Businesses have used non-compete agreements, with varying degrees of success, for years, but the end may be near for these contracts. On Jan. 5, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission proposed a regulation that would prohibit the use of most non-compete agreements. Arguing that they interfere with the proper functioning of labor markets, suppress wages [...]
The National Labor Relations Board has taken a big step in deciding that non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses in employee severance agreements are illegal, a move that will require most employers to rewrite theirs. The board ruled that these provisions stifle employees' and ex-employees' rights under Title 7 of the National Labor Relations Act to discuss [...]
The stakes for companies who have been hacked are growing with each passing year, and the most common way a business's database and vital information is exposed is due to employees clicking on malicious e-mail links. Many attempts to get employees to open and click on dangerous links are crude and easily detectable. But cyber [...]
As storms and hurricanes cause greater flood damage with each passing year, businesses that are not properly insured could be left paying for damage to their properties out of pocket. Despite flooding events increasing, it's noteworthy that many companies located in or near flood zones do not carry commercial flood insurance, without which any damage [...]
As businesses use more and more devices in their operations, their vulnerability to cyber attacks increases exponentially. Some employees may have a work smartphone, a laptop for the road and a desktop unit for when they work in the office. And there may be other systems and assets that are connected to the company network [...]
In the waning days of 2022, Congress passed a bipartisan $1.7-trillion spending bill that includes legislation that expands rights for pregnant and nursing employees. The budget bill, which President Biden has signed into law, included the Pregnant Workers Fair Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). Employers will [...]
The ongoing labor shortage affecting the construction industry is leading to increasing exposure for contractors due to a number of risks. Working short-staffed or with employees new to construction can lead to increased workplace injuries, which in turn can result in higher workers' compensation premiums. It can also result in shoddy work that needs to [...]
As ransomware and other cyber attacks increasingly hobble victim company's ability to operate in the wake of an attack, more cyber insurance policies are including business interruption coverage. When these policies first hit the market, they were mostly focused on covering the costs of notifying individuals whose personal data or credit card information may have [...]
There is a growing threat to companies that use online services to administer their employee benefits and payroll as cyber criminals increasingly exploit these cloud service platforms. The results of a hacker gaining access to the company's payroll systems, sloshing with cash, as well as employees' personally identifiable information can be devastating both to the [...]
The year 2022 was one of the most tumultuous climate disaster years in history, a year when we saw the massively destructive Hurricane Ian, an unprecedent number of tornadoes, growing wildfires in the West and a "bomb cyclone" in late December. And the increasing number of natural disasters is not just a U.S. phenomenon. It's [...]
