While your employees can catch the flu year-round, fall and winter are the peak times for an outbreak. In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 80,000 Americans died from the flu and more than 900,000 ended up in the hospital. 
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On average, U.S. employees miss more than 17 million workdays from the flu, costing employers $7 billion in sick days and lost productivity. Make sure your organization is prepared to help employees get through flu season.

Advances in technology affect everything and everyone, including workplace safety. The workforce is more tech-savvy than ever before, leading to changes in how we work and the availability of data.
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With many safety programs out of date, it’s time to put technology to work to improve safety in the workplace.  An article in Safety and Health Magazine suggest four ways technology can respond to today’s safety needs.

Injuries due to slips and falls are one of the most frequently reported workers’ compensation claims. While these accidents can happen anywhere, any time, they typically spike during the winter months. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 20,000 workplace injuries due to falls from snow, sleet, and ice occurred in 2016. Of those, 28 percent resulted in more than a month off of work.
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Employees and visitors alike are at risk, but with a proactive safety plan, slips and falls can be prevented.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over 42,000 opioid-related deaths in the United States each year. And according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death for Americans under the age of 50. With the popularity of synthetic opioids surging, experts predict the death toll will only increase.

In the most basic terms, the CDC defines opioids as “a class of drugs used to reduce pain.” However, not all opioids are the same. There is a wide range of legal and illegal drugs that are classified as opioids.

Unlike other drug epidemics, the reach of opioids is unique. Although in different ways, this crisis affects all people in all economic classes. People who can afford prescription drugs are just as susceptible to an overdose as those who cannot afford them because of the unprecedented availability of cheap substitutes. This can make it extremely difficult to create a meaningful opioid strategy.

Estimates show the opioid epidemic costs the U.S. economy over $95 billion annually, with employers paying $18 billion of that. And, these figures are only expected to rise.

With more employees falling victim to addiction, employers are faced with lower productivity, higher health care costs and fewer qualified job applicants, which means employers should try to do everything possible to combat the impact opioids have in the workplace.
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There is no silver bullet for this crisis. However, exploring new initiatives can help in the development of a strategy that best suits the needs of your employees. 

Did you know that 60.3 million U.S. workers are affected by workplace bullying? A 2017 survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute found:

• 70% of perpetrators of abusive conduct are men
• 61% of bullies are bosses
• 66% of all targeted workers are women
• Male perpetrators target females 65% of the time
• Female perpetrators target females 67% of the time
• 40% of targets are believed to suffer adverse health consequences from bullying
• 29% of targets remain silent about their abusive conduct; only 17% seek formal resolution

​Bullying is generally defined as the use of intimidation through power, influence, tone or language to affect a person negatively. It is often intentional; however, sometimes the bully is not aware of his or her hurtful actions or words.

A fire can happen anywhere, but three simple steps: Look, Listen, and Learn, are essential to reducing the likelihood of having a fire and escaping safely in the event of one. The National Fire Protection Association’s 2018 Fire Protection Week Campaign is an important reminder to:

• Look for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.
• Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.
• Learn two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

​Fires are the leading cause of home injuries and death. In a fire, mere seconds can mean the difference between a safe escape and a tragedy.  Does your family have a plan if a fire started in your home?

Findings from an analysis of 2017 cyber claims data revealed that negligence was the most common cause of loss for the healthcare industry and a hacking attack the most common for non-healthcare organizations. However, ransomware was the second most common cause of loss for all industries.

Ransomware is a cyber-related threat with a monetary demand. The threat is typically to divulge or destroy information, to insert malicious code into a computer system, or to damage, destroy or prevent access to a computer system. According to the report, “2018 Cyber Claims Digest,” by NAS Insurance, there was a 152 percent increase in ransomware as a cause of loss in the healthcare industry between 2016 and 2017.

Dehydration may seem like a minor ailment, but it can be quite dangerous. In fact, most heat illnesses are caused by dehydration. Did you know that by the time a person is thirsty, he or she is already 2 to 3 percent dehydrated? Once this occurs, it’s difficult to make up for the lost hydration.

Get the Facts
In the simplest terms, dehydration occurs when you lose more water than you take in and your body does not have enough water to carry out its normal functions. What's more, even mild dehydration—as little as a 1 to 2 percent loss of body weight—can cause symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, and fatigue, and may have an adverse effect on long-term health.

Hacking and cybercrime are in the news daily, and everyone has likely been impacted by it in some way from the numerous high profile breaches of the companies that store our data. The increase of these threats has awakened us to the reality that we need a level of vigilance that offers better protection.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, data breaches increased 40 percent in 2016, with a total of 1,093 reported breaches. This trend continued in 2017, with over 1,120 cases reported by October. Ransomware was the most common threat. Global ransomware costs due to business productivity impact and mitigation are estimated to have exceeded $5 billion in 2017. An additional $2 billion was paid to hackers in ransom over that same time period.

The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that increased the civil penalty amounts that may be imposed on employers under various federal laws. The DOL’s final rule implements the 2018 annual adjustments for civil penalties assessed or enforced by the DOL, including penalties under the FLSA, FMLA, OSHA, and ERISA. The increased penalty amounts became effective on January 2, 2018, and may apply for any violations occurring after November 2, 2015.