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Nov / 23

How The New California Minimum Wage Increase Compares To Other States

The new year brings a new minimum wage in California. As of January 1, 2020, the Golden State’s minimum wage increased from $11 per hour to $12 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees. This marks the first of several planned increases over the next few years, with the minimum wage reaching $15 per hour by 2023.

This latest minimum wage increase is part of a larger trend across the country, as many states and cities have been gradually increasing their minimum wages in recent years. California’s new minimum wage is now the highest in the country, tied with Washington state. Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. have minimum wages of $12.50 per hour, while Oregon and Vermont have minimum wages of $11.50 per hour.

While California’s new minimum wage is the highest in the country, it’s not the only state with a minimum wage above $12 per hour. Washington state, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. all have minimum wages of $12.50 per hour. Oregon and Vermont have minimum wages of $11.50 per hour.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are four states with minimum wages of $7.25 per hour: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Twenty-nine states have minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, while 21 states have minimum wages that are the same as the federal minimum wage.

Minimum wage increases can have a significant impact on workers and businesses. For workers, minimum wage increases can lead to higher wages and improved living standards. For businesses, minimum wage increases can lead to higher labor costs and potentially higher prices for goods and services.

The impact of minimum wage increases on workers and businesses will vary depending on the size of the increase and the economic conditions in the state or city where the increase is taking effect. In general, larger minimum wage increases are likely to have a bigger impact on workers and businesses than smaller increases.

Nov / 09

The Importance Of Reinsurance For Workers Compensation Associations

As most business owners know, workers compensation insurance is a state-mandated insurance program that provides benefits to employees who are injured or become ill as a result of their job. In return for this protection, employers are typically required to pay premiums to a workers compensation insurance carrier.

While workers compensation insurance is designed to be a “no fault” system, there are still instances where employers may be held liable for workplace injuries. In these cases, workers compensation insurance can provide vital financial protection for businesses.

One way that workers compensation insurance carriers protect employers is by offering reinsurance. Reinsurance is essentially insurance for insurance companies. It is a way for carriers to spread out the risk of paying claims by sharing the risk with other carriers.

While reinsurance is not required by law, most carriers purchase reinsurance to protect themselves from the financial impact of large claims. By sharing the risk with other carriers, carriers are able to keep their premiums low and offer more stable rates to their policyholders.

For workers compensation associations, reinsurance can be an important tool for managing risk and keeping premiums affordable. Associations are typically made up of small businesses that may not have the financial resources to self-insure against a large claim.

By pooling the resources of its members, a workers compensation association can purchase reinsurance to protect its members from the financial impact of a large claim. In return, members of the association typically pay lower premiums than they would if they purchased workers compensation insurance on their own.

While workers compensation insurance is not required by law, it is an important coverage for businesses to have. By pooling the resources of its members, a workers compensation association can provide its members with the financial protection they need at a price they can afford.

Nov / 09

The Advantages Of Reinsurance For Workers Compensation Associations

Workers compensation insurance is a type of insurance that provides benefits to employees who are injured or become ill as a result of their job. Workers compensation insurance is required in most states, and it is typically offered by employers as part of their benefits package.

While workers compensation insurance is designed to protect employees, it can also be a financial burden for employers. The cost of workers compensation insurance premiums can be significant, and the claims process can be complex and time-consuming.

One way that employers can manage the cost of workers compensation insurance is by purchasing reinsurance. Reinsurance is insurance that is purchased by an insurance company to protect itself from the financial risk of paying claims. When an insurance company purchases reinsurance, it is essentially transferring some of the risk of paying claims to the reinsurer.

There are several advantages of reinsurance for workers compensation associations. First, reinsurance can help to stabilize premiums. By sharing the risk of paying claims with a reinsurer, an insurance company can spread the cost of claims over a larger pool of policyholders. This can help to keep premiums more affordable for employers.

Second, reinsurance can help to reduce the likelihood of an insurance company becoming insolvent. When an insurance company pays a claim, the money typically comes out of its reserves. If the company does not have enough money in its reserves to cover the claim, it may become insolvent. By sharing the risk of paying claims with a reinsurer, an insurance company can reduce the likelihood of insolvency.

Third, reinsurance can help to improve the claims-paying ability of an insurance company. When an insurance company purchases reinsurance, it is essentially increasing its capacity to pay claims. This can help to improve the companyâ€™s financial stability and its ability to pay claims in a timely manner.

Fourth, reinsurance can help to improve the level of service that an insurance company provides. When an insurance company purchases reinsurance, it is typically required to provide the reinsurer with information about the claims it has paid. This information can help the reinsurer to identify trends and to improve its claims-paying process.

Finally, reinsurance can help to improve the financial strength of an insurance company. By sharing the risk of paying claims with a reinsurer, an insurance company can improve its financial stability and its ability to attract and retain policyholders.

