Keeping Our Workplace Violence-Free
Although we do our best at to keep the workplace safe, violence inflicted by an outsider or between employees remains a serious safety and health issue. It can occur inside or outside the workplace and can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide. In fact, according to the United States Department of Labor, workplace violence is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in our country.
Keeping Up with the SPCC Rule
The existence of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule, which has been in place since the 1970s, is widely known in the oil and gas industry. However, it is important to be aware of changes and clarifications made in 2010, which are of particular interest to those in the oil and gas industry. In a continued effort to prevent oil discharges from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, the EPA made several clarifications and changes to the decades-old SPCC Rule. The following provides an overview of the basics of the SPCC Rule while highlighting important modifications.
Wheelchair Safety for Passenger Vans
Passenger vans—which typically have an occupancy of between nine and 15 people—are used by many organizations to transport a wide range of passengers. Some of those passengers require the use of a wheelchair. Wheelchairs can either be stored as cargo when not in use or used as a seat during transport. There are many safety considerations and best practices to be aware of for those who are in charge of the loading, unloading and securement of wheelchairs and their occupants in passenger vans. These best practices are especially important when a passenger is using a wheelchair as a seat in the vehicle. As such, employees should be trained on working with different types of wheelchairs as seats in the vehicle, securing occupants in those seats and securing the wheelchair as cargo when it is not in use.
FERPA and Data Privacy Risks: What Schools Should Know
FERPA and data privacy risks have become increasingly important issues for schools to understand and address. FERPA—the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act—is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. However, as schools collect and store more sensitive data, FERPA and data privacy risks are also evolving. To stay compliant and protect students, school administrators must understand the law, recognize common risks, and implement practical solutions.
Group Health Premiums on the Rise: What Employers Need to Know
In 2025, rising group health premiums are becoming a central concern for employers. Carriers like UnitedHealth, Anthem, and CVS Health have issued projections showing significant cost increases—driven by escalating claims severity, specialty drug costs, and continued labor shortages across provider networks.
SECURE 2.0 Implementation: A New Era in Retirement Planning
The SECURE 2.0 Act, passed in late 2022 and now in active rollout through 2025, is reshaping the landscape of workplace retirement planning. Designed to expand access, modernize plan design, and improve financial preparedness, the law introduces over 90 new provisions—many of which are now surfacing in HR departments across the country.