Business Briefs

• In an effort to save $500 in a company wellness program, 39 Whirlpool production employees in Evansville, Indiana, apparently lied on insurance forms saying they didn’t smoke. News reports say the company suspended the workers and will be investigating what to do next. "Falsification of company documents is one of the most serious offenses our employees can commit," company spokeswoman Debby Castrale told the Evansville Courier and Press. "We treat it very seriously." Incidents like this show the difficulty in having large amounts of money riding on what is essentially the honor system. It is possible the cheaters might not have been caught if they hadn’t been seen smoking on company property. As more companies institute wellness programs with financial incentives, it is important to remember cases like this one.
• In an effort to promote healthy employees, one California assemblyman is pushing the state to force companies with $1 million in contracts with the state to have employee wellness programs. A report in The Sacramento Bee says that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, who once tried to mandate that captive elephants be fitted with GPS units to make sure they were getting enough exercise, is looking for ways to improve the health of workers in the state. But small business owners see the bill as just another regulation that promises to hurt their bottom line. “Why are we putting the responsibility on businesses? It’s individuals who make decisions about their lifestyles,” Michael Shaw, assistant state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, told The Bee.
• The number of securities class action cases settled last year rose 21 percent, from 92 in 2006 to 111in 2007, according to Cornerstone Research. Despite the jump in the number of cases, the total value of settlements in 2007 dropped dramatically. It went from an all-time high of $17.2 billion in 2006 to $7 billion in 2007. But these numbers are skewed by two massive cases. Most of the drop between last year and 2006 is due to the $7.2 billion Enron settlement, the majority of which was approved in 2006. The 2007 numbers were also heavily influenced by one case. The Tyco International settlement, which cost $3.2 billion, accounted for almost 45 percent of the total value of settlements approved in 2007.

A problem scent

Every workplace it seems has an employee who smells like they have bathed in perfume or cologne before coming into the office. And while most co-workers and bosses have long been content to roll their eyes and grab a chair farthest away from the perfumed-one at meetings, many workplaces are starting to take office scents seriously.

In the last several years, as the issue of scent-sensitivities has gotten more and more attention, employees are beginning to complain to bosses and some companies are instituting partial or total bans on scents in the workplace. The reason for the newfound attention is both an attempt to encourage workplace harmony and avoid liability. Fragrances like perfumes and colognes have been linked to a wide range of health problems in some people. Though it remains a controversial diagnosis, some people suffering with “occupational asthma” have linked their coughing and other respiratory problems to chemicals in the workplace, including perfumes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires companies to make reasonable accommodations for those with a recognized disability. Whether a sensitivity to fragrances counts as a disability hasn’t been completely resolved, but that doesn’t mean employees aren’t filing lawsuits. One case getting a lot of attention is that of an employee of the city of Detroit. Susan McBride complained about perfumes used by her co-workers, saying they caused her health problems. Her employer refused to ban perfumes in the workplace, so she sued last year.

As this becomes more of an issue, employers should try to be proactive with scent-related issues in their workplace. The most sweeping step an employer can take is to ban perfumes, cologne and air fresheners all together. But this might be going too far and could alienate some employees. A more reasonable solution might be to make employees aware that not everyone likes overpowering scents and to please be cautious. Then you can handle any specific problems on a case-by-case basis. And always be sure to take any complaints from your employees seriously; it’s always easier, and cheaper, to deal with it before it reaches the status of a lawsuit. Taking steps before it becomes a problem not only is a way to avoid legal and health problems down the road, but it also can improve office morale by creating clear rules and potentially eliminating an office annoyance.

Fewer cars being stolen

There is some good news on the effort to stop car thieves. Preliminary data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s annual report on auto theft in the United States shows a drop of 7.4 percent in 2007. If that preliminary figure holds, it would be the largest single-year drop in the national auto theft rate since 1999. It also would contribute to an 11 percent drop nationally since 2000.

But NICB President Robert M. Bryant urged drivers and police not to become complacent, saying that gains in preventing auto theft can be fleeting. Indeed, the rate of auto thefts increased for several years earlier this decade.

Once again in 2007, the western United States suffered the most car thefts. The top ten metropolitan areas for car theft were all west of the Mississippi River and four of the top five were in California. The worst-hit area was Modesto, Calif., followed by last year’s car theft capital, Las Vegas.

