Employment practices and employee benefit-related lawsuits are on the rise – and employers have to be eternally vigilant when it comes to meeting their compliance obligations as plan sponsors.

Take the case of Visteon, a global automotive industry supplier, which outsourced its payroll and enrollment/disenrollment functions to outside plan administrators.

But because of internal mistakes at the firms that Visteon outsourced these noncore HR functions to, some of its former employees who should have received COBRA eligibility notices after leaving the firm never received them. At first it was just a handful, but ultimately 741 co-workers signed on to a class-action lawsuit

Visteon argued in court that it was not its own mistakes that had caused the error, and that it had made a good-faith effort to hire outside experts to take over this function for them. Payroll and enrollment, after all, are not core competencies for an auto parts supplier, the company said, and it had been relying on the expertise of these other payroll companies to properly execute these functions and provide these notices.

The court didn’t buy Visteon’s argument. Rather, it held the company responsible in 2013 for poor internal tracking systems, negligence in overseeing its third party administrators, and failure to accept responsibility for its COBRA notification efforts.

That exposed them to the statutory penalty of $110 per worker per day for failure to provide notification.

In the end, for doing what tens of thousands of employers are doing nationwide – relying on third party administrators to handle payroll functions that are regulated under COBRA – Visteon was slapped with $1.8 million in penalties.

Employers are frequent lawsuit targets

As much as companies rely on their employees to generate profits, simply having them around and administering their benefit plans potentially exposes employers to significant possible liability.

According to a survey from insurer CNA, employment-related disputes are the fastest-growing category of civil lawsuits in America.

Employers face risk from the potential of lawsuits employees may bring for alleged failure to fulfill their fiduciary duties as sponsors of retirement plans under ERISA, for example, or for accidental or unauthorized leaks of personally identifiable information, which carries significant penalties under HIPAA.

Sponsors of defined contribution pension plans, such as 401(k)s, are particularly frequent targets of lawsuits for various fiduciary failures, errors or omissions.

Protecting your firm from legal action

So how can employers protect themselves against the potential costs of employee benefit-related litigation? You should:

• Carefully monitor your plan third party administrators. Insist that they document their own compliance practices to you. Don’t take their word for it.
• Reconcile your own lists of recently departed employees with your payroll company’s COBRA notifications.
• Understand that your commercial general liability insurance policy usually will not cover you against liability arising from improper administration of employee benefit plans, ERISA, COBRA, USERRA, wage and hour laws, Title VII related lawsuits, and the like.
• Consider employment practices liability insurance. This coverage will often protect against lawsuits like this and cover legal expenses, and even judgments.
• Conduct regular reviews with advisers of investments in pension and 401(k) plans. Investments should be reviewed at least annually – and quarterly is not unusual.
• Ensure that fees paid to 401(k) and other plan administrators are not excessive. You don’t have to go with the cheapest provider (that can be trouble, too). But if you do choose a higher-fee vendor, document why you made that decision so that you can show your reasoning in court and defend your decision-making as sound and prudent.
• Invest in data security and HR compliance expertise.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Replacing policies that are being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Need More Work, Customers, a Plan B To Generate Massive Cash Flow To Cover Business and Personal Expenses?  Click here to learn more.                        

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

About Program:

1. Out of all the New York and New Jersey Workers Compensation companies rates are some of the lowest we’ve seen.    

2. Most contractors qualify for coverage.

3. For tougher class contractors like roofers, demolition, excavation, contractors working at heights, we have another low rate program.

4. Can cover workers in multiple states.

5. Quote turnaround can be 24 hours or less.

Need More Work, Customers, Plan B to Generate Massive Cash Flow to Cover Business & Personal Expenses?  Click Here to Learn More.

6. Monthly payment plan.

7. You can issue your own certificates on-line.

8. Proper payroll classification.

9. Simplified audits.

10. Customer service – You can get someone on the phone in seconds.

11. There are no policy or service fees charged

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Replacing policies that are being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Need More Work, Customers, a Plan B To Generate Massive Cash Flow To Cover Business and Personal Expenses?  Click here to learn more. 

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

Rates Too High – Believe it or not, there are insurance companies whose rates are up to 40% higher than others.  If you’re an auto service, contractor (we have GREAT plans for contractors), limousine service, local trucker or manufacturer, we can offer you low rates.                                                                                                                                                               

Have Poor Loss Experience Causing Your Rates To Skyrocket or Company To Cancel Coverage – This is where we excel.  We can find you a new company at the best possible rates.  Many companies have come to us for help.  If this is your problem, let us help you fix it.

