Worker's Comp
In the article found below, researchers in Australia, who have a very similar workers’ compensation program as the one here in the United States, demonstrate some interventions that may be beneficial for lowering costs and claims. Realize that just like America, Australia is very passionate about workplace safety and health and is part of many different consortiums with safety and health professionals from across the globe.
Iles, R. A., & Wyatt, M. (2013). Applying the evidence: A real-world example of an intervention to reduce workers' compensation costs. Physical Therapy Reviews, 18(5), 395-402. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.waldorf.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/log in.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a9h&AN=90374906&site=ehost-live&scope=site
As discussed in this unit’s lecture, the article below focuses on the successful management of workers' compensation at Steelcase Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc.; Steelcase's creation of a Redirected Work Center for employees who are not yet ready to return to their full-time jobs; and Continental's improvement of the process by which people return to their full-time jobs from injuries.
Verespej, M. A. (1997). Workers' comp not manageable?. Industry Week/IW, 246(13), 25. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.waldorf.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a9h&AN=9707264554&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Unit Lesson
As we come to a close for this course, it is important that we revisit the many different concepts that have been covered throughout the previous seven units. What better way to do that than to perform an audit of the workers’ compensation program? There it is, that dirty word known as audit! Why do we not like the word audit? It could be because it generally breeds angst within those who have been through an audit in the past. Instead, you will find many different organizations in the country who call it a “health check.” To use those terms, in this unit we will describe methods of performing a health check on your workers’ compensation program as it relates to ensuring you have the most effective and efficient program possible.
Sure, there are legal requirements that auditing will help to ensure your company or organization is in compliance, but there are also some other issues within the realm of workers’ compensation that may not always be covered in the headlines. For example, do you think it is possible that a worker out there somewhere could have faked an injury? There was an old saying in the industry about workers who get repeatedly hurt and claim workers’ compensation; they say that they went to see Dr. Summer-Off, meaning they faked an injury so that they could get paid and basically not work all summer. Clearly this is an extreme example, but people say it for a reason, because sometimes there are doubts if a worker is really injured or not.
To help with this issue, there has been significant research surrounding the subject because this could cost companies in America hundreds of millions of dollars in unsubstantiated claims. Oliver, Shafiro, Bullard, and Thomas (2012) have performed research that has concluded that if integrity tests are used as part of the hiring and selection process for new employees, those who score high on the integrity test are much less likely to make a workers’ compensation claim. Generally speaking, this means a claim that may be a little over the top in terms of depth and breadth of pain experienced by the worker. The research pointing to the integrity aspect that is part of the total workers’ compensation process because as many know, there are really very few indicators to show the level of pain experienced by an individual.
In the journal, Professional Safety (2014), there are seven major areas listed below that should be considered for improvement of the return to work program for your company or organization:
· Develop a return-to-work policy for consistency: Be mindful that the workers’ compensation rules and requirements are often different from state to state, so be careful not to set a policy that could be considered illegal in the state your facilities are located.
· Establish a central point of contact for the injured employee: Many times, this is a supervisor of that part of the plant or a team leader. However, this breeds inconsistency because the opinions may differ between these different leaders, so instead consider a workers’ compensation coordinator, perhaps one who sits in the human resources department.
· Contact the injured employee and start an interactive communication process: As was mentioned in a few earlier units, sometimes a worker will be sitting at home watching The Price is Right gameshow and all of a sudden, they are bombarded with numerous different commercials for lawyers who claim the worker is being mistreated and the lawyer will help get him or her the money he or she “deserves.” Stop these lawyers by having supervisors and team mates in contact with the injured employee to encourage him or her to heal quickly and get back to the team.
· Provide information to the treating physician about the injury and the job: This step helps in so many ways it is not even imaginable. The safety and health team and the workers’ compensation coordinator should visit the local occupational health clinics where you want to send employees for treatment. Sometimes in different states, the employee is free to go to whatever doctor they wish to see: however, you should still try your best to get the employee to see the company doctor. Regardless of the doctor that is seen, ensure that the physician understands the employee’s job by sending the physician a job description and exactly what the employee was doing at the time of the accident.
· Research and evaluate possible accommodations, and keep in mind the needs of the employee and organization: Do not bring an employee in on light duty and have them do a demeaning job. Yes, we want the employee to come back on light duty and contribute to the bottom line, but there are ways to do that other than just have him or her sort safety data sheets alphabetically and other highly administrative tasks. Keep him or her engaged in the business until you can encourage him or her to get back to regular duties.