Workers compensation insurance is a vital protection for employees, but it can be a financial burden for employers. Reinsurance can help to stabilize premiums, reduce the likelihood of insolvency, improve the claims-paying ability of an insurance company, and improve the level of service that the company provides.

Nov / 09

The Benefits Of Reinsurance For Workers Compensation Associations

When it comes to workers compensation, no one wants to be the one who is left footing the bill for an injury. This is where reinsurance comes in. Reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies. It is a way for insurance companies to protect themselves from large payouts in the event of a catastrophic loss.

Reinsurance is especially important for workers compensation associations. These are groups of employers who self-insure their workers compensation risks. If one employer in the group has a large claim, the whole group is responsible for paying it. This can put a strain on the finances of the other employers in the group.

Reinsurance can help workers compensation associations by sharing the risk among a larger group of insurers. This can help to keep premiums down for all of the employers in the group. It can also help to make sure that the group has the money it needs to pay claims, even if there is a large one.

If you are part of a workers compensation association, talk to your insurance agent about the possibility of reinsurance. It may be just what you need to keep your premiums down and your group financially healthy.

When it comes to protecting the finances of your workers compensation association, reinsurance is an important tool to have in your arsenal. Reinsurance is basically insurance for insurers. It provides a safety net for insurers in the event that they have to pay out a large number of claims.

There are a number of reasons why workers compensation associations should consider reinsurance. First, it can help to protect the association’s financial stability in the event of a large number of claims. This is especially important if the association is self-insured. Second, reinsurance can help to keep premiums down for members. This is because the association can spread the risk of claims across multiple insurers.

Another important benefit of reinsurance is that it can help to protect the association’s reputation. This is because if the association has to pay out a large number of claims, it can be difficult to maintain a good reputation. Reinsurance can help to mitigate this risk by providing financial protection in the event of a large number of claims.

Overall, reinsurance is a valuable tool for workers compensation associations. It can help to protect the association’s financial stability, keep premiums down for members, and protect the association’s reputation.

Nov / 22

A Better Way to Get Paid?: Defining quality for ‘payroll cards’

For low-income employees who lack access to bank accounts, payday often comes in the form of cash or a paper check. But cash can easily be lost or stolen and checks often require a costly or time-consuming visit to a check casher. Payroll cards can be a good alternative.

A payroll card is a reloadable prepaid card offered by employers. Each payday an employee’s wages are deposited into the payroll card account via direct deposit. The employee can then use the card to make purchases in stores or online, or they can withdraw cash from ATMs or at retail locations.

Today, this option is increasingly popular for both underbanked and mainstream Americans. In 2013, employers loaded $30.6 billion onto more than 5 million payroll cards[1].

While payroll cards are fundamentally high-quality products, their design and delivery is not uniform across the industry. For example, some cards carry high fees. And certain employers have been accused of requiring employees to receive their wages on a payroll card, rather than offering them multiple options to receive their pay—a practice that runs afoul of federal and state laws. In the wake of recent lawsuits, state legislators from Hawaii to New York have introduced legislation that would further regulate and, in some cases, eliminate providers’ ability to offer the cards period.

But maybe there is a better way to respond, a way that doesn’t risk limiting employees’ access to the high-quality cards the industry has to offer. Instead, we should encourage the industry to work together to ensure that high-quality programs and services are available to all employees.

To help with this, CFSI has published the Compass Guide to Payroll Cards. The Guide outlines what a quality payroll card should look like by providing recommendations across a range of practices including: Choice, Safety, Affordability, Transparency, and Convenience.

The Guide’s recommendations are based on CFSI’s Compass Principles—Embrace Inclusion, Build Trust, Promote Success, and Create Opportunity—standards of excellence for the design and delivery of financial services. At the heart of the Compass Principles is a belief that the financial services industry can actively contribute to improving the financial health of Americans.

Some in the industry have already begun. For example, MasterCard and Visa have announced commitments to implement recommended practices from the Guide. MasterCard has committed to incorporating CFSI’s recommendations into the company’s existing Payroll Card Standards to promote Choice, Transparency and Education. Visa has committed to developing an educational course for employers, incorporating recommendations from the Guide to ensure they offer payroll card programs in a high-quality way.

The Compass Guide to Payroll Cards sets a high bar. But we believe payroll cards can be a force for good in the lives of America’s workers.

Give Your Finances a Spring Cleaning

Springtime has finally arrived! As you start to enjoy the long, warmer days and put aside a day for spring cleaning, make sure that you give your finances a spring cleaning as well!

Start by addressing those dusty old boxes or files full of well-aged financial documents that you no longer need. It’s finally time to throw out those yellowed cancelled checks, decade-old credit card and bank statements and former apartment leases with addresses that you can barely still remember. Holding on to tax returns from 2002 or earlier? It’s generally safe to get rid of your old returns and associated records if they are at least seven years old. Make sure that you shred sensitive documents to protect yourself from identity theft! (For a clear and simple guide on how long you need to retain financial documents download our free guide on What to Keep and What to Shred.)

