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Insurance

Employee filed for workers’ comp? Careful with layoff

06/12/2008
If your organization plans to lay off employees, make sure you don’t target anyone for a furlough because of a workers’ comp claim or prior injury. That’s why it’s a good idea for someone in HR to audit the layoff list for any apparent retaliation …

Michigan ranks first in stress

06/12/2008
Michigan ranked No. 1 for economic stress in a test compiled by the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF). The CAF “Stress Test” assessed the condition of jobs, housing, health care and household costs on a state-by-state basis over the past eight years …

House passes off-Duty activities bill

06/12/2008
In a vote split along party lines, the Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation that would prohibit employers from firing or refusing to hire workers because they engage in legal off-duty activities such as smoking …

Pay for workers’ comp evaluation?

06/11/2008
Q. We have an employee who has filed a workers’ compensation claim. Our attorneys have asked the employee to go to our insurance company’s doctor for an evaluation. This will keep the employee away from work the whole day. Do we have to pay the employee for going to the doctor, or may we classify it as a personal day? …

Wellness Rx: Help Employees Spend Less on Prescriptions

06/10/2008
Prescription drug costs account for a huge chunk of employer-provided health care insurance premiums—and those costs are rising fast. Don’t run the risk that your workers won’t fill needed prescriptions because they can’t afford to. They’ll stay healthier if you teach them how to hunt for bargains on prescribed drugs.

Michigan firm pays 100% for health care

06/06/2008
With 350 employees, the managers at Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber have custom-built a health care plan based on the staff’s needs. And it pays 100% of the premiums. “Of course it’s costing us money,” says HR Director Brenda Heerdt, “but we feel that the health of our employees is very important” …

Contractor’s employees rave about wellness program

06/06/2008
One year after Herndon, Va.-based government contractor GTSI started its wellness program, half of its 665 employees participate. And on a company survey, almost 100% of them described the organization as “more than just a place to work.” …

I was harassed and I quit! Now can I sue—Or get unemployment?

06/06/2008
Q. I found my working conditions to be intolerable because of the behavior of my male co-workers that I considered to be sexual harassing. I just did not have the energy to complain about the behavior and face the consequences, so I quit without telling my employer about the harassment. I am having trouble finding a new job, and now I am thinking I made a mistake. Will I be able to sue my employer for sexual harassment? Can I obtain unemployment insurance?

Court says liability insurer must cover employee defamation

05/30/2008
Good news for employers carrying various types of liability coverage: A Texas Court of Appeals has sided with an employer that attempted to collect on a liability policy after it lost a $1.75 million defamation judgment …

Continental Tire must fund VEBA

05/28/2008
Charlotte-based Continental Tire North America has agreed to pay $158 million into a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association, or VEBA, to continue health care benefits for approximately 2,400 retirees and workers. The workers sued after Continental reduced retiree health care benefits …