· Establish a timetable for returning to work: This may seem odd, but it is very helpful. When setting strict timetables for returning to work, you must work with the physician who is treating the employee to get a feel for when treatment will be suspended and when the employee will be back to full health. This way, both sides feel like the employee is truly value added and there is a sense of direction and a certain level of disappointment if the timetable is not set and followed accordingly.
· Encourage and support the employee’s recovery: This is what they call a “no-brainer.” We have mentioned this fact throughout the other six key points, but the key here is to not let the employee feel like he or she is all alone on an island because negative thoughts are almost certain to go through his or her head, ultimately making the process of returning to work that much harder (“Seven Steps for Returning and Injured Employee to Work,” 2014).
So do you just take these several steps and the next thing you know your workers’ compensation program would be fixed? Your return to work rate will improve, thus improving your performance metrics? Yes. It is true, this is good advice, and you should consider implementing these steps in your program for return-to-work within your organization. However, there is a key point that is missing in all of this guidance and it flows directly into the second half of this unit which is talking about the experience modification rate (EMR). What exactly is your organization doing to prevent accidents and illnesses in the first place? If there was just someone or a department that could help prevent losses by finding and measuring hazards and then introducing mitigation techniques to reduce the level of risk to acceptable levels, it would take care of this.
Enter into the scenario of what is normally called the Health, Safety & Environmental (HS&E) leader or organization within the company. This is also known as Safety, Health, & Environmental (SH&E) and finally, Environmental, Health, & Safety (EH&S). All of these are the same general group. What does this group do, and what can they do to help the workers’ compensation coordinator?
First, let us start with what they do. According to the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE, 2014), the label is a safety manager or a Safety, Health and Environmental (SH&E) professional. These professionals focus on protecting people, company profits, and the company’s public trust; they look to protect property and the environment. There are numerous different types of math, science, and engineering that come into play when we talk about safety science. SH&E Professionals are required to apply principles from:
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· Engineering
· Psychology
· Enforcement
· Health Physics
· Chemistry
· Physics
· Environmental Sciences
· Economics
Adult Learning Theory (e.g. education) Physiology Industrial Hygiene Management
Biology Ergonomics Medicine Sociology
We know the workers’ compensation audit is inevitable, but how do we use safety science to reduce accidents and lower our EMR, which in turn lowers the premiums for workers’ compensation programs?
When you read the final two chapters of the textbook, you may miss the big picture because of the details. Therefore, read the chapters’ information, and then take a step back. Most people taking this course will have to participate in some way when it comes to a workers’ compensation audit, normally by providing information on how the company focuses on prevention and how they get employees back to work in a reasonable amount of time. In other words, get familiar with the concept and actions surrounding a workers’ compensation audit, but ask yourself what can be done to lower your employer’s experience modification rating. Remember, this rating generally looks back over a three-year period. Because it is a three-year period, the workers’ compensation coordinator or office needs to partner with the SH&E professional to ensure that they set up a strategic plan that not only lowers the level of risk, which in turn may lower the frequency and severity of accidents, but also the plan must be sustainable so that the positive benefits can last at least 36 months or more to lower the EMR as much as possible.
Therefore, in closing this unit and this course, it is imperative to keep several items in mind. For this unit, focus on what can be done to improve your value to your organization. Whether that is tactical and strategic execution on the claims administration side or the implementation of loss prevention measures within safety science on the SH&E side, it is very important to understand your role and show a solid, sustainable plan to systematically produce fewer and fewer incidents and employee accidents. As far as the course, recall that the rules are intricate and they are different throughout all 50 states.
Also, there are still three major benefits that shine through all of the intricate details. First, the company or employer gets a significant amount of relief from workers trying to sue them for lost wages or benefits. Second, the actual employee gets a relatively quick, equitable, and predictable no-fault compensation scheme or sometimes known as a workers’ compensation schedule (e.g., half-pay for 50 weeks for losing an index finger). Finally, the workers’ compensation system has an intrinsic incentive toward rehabilitation of the injured worker, and remember, workers’ compensation systems have been in existence since the Roman empire.
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References UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). (2014). What do SH&E professionals do? Retrieved from http://www.asse.org/professionalaffairs/what-do-she-professionals-do/
Oliver, C., Shafiro, M., Bullard, P., & Thomas, J. (2012). Use of integrity tests may reduce workers' compensation losses. Journal of Business & Psychology, 27(1), 115-122. doi:10.1007/s10869-011- 9213-x
Seven steps for returning injured employees to work. (2014). Professional Safety, 59(11), 22.