Our New Zealand blogger pal Russell Hutchinson lends a global perspective to this week’s Cavalcade of Risk #183 – check it out!
Austerity’s impact on public health – over at Managed Care Matters, Joe Paduda looks at the impact that financial austerity measures in Greece and Iceland have had on public health, suicide rates, hospital admissions, and other measures of morbidity and mortality.
Implementing Health Reform: Employer Coverage Option Notices – At Health Affairs Blog, Timothy Jost posts about recently released guidance from the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration regarding notices that employers must give to employees concerning their coverage options under the Affordable Care Act. He notes that “Employers must provide the notice if they are subject to the FLSA. The FLSA applies generally to employers who employ one or more employees and have a volume of at least $500,000 in annual business. It also applies to specific listed types of employers. Employers must provide the notice to each employee, including part time employees. ”
Are Women Really Making It? – an article by Rachel Bennett Steury in Industry Week looks at the status of women in manufacturing and the picture is not good: “Certainly the past decade has revealed a decline in manufacturing employment for everyone but women bore the brunt of job loss in three of the four highest paying manufacturing sectors. According to a recent report by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), women’s employment in chemicals, petroleum & coal products, and computer & electronics products manufacturing decreased while men’s employment increased.”
Marsh Report Shows Continued Demand for Terrorism Coverage – the current Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) is scheduled to expire December 31, 2014. Is this backstop still needed? In Risk Management Monitor, Nathan Bacchus looks at a recent Marsh Report that offers some interesting stats about how prevalence of terrorism coverage by industry sectors and geographic regions. “The take-up rates are highest among companies with total insured value (TIV) over $500 million, but even those companies with less than $100 million in TIV obtained terrorism insurance at a 59% rate in 2012.” Meanwhile, many Boston merchants are hoping the recent Marathon bombing won’t be labeled as terrorism : “Illogical as that may seem, such a declaration might be the only way these businesses — many of which did not have specific coverage for terrorism — can get reimbursed for their losses by their insurance companies.”
Extraterrestrial workplaces – And from one of the coolest workplaces ever, International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield offers us a musical interlude. Congratulations to Chris & his crew from the on a successful return to earth – but not without first addressing some safety maintenance issues.
Short Takes
- Texas taxpayers cover uninsured workers’ hospital costs as construction companies skirt the bill
- Poorest U.S. States Among Most Wasteful in Unnecessary Medication-Related Costs
- Bangladesh Will Allow Garment Workers To Form Unions Without Factory Owners’ Consent
- After Plant Explosion, Texas Remains Wary of Regulation
- The complete guide to sleeping at work
- Can random acts of kindness motivate your employees?
- 10 Things to Know About the Trucking Industry
- Telecommuting and Technology: Ergonomic and Worker’s Comp Considerations
- The 5 Most Common Ergonomic Mistakes on a Plant Floor
Finally, we can’t resist sharing a video of this incredible and bizarre weather-related oddity that recently occurred in Minnesota. It’s doubtful that many homes are insured against “ice tsunamis.”
