Thursday, July 30, 2009

Increased Workers Compensation Assessments/ Health Bill/CoolCalifornia Small Business Awards

In the budget signed by the Governor on Tuesday there was a provision that said all the operational cost for the Department of Occupational Safety and Health and the Division of Labor Standards will be fully paid for by employers by increased assessments on their workers compensation policies. The increased assessments will raise $67 million and be on top of the $311 million already assessed on businesses workers compensation policies.

Yesterday House Democrats came to an agreement on the health legislation pending. The significance for small business is that businesses with payrolls of $500000 or more will be required to provide health insurance to their employees or pay a charge of 8% of payroll. The bill previously had a $250000 threshold and sliding scale charges up to 8%. The House and Senate will go on recess in August and it is pretty much agreed that this issue will come back for a vote later in the year. I think it is safe to say this is a big step forward but there remains a lot of details that need to be worked out before legislation goes to the President.

CoolCalifornia Small Business Award
Who is Eligible?All California small businesses (under 100 employees) that candemonstrate climate leadership through a commitment toimplementing and promoting climate–friendly practices areeligible to apply for a CoolCalifornia Small Business Award. How are Winners Selected?This new award program will recognize multiple California smallbusinesses from across the state that demonstrate climateleadership. Each business will be scored according to theirclimate change management practices and related communicationstrategies. Applicants will be eligible for one of two awards –up to 20 CoolCalifornia awards will be presented, andapproximately five ‘Small Business of the Year’ awards will beawarded to businesses that demonstrate exceptional achievement. All award recipients’ businesses will be featured on theCoolCalifornia.org website with links to the business’s webpage.The awards will be presented in November 2009 at the CaliforniaAir Resources Board Headquarters in Sacramento. The closing datefor applications is September 3, 2009.How Do I Apply?The application form and more information on the CoolCaliforniaSmall Business Awards can be found at: http://www.coolcalifornia.org/article/small-business-award-program
For more information, please contact Heather Choi at916-322-3893 or hchoi@arb.ca.gov

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So much is said about small business, but noone says what happens to the workers.
I got injured at work, after 2 surgeries and being ask to sign my resignation, I can not find a job anywhere, it seems that my medical condition is out there for the whole world to see, and once I mentioned I left because of med or personal issues, the new employers already check my background and when they see Oh workers compensation, then they don't hire me. I've been looking for work for a while ...I though my Health was protected by HIPPA, and is not. Besides, this new employers should know that People that has been injured can not file a claim for the same injury, they have more chances that their other employees can file a claim....
CV

Unknown said...

I'm sorry about what happened to you. But let's not stereotype small business. Payroll services provided by our company includes health protection. I wonder how other companies handle their payroll. Colorado is where I'm working for in a small company of techie gadgets.