650-266-9700
Right now our national unemployment rate is 3.7%–edging towards a 50-year low. With this low rate, companies are actually finding it increasingly harder to hire and retain great talent. One way to combat this issue is by increasing employee engagement through volunteering. In survey after survey, employees state that they want to work for companies […]
Urgent Care vs. Emergency Room | CA Employee Benefits Agency
Let’s say you are getting ready to make your favorite breakfast—avocado toast. You’ve toasted the bread, cut the avocado in half, and are ready to remove the dreaded pit. Of course, your knife slips and you end up slicing your hand—making you the latest victim of “avocado hand.” It seems you cannot stop the bleeding […]
Top 5 Learning Metrics to Watch | San Francisco Benefits Team
How much job training equates to time wasted: About 20%, according to one LinkedIn study. That’s the percentage of learners who never apply their training to their job. That same study says 67% of learners apply the lessons learned, but in the end, revert to previous habits. Another study found 45% of training content is […]
5 Tips to Beat the Heat | CA Benefits Consultants
There’s no denying that summer has arrived. In fact, the news has been abuzz with Alaska’s heat wave in July that sent temperatures soaring between 20 and 30 degrees above average. When you are caught in the middle of a heat wave, it may seem like there’s nothing you can do to keep cool. But, […]
10 Tips for Excellent Company Culture | San Francisco Employee Benefits Consultants
When it comes to culture, companies have to walk the walk and talk the talk. HR professionals have all been there. A potential new employee comes in for an interview. Company representatives question the prospect and then ask if the candidate has any questions. With surety, the first question uttered will be about the company’s […]
Volunteering Time Off, Part 1 | California Employee Benefits Team
Volunteering Time Off, or VTO, has become a buzz topic for many companies as of late. It involves encouraging employees to take time off from their job to plug in to their community and the nonprofits that support it. Let’s delve in deeper to understand what VTO looks like. Typical VTO policies allot for 8 […]
ASK THE EXPERTS: OVERTIME AND PAID TIME | CA Employee Benefits
Question: Should we include holidays, PTO, vacation, or other leave taken during the workweek in calculating overtime premium pay under FLSA rules? Answer: No. Because holiday, PTO, and vacation hours are not actually hours worked they do not count towards overtime pay. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer who requires or permits an employee […]
Kids and Body Image | California Benefits Advisors UBA
Growing up can be tough. The challenges of school, relationships with friends, sports and other activities can be stressful for children. Peer pressure, along with what they see and hear daily via social media, TV, movies and video games, can cause them to stress out about how they look. Comparing themselves with their friends—or, worse, […]
CMS Publishes 2020 Benefit Payment and Parameters Final Rule | CA Employee Benefits UBA
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule and fact sheet for benefit payment and parameters for 2020. Although the final rule primarily affects the individual market and the Exchanges, the final rule addresses the following topics that may impact employer-sponsored group health plans: The 2020 maximum annual limitation on cost sharing is $8,150 for […]
Identity Theft | San Francisco Benefits Team
Recently, the “Happiest Place on Earth” wasn’t living up to its name for many families. For almost a full year, malicious software had been installed on point-of-sale systems at several Earl Enterprises restaurants. This software then captured debit and credit card numbers, expiration dates, and cardholder names of users purchasing food at these venues. Identity […]