If you rent a safe deposit box that you have not visited in a while, this is a great time to swing by your bank to make an annual inventory of its contents. Original titles, deeds and negotiable securities (i.e., older bond certificates) are best kept here. Store your original will in the box, but make sure that you have a copy at home as well. However, keep only copies of government-issued IDs and insurance policies in the vault. Make sure that an inventory of the box’s contents, as well as the keys, are in a place where your family could find them in case of an emergency. Put with it an emergency contact list for financial issues, which may include names and phone numbers for your insurance agents, estate planning attorney and investment manager.

Next, it’s finally time to track down any stray investment and bank accounts. I recently checked-in on a long-forgotten savings account and was excited to discover $200 sitting in it. However, I was shocked to discover that the bank had started charging a $5 fee each month, which far out-paced the meager 1% interest I was earning, so I immediately closed the account. If you have changed jobs in the past few years, you may still have retirement accounts sitting in your previous employer’s plan, so take the time to transfer these funds to a retirement account that you can more actively monitor and manage.

Moving on to more fun tasks, gather up any gift cards that have been taped to refrigerator since last Christmas (or the Christmas before that) and put them to use! Spending them on something for yourself is the easiest solution, but if you are never going to use that $25 gift card to the Mitten Hut from Grandma then donate it, re-gift it, or sell it on eBay or to a gift card reseller like Plastic Jungle.

Finally, incorporate a financial aspect to clearing clutter out of your home, too. Dedicate the funds you’ll earn from a garage sale to a fun activity like a night on the town or a day at the ballpark. It makes it easier to part ways with your long un-used snowboard and will help to keep you motivated as you clean out your house in celebration of springtime!

Nov / 02

What is a super fund?

Super funds come in two basic forms.

Defined benefit funds

With defined benefit funds your final pay-out is “defined” by a set formula. For example, you may get four times your salary if you retire at 55, five times at age 60 and so on. You know in advance what you will get.

These were once quite common in public sector super funds and with some larger companies. The advantage of defined benefit superannuation is certainty about the size of your payment upon retirement or leaving the company. The bad news is that it may be less attractive if you don’t stay with the one company until retirement. I know many people who feel trapped by this type of super. The end benefit is so attractive, they just can’t afford to leave. Low motivation is bad for the employee and employer and what a sad situation it is, because no one wins. These people wait for 5 o’clock so they can go home, and long to retire.

With defined benefit funds, how the investments in the fund perform is of no interest to you. Your end benefit is paid anyway (unless your company goes broke and defrauds the super funds). Your employer will be very interested in investment performance though because the better the fund does, the less he has to put in! You may have seen very public arguments about “surpluses” of defined benefit funds. A surplus means simply that your super fund has more money in it than it needs to pay out to its members in entitlements. Often employers will try to reclaim this surplus, and employees fight to hang onto it.

Providing the surplus is accurately measured, I have no doubt who it should belong to – the employer. They guarantee the member will receive a set benefit and dips into the company coffers if the money is not there. So, given the employer must meet any shortfall, I have no doubt any surplus, if it occurs, also belongs to them.

Accumulation funds

Accumulation funds are becoming increasingly common and are also very simple. Whatever you or your employer puts in, plus investment earnings, less expenses, is yours.

While with defined benefit funds you concentrate your attention on the documentation describing your end benefit and don’t worry about investment, with accumulation funds you do worry about investment and you need to ask lots of questions. With accumulation funds what you get is determined by what goes in, but the expenses of the fund and, in particular, the performance of the investments it holds, are critical to what you end up getting.

Thing you should know about your accumulation fund

How much is your employer putting in?
How much do you have today?
Where is the money invested ?
What are the fees and charges?
Do you get any insurance cover, if so how much?
Can you add your own money to your employer’s super fund?
Do you have any choice about how the money is invested?

If you don’t know the answer to these issues – ask! No reputable employer would not want to answer these questions.

Oct / 22

Improve Your Personal Qualities – Coping with rapid change

If you find changing jobs difficult, then do it slowly. It’s important that you know your strengths and try and be flexible. Even if you have suffered a redundancy (one of the less desirable effects of constantly changing workplaces), there are steps you can take to safeguard your chances of remaining employable.

When it comes to employment diversity, it’s definitely a case of ‘times have changed’. Most employers now expect to see candidates who have moved between careers and industries. To some employers, a diverse employment background demonstrates flexibility and the capacity to adjust to a new role, company culture and different management practices. The days of ‘jobs for life’ are well and truly behind us and changing jobs is no longer seen as a way of committing employment harakiri. Taking the occasional risk and branching out into new areas can also add to your value as an employee. Likewise, working overseas or making lifestyle changes can reveal a candidate’s enthusiasm for new challenges and the ability to take decisive action.

