With the rise in construction excavation and trenching fatalities in recent years, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is taking action by ramping up its education and prevention initiatives.

Does more money really cause more problems? Perhaps not – but it certainly brings a different set of challenges. After all, successful families and individuals have more to lose – and more for other people to go after.

Cybercrime victims lost more than $1.4 billion in 2017, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3 received more than 301,580 complaints last year, an increase from 298,728 complaints in 2016. In fact, the number of complaints has been steadily increasing each year since 2013.

New York may soon legalize recreational marijuana, and already has a Medical Marijuana Program. More recently, Governor Cuomo announced a workgroup dedicated to drafting legislation for an adult-use marijuana program in the state. For employers, the possible impact on employment practices and workers’ compensation claims must be considered.

If you live or vacation on the Atlantic coast, you’re no stranger to inclement weather. And you know June through November is hurricane season, with disaster always just one storm away. Yet things seem oddly quiet this year. Before this hurricane season started, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted a 75 percent chance the season would be average or above average. But with little happening so far, NOAA has downgraded its predictions and now expects the season to be less severe.

The construction industry is constantly evolving. To help you stay ahead of the game, here are a few recent key developments in the industry.

The process is incredibly simple.  You spit in the DNA test kit and mail it back to the company. The company analyzes your spit and tells you about your DNA. Just like that, you can learn things you never knew about yourself, your health, your family and your ancestry. It’s so easy that you may be wondering why anyone wouldn’t get their DNA tested.

Uber can’t catch a break. On July 13, the popular ride-sharing service was ordered by New York State’s Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board to provide unemployment benefits to three drivers and others “similarly situated.” In 2016, the company agreed to a settlement of $84 million to $100 million for hundreds of thousands of California and Massachusetts drivers who were fighting for employee status and applicable benefits. And just last November, the company lost an appeal of a London decision ordering it to pay minimum wage and paid time off to drivers.

The BNC Insurance Golf Classic for Blythedale Children’s Hospital is coming on September 17^th to Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, NY. BNC Insurance & Risk Advisors is proud to sponsor and be a part of this most important event to positively impact the lives of children in need of complex medical care.

Is your house being haunted by the prior owner? No, we’re not talking about ghosts. We’re talking about connected homes. If you bought a connected home, the previous owner might still have access to the controls. So when your lights turn on and off by themselves, don’t worry about poltergeists – worry about the prior owner.