May 14 2012
Here’s a new one. But would this fly in the United States? An Australian woman who was injured while having sex in her hotel room during a work trip is entitled to compensation under workers comp insurance according to a federal court in Australia. Read entire article here.
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Apr 16 2012
California work comp insurance could be on the rise - again. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) made it official and submitted a mid-year filing for a 9.1% increase in the pure premium advisory rate that Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones approved less than six months ago.
http://www.wcexec.com/WCIRB-Files-For-91-Rate-Increase.aspx
EmployeeLeasingQuotes.com
Mar 09 2012
If you’re one of the thousands of business owners out there waiting for our elected leaders to offer you some help during the current economic crisis – keep dreaming! The fact is, those of us who keep driving forward, never even considering anything less than survival on our own decisions and skills will weather this cloud – we always do.
But I know you’re looking at every possible way to work smarter, cut costs and run a tight operation. If you haven’t heard of employee leasing service, also known as a Professional Employer Organization – or PEO, here’s your rescue plan.
An employee leasing company allows you to outsource all of the administrative headaches that come with being an employer. Areas such as payroll administration, workers’ compensation insurance, employee benefits and of course human resource (HR) help, in guiding you through the maze of governmental compliance issues. Crucial areas of any business that require attention, but work that generates zero income.
A PEO will deliver on-time and accurate payroll checks and reports. They will deduct and electronically deposit your payroll taxes. File the quarterly tax reports and issue year-end W-2s. Remit child support payments and other payroll garnishments. Even deal with unemployment claims and appeals.
Now imagine if companies actually competed for your workers’ compensation insurance- instead of the state, an agent or some crazy formula controlling your costs? An employee leasing company can provide you with huge savings on your workers’ compensation insurance (typically 15-40%) that traditional insurance carriers can’t. You’re on a pay-as-you use plan, which means you’ll never deal with the frustrations of another audit again! Plus, you don’t pay large up-front deposits and state fees that can run thousands of dollars.
How about access to the same employee benefits of Fortune 500 companies. Some PEO companies include group major medical and other health plans, dental and vision plans, 401(k) retirement plans, even life insurance coverage. Many employers have seen their group health insurance premiums drop by as much as 30% by outsourcing HR through an employee leasing provider.
You’ll even gain professional HR services to help deal with compliance issues, such as EEOC/ADA/DOL/FMLA and all the other acronyms we don’t have time to keep up with. And in today’s litigious environment you can’t just hire and fire someone without the worries of being sued, so you’ll get help with that too.
Start saving on employment related costs and unload the hassles of time-consuming paperwork today. We’ll show you how to keep more of what you’ve earned in just a five minute conversation, so you can get back to working on the things that really matter – like growing your business.
www.EmployeeLeasingQuotes.com
1-888-582-8388
Feb 13 2012
A new California labor law designed to punish employers for misclassifying workers has broad legal language that can possibly impact insurance agents and brokers who knowingly advise clients on employee classifications to the tune of thousands of dollars per misclassified worker. More
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Jan 30 2012
1. Payroll Services: Sure, it’s not rocket science- but payroll is tedious work and you can’t afford mistakes. There’s a reason why 1 in 3 businesses are penalized every year by the IRS. Employee leasing (aka PEO services) companies assume your payroll tax liabilities and are responsible for timely deposits and reporting.
2. Workers’ compensation Insurance:
No premium deposits
Discounts unavailable through traditional markets
No annual state fees
No audits
3. Labor burden reports: Do you currently know to the penny what each employee truly costs you? An employee leasing company’s labor burden report helps you understand your bottom line, so you what to sell your goods or services for to earn the margins you seek.
4. Wage garnishments: Another check, another stamp and another wasted twenty minutes of someone’s time. Employee leasing services handle these time consuming tasks.
5. W-2’s: What’s worse- an ex-employee calling you in late February for their W-2 or getting return to sender over and over again when you mail them out… both! Let the employee leasing service deal with the headaches.
6. Work-place safety: Investing in workplace safety education is investing in the future of your business. Your workers’ compensation insurance history can make you more competitive or drive you out of business. Professional Employer Organizations have a significant stake in your company’s safety program. It’s in their best interest to help.
7. Direct Deposit: Imagine the extra hours of productivity you would get, if employees weren’t spending part of the afternoon waiting for checks then taking the time to cash them? Wasted time costing you money – direct deposit services are free!
