Carbon Monoxide Alarms Required in All Homes -- and They Could Save Your Life!

As of January 1, 2013, Washington state law requires that all single-family residences, apartments, condominiums, hotels and motels have properly operating carbon monoxide alarms installed. These devices, about the size of most smoke detectors, will emit an alarm if even a small amount of carbon monoxide is detected in the air.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, invisible gas that can make a person sick -- or kill them -- in a matter of minutes. Carbon monoxide can quickly build up in enclosed or semi-enclosed areas, and many victims may not know it until it's too late, especially if they are asleep. Entire families have perished due to a CO leak in the middle of the night.

In fact, carbon monoxide poisoning has killed more than 1,000 Washington residents between 1990 and 2005. After the windstorm the Puget Sound region experienced in December 2006, over 300 people were treated for CO poisoning, and eight people died.

CO poisoning typically occurs with the use of charcoal or gas grills indoors, since some people, in an attempt to heat their homes during a power outage, bring barbeque grills inside to provide warmth. This should never be done, as the byproduct of burning is carbon monoxide, and without proper ventilation, it is deadly. Attached garages and poorly maintained fireplaces can also be the cause of poisoning, as well as improperly vented fuel-burning appliances, such as wood or pellet stoves.

While all dwellings are required to have these devices installed, owner-occupied single-family residences that were legally occupied before July 26, 2009, are not required to have carbon monoxide alarms until they are sold.

CO alarms must be located in the immediate vicinity of each bedroom or sleeping area, and on each level of the residence. This ensures that if CO gas is detected, the alarm will wake people out of their sleep, before the poisoning takes effect.

If at any time while in your home you suddenly feel faint, light-headed, get a headache or become nauseous, it may be CO poisoning. Make sure to open a window for ventilation and get outside as quickly as possible. If there are other people in the house, make sure to wake them, if necessary, and get them out of the house immediately. Then call 9-1-1. This deadly gas will eventually cause the victim to lose consciousness, and if the poisoning isn't stopped, eventually die. Children, due to their smaller size, are extremely vulnerable to CO poisoning.

Carbon monoxide alarms are available at most hardware stores, and can also be purchased online. The cost is typically around $25 - $35. Combination CO/Smoke detectors are also available. It's a small price to pay to save lives.

Employment Practices Liability

A popular insurance text starts with, “The growth of federal and state legislation dealing with employment discrimination and sexual harassment, the changing legal views on wrongful termination, and the increasing tendency of aggrieved parties to turn to the courts for settlement of such disputes have caused insurers to specifically exclude coverage for such employment-related claims in the commercial general liability policy.”

To fill this gap, a number of insurers are offering employment practices liability (EPL) coverage as an endorsement to the commercial general liability policy or as a stand-alone policy. Independently developed by each company, the EPL coverage forms vary by company, however, most policies are similar in terms and conditions.

EPL policies are usually written on a claims-made basis, which means that for a claim to be covered, it must occur during the policy term. Extended reporting periods from one to three years can be added for an additional premium.

In addition to damages paid for judgments or settlements, the cost of defense is covered. However, it is usually paid from the limit of liability, not in addition to the limit of liability. Most EPL policies specifically cover back pay. Back pay is commonly awarded to successful claimants in discrimination and wrongful termination actions.

Typically, the definition of “insured” in an EPL policy includes the corporation, its directors and officers, its employees, and, in most policies, its former employees. Some policies limit the definition of “insured” to include only managerial employees.

The deductible for this coverage ranges from $1,000 to $250,000, depending on underwriting factors. One difference from other types of policies is that the EPL policy usually requires the insured to participate in losses exceeding the deductible. The amount that the insured contributes after the deductible has been satisfied is based on the “participation rate.” Participation rates are usually 5 to 10 percent, but can reach as high as 25 percent depending on underwriting factors.

Year 2010 Budget For Malaysia

The 'Malaysian' Budget for Year 2010 seemed promising for some companies out there, but to what extent can you expect out of the budget to help your business grow faster?
It has been said in the main media that our Prime Minister, Mr. Najib has planned out a "Shrinkage of Budget Deficit" plan. Just to satisfy the technical people reading this - The Malaysian government intends to reduce expenses to falling offset revenues. Of course, you can read that anywhere. While the purpose of "The Accounting Digest" is to provide "between-the-line" explanations pertaining the finance and accounting industries, stories of what the Malaysian government is planning to do can vary.
Malaysia's Budget 2010 Injecting billions of Ringgit as stimulus packages often come with one main responsibility every receiver and giver has to handle - Discipline. It's quite impossible to expect small companies to positively response to economic downturns, albeit the fact that their management practices have good cash reserves, financed well or practices excellent financial management.
The RM67 billion stimulus plan is measured to encumber businesses from fallouts, at the same time allow small timers to grow competitively. Yet again:
 

- Malaysia has unveiled RM67 billion (US$19 billion) of stimulus measures to counter a global recession that policy makers predict may cause the Southeast Asian economy to shrink as much as 5 per cent in 2009.- The additional spending will swell this year's budget shortfall to 7.6 per cent of gross domestic product, the biggest in 22 years, the government said in March.
- That prompted Fitch Ratings to lower Malaysia's long-term local-currency credit rating to A, the fifth-lowest investment grade, from A+, on June 9. It was Fitch's first rating cut for the nation's debt since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. -Business Times

Yet again, the Malaysian government has said to put focus in education & health infrastructures, public social frameworks, agricultural and export growth for the country. These are excellent to start with - But how long have we been putting focus on these basic needs?
Tax Measures to call for in 2010 Looking at everyday news and getting updates from the mass media can be informational and entertaining - But it comes down to evaluating your businesses from the very foundation of it. Since many financial analysts, experts and economists would charge you a bomb for just advices alone, The Accounting Digest will point out some highlights in tax functions to help you evaluate and understand better:
Filing tax returns is no joke. Don't expect the tax framework to benefit you. Instead, make it work for your business in particular.

• Withholding tax system - Income tax from employees paid directly to the Tax department. For small companies, a financial restructuring plan can be done, but multiply that by 20 - 100 employees. Ask us how you can perform proper financial restructuring on withholding tax on your company.
• Taxation Fees - Corporate tax return fees, bookkeeping (in some cases) fees, company secretarial fees, etc. Since tax filing is complicated and varies between businesses, your tax professional can now provide you a list of what to declare, what can be declared and to what extent.
• Tax losses and group relief - (In taxation) When total expenses are more than income, you can incur a loss for taxation purposes. For certain industries, tax losses are at 70%. If you're unsure about how to go about this, be sure to ask your local tax professional.