Earlier this month the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance requiring condoms to be used in all permitted adult films shot within their city limits. It brings up many interesting workers compensation issues. After all, this requirement is for the health and safety of employees. Is it any different from requiring construction workers to wear a helmet? Road workers to wear a bright, orange vest?
In this commentary on Salon.com porn performer, writer and director Lorelei Lee calls the ordinance well intentioned but ineffectual. She notes that the new law requires adult film production companies to pay a fee with permit applications. “Currently, condoms are used in the mainstream gay adult film industry (which includes only gay male films), while the heterosexual industry (which includes both lesbian and straight films) has used mandatory STI (sexually transmitted infections) testing as a health and safety precaution since the early 2000s,” she writes.
Lee writes that until May of 2011, the Adult Industry Medical Center, founded by a retired performer, ran a nationwide STI testing service and database that certified heterosexual performers as STI-free previous to their working on any production whereas the new ordinance is in response to a San Francisco-based nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation campaign along with other groups that have picked and boycotted companies which sell or show condom-free pornography.
One of the protest leaders called the testing service a “fig leaf” over the adult industry and backed the lawsuit that led to the organization’s financial insolvency and shutdown last year, which left a vacuum in health and safety protections in the industry, Lee writes. “(He) seemed to hope that leaving performers without any kind of health protection would force legislators to mandate condom use,” she writes.
Lee writes that she became a condom-only performer in 2010 but had worked for eight years previously relying only on the testing service. “But during my time as a non-condom performer, I never once contracted an STI on set that condoms would have prevented, and truthfully, I’m not sure that condoms actually keep me safer than testing alone,” she writes.
She writes that performers have a mix of opinions as to whether they mind actually using condoms on set and some are even strongly opposed to using condoms at work, believing that they may actually increase likelihood of STI transmission.
Lee says what she is most opposed to is regulating condom use in the industry through government regulation. “Many of the people attracted to this industry are still those who don’t care a lot about public opinion or about obeying authorities. In the case of a condom mandate tied to permits, many producers will simply shoot in Los Angeles without a permit. Others will move production outside of the city – to places like Las Vegas, San Francisco or Miami, where some companies are already established,” she writes, noting that perhaps that s what the city is after.
In effect, Lee writes, this legislation has made it more difficult for the industry to use the protections already in place with AIM’s testing program. “We’re also opposed to the squandering of AHF resources – resources that could be effectively used to help prevent and treat HIV and AIDS – on a political campaign against an industry whose health and safety regulations are already working. In the decade since AIM began the program of mandatory testing, six performers have tested positive for HIV, and only three of those have shown to be from on-set transmissions,” she writes. “That’s three transmissions during the course of filming tens (or perhaps hundreds) of thousands of scenes. There are no real statistics as to how this compares to transmission rates in the general population.”
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2012 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact us at: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
The cost of prescribed drugs, especially narcotic pain medications, is rising in the world of workers' compensation. This cost increase is due to the fact that a drug company is like any other company: When the demand for your product is high, supply lessens, and costs have to increase. And, these medications are not exactly cheap to manufacture. In fact I saw a news report that some cancer fighting drugs are in short supply due to overwhelming demand.
Think about going to your personal physician for a knee strain you had over the weekend playing football with your family. You probably went to your doctor, and you probably left with a prescription for Motrin buddied up with a short-term prescription for a narcotic pain reliever — even if a cold pack or hot pack and rest would have taken care of the problem. This is the world in which we live. In the past, these pain medications were for extremely acute trauma, such as a car accident or bone fracture. But more and more, medications such as Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycodone, etc are being prescribed for the slightly-above-average diagnosis of lumbar or shoulder strain. (WCxKit)
Below we discuss five ways you can try to control these associated drug costs when it comes to your workers compensation claims. By no means is this an exact science, but it is certainly one you should look into for help controlling your bottom line.
1. Come up with your game plan.
Whether you have five claims a year, or five claims per week, medication cost will be a significant expense of the claim. Many carrier/TPAs are partnering with a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) to review prescription history and also to provide a reduced cost for medications. These outside vendors attract carrier/TPAs by offering them a discount cost for medications, in exchange for their guaranteed business.
