Drug Testing Laws

What Employers & Employees Should Know About Drug Testing Laws

With the exception of some heavily regulated industries such as nuclear energy, military contracting and transportation, federal laws do not specifically address drug testing. However, many states and local governments regulate this practice. In most cases, the necessity of testing is left up to the discretion of the employer.

Drug Testing Prospective Employees

As a rule, state laws permit employers to test prospective employees for drug use. Drug testing is performed at the expense of the employer. Some states only permit drug

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Directors & Officers Liability Insurance

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance Basics

Imagine these scenarios affecting organizations of varying types and sizes:

Members of a trade association sue the group’s board of directors, accusing them of mismanaging association funds by spending thousands of dollars on a project that went nowhere.
Stockholders in a small restaurant chain sue the company’s risk management officer after a location suffers a total uninsured loss of the building, contents and food.
A taxpayer group sues a public library’s board of trustees for building up a reserve fund that the group

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Natural Disaster Insurance For Businesses

When An Insurance Company Wouldn’t Sell Insurance

Insurance companies are in business to sell insurance coverage. Most of the time, they actively sell new policies and additional coverage on existing ones. Sometimes, however, situations arise that cause them to declare a moratorium on selling new policies or coverage.

Unlike most other service providers, insurance companies do not know the final costs of their services when they sell them. They do not know whether they will pay nothing for claims or millions of dollars. Companies have statistics that help

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Prepare Your Business For Windstorms

What to Do When a Windstorm Threatens Your Small Business

Over the past several years, windstorms have damaged countless businesses in the United States. Although business interruption and property damage are both covered issues, a damaged reputation and market share losses can still be financially devastating. Problems are worsening for business owners everywhere as windstorms continue to increase in frequency and severity.  With adequate preparation, business owners can prevent some of the biggest losses. Use this checklist as a guide.

Develop an Emergency Plan With Comprehensive Provisions

Assign roles to different people

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Form I-9 For Small Business

Employers Have Until January 22, 2017 To Adopt New Form I-9

Employers: You have a new Form I-9, and you have until January 22nd, 2017 to begin using it.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification Form. Failure to adopt the new form by the deadline could result in hefty fines and penalties for any employer the agency catches.

Under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), employers must verify employee identity and ensure that employees are legally entitled to work in the United

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Retail Fraud Risks

Fraud Costs Retailers More Than They Know

Stores and online merchants already know of the typical ways fraud costs retailers. Identity fraud and use of stolen credit cards stick them with the cost of disputed charges. However, the costs may be even larger than they realize.

LexisNexis surveyed more than a thousand risk and fraud decision-makers and influencers for merchants. The results showed that as many as 14 million Americans fall prey to identity theft each year. When they do, almost one-third of them will avoid buying from specific

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How Much Liability Coverage Does Your Business Need?

How Much Liability Coverage Does Your Small Business Need?

There aren’t many activities in life riskier than starting your own business. Two of the biggest risks any business faces are the loss of essential property and personal injury claims. In minor cases, these risks can cause loss of income, but in the worst-case scenario, they can bring your business operations to a screeching halt and force you to close the doors.

Obviously, your success is dependent upon keeping risks and losses to a minimum. Liability insurance helps you lower vulnerability

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Thin On Business Insurance

Businesses That Went Thin on Commercial Insurance: A Case Study

Imagine several small businesses located around the country. Each is well-established and profitable. Each of them bought business insurance – property, liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation. They told their agents they wanted the lowest possible price for coverage, and the agents came through. Unfortunately, they each suffer losses that may threaten the very survival of their businesses.

The owner of a restaurant on the south shore of Long Island, New York rejects his agent’s offer of flood insurance when he sees

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Insured Legal Defense

When Does Your Insurance Company Have to Defend You in Court?

Most insurance policies will provide some level of indemnity if you are financially harmed by something covered by the policy. That’s the whole point of having insurance, right?

But financial pain isn’t the only kind of damage you may suffer. What about the damage to your reputation if you are the victim of a false claim or frivolous lawsuit? Your insurance company may want to jump at the chance for a favorable settlement out of court. After all, that could limit

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Business Insurance Lapse

What Happens If I Let My Business Insurance Lapse?

There are a number of risks associated with allowing your commercial insurance to lapse. Often times accidents may happen during the lapse in commercial insurance and business owners can have leverage working against them. Insurance companies are not obligated to offer back-dated insurance potentially leaving businesses exposed. If the insurance company does decide to honor the back-dated insurance, they may require a no loss letter, which guarantees that no one was injured, by the customer.

In addition to risk, there are

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