Sick of Time Consuming, Interrogational Audits  – Depending on your state and plan, we may be able to get you away from annual audits.  Some of our companies offer simplified audits.  They just check a few things then leave you alone.

With a State or Assigned Risk Plan – Do you have employees working out of state weeks at a time?  For example, are you a New York contractor who has employees working in New Jersey or Connecticut for weeks at a time?  If so, you may be exposed to a “financially knock you out of business” problem.

Dislike Your Agent – There are agents that are order takers.  Most know so little they are dangerous to ones financial wealth.  They allow mistakes which cost thousands, tens of thousands of dollars.  On the other hand, there are specialists, like our company, that know the rules and use them to your advantage.   Go to our website by clicking the green button below and read what people think of us.  We believe we are one of the best specialists in the tri-state area.

Worker’s Compensation Through a Payroll Company – Unhappy with their fees, workers’ compensation rates or service?  We offer FANTASTIC options!

Feel Like You’ve Been Overcharged for The Past Seven Years – We have a program that will review your policies going back seven (7) years and if we find mistakes, get you refunds from your past carriers.  This service is offered on a contingency fee basis and requires you to sign just thee documents then we do the rest.  Interested?  You should be because it’s a WIN situation for YOU!

Unhappy With Your Workers’ Compensation Company or Agent – Quite a few companies provide lousy service.  Can’t get someone on the phone when you need to?  Have to wait hours or days for a certificate of insurance?  They charge ridiculous fees of $500 to $5,000 or 10% of your premium  Your employees receive collection notices from providers because their medical bills are not being paid.  None of this happens when you are insured with us.

Payrolls Being Misclassified – We’ve watched hundreds of business owners (contractors especially) be overcharged because their payrolls were misclassified.  Payrolls end up in the wrong class codes.  Special credits and payroll considerations have not been applied.  Fictitious payrolls have been created.  There are seven mistakes we can think of that are common occurrences.  Why pay an insurance company thousands, tens of thousand more than you have to?  We help eliminate these problems for you.

Paying a Monthly Fixed Premium – The state of our economy is very precarious now.  With some of our plans, you pay based on the past month’s payroll.  If you have no payroll you have no workers compensation payment.  We have plans where the premium varies based on how business is.

Paying a 25% Renewal Deposit – We have plans where there are NO renewal deposits.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more.

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Need Help Getting More Customers?  Want To Be a Part of a Multi Million Dollar Business Opportunity?   To learn more click here.            

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

While hacking by outsiders is posing a larger and more significant threat to companies of all sizes, the threat of insider jobs – particularly by disgruntled former employees – is often a bigger one.

These attacks, carried out with malicious intent to hamstring a company’s operations, can cause serious problems. Take, for example, the following recent events:

• A former employee of Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corp. is facing charges after employees began reporting that they were unable to process routine transactions and were receiving error messages after he resigned, due to allegedly being passed over for a promotion.The mayhem cost his former employer more than $90,000, and he was arrested. “The defendant engaged in a 21st-century campaign of cyber-vandalism and high-tech revenge,” said Loretta Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District.
• A former employee of McLane Advanced Technologies was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $35,816 in restitution after pleading guilty to hacking into McLane’s systems and deleting payroll files to the point that staff could not clock in and the company could not issue payroll checks. He was upset after the company had fired him and then refused to help him obtain unemployment benefits.

With these cases in mind, there are internal steps you can take to avoid this sort of thing happening at your company, including:

Route all offsite access through a VPN – This can typically prevent someone from entering your system altogether. But once you have such a system in place, all outside connections need to be logged and monitored for suspicious activity.

Test your disaster recovery plan – You need to have a disaster recovery plan in place that includes backing up data every day, just in case someone deletes data from your servers. That way, if data is deleted you can immediately switch to a backup IT environment. Oftentimes, organizations do disaster recovery, but unless they practice the actual recovery, they don’t know if it will work, and it doesn’t matter whether they have a physical or a virtual environment. So, don’t forget to test any plans you have.

Block unapproved software – Sometimes your employee hackers will install extra software that makes it easier for them to root through your system and create havoc. You should have systems in place that do not allow anybody to install unapproved software.

Disable ex-employee accounts and passwords – Whenever an employee or contractor ceases to work at your business – or in the case of layoffs, beforehand – disable their network access, accounts and passwords.

Block root access to everything – Well-run IT shops always block direct, root-level (for Unix) or admin-level (for Windows) access to critical systems. They do this because they know that giving IT employees too much access is an invitation to commit abuse. Accordingly, give users unique passwords to systems and restrict what they can access. Assigning individual passwords to employees also makes it much easier to revoke them, and to monitor how they’re being used.

