On January 24, 2019, KCAL Insurance Agency successfully hosted the first business seminar of the year. About 100 business owners, HR managers, and accounting managers attended the event. With the start of 2019, new California labor laws have come into play. With new laws in effect, businesses will need to familiarize themselves with new regulations to avoid litigation. In addition, businesses filing their taxes will need to follow the new tax reform laws. Since this could be a source of confusion for many, KCAL invited speakers from KPMG, Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng & Associates, and other organizations to explain what actions need to be taken this year to run one’s business as smoothly as possible.
Tax Reform
Trump’s new tax reform may prove challenging for business owners. New tax laws exacerbate what is already a difficult task for businesses. As a result, KCAL Insurance invited Adam Uttley, Partner at KPMG LLP, and Vanessa Jiang, Senior Manager of Business Tax at KPMG LLP to explain how to follow the new requirements. Adam Uttley, expanded on Section 199A’s 20% deduction and compliance requirements for filing 2018 federal tax returns. Among the changes discussed were reporting methods for partnerships, other pass-thru entities, and corporations.
2019 Labor Laws
Another pressing issue for employers are California’s 2019 labor laws. Attorney Paul Cheng of Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng & Associates provided an overview of the key updates. Those updates include unlawful employment practices, harassment training requirements, and wage and hour compliance. New sexual harassment training requirements state that companies with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment training to all employees. Training must be completed by 2020, which means that all companies must complete the training by the end of this year.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Additionally, our very own Emery Lee, Commercial Insurance Advisor at KCAL, gave a comprehensive overview on the difference between workers’ compensation and employment practice liability insurance (EPLI). The difference is especially important to note since EPLI covers claims not covered under an employer’s Workers’ Compensation. EPLI protects businesses against employment-related claims such as sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and discrimination. As an employer, it’s important to consider EPLI since it can cover expenses that can take a toll on your business during a labor lawsuit. These expenses can include defense lawyers, settlement fees, and other payments.
We partnered with San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership for this wonderful event, and it was an honor to have experts KPMG and Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng & Associates speak at our event, as well as one of our sponsors, Kaiser Permanente. One of the main takeaways from this event is the significance of how important it is for employers to be familiar with the laws and to know which precautions to take. KCAL Insurance Agency’s CSO, Angela Chang, has noted that ever since the seminar, many employers have been asking KCAL for EPLI quotes since regular workers’ compensation does not cover all employment-related lawsuits. We hope to continue informing the public about what they can do to run a smoother and safer business. The next four seminars will be held at San Gabriel, Irvine, Ontario, and Hacienda Heights.
Left to right: Annie Wei (Business Development Manager at San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership), Angela Chang (CSO at KCAL Insurance Agency), Vanessa Jiang (Senior Manager, Business Tax KPMG LLP), Adam Uttley (Tax Partner, KPMG LLP), Kenny Chang (CEO at KCAL Insurance Agency), Paul Chang (Regional Human Trafficking Coordinator, U.S. Department of Labor)