More and more people have taken the jump into free lancing, working from home or subcontracting as an alternative way of working. Some people refer to this as ‘creating your own job, and in fact for many, particularly older workers, this might be their best option. A word of advice, though, think carefully before jumping head-first into the unknown, into a total career change – it can backfire.

At the same time, never take too lightly the value of experience. Experience is crucial in establishing and maintaining useful contacts straight into a role because they already have the required skills and information are valuable. One way of making a career change is by moving into a job that shares some common ground with your existing occupation. This is a lower-risk option that allows you to explore new career options by combining your old skills with new skills. For example, a writer could move into publishing or a politician could move into used car sales.

Education – stick with it

The surest way of maximising your chances of being able to adapt in this changing world is by investing time and energy in your own education – and to continue this process throughout your life. What’s more, it doesn’t much matter if you forget some of what you’ve learn or can’t use it directly in your work. The beauty of ongoing education is it keeps your skills up to date, your mind alive and trains you to think, to question, and to find solutions to problems.

Also, by completing an educational course you achieve something tangible and have a document to prove it. Not only does this boost your self-esteem, confidence and skills levels, it demonstrates to an employer that you have the grit and ability to see something you’ve started through to a successful end, a quality all employers value and seek.

Job searching

When hunting for a job, your first port of call will probably be the classified section of the major metropolitan newspapers. Local papers also carry hob advertisements. If you are open to the possibility of relocating, you might like to consult regional classifieds or ads from interstate newspapers.

Another great way to look for jobs is via the Internet. Some handy websites to search include:

Indeed.com. This features a comprehensive list of links to other sites which you can use to search for jobs.
SimplyHire.com. This site will email you jobs suited to your requirements. It can also help you to create a resume online.
The Monster Board : Monster.com. Abiding by the principle that practice makes perfect, this site features a virtual interview page asking some questions that are sure to test the most experienced of interviewees. This site also lets your search for jobs overseas.

Oct / 13

Job Security Follows Job Satisfaction – Personal Qualities in Employment

It is a generally accepted view that the services sector will continue to employ more people at the expense of other industry sectors. And it’s not just the most likely scenario painted for – developed, industrialised countries all over the world are moving towards being service-based economies.

So, from the point of view of job security, the service sector is where anyone planning their next career move really ought to look. However, there is more to career choice than job security. Don’t get me wrong – job security is important, but it shouldn’t be your sole motivator. Finding a vacation you like should be top priority. After all, you spend half of your walking life at work so you may as well enjoy it!

And the clincher is that finding a job you like will actually produce its own job security. How? Well, if you genuinely enjoy your work you are more likely to excel at it than someone who doesn’t – and that’s the best job security you can have. I also believe that people who like their work have a much better than average chance of making good money from it – again, because people who like their work generally do a better job than those who don’t

Personal qualities in employment

Listed below are some fundamental personal qualities that all employers value and will be particularly important in the future employment scene. The more endowed you are with them, the greater your chances of success in whatever area of employment you choose.

Creativity – the fountainhead of success and the one human characteristic that no amount of brilliant technology will ever be able to replace (at least I pray not!).
Adaptability – a willingness and ability to learn new skills and to adapt old skills to new situations.
The ability to communicate well, and to understand easily.
Commitment and a willingness to work hard.

If you had to distil all this, I think it would ultimately come down to having the right attitude towards the job – one that’s fundamentally and genuinely positive. Employers are more likely to be influenced and impressed by this than by any other attribute you might have.

Step to boost your employment prospects

Present yourself professionally and be on time for your job interview. First impressions are critical.
Forget ten-page resumes. Your resume needs to be concise and easy to read, while providing a snapshot of your achievements, not merely a list of all your jobs. It’s also crucial that you adapt your resume to match individual job descriptions and keep it brief, ideally no more than three pages. Be sure to explicitly deal with all selection criteria covered in the advertisement.
Do your research on the company and the people interviewing you.
Show prospective employers that you can use technology and send online job applications when email addresses are provided.
Prepare yourself for any psychological tests that you are required to do. You can research the standard tests on the Internet or at your local library.
Be prepared to showcase your skills in the interview, to market yourself effectively without lapsing into cheesy self-promotion.
Persistence brings rewards when job hunting. But remember, there is a fine line between persistence and annoyance, so tread carefully.
Rehearse for interviews. (Not The Sound of Music!)
Be proactive and ask questions about the job. This shows that you’ve done your homework and are truly interested in the position.
Be confident and personable. Make eye contact with the interviewer, offer a firm handshake, smile and speak clearly. Consider the start of an interview. Speak confidently and coherently, listen and resist the impulse to interject, and try to present a self assured, relaxed image.