Make suspect behavior cause for concern – Watch for human-behavior warning signs such as complaining to others about the company and more than usual time accessing your company data on your network. Develop a response plan for when such signs are spotted.

Beware resignations, terminations – Most people who steal intellectual property or destroy systems do so within 30 days of resignation. Keep a close eye on departing or departed employees, and what they viewed. If someone resigns who has had access to your most sensitive company information, including trade secrets, you need to pay special attention to ensure it’s not compromised.

Marshall forces – Businesses that prepare for attacks in advance tend to better manage the aftermath. When it comes to combatting cases of suspected insider threat, include human resources, supervisors, upper management, security, legal and your IT crew in developing a company-wide plan.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more.

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.                  

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

The COVID-19 pandemic will lead to permanent changes in the way business is conducted, how we manage our workflows and how we handle our personnel.

It has forced many companies to furlough workers or keep operations going by having staff that, if they can do so, work from home ― and it’s clear the work landscape is not as it was just a few months ago. The consulting firm Gartner recently published a paper on its predictions for how the pandemic will have a lasting impact on the future of work.

Look at each of the trends below and consider how they will affect your operation and what steps you need to take if any of them are likely impact your company’s plans (expansion or breaking into new markets, for example).

Some of the trends were already underway prior to the pandemic but have been accelerated by it, while others started when non-essential businesses were ordered to close and people told to shelter at home.

More remote working

Probably the biggest human resources effect of COVID-19 is the rapid migration to working from home, which built on a trend that has been slowly growing over the past 20 years. A Gartner survey found that 48% of employees have been working remotely at least part of the time since the pandemic started, compared to 30% before.

If you were forced to rapidly shift to remote working or are planning to do so in the near future, you should decide what your employees will need in terms of resources, skills and work ethic to be able to work and collaborate from different locations.

You will need to decide which jobs can be done remotely and choose which employees can perform them. Staff selection should be done in a manner so as not to appear discriminatory.

Electronic data collection

With the shift to remote work, 16% of employers are electronically monitoring their employees through methods such as:

• Virtual clocking in and out
• Tracking computer usage
• Tracking productivity
• Monitoring employee engagement.

This was a trend also underway before the pandemic, but it’s accelerating now due to the increase in telecommuting.

More use of independent contractors

With unpredictable workflows and economic uncertainty, many companies have increased their use of independent contractors to “maintain more flexibility in workforce management,” according to Gartner. Its survey found that 32% of organizations are replacing at least some full-time employees with freelancers, gig workers or independent contractors.

Designing business for resilience

Companies that were able to adapt to the changes wrought by COVID-19 were able to quickly change course and keep going.

But, too many organizations are tied to strategies that are laser-focused on efficiencies, in terms of employee roles, supply chains and workflows. That made some companies too rigid and when COVID-19 arrived, they were unable to adapt.

Gartner recommends that you design your operations and employee roles so that they are more flexible. It also advises providing “employees with varied, adaptive and flexible roles so they acquire cross-functional knowledge and training.”

Better treatment of workers

If anything, COVID-19 has brought human suffering to the forefront, and the threat of contracting the virus at work has made going to a typically low-risk job perilous. The pandemic has prompted many employers to prioritize the well-being of their employees more than ever before.

Employee morale during this time is fragile. How you treat workers during this period of crisis will echo for years to come. Whatever new systems or procedures you put in place due to the pandemic, be mindful of the effects on your employees.

For example, if workers point out inequities between remote and on-site workers, you need to investigate and make changes if necessary.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more.

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.           

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more.

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.    

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

As lawsuits against employers continue rising amid the coronavirus pandemic, some businesses are requiring workers to sign waivers absolving them of liability and responsibility should they contract the virus.

Eight percent of executives surveyed by law firm Blank Rome said they would require that their workers sign waivers of liability before returning to the workplace.

While employers are trying to protect themselves from a liability that didn’t even exist a year ago, some human resources legal experts have expressed concerns that they may not be necessary ― and may be unenforceable.

The moves come as employers are wrestling with numerous risks that the pandemic has wrought, and with the U.S. Senate having proposed legislation that would limit the liability of employers for workers who become sick during the pandemic. A number of states have also enacted laws or emergency regulations that make it harder for employees to sue employers for negligence over COVID-19.

COVID-19-spurred employee lawsuits have mostly centered on employers not providing the proper protections for workers, discrimination or for being laid off for refusing to come to work.

Legal experts caution that employers cannot require workers to waive rights they may have, such as access to workers’ compensation benefits or the right to file a complaint with OSHA.