8. HR Services: The only thing worse than being wrong on a hire is the employee dragging you to court when they’re fired. A human resource professional will help in outlining job descriptions, interview training, background checks, drug screening and proper job posting techniques.
9. Employee Benefits management: Shouldn’t benefits questions be directed to your benefits provider? Many PEO services provide a toll free hotline to their benefits department for employees to ask questions, feel educated and most importantly – get help when they need it!
10. Time Savings: If you see the value in these services but don’t have the time to become an expert, then you’re ready to explore the impact employee leasing services could have on your business.
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Jan 25 2012
I have seen this situation many times when reviewing employers’ Workers Compensation situation. The cost of Workers Comp is a budget item that is in the overhead cost (cost of doing business) section of their budget. I would never infer that an employer, whether self -insured or not, should just change their company’s budget to make Workers Comp a controllable variable cost.
Including Workers Comp as a variable cost will usually result in three changes/improvements:
• Workers Comp costs will be examined more by Senior Management. If Workers Comp is viewed as a fixed cost, little attention will be paid to a possible silent budget killer. If a Risk Manager or CFO presents the costs as variable, Senior Management or the owners will be much more accepting of an in-depth analysis.
• Forecasting your future Workers Comp budget will be more accurate. If your company had 500 employees, and now has 350 due to the economy, why would you pay the same amount on the upfront policy with a 30% drop in employees and payroll? The same can be said for the budgeting of a self-insured. If Workers Comp costs are seen as overhead, then forecasting is usually not even attempted overall.
• Now that Workers Comp is a variable cost, the budget responsibilities can be broken down, for instance, each department, plant, location, etc. One of the quickest ways to lower a Mod is to delegate responsibility for their portion of the Mod down to the smallest groups possible. Lag time on reporting injuries are usually cut very quickly and substantially when lag time is looked at by management or the Risk Manager.
There are many other advantages to looking at Workers Comp as a variable cost.
Written by: James Moore with J&L Risk Management Services
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Jan 23 2012
Florida small businesses seeing their second workers’ compensation rate increase in as many years are calling on the state to reduce the increase because they fear it will harm the economy.
A small business group is asking that the increase be reduced by $62 million — an amount equal to the extra costs to the system of physician-dispensed drugs.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty last October approved a statewide average 8.9 percent rate increase, which took effect on Jan. 1. It followed a 7.8 percent increase implemented last year. But even with this year’s increase, the state’s rates have fallen by a total of 58.6 percent since 2003.
For the small business community, however, two increases are two too many. Read More
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Jan 19 2012
Think the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s not serious about investigating how employers use the results of employee background checks? Check out this case.
Pepsi Beverages has agreed to pay $3.13 million and provide job offers and training to resolve a charge of race discrimination filed with the EEOC. Read more
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Jan 16 2012
The best part of being a PEO broker is helping people find a solution that impacts their business and really makes a difference. Many of those moments happen when we’re able to rescue an employer from their state’s assigned risk pool. What’s a state assigned risk pool? While most employers are able to obtain workers’ compensation coverage through the voluntary market (meaning an insurer agrees to write the employer’s policy), there are many organizations that are not for a variety of reasons.
These companies may be in a high-risk industry, like a roofer or anarborist. Sometimes it’s related to a history of frequent or expensive work comp claims- or perhaps it’s just because a company is too new or too small to be a good risk. Since workers’ comp insurance is mandatory for almost all employers in every state but Texas - a market must exist to ensure coverage for employers unable to get access through the voluntary market. Therefore, state assigned risk pools were made available.
As you can imagine, any business involvement with government usually isn’t good. Many employers face work comp rates in excess of twice the amount of the going industry rate - just because they’re a new or small business. Plus, you can be asked for up to 90% of that up front!
We’ve recently helped tree service, roofing and staffing companies get out of these programs and into an employee leasing service. These employers have saved 33% as an average versus what they were paying for work comp through their states assigned risk pool. They’re also starting services with the employee leasing company from $0 to $500 down, pay-as-you go! I know there are thousands of companies out there that need this help to stay competitive - or to just stay in business. Give us call, we can help.
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Jan 11 2012
The five leading causes of workplace injuries drive nearly 72% of the nation’s direct workers compensation costs, according to research released Tuesday by Liberty Mutual Group Inc.
Read Article:http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20120110/NEWS08/120119985?tags=|63|309|278|305|84|304|92
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