The LegalWatch blog offers legal opinions from attorney Eric J. Pritchard on topics related to the security and alarm industry.
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Navigating insurance claims post-Sandy
By Eric Pritchard - Monday November 5, 2012
Editor's note: Edward Dunham, an attorney with Kleinbard, Bell & Brecker, co-authored this blog entry. If your company recently suffered a power outage or other hurricane-related damage you may be tempted to put any potential insurance claim to the side and focus on getting your operations up and running again. First things first, but you may have rights under the insurance you’ve purchased for a premium. To maximize the potential for insurance coverage, one of your first priorities should be to report your claim to your insurance company, including full documentation of the damage, with photos and/or videos if appropriate. Getting your insurance agent or broker involved immediately will help not only with navigating the claims... -
Don't spend that healthcare rebate check yet!
By Eric Pritchard - Wednesday August 1, 2012
If your company maintains a group health plan for your employees, you may have received a "rebate" check from your health care insurer. It’s not a reduction in your rates or a rebate and it’s not being sent because your insurer wants to keep your business. It’s your 85/15 Rule Rebate. Your insurer is required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to send it to you. And you can’t just deposit the check back in your company’s general account. The Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) of the Affordable Care Act sets a 15 percent threshold for insurers in the large group market (serving companies with 50 employees or more) and a 20 percent threshold for insurers in the individual and small group market (serving... -
Obamacare ruling's impact on the security industry
By Eric J. Pritchard - Friday June 29, 2012
In a 5-4 decision, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court today [Thursday] upheld virtually all of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration’s overhaul of heath care law in the United States, including the controversial centerpiece of the Act, the so-called individual mandate requiring that most Americans buy health insurance meeting minimum federal standards by 2014, or pay a financial penalty if they refuse. Among other things, the mandate requires employers with 50 or fewer employees (considered to be "small businesses") to provide healthcare insurance as a condition of employment. The overwhelming majority of companies in the security industry fall into the small businesses category. The decision met... -
Is your employee background screening process illegal?
By Eric Pritchard - Tuesday May 8, 2012
If you use criminal background checks in your hiring decisions, you’re in the majority – 92 percent of employers subject job candidates to criminal backgrounds investigations. And usually for good reasons; to combat theft and fraud, address concerns about workplace violence, and meet state and local laws, like licensing requirements or those requiring background checks for particular positions. Whether you can make personnel decisions based on a criminal record often presents a complicated legal issue that implicates state and federal law. A new set of guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicates that an employer’s good reason to employ criminal background checks may not be enough. If you have... -
Acquisitions market to gain strength in 2012
By Eric J. Pritchard - Friday February 17, 2012
The security industry has a number of well-attended conferences that focus on mergers and acquisitions. I recently attended such a conference at the Breakers, a magnificent property located in Palm Beach, Fla. It’s my 11 th conference and I look forward to going each year. One of the highlights is a presentation by Mike Barnes, a St. Louis-based investment banker who focuses on the industry. Mike’s presentation took the better part of two hours. He and his team collect data regarding deals done in the industry each year and provide an annual report of sorts. Among other things, Mike confirmed for me what I pretty much suspected: 2011 was a slow year for acquisitions in the industry. Deals were few and far between...