They also say that some employers may consider waivers as a green light to not take precautions against COVID-19, but in such cases the waivers would likely not be legal.

If a worker claims they caught COVID-19 at work and the facts back that up, they would likely have access to workers’ compensation benefits (some states even require it). But if the employer was negligent, the employee could have further legal avenues to pursue besides workers’ compensation, rights that cannot legally be waived, lawyers say.

So even if an employee were to sign a document waiving their right to file a complaint if they feel their employer is being negligent, they may still have recourse.

Requiring workers to sign waivers could present a number of legal issues, according to the law website nolo.com, including:

• Courts in some states are reluctant to enforce liability waivers in the workplace because of the superior bargaining power of employers over their staff.
• Workplace morale could suffer if your employees think you are placing your own economic interests above workplace safety.
• Any waiver employees sign would not protect your firm from lawsuits filed by their families should they contract COVID-19 if staff are infected at work.
• A waiver might be unnecessary in states that have passed laws granting immunity to employers for claims made by workers infected with the virus.

Another option

While employees who refuse to sign a waiver of their company’s liability may have grounds to challenge their employer, some liability lawyers say that employers instead of a waiver can ask their staff to sign a social contract that requires:

• The employer to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work, and
• The workers to comply with their employer’s requirements on mandates on wearing masks, social distancing and not coming to work if they have symptoms or of they think they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

This type of agreement won’t protect an employer from a lawsuit, but it does spell out that they are following authorities’ recommendation for protecting employees.

While employees who refuse to sign a waiver of their company’s liability could have grounds to sue, those who sign this type of acknowledgement of new workplace rules and government guidance are less likely to be successful if they are fired for not signing. This is because the acknowledgement is not forcing them to give up any of their rights and is rather for their and their co-workers’ protection.

These social contracts also would provide workers with a list of their responsibilities when working during the COVID-19 pandemic, and outline what their employer is doing to protect them.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more.

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.      

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

While the pandemic rages on, the number of workers in the U.S. who are filing COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims is increasing and are accounting for a growing portion of overall claims.

While there is only data currently available from two states – California and Florida – the numbers coming out of the two states show the steady progression of claims being filed, although in Florida’s case the numbers don’t reflect all filed COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims. Additionally, the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which the rating agency for about 38 states will release it’s first numbers on coronavirus claims in September.

In California since the start of the year, workers have filed 22,621 COVID-19 workers’ compensation, according to the state

Division of Workers’ Compensation. In June and July alone case rose by nearly 11,000 cases. In Florida there have been 5,693 COVID-19 indemnity claims filed since the start of the year, but the number of new claims has been falling.

The way the numbers are reported in those two states differs though as Florida only provides monthly reports on all COVID-19 claims that result in indemnity payments. California’s numbers include the total number of first reports of injury where COVID-19 was listed as the cause, so that number includes medical-only claims. There have been 5,252 denials of COVID-19 claims in California through July 31, according to the DWC.

The numbers in California are concerning as in the last two months COVID-19 claims have accounted for nearly 20% of all workers’ comp claims filed in the state.

There are concerns that if COVID-19 cases continue rising among American workers that it will start affecting workers’ compensation rates as insurers never priced pandemic illness into their policies. The rate pressure may also be less as other industrial injuries have fallen dramatically as not as many people are working as before.

In Florida, COVID-19 was the cause of 28% of indemnity claims in March, 36% in April, 23% in May and 25% in June.

All of the above figures are still raw data as the more claims may be filed for prior months and as more data is available, the true cost of COVID-19 on the workers’ compensation system will become apparent.

Who is filing claims

Mitchell International, a San Diego-based insurance data provider, has been tracking COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims and has found that claims were filed as follows:

• 66% of claims were filed by workers in the health care and social assistance industries
• 7% were filed by workers in public administration
• 4% were filed by workers in education
• 4% were filed by workers in manufacturing
• 3% were filed by workers in transportation and warehousing
• 16% were filed by workers in other sectors.

At the same time, the frequency of other typical workers’ compensation claims continues to fall. For example, in California  in July there were only 16,000 total workers’ comp claims filed, compared to nearly 46,000 claims in July 2019.

The takeaway

As an employer, it’s encumbant on you to provide a safe workplace and that means also safeguarding your workers against transmission of COVID-19. OSHA, the Centers for Disease Control and various states have issued return to work plans for employers to follow.

Most important a safe workplace today must now include:

• Social distancing between workers and workers and customers.
• Requiring employees to wear masks and other protective equipment depending on their risk.
• Regular sanitizing and cleaning.
• Plans for monitoring employee’s for COVID-19

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more.

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.          

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group