November 2019: Topics include flu season, electrical devices, electric blankets, & podcast.

October 2018: Topics include winter driving, space heaters, employee safety & hail damage.

March 2018: Topics include hurricanes, mold & smoke detectors.

May 2018: Topics include Habitat for Humanity, campus crime, embezzlement claims, frozen pipes, mental health & employment law.

January 2018: Topics include designated drivers, sober sis programs, heat sensors, insurance basics, & legalization of marijuana in Canada.

June 2017: Topics include flood coverage, non-owned and hired automobile liability coverage, & grills.

Here is the more printer-friendly PDF version.

March 2017: Topics include attic fires, heat sensors, risk control report & fire pits.

Review and implement the following steps as needed:

Via ChubbWorks.

Acting fast when you have a claim is always important, but especially so when an employee’s health is concerned. Use our First Report of Injury form to get started, and get in touch right away with Heather Cox if you have questions.

Increasingly, House Directors are expressing interest in keeping a pet in the chapter house. While this can be a perk of employment, it is important for you to consider the potential risks of having an animal, likely a dog, in the chapter house.

Ownership of any pet is a liability exposure. In light of recent claim activity and the corresponding risk management concerns, we ask that that any House Director with a pet secure a tenant’s policy (also referred to as “renter’s policy”) with a minimum liability limit of $500,000.  We also recommend that the managing House Corporation require proof of this insurance before allowing the House Director to have a pet on the premises, which can be shown via a Certificate of Insurance (COI). 

We strongly discourage House Corporations from allowing the House Director to own or care for any of the following: 

In an increasingly litigious society, the number of dog bite claims has risen 48% over the last decade, with the total cost of claims reaching nearly $1.6 billion. This exposure is particularly concerning and it is crucial that any approved pet for a House Director or other animals in the chapter house (see our ESA article) not have a history of biting.

If your house corporation has any questions or concerns regarding house director pets or any other animals in the chapter house, please contact your Client Executive for more information.

A major retailer faces a lawsuit from a prison ministry organization and a job applicant who allege the employer’s application process discriminates against individuals with a criminal history.

According to the lawsuit, the retailer applies an overly-strict process of eliminating any individual with a criminal history, regardless of the nature of the crime or when it occurred. As a result, the screening policy “disproportionately disqualifies Black and Latinx applicants and employees from job opportunities.”

The case involves one qualified applicant who received a job offer, only to have the retailer rescind the offer when her criminal background check revealed a traffic-related misdemeanor conviction from 10 years prior. Brianna Smith “Macy’s Hit with Discrimination Lawsuit Over Criminal History Screening Policy” www.legalreader.com (Jun. 28, 2019).

Commentary and Checklist

A thorough screening process is a best practice for any employer hoping to hire a new employee. This can include credit checks (depending on the job position); interviews with personal references; interviews with professional references; skills testing; medical testing (post-offer); and a criminal history background check.

Criminal background reports will disclose both arrests and convictions of felonies and misdemeanors. They also reveal court records, warrants, sex offenses and incarceration records. However, employers need to tread carefully when using this information to make employment decisions.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) encourages employers to avoid blanket practices that exclude people from employment based on criminal record, and instead manage each applicant on a case-by-case basis. Employers should consider the nature and gravity of the crime, when it occurred and the nature of the job. Also, employer should give the applicant an opportunity to respond to the report and their past criminal offense.

Also, keep in mind that many states have passed “Ban the Box” laws that prohibit inquiring about criminal records on a job application form. This is to enable an applicant to make it through the interview process, perhaps as a finalist, and then to have their past offense evaluated for any relevancy to the job under consideration now.

Here are further considerations to help employers limit the discrimination risk associated with criminal background checks in the hiring process:

Written exclusively for ChubbWorks, the employment practices liability carrier for MJ Sorority, January 21, 2020.