The RISQ RECAP:
March 6th – March 10th, 2023
Each week, you’ll find specially curated news articles to keep you up to date on the ever-evolving world of insurance and risk management. The articles are divided out between items relevant to Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits/Human Resources, and Compliance. We’ve included brief summaries of each item as well as a link to the original articles.
PROPERTY & CASUALTY
Livestock Operations Grow as Demand Rises; Nationwide’s Cumings Sees Direct-to-Consumer Models Adding Additional Liability Risk
“Specialization is critical in the cattle business and increased consumer demand for protein is driving new trends, including niche farms that offer direct-to-consumer strategies. In today’s evolving and growing livestock landscape, deep knowledge of market conditions and specialization is key to success, according to Erin Cumings, a senior consultant with Nationwide’s sponsor relation team who has years of agribusiness underwriting expertise. But for those agents willing to develop that expertise, she sees opportunities for agents in this changing and dynamic market.” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
DOL Issues Internal Guidance on Telework Under the FLSA & FMLA “FAB 2023-1 addresses FLSA regulations governing “hours worked,” rules related to break time and privacy for nursing employees, and regulations regarding FMLA eligibility factors.” Full Article – Jackson Lewis
OSHA Implements Pilot Program to Streamline Complaint Intake Process “This pilot program aims to relieve the strain on OSHA’s investigative resources by allowing an investigator to administratively close a complaint without needing to contact the Complainant.” Full Article – Proskauer Rose
Tick-Tock-Time for Healthcare Employers to Review Their Internet and Social Media Use Policies! “Every healthcare organization, from small medical groups to large health systems, should adopt a social media use policy that outlines permissible uses, best practices, and potential discipline in the event of violations by their employees.” Full Article – Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
Paid Leave for USERRA? We Recommend a Comparability Analysis “The Ninth Circuit recently addressed the issue of whether an employer is required to provide pay for employees taking short-term military leave when it offers other types of short-term paid leave. In Clarkson v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., the Ninth Circuit revived a class action claiming discrimination under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) for the failure to pay short-term military leave.” Full Article – Baker McKenzie
Supreme Court Upholds Ruling That FLSA Overtime Exemption Didn’t Apply to Day-Rate Rig Worker “On Sept. 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held a highly compensated rig worker was not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) overtime requirements because the employee was paid on a day rate as opposed to a guaranteed salary. On Feb. 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this decision.” Full Article – McGuire Woods
NLRB Prohibits Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements with Broad Implications “On February 21, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) reversed course from its own Trump-era precedent when it held that an employer’s offer of employee severance agreements with broad confidentiality and non- disparagement provisions is an unfair labor practice in violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (Act).” Full Article – Troutman Pepper
STATE & INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE
In addition to the RISQ Review, RISQ Consulting also provides a resource that features changes and updates to State and International Compliance measures. We’ve included brief summaries of each item below, and also provided links to the original articles if you’d like to read further.
Illinois Supreme Court Rules BIPA Claims Accrue With Each Scan “On February 17, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Cothron v. White Castle, holding that a claim under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) is triggered upon each biometric scan, rather than just the first.” Full Article – Troutman PepperILLINOIS
Seattle Becomes the First U.S. Jurisdiction to Prohibit Caste Discrimination “On February 21, 2023, the City of Seattle, Washington became the first U.S. city – or any U.S. jurisdiction for that matter – to add caste to its list1 of categories protected against discrimination.” Full Article – Littler MendelsonWASHINGTON
Massachusetts May Be Next in Line to Enact Pay Transparency Laws “The proposed law focuses on a broad range of employee and wage data, including the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and gender that fall within certain job categories or roles, and their corresponding wage information.” Full Article – Nelson Mullins Riley & ScarboroughMASSACHUSETTS
New Jersey Enacts First-of-Its-Kind Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights “Under the law, employers must pay temporary workers no less than the average rate of pay and cost of benefits provided to company employees in similar positions who perform the same or substantially similar work. It also gives temporary workers rights to certain information on the terms and conditions of their engagement and imposes significant obligations on staffing agencies and their clients.” Full Article – Morgan Lewis & BockiusNEW JERSEY
CA Win for Employers: Ninth Circuit Holds That California AB 51 Prohibiting Mandatory Arbitration is Preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act ““As of February 15, 2023, employers in California may once again require mandatory arbitration as the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), a law that prohibited “forced arbitration” as a condition of employment.” Full Article – McDermott Will & EmeryCALIFORNIA
- Published in Blog
The Productivity Technique That Actually Works For Me
By Ashley Snodgrass, Employee Benefits Analyst
If you are having a hard time structuring your workday, I would recommend trying out the Pomodoro Technique. It’s not just an Italian tomato, it’s also a fantastic time structuring system. I have found this method to be the best at keeping me focused on prioritizing the right tasks all day long. The essence of the technique is to work for a short stint (called a Pomodoro), then take a short break. After completing 4 Pomodoro’s, take a longer break. Continue to repeat the work/break cycle until you’ve completed your tasks for the day.
Here’s a great visual of what this technique looks like:
I prefer to use a visual timer such as this one to keep me on track. If novelty intrigues you, try this Tomato Timer or this YouTube Morning Forest Lofi Timer. If you prefer a timer that lives outside your computer, you could use your phone timer, or even a desk timer like this or this to keep track of your work time and break time.
Before I used the Pomodoro Technique, I treated my workday as one big sprint. I went from task to task, which often left me overwhelmed, burnt out, and lacking focus. By adding in structured breaks, my productivity and focus has increased significantly.
If you’d like to learn more about this technique and its benefits, I highly recommend referring to these below resources:
- Published in Blog
Stronger Hurricanes to Put More Properties at Risk
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Over 13.4 million properties not currently exposed to hurricane-force wind damage will face increased risk over the next 30 years as climate change propels more intense storms, according to new research from First Street Foundation.
“Compared to the historic location and severity of tropical cyclones, this next generation of hurricane strength will bring unavoidable financial impacts and devastation that have not yet been priced into the market,” said Matthew Eby, founder and CEO of First Street, a nonprofit research and technology group.
First Street’s models also estimated the average annual loss due to tropical cyclone damage rising to $19.9 billion, with about $1 billion in higher exposure in Florida alone.
Other regions that face lower exposure now will be even more at risk in the future, First Street warned. The study projected losses in the Northeastern United States to increase by 87% over the next three decades as hurricanes track further north.
“The northward increase in hurricane activity may significantly impact buildings that have not been built to a code that considers the wind speeds they will likely face over the next 30 years,” researchers said. “Additionally, the count of properties with any average annual loss from wind will increase by about 55%, with about 2.2 million newly-impacted properties by 2053.”
The total number of storms isn’t expected to change, but the intensity will, according to the report. Historical evidence already illustrates rising risk: The proportion of major hurricanes (Categories 3, 4, and 5) has quadrupled since the 1980s, from 10% of all tropical cyclone events to over 40% today. First Street attributed the change to rising air and sea-surface temperatures fueling storms, as well as increased moisture levels in the air and shifts in wind patterns.
“Hurricanes affect communities within the United States more frequently and severely than other natural disasters,” said First Street in the report. “As a result, tropical cyclones have caused a total of $1.194 trillion (consumer price index-adjusted) in losses in the United States between 1980 and 2022, with an average cost of approximately $21 billion per event.”
Understanding evolving risk can help insurers set property rates more accurately, assist communities in developing resiliency plans and allocating resources, and give property owners information on how to better protect themselves and their homes and businesses, First Street said.
For more risk management news and insights, contact RISQ Consulting today.
- Published in Blog
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