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President Biden to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine for Federal Employees and Large Employers

On Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, President Joe Biden signed executive orders requiring federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Biden also directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to draft a new emergency rule requiring all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure all of their workers are either tested for COVID-19 once a week or fully vaccinated.

The OSHA emergency rule—which is expected in the coming weeks—could affect as many as 80 million Americans. It will reportedly require large employers to provide their workers with paid time off to get vaccinated and recover from any vaccination-related side effects. Companies that fail to comply may be subject to up to $14,000 in fines per employee.

Read the full news brief here.  Continue reading

Are Surcharges an Option for Unvaccinated Employees?

With the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, more companies have announced plans to mandate the vaccine. However, given today’s extremely competitive labor market, some organizations believe a vaccine mandate would further hinder their ability to hire and retain employees.  Would imposing a surcharge on health plan premiums for unvaccinated employees be an alternative solution? Before exploring this option, employers need to know the percentage of employees on their health plan to determine the impact.    Continue reading

Hurricane Preparedness for Businesses

With the peak of hurricane season upon us, it is important for businesses to know how to proactively minimize potential loss and maximize loss prevention in the event of a hurricane. Being well prepared is critical to this objective and to keeping your business as healthy as possible.

Pre-storm Property Preparation

Even before a hurricane forms, businesses can start preparing. A good first step to take is to check local flood maps and have a licensed professional inspect your building to ensure it complies with the wind loading requirements of your area. Consider also installing impact-resistant film on windows and reinforcing any potentially weaker points in the building. Create a list of companies which can assist in recovery efforts should heavy damages occur.  Continue reading

CashBackHealth: A New Cost Savings Solution to Drive High-Quality Health Care

The Scott Benefit Services team is excited to announce the launch of a new solution to help employers positively impact costs and drive better health care consumerism by individuals.

CashBackHealth, powered by Garner Health, helps employers empower their employees with the information and tools to find the highest quality medical care available. As a simple addition to an existing employer-sponsored health plan, CashBackHealth drives more care to the highest quality providers in the local community, ultimately generating significant savings and better health outcomes for employers and employees.  Continue reading

Captive Insurance for ESOP Companies

Chad Duke, Vice President/Risk Advisor, and Pim Jager, Vice President/Benefits Consultant, were recently featured on the ESOP Podcast discussing captive insurance and Scott Insurance’s collaboration with the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) to create two new captive programs exclusively for ESOP companies, OWN Health (health insurance) and OWN Risk (property and casualty).  Continue reading