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Several courts have found yet another way for someone to sue contractors. This term refers to lawsuits against you for alleged failure to exercise proper control over your employers. For example, one of your employees might be accused of injuring others recklessly while driving a truck on company business. A "negligent supervision" suit would claim that you were negligent in hiring this worker because you either failed to discover or ignored the fact that she had a record of reckless driving. You also have an obligation to supervise your staff. Although you can't foresee every incident, a court will look at whether you took reasonable steps to identify and guard against potential wrongdoing by your employees: everything from unsafe behavior on the job site to sexual harassment. It's not only about whether a worker actually committed an offence - it's about what you did to prevent it. To head off liability for negligent supervision, we'd recommend that you: Set and enforce clear guidelines for interviewing and hiring employees. Provide training in conflict resolution and communication. Supervisors need to know when to report certain behaviors and which behaviors to look for, such as verbal abuse, failing to cooperate with supervisors or co-workers .and making inappropriate comments. Conduct regular performance evaluations to address specific behavior or job performance changes. Provide multiple avenues to receive allegations of misbehavior, and have unbiased managers investigate complaints so that no conflicts of interest exist. Investigate every incidents promptly and take decisive action. We stand ready to review your company's exposure to negligent supervision claims - and how your Liability insurance coverage can help protect you. Just give us a call.

Any travel during winter months is risky. Storms come out of nowhere, roads become icy quickly and inexperienced drivers take unwise risks. Be prepared to stay safe on the road thanks to eight winter driving tips. 1. Check the forecast. In less than a minute, you can find out if you'll be driving in fog, snow or ice. You can also discover which roads are blocked and if you need to find an alternative route to your destination. 2. Slow down. In snowy conditions, cut your speed in half to ensure you have adequate stopping distance. Don't go so slow, though, that you lose momentum on grades. 3. Know skid recovery. Braking on slippery roads can cause your vehicle to slide instead of stop. If this happens, you need to know how to recover. Stay off the brake and steer your vehicle the way you want it to go. 4. Stay smooth at the controls. Pounding on the brake, shifting hard and even clenching the steering wheel make winter driving harder than it has to be. Instead, use smooth motions and relax as you drive. 5. Check your tires. Proper tire inflation and tread improve your vehicle's traction and ability to stay on the wet or icy roads. Check the inflation of your snow tires frequently since cold weather decreases tire pressure, and make sure the tread is at least 1/8-inch. Carry snow chains, too, if necessary. 6. Know your vehicle. Every car and truck handles differently. Before heading out in winter weather, make sure you know how your vehicle handles. Know where the windshield wipers, defrost button and four-ways are, too. 7. Pack survival supplies. If you're stranded or in an accident, you need a few supplies. Definitely store a snow shovel, sand or litter and lock de-icer in your vehicle. Consider packing a portable power source, flashlight, waterproof matches, tow rope, first aid kit, energy bars and blanket also. If you do get stranded, wait for help to arrive. 8. Stay hydrated. Dehydration can make you drowsy and reduce alertness. Drink water before you head out and carry a bottle or two with you so that you can stay alert. Winter driving can be dangerous, but follow these eight tips to stay safe. Remember to check in with your auto insurance agent, too. Update your policy as you prepare for whatever winter throws at you on the road.

Jose Pineda Rivas could use the cash. He's got rent to pay, and his tooth hurts so badly he needs to see a dentist. But these days, money for fieldworkers like Rivas in this drought-parched stretch of California is about as scarce as rain. And the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. The 61-year-old farmhand, who lives in a small home with his wife and a friend's family, is hardly making enough to cover basic expenses, let alone pricey dental work. He thinks he can afford to get his aching tooth removed, he said. But actually replace it? Not a chance. As he tipped back his straw hat and morosely gazed at his flip phone on a recent day, Rivas explained that the crew boss at a nearby tomato farm was supposed to contact him about returning to work. But the call hadn't come. It's the same desperate story all over the Central Valley. Like many fieldworkers in Mendota, a rural community 35 miles west of Fresno dubbed the Cantaloupe Center of the World, Rivas finds his seasonal job of more than two decades at risk of disappearing because of the statewide drought. Drought leaves field barren Fields that normally come to life by April with the planting of tomatoes and melons have been left barren due to insufficient water. And that means less farm work to go around. "Usually this time of year, we'll all be going out and weeding and laying irrigation line," Rivas said in Spanish. "None of that work has happened, and who knows when it will?" A near-record dry winter has put California in the grip of its worst drought in decades. While many parts of the state have yet to feel any real impact - no cutbacks, no stiff rationing - that's not the case in the farm towns of the San Joaquin Valley, where water is the touchstone of the economy and underpins the region's standing as the most agriculturally productive in the nation. About 20,000 farm jobs statewide stand to be lost this year out of 400,000, the bulk of them in the valley, said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. The estimate does not include thousands of additional jobs supporting agriculture: the truck drivers, packers and processors, as well as the merchants, real estate agents and teachers serving these farm communities. "We know that this year unemployment is going to be significantly worse than it's been in a long time," said Michael, whose job loss projections are based on the amount of farmland likely to be fallowed. The lost work, he added, will only compound hardship that bedevils many valley towns where unemployment rates consistently rank among the highest in the state. In Mendota, where about half of the 11,000 residents are in families living below the federal poverty line, the jobless rate stood at 37 percent as of the last count in March, according to state data. The mayor of Mendota suggested that unemployment could hit 50 percent by summer as the effects of the drought fully play out - a level higher than what was seen during the recent recession. Read the entire article here. Content provided by http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-drought-Jobs-money-dry-up-in-farm-5431129.php

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