Health and Safety Rules

Workers’ Compensation Costs Rising Due to ACA

Although the full impact of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is still not being felt, there are indications that a side effect of the Act is rising costs for workers’ compensation coverage. The ACA was passed five years ago, but many of the more demanding portions of the Act were not in effect until the last couple of years.

Stephanie Metzinger Dec 29 2015 in Insurance

OSHA Discloses Top Ten Violation Categories of 2015

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently identified the 10 most serious cited violations for 2015. Although some of these have little to do with agriculture, a number of them do occur with some frequency in farming operations. Fall protection was the most frequently cited serious accident with approximately 6,000 violations nationwide, while scaffolding came in second with more than 4,000 incidents.

Stephanie Metzinger Dec 29 2015 in Insurance

Tips to Protect Your Home and Property During the Holidays

In the excitement and high activity of the holiday season, we sometimes overlook the need to be vigilant and take care of our personal items.

Allstate Insurance indicates that burglaries increase by 11 percent during the holidays and items stolen from vehicles increase by 17 percent. When we are out buying presents and materials for our holiday parties we sometimes forget that these items are visible; this may attract more attention than we want and can result in a break-in or theft from our home or our vehicles.

Stephanie Metzinger Dec 17 2015 in Health and Safety Rules

Have a Safe Holiday Season

This is the time of year when more time and effort goes into celebration and revelry than any other season. The festive spirit leads to decorations and parties in the office while everyone enjoys the holiday scene. Employees need to be especially vigilant at this time of year because there is more potential for accidents and injuries due to the presence of alcohol and food at many of the holiday gatherings. A few simple reminders can help employees avoid problems while maximizing their enjoyment of the holidays:

Driving - practice “safe” driving.

Stephanie Metzinger Dec 08 2015 in Work Place Regulations