The holiday season is here, and it’s time to celebrate. As you prepare your home, follow several safety tips that help your holiday season be merry and bright.
Indoor Decorations
Miniature houses, ceramic reindeer and scented candles add a festive dimension to your home during the holiday season. Be sure to keep fragile items away from the edge of tables or mantles and out of small children’s reaches. Extinguish any candles before bedtime or leaving the house, too.
Christmas Tree
A traditional symbol of the holiday, your Christmas tree looks pretty as its light twinkle. Keep your family safe when you secure the tree into a sturdy stand. Water your real tree regularly or choose a fire-resistant artificial tree to prevent a fire. If you use lights, don’t use frayed strands, hide the light power chord under a rug to reduce the tripping hazard and unplug the lights before you leave the house or go to bed. Remember to hang ornaments out of reach or place a baby gate around the tree, too, to protect children and pets.
Gifts
Share joy this holiday season when you give gifts to your loved ones. Remember to keep all gift wrapping supplies away from pets that may eat shiny ribbons and get sick. Also, purchase adequate insurance for jewelry, art and other expensive gifts. To prevent thieves from stealing your holiday joy, hide gifts until Christmas morning, secure your house with a security system and keep the windows and doors locked.
Outdoor Decorations
Whether you go all out when decorating your house and lawn or simply hang a wreath on the door, follow outdoor decoration safety. Always use a ladder to hang lights on your house. Don’t overload electrical outlets, either. As a rule, connect only three outdoor extension cords together in one strand.
Visitor Prep
Welcoming visitors is part of the season’s fun. Clear the walkways of ice and debris before guests arrive. Consider installing extra lighting, too, to prevent falls and trips. When preparing food, follow food safety guidelines. Store fresh foods at the correct temperature, cook foods thoroughly and place leftovers promptly into the fridge.
The holiday season is a joyous time of celebration. Follow these safety tips as you decorate your home and welcome guests. Contact your insurance agent, too, to update your home insurance policy and insure all your gifts.
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With slips, trips and, falls remaining one of the top causes of workers compensation claims, safety experts stress the need for preventive measures and ergonomic workplace design.
Such accidents need particular attention in nonindustrial environments where employers often install terrazzo or marble floors that can be dangerous to walk on.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, same- level slips, trips and falls (in which workers slip and fall on the surface where they’re standing) accounted for 134,580 lost workdays and 111 deaths in 2011. The number of same-level falls increased 42.3% from 1998 to 2010, the highest growth of any accident type during this period. These mishaps are costly, in 2010, Liberty Mutual a a leading workers comp insurance company, paid $8.61 billion in same-level fall comp claims.
Implementing safety measures such as, cleaning spilled liquids promptly and placing floor mats on smooth flooring will help prevent workplace injury. Reviewing injury records to find trends will help determine additional safety measures to implement in the workplace. Many businesses are replacing surfaces that contribute to these mishaps which is a highly cost effective investment that can curb expensive litigation and workers comp liabilities.
Although these precautions have prevented thousands of slip-and-fall accidents, the risk will remain a problem until employers work with design professionals to create ergonomically friendly safe buildings. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is sponsoring a “Prevention Through Design” initiative to address ways that architects and engineers can get involved in designing safer workplaces (for example, by training college engineering and architecture students about safety and ergonomic considerations).
Our workers comp specialists would be happy to check your business for slip and fall hazards and recommend steps to help keep your staff and visitors from slipping.
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If your employees slip up in using personal protective equipment, the results can be dangerous, if not deadly.
Among many health and safety professionals, PPE comes in last place—behind engineering controls and work practice or administrative controls – because it only addresses hazards indirectly and has the most potential failure points.
One of these potential points involves interaction between the worker and equipment, when employees make critical mistakes in the care, use, and replacement of PPE.
- Mistake No. 1: Improper care. For example, a worker takes her foam earplugs out to consult with another worker about a problem, and then rolls the earplugs again with dirty hands before reinserting them. At the end of the day, she leaves the earplugs inside her hard hat and re-uses them the next workday.
- Mistake No. 2: Misuse. A worker wearing a fall protection harness leaves the harness loose, but pulls the lanyard tight. Another worker who uses a respirator at work decides to grow a beard.
- Mistake Number 3: Failure to replace PPE as needed. Let’s say that a supervisor whose workers are supposed to use a new pair of chemical protective gloves each day, decides he will save his department money by telling workers to use each pair of gloves for a week before replacing them. After all, they still look fine after a week. Equipment should be changed 1) after each shift, it it’s disposable (gloves protective clothing, etc.). 2) whenever it shows signs of wear and tear or damage. 3) on schedule, if it’s reusable and must be replaced before exceeding its useful life. and 4) after a save, for single-use PPE, such as hardhats, fall protection harnesses and lanyards.
