In all states in the U.S. except Texas, employers are required to purchase workers compensation insurance — a specific kind of “no-fault” insurance designed to provide timely medical care and wage replacement for workers who sustain an on-the-job injury while simultaneously protecting employers from lawsuits. As a rule, worker’s compensation is looked upon as a […]
The federal government is one of the top employers of small businesses in the United States. Even in this age of budget cuts and belt tightening on the federal level, the feds are on track to award about $500 billion in contracts this year. What’s more, the law requires that 23 percent of those contracts […]
The Metropolitan Economic Development Association and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, are hosting an exciting Million Dollar Challenge for emerging minority-owned businesses. Modelled after the TV show “Shark Tank,” the challenge will give up to 20 minority-owned businesses the opportunity to present a 5-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of experts […]
Minority-owned businesses are a growing and important part of the U.S. economy. According to a Business Journal survey from 2017, there are 11 million minority-owned small businesses with employees in the United States today, nearly twice the number as a decade ago. These businesses generate $1.8 trillion in annual revenue and employ nearly 6.5 million […]
Following the lead of several other states, New York has been developing a Workers Compensation formulary for several years. The Workers Compensation Board released its initial proposal in November 2017. After public comment revealed a number of potentially serious issues with the new rules, the WCB went back to the drawing board last year. It […]
All employers have an obligation to pay workers fairly and in accordance with federal, state and local laws. However, inexperienced business owners often get caught in the cross-hairs of government regulators because they are unaware of what the rules governing workers’ pay are. In New York State, for example, regulators returned over $35 million in […]
In a study published last October in JAMA Network, researchers found that that an alarming number of workers compensation beneficiaries become persistent users of opioids. Of the nearly 9,600 workers comp claims the researchers examined, over 30 percent showed that the injured worker had filled at least one prescription for opioid painkillers 90 days or […]
Workers compensation laws differ widely from state to state. Although almost every state requires that employers carry workers compensation insurance, the benefits provided to injured workers vary quite a bit. For example, some states allow the injured employee to choose a treating physician, while others require that the worker see a physician chosen by the […]
The holidays are officially over, and most of us are slowly returning to business as usual this week. But despite the fact that New Year’s Day is behind us, it’s not too late to make a few resolutions about building a more vibrant and resilient business this year. If you haven’t already come up with […]
The number of minority-owned businesses in the United States has been increasing steadily since 2002, more than doubling in the decade between 2002 and 2012. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, minorities owned just shy of 1 million U.S. businesses in 2015 — a number that’s expected to grow as the nation’s population […]
