The Cost of Cancer – Planning for Survival

No one plans to have cancer. Aside from the shock and anxiety for the future a diagnosis brings, cancer also presents a financial situation that few people fully consider. Huge medical bills, on top of the typical expenses like college loans, mortgages, and car payments, can leave survivors concerned about their finances. Despite this, there…

5 Tips for Boosting Employee Health

Looking for creative and sure-fire ways to boost employee health? Whether you’re looking to decrease sick days or increase office morale and loyalty, don’t miss these smart and healthy ideas.   Ditch the Chairs A new comprehensive study out from the Annals of Internal Medicine reveals that prolonged sitting, even if you exercise regularly, increases…

Unseen Employee Disability Costs, Part 3: What Can You Do?

In August, I wrote about how the non-occupational disabilities covered under salary continuation or disability insurance plans are more common than the occupational disabilities covered under workers’ compensation. I suggested your benefits team should be as focused on managing the costs of non-occ disabilities as your risk management team is on keeping WC costs in…

What Every Business Needs to Know About Anti-Discriminatory Laws

Every business should have a basic knowledge about anti-discriminatory handicap and disability laws. At a very general level, the following definition can be proposed: discrimination is any violation of the principle of equality in relation to prohibited criteria. Older discrimination laws used to provide sanctioned regulations which did not sufficiently take into account the differences…

Unseen Employee Disability Costs, Part 2

In last month’s blog post, I wrote about how the non-occupational disabilities covered under salary continuation or disability insurance plans are more common than the occupational disabilities covered under workers’ compensation. I suggested that your benefits team should be as focused on managing the costs of non-occ disabilities as your risk management team is on…

Your FMLA Roadmap: Three Steps to Managing Employee Leave

Since the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed in 1993, employers have struggled to meet its regulatory obligations. Although it’s been nearly 25 years – the challenges employers are dealing with haven’t gotten any easier. Leave requests can be very complex – and can distract employers from the underlying compliance requirements. These three key…

Unseen Employee Disability Costs Can Sink the Ship

I’ve held a variety of jobs during my post-college career. One of the more interesting ones was when I was a safety and environment consultant in the risk management department of a large insurance company. Our focus was on controlling the costs of our workers’ compensation program. Our WC costs weren’t as high as those…