The NICB recommends what they refer to as a “layered approach” to preventing auto theft:

• The first is to just use a little common sense. Don't leave the keys in the car, lock your doors and roll up the windows and park in a well-lit area.
• You should also consider a layer of defense that includes physical items that help prevent or deter a thief or make it easier for the car or its parts to be recovered. Things such as alarms, steering wheel locks, vehicle identification etchings or micro dot markings all help deter and catch car thieves.
• A third layer of defense are electronic devices. These include smart keys, kill switches, ignition disablers and vehicle tracking devices.

Installing these devices sometimes has the added benefit of lowering your car insurance premiums. Some states and companies will provide a break on insurance if you install anti-theft devices. And even if you don‘t qualify, simple and often cheap measures can deter a thief from even trying to steal your car.

Tornadoes becoming increasingly costly

With smaller losses from hurricanes in the last few years, tornados are beginning to rival hurricanes for catastrophic losses to businesses and homeowners. A.M. Best recently reported that $1 billion in insured losses from a single tornado event was becoming more common.

Just this year, there have been several devastating tornado strikes in the United States. The so called “Super Tuesday” tornados that hit the south in early February were the most deadly string of twisters to hit the United States in more than a decade. And the storm that produced a tornado that hit downtown Atlanta in March could end up resulting in losses of almost $1 billion. In May, a series of storms smashed through Oklahoma and Missouri killing 23 people. Since 1953, tornado-related events have been responsible for almost 57 percent of catastrophic losses each year.

And twisters are not just a problem in the South and Midwest. While more tornados are reported in states like Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, the states with the most losses are in the Northeast. New Jersey is the state with the most expected losses, according to A.M. Best.

Most business insurance policies will cover tornado damage and most comprehensive vehicle policies will cover damage to company cars. But it’s not a bad idea to review your coverage if you do business in a tornado-prone area of the United States.

Simple wind solution in works

What if the howling winds of a hurricane could be harnessed to keep the roof on a building, instead of ripping it off? That’s the idea behind a vent in development by a Virginia roofing company and professors and students at Virginia Tech.

The squat little vents, which look more like tiny barbeques than potential building savers, are already on several buildings in Virginia and the Carolinas. They work by taking advantage of something called the Venturi effect. You might be familiar with the effect if you’ve ever noticed how cigarette smoke is pulled out the window of a moving car. The air outside the window is moving past the relatively still air inside the car. The faster moving air is at a lower pressure than the air inside, so the smoke is sucked out. Using a carefully designed system of tubes and two bowl-shaped pieces, the researchers have produced a vent that creates the same effect under the membrane of a flat roof. The faster the wind blows, the greater the difference in air pressure and the more tightly the roof is pulled down onto the building. Just as the faster you drive the faster the smoke is pulled out the window.

While still in the planning stages, the device has the potential to change the way roofs are designed and installed on commercial buildings. Chuck Johnson, one of the roofers who came up with the idea for the system, says building roofs now are held in place using fasteners and adhesives. “Now, so many fasteners are required that roofing is very expensive and the integrity of the deck is compromised,” he said. “Plus, if you ever have to take the roof off, you have to take it off in pieces and recycling the material is impossible. It’s all very labor intensive. .. We are using physics instead of mechanical fasteners or adhesives. The harder the wind blows, the better it works.”

If the V2T vents prove to be useful and effective, it could be a elegant solution to one of the more expensive ways hurricanes and strong storms damage buildings. Many buildings suffer a great deal of damage in storms after most of the strongest winds have passed. This is because once their roofs are damaged or destroyed there is little to keep the wind and rain out of the vulnerable insides of the building. If an effective way could be found to keep the roofs on in the first place, a lot of water and storm damage could be avoided.

Little knowledge goes a long way

A recent survey has revealed that a disturbing number of small business owners have little knowledge about their workers compensation insurance.

The survey by Employers, a group of workers compensation providers, found that one in seven small business owners and executives could not name their workers compensation insurer. A similar number admitted they do not understand how workers compensation protects employees with work-related injuries or how it can protect their business against catastrophic claims.

It is important for business owners to have a firm grasp of how workers compensation works and what is covered. And it isn’t enough just to know the name of your insurer and have a general understanding of what workers compensation is. It is also important to know what is covered, what isn’t, what is required when an employee is injured, where potential liabilities lurk and what the laws of your state are. Most states mandate that businesses carry workers compensation insurance, and the rules on what they must carry vary from state to state.

Most of the basics are fairly easy to master, and one of the best places to get information specifically tailored to your company is through your insurance provider. Not knowing some of these basics could lead to costly -- and very preventable -- mistakes. If you don’t know something, ask. The Employers survey shows you wouldn’t be the only one who should be asking more questions.