| H1 tags : Deadline July 1
for 10 mini-grants
on health, wellness
Action Communities in Health, Innovation and Environmental Change
(ACHIEVE) Lake County is offering mini-grants in the amount of $500 to
$1,000 to 10 Lake County businesses. Applications, which are short and
simple to complete, are due July 1.
Project awardees will implement changes in the workplace to make
improvements to employee health and wellness. This grant is intended for
any business in Lake County looking for assistance and financial support
to begin or extend its employee wellness efforts.
Research shows that employers benefit directly from making improvements to
overall employee health. Some of those benefits include reduced health
care costs, reduced employee absenteeism, reduced sick days, increased
productivity, decreased disability leave, improved job performance,
increased employee morale, reduced turnover and decreased work-related
stress levels.
ACHIEVE is an initiative promoting and improving physical activity and
nutrition throughout Lake County. For more information and to access the
mini-grant application, visit www.lakecountyohio.gov/achieve. The worksite
mini-grant application is located under “Local Wellness Announcements” on
the home page. For questions, call Tori Luyster of Lake County General
Health District at 440-350-2442.
BWC seeks to reduce
comp rates 4 percent; Gov. John R. Kasich joined Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC)
Administrator/CEO Stephen Buehrer to announce a proposal to reduce overall workers’ compensation base rates by 4 percent for a total cut in premiums
of $65 million annually. Unlike prior years, the average rate reduction would apply to employers regardless of whether they participated in incentive programs.; In addition to the overall drop in base rates, the average rate for some key industries would fall even more. The rate change reflects an average reduction. If approved by BWC board of directors, the new rates would become effective July 1.; BWC also launched a grant program to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses in the wholesale/retail trade sector as part of its partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Participating employers would receive 2-to-1 matching funds, up to $40,000, through BWC’s SafetyGRANT$ program.
Survey: Small-business owners
misinformed about Internet
security, cloud computing
A new survey of small-business owners indicates that most are misinformed
about data safety and security. The survey by Newtek Business Services,
which represents more than 100,000 small businesses, revealed that 71
percent stated their data was not backed up offsite.; Another 71 percent of approximately 1,800 respondents indicated that they
have never even heard of cloud computing. They also were asked, "If you
know of or ever heard of Cloud Computing, can you describe what Cloud
Computing is?" Nearly 75 percent could not.; Barry Sloane, president and CEO of The SmallBusiness Authority said,
"Cloud computing will be the next important trend in the U.S. economy for
businesses large and small. There is no doubt that business owners will
embrace the cloud concept and. over time. gravitate toward its massive
benefits."; The survey discovered that the concept of cloud computing has begun to
disseminate into the marketplace, due primarily to large advertising
programs by entities like Microsoft, Cisco and others. Business owners will
need to understand what the cloud is and what it can do for their
businesses in the areas of cost control, data security, data protection,
accessibility, efficiency and productivity to facilitate a smooth running
technological platform for their business, Sloane said.; "About 25 percent of our business owners said they understood what cloud
computing was," he said. "When we drilled down deeper, most (78 percent)
thought that their data was secure. Yet, 71 percent stated their data was
not backed up offsite.; "Server huggers beware. The cloud is approaching. The security blanket of
the server in the closet onsite and having an assistant backup important
business data and confidential client information needs to be behind us
all. Our survey is quite telling about what independent business owners
really need to know about the cloud and how misinformed they are about
data safety and security." |