A word to the wise …
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Most employers have to carry unemployment insurance on their employees. Do you really understand, though, when you can use your unemployment insurance benefits? Knowing the answer to this question can help you make important decisions about using this coverage.
What is Unemployment Insurance?
Unemployment Insurance is designed to help you cover expenses when you’re between jobs. It usually gives you a percentage of your working wages rather than a full paycheck.
Unemployment laws also vary by state. Although they follow guidelines from the federal government, each state’s Department of Labor determines how much coverage workers get when they file for unemployment.
Who’s Eligible to Collect Unemployment Benefits?
If you’ve been laid off or fired and are not at fault, you may qualify for unemployment. You will generally be disqualified from receiving unemployment, though, if you:
*Quit without having a good cause,
*Are fired for misconduct,
*Resign because of illness,
*Become involved in a labor dispute or
*Leave to get married or attend school.
What are Unemployment Insurance Limits?
Most states allow you to receive unemployment benefits for up to 26 weeks. In cases, you may be eligible for extensions based on federal guidelines or your state’s unemployment rates.
When Should You File?
As soon as you’re laid off or let go from your job, file for unemployment. It often takes two to three weeks for benefits to start, so a delay in filing means a delay in receiving benefits.
Also, realize that unemployment is not a free ride. While you can use the money to pay any expenses, you typically have to prove that you’re looking for employment to receive ongoing benefits. You’ll also have to report any hours you worked.
Unemployment insurance gives you some financial assistance if you lose your job.
Don’t quit and expect to be compensated, though. Discuss this coverage with your employer, insurance company or Department of Labor if you need further clarification.
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No matter how old you are, retirement will be here sooner than you think. Your employer can help you prepare for this season of life. As you decide if you should transfer existing 401(k) funds into a Roth 401(k), consider your tax preferences.
When You Pay Taxes Matters
Most investment strategists typically recommend that consumers like you invest pre-tax money in their retirement accounts. That means you deposit funds into your retirement account before you pay taxes on the cash. Traditional 401(k)s work this way and allow you to pay taxes on the money you withdraw during retirement.
Open a Roth 401(k), and you’ll be depositing cash that’s already been taxed. When you’re ready to retire, the only taxes you pay are on the profits your investment earned.
You Choose the Option You Prefer
Ultimately, the choice of whether to stick with a traditional 401(k) or transfer to a Roth 401(k) is up to you. After all, it’s your money and your future. Your current and future tax brackets are invaluable tools that can help you decide what to do.
*If your current tax bracket is fairly high and you expect it to decrease once you enter retirement age, stick with your traditional 401(k).
*If you expect to be in a higher tax bracket during retirement or are you a young worker who’s just starting out in your career, the Roth 401(k) is a wise choice. It lets you pay taxes on your investment now when you have more disposable income.
Are you ready to make a decision about whether or not choosing a Roth 401(k) is right for you? Then, talk to your company’s human resources department. Find out if the new Roth 401(k) is available and clarify any questions you might have about retirement investing. With this information, you ensure your retirement account wishes are put into practice as you prepare for the future.
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During the past decade, diversity training has become a huge industry, with many companies implementing programs aimed at helping all employees feel valued while reducing bias and unfairness. That’s the stated purpose, and it sounds great; but when you get right down to it, the reason most companies implement diversity training programs is to, hopefully, reduce liability issues including potentially costly lawsuits. And what’s more, recent studies have been indicating that most diversity training programs simply don’t work.
In fact, one study from Harvard University looked at 829 companies over three decades and found that the training resulted in “no positive effects in the average workplace.” Even worse, the researchers also found that in workplaces where diversity training is mandatory, the training “actually has negative effects on management diversity.”
The researchers noted that the very nature of diversity training forces people to think in terms of categories. In the end, employees are more likely to dehumanize people than to see them as individuals.
Mentor programs appear to be very effective, the study says. Such programs can provide everyone with connections to “higher ups,” and they are generally better accepted than training programs, possibly because they are available to everyone, not just specific groups.
“Mentor programs put aspiring managers in contact with people who can help them move up, both by offering advice and by finding them jobs,” the study authors found. “This strategy appears to work.”
The study found another good approach to ensuring diversity in the current workplace and in hiring practices is to put one person or a group of people in charge, acting as a diversity manager or task force. Managers and task forces can be effective because they focus on identifying both specific problems and remedies.
“Managers and task forces feel accountable for change, and they monitor quarterly employment data to see if their efforts are paying off. If not, it’s back to the drawing board to sketch new diversity strategies.”
The take-home message: Don’t give up on diversity programs in your company, but do spend time exploring other options that may be more effective.
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