Blog
Ridgemark Insurance Services
When Outsiders Harass Staff, Employers May Still Be on the Hook
Employers generally understand their obligations when harassment comes from supervisors or co-workers. The risk becomes less clear when the offender is a customer, vendor or outsider, but the legal exposure does not disappear. While federal statutes like Title VII of...
California Businesses Face Surge in Website Tracking Lawsuits
A growing number of California businesses are finding themselves accused of "wiretapping" website visitors because of common online tracking tools many companies never realized were operating on their websites. The lawsuits stem from the California Invasion of Privacy...
Workplace Violence Prevention Training Deadline Approaching Quickly
California employers are fast approaching another important compliance deadline under the state's workplace violence prevention law. By July 1, employers with 10 or more employees must provide annual workplace violence prevention training to staff and review their...
Insurers Start Excluding AI Risk in Commercial General Liability Policies, More
Some insurers have begun introducing exclusions for artificial intelligence-related claims from standard business insurance policies, creating potential coverage gaps for businesses that rely on AI tools for marketing, customer service, product development or daily...
Lenders Crack Down on Insurance Requirements
Lenders are tightening commercial insurance requirements for borrowers to ensure that they are adequately covered as property, liability and business interruption claims costs rise across the board. With lenders tightening their standards, commercial property buyers...
Workers Eating Lunch at Desks Can Lead to Wage and Hour Lawsuits
With wage and hour litigation increasing in California, employers need to be especially careful of employees who eat lunch at their desks and work while eating. While it's not an issue for exempt employees, it is for hourly workers, who should be required to take...
Cal/OSHA Urges Employers to Protect Outdoor Workers Against Heat Illness
As we get closer to another scorching California summer, Cal/OSHA is reminding employers with outdoor workers to take precautions to protect them against heat illness. California employers need to be especially mindful as Cal/OSHA has workplace safety regulations...
Bureau Recommends Workers’ Comp Benchmark Rate Hike
California's workers' compensation rate-making agency has recommended that average benchmark "pure premium" rates increase by 10.4% for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1, 2026. The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau cited an increase in cumulative...
Report, Investigate Near Misses to Improve Safety
One of the most important workplace safety tools you can implement is reporting near misses and correcting the factors that lead to them. A near miss is an event that could have led to a workplace injury, illness or death. While you are not required to report near...
Hand and Power Tool Safety Can Avoid Amputations, Worse
While tools used in construction, agriculture, manufacturing and other industries make workers' lives easier, they can also pose a danger of injury or death if used incorrectly or if they malfunction, to the worker using the tool, co-workers and the public. Injured...