accident, so the premium is higher.

Different factors apply to the premiums for comprehensive and collision coverages, and the effect may be the opposite of that for liability coverage. For example, the factor for the pickup truck might be 1.0 but the factor for the dump truck might be only 0.80. This is because a heavier vehicle should be able to withstand a crash better and sustain less damage than the lighter one. The rules base comp and collision premiums on the original cost of the vehicle, so the dump truck’s higher initial value will offset the lower factor to some extent.

It is important that a business provide accurate information about its use of a vehicle to the insurance company. Vehicles that spend most of the day on the job site should get the lower-rated service classification. Insurance companies can verify a vehicle’s weight through independent sources and its radius by examining lists of work on hand, but they will rely on information from their agents for the use classification. The business that gives its insurance agent detailed information about all its operations is a business that will pay a premium that accurately reflects its loss potential.

Make MVR Checks Part of Your Driver Safety Program

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It is more commonplace for workers to die in an automobile crash while on the job than it is for them to be killed while working on industrial machinery or at a construction site, so says the National Institute For Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH). In fact, this alarming statistic has been the case since 1992. NIOSH reported that roadway car crashes killed 13,337 or 22 percent of all workers between 1992 and 2001.

Driving-related fatalities continued to increase while deaths from all other occupational-related causes dropped. Driving-related deaths averaged approximately one per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers between 1992 and 2001.

With the rising death toll came rising costs. The National Safety Council reported that in 2001 and 2002, injuries arising from roadway crashes averaged $27,500 per workers’ compensation claim. They were the single most costly workers’ compensation injury claim category. Crashes also caused workers to lose more days from work than any other type of work-related injury.

If you have employees who drive, cutting the costs associated with traffic accidents is an important part of your risk management program. The most effective way to cut costs is to institute a safe driver policy, which includes checking your employees’ Motor Vehicle Records (MVR).

Every state in the U.S. maintains MVRs on all of its drivers. This is a record that typically contains information about a person’s driving history, including such information as traffic violations and arrests and convictions for driving-related incidents. Individuals can obtain copies of their own driving records for employment purposes at their local DMV office. You can also obtain a copy of the record if you have the employee sign an MVR consent form.

The most effective way to use an MVR is to make a clean driving record a condition of employment for employees with driving responsibilities. Be sure you follow through and examine a potential employee’s MVR before you make a job offer. Also determine if the applicant has a driver’s license in another state and check the MVR in that state too.

However, that shouldn’t be the only time you check MVRs. Examine those records again on an annual basis for each employee with driving responsibilities. Included in your company’s safe driver policy should be the disciplinary action that will be enforced if you find a moving violation on a driver’s record during an annual check.

Using an MVR in this manner ensures that the employee will take an active role in your company’s driver safety program. As in any risk management strategy, employee buy-in is crucial if your driver safety program is to be effective.

Longevity Is Key When It Comes to Lawyer’s Professional Liability Claims

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Retirement usually means not only leaving your job, but everything associated with that job. However, when a lawyer retires, this isn’t necessarily the case. Whether they are no longer practicing law, or starting an entirely new career, lawyers may find themselves haunted by liability claims arising from their past work.

For this reason, it’s important for departing lawyers to confirm that liability coverage will remain intact for past work. To accomplish this goal, you should review the partnership agreement, the firm’s professional liability insurance, and any recent claims. Keep in mind that partnership agreements and insurance coverage vary from firm to firm. When you review the agreement, you may find an absence of provisions for the firm’s ongoing indemnity or insurance obligations towards former members.

When reviewing the firm’s professional liability policy you’ll probably find that is written on a “claims made” basis. This means that coverage is provided for any claims made during the policy term, even if the events that precipitated the claim happened before the policy’s effective date. Even if your firm has a claims made policy, it can still have coverage gaps that significantly affect you once you decide to leave. For example, the insurer may have included provisions that limit or exclude coverage of the firm’s activities in certain practice areas. Or with claims made policies, if an exclusion is added in the future, it is applicable to all past and future work in that practice area.

Your policy review should also include an examination of its coverage limits. Since these limits cover all claims made and reported within the policy term, there may not be funds available to cover a retiring lawyer if the firm has already submitted a substantial number of claims or even just one large one.

The next step in your evaluation is a determination of how the policy defines “insured.” In some attorney-client relationships, a lawyer may be considered an employee or independent contractor. Under some policies, coverage for employees and independent contractors is either limited or non-existent.

You should also review the conditions regarding the firm’s responsibilities for policy renewal and reporting claims. Don’t assume that the firm will continue to operate as a going concern after you are gone, or that it will continue to renew its liability policy. In fact, in the case of smaller firms, dissolution is often the outcome after a key partner retires.

If the practice is dissolved, it is important that the firm and its former partners maintain insurance coverage. And since time is a crucial factor in a dissolution scenario when it comes to coverage, it is important that you meet as soon as possible with your insurance representative to discuss your coverage status and appropriate options.