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With a red-hot economy and many companies forced to operate with more new employees and/or limited staffing, mistakes are bound to happen — and that can be costly.

These mistakes can result in workplace accidents, lagging productivity leading to missed deadlines, or errors that result in returns or, in the worst-case scenario, lawsuits by angry clients. If your business has taken on new employees or if you're understaffed, you have to get firm control of your operations and properly manage your risk.

As businesses have gotten wise to malicious e-mails that try to trick their employees into clicking on unfamiliar links in e-mails, cyber criminals have devised a new way to con people into opening up their networks — a method called "BazarCall."

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks a user from accessing programs and data on a workstation or entire computer network until a ransom is paid to the criminals who installed the malware. BazarCall takes a new approach, and it's working.

Now more than ever, employers need to step up their employee benefits game beyond providing group health insurance.

Thanks to the Great Resignation, employees are demanding more from their current and prospective employers. And those that don't deliver lose employees or have trouble attracting new talent, as long-time colleagues head for the exits.

Good pay and a robust health insurance package still win the day, but employers are having to do more to sweeten the pot.

Question: We have an employee who wants to make changes to her cafeteria plan election, even though benefits are already effective. Is there a grace period that allows her to change her election?

Well, is it true or false?

Employers who offer health savings account-eligible high-deductible health plans to employees can significantly expand pre-deductible coverage for certain drugs used to manage chronic conditions — with only a tiny effect on premiums — according to a new study.

The reason: According to research from Johns Hopkins University, poorly managed chronic medical conditions cost employers an estimated $198 billion every year. Here's how expanding the number of medications that are not subject to deductibles can help your employees.

With reports of cyber criminals increasingly focusing on smaller companies for targeted attacks, now more than ever businesses that store sensitive data need to consider how they protect their information systems.

And while you can install firewalls and take other precautionary measures, should an attack occur, you will be left facing untold costs and possible fines and lawsuits by those whose data may have been exposed. One way to protect your company is by securing a cyber liability policy.

The "Monday morning surprise" — the term for when an employee approaches you on the first morning of the working week to report an injury he or she sustained at work on Friday — can be a dreaded situation for an employer.

The Monday morning surprise comes with several questions. Is the injury truly work-related?

Could it be a case of cumulative effects? Was this an injury sustained over the weekend, on the employee's personal time? Do you have evidence to prove it?

The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned a surge in the number of people who are self-employed, but it raises the question of how they will be able to plan for their retirements when they are not eligible for employer-sponsored 401(k) plans.

Because of these uncertainties, many entrepreneurs envision never stopping working, which becomes more difficult the older they are. But they have options.

As the 2023 group health open enrollment season nears, more employers have heard concerns among their staff and are focusing on affordability and easier access to health care services, according to a new study.

Mercer's "Health & Benefit Strategies for 2023" study found that more than two-thirds of businesses are planning to improve their health benefit options to better compete for talent.

The survey found that 70% of all large employers were planning benefit enhancements for 2023. While small employers are somewhat less likely to be planning enhancements, still more than half (53%) say that they are.

As a responsible business owner, you no doubt make sure that you are properly insured for any liabilities resulting from damage to other parties. 

The costs of a large financial settlement could surpass the primary liability limits of your existing insurance policies, leaving your business responsible for the rest of those costs. But there is a way to protect your company.

If you are planning any new remodeling work on your home, as a homeowner you have two main concerns in terms of your insurance and liability.

First, before a contractor starts work on your property, you have to make sure that you are appropriately insured and that the firm has both workers' compensation and construction liability insurance. The second part concerns your property coverage, since most renovations will add value to the home and add to the cost of rebuilding.

Here's what you need to do.

During the hot California summers, one way agricultural employers are trying to keep their workers safe is for them to work at night, away from the glare of the baking sun.

But working in dark conditions can also be hazardous, particularly the risk of being hit by passing machinery or equipment, in addition to tripping and falling hazards. Fortunately, Cal/OSHA has rules governing working in the fields at night.