Adjusters set claimants up with a drug card from these vendors, and they are widely accepted at many pharmacies nationwide. Furthermore, the PBM will review the injury and the claimant’s individual medication history. They can recommend medications based on the injury type and location. This is an attempt to stop every John Doe back pain sufferer from walking out of his doctor’s office with an RX for Percocet, when he really does not meet the criteria for needing that strong of a medication to begin with. Most strains can resolve by taking a stronger dose of Motrin, an anti-inflammatory medication similar to Advil or Ibuprofen. The PBM will also monitor duration of medication use and quantity limits. Why pay for 90 pills when John Doe should only need 30? Medication costs are associated with dosage as well, so it doesn’t make sense to pay for 90 pills unless they are needed.
2. Start being aggressive at the first prescribed RX.
When a new claim is filed and the adjuster sets the drug card up to be mailed out to the employee, it may already be too late. This is when proper communication is handy. If you have a worse-than-average claim, you can phone your adjuster with the info, and they can get the PBM info right to the claimant.
This way they are not getting medication from an occupational clinic or hospital, where the costs are typically the highest. Right off the bat they can use the PBM card, and that reduces cost right from the beginning. This also helps manage future spending on RXs, since they already have the card and should be using it for any medication the claimant is prescribed. Sure, not using the card for your first medication fill is no big deal if you only have one or two claims per year, but if you have one or two claims per week, over the course of a year this can lead to a dramatic savings in medication cost. Every little bit of savings will help in the long run, and it is important not to overlook the small savings that you can implement right away.
3. Can you do bulk home delivery?
For those injuries lasting longer than a month, it is worth it to look into home delivery of medications. This increases the discount, because you buy more of the medication at one time, and you do not have to pay the pharmacy overhead for a short-term 30 day fill. Injured workers will appreciate having one less errand to run, especially those who do not have easy transportation readily at hand. At the same point, the PBM will monitor dosage and quantity. Why should you continue to get a medication if it is not helping? Or, if the injured worker is not taking the medication at all? These are leakage costs, and expensive ones at that. The adjuster will ultimately decide if a claim is worthy of needing home delivery, and the delivery will not last forever. If a person has a bad fracture and will need a long-term supply of Motrin, this is a perfect scenario.
Adjusters do frown on home delivery of narcotic pain meds. This gives the claimant a large supply of potentially strong medication, which carries the risk of addiction. Home delivery meds are generally milder. Again, even though these drugs may not cost the most, any sort of savings is better than no savings at all.
4. Are you using prescription utilization review?
PBM companies use a panel of clinical pharmacists to examine prescription data and injury type to make sure appropriate medication is dispensed. This helps control unnecessary costs due to prescribing incorrect medication. Also, PBM utilization review will help to control fraud by monitoring the date and location of refills. Red flags indicating abuse include early refills, a doctor shopping around to get new prescriptions, or a patient changing pharmacies to get refills. Clinical pharmacists also are useful at catching new medication trends, proper quantities of medications, and future costs/needs for ongoing medications.
By using prospective utilization review, done before the product is used, to avoid the cost, consider prior authorization program. By having an MD on the TPA's staff review the file, many of the medication concerns are addressed proactively. The utilization review company you use, should be URAC certified to ensure quality, credentials and training. A good TPA might even have a chronic pain program to discuss pain issues with an interdisciplinary team of experts.
5. Use a Pharmacy Benefit Manager or vendor to help with repeat offenders and duplicate prescription medications.
This use of an outside PBM is effective for many reasons, including catching a doctor prescribing both a short-term and long-term narcotic pain medication, duplicate or similar prescriptions being unnecessarily prescribed, and implementing the use of generics whenever possible. The PBM will also participate in state-wide reporting, which will catch if a claimant has other narcotic pain medication fills before the date of injury. This can show the worker may have a history of requesting certain narcotics — a red flag for abuse.
Surveillance companies usually have a service that can do a background check of pharmacies, to see if your claimant has had fills of certain medications aside from the meds needed for your specific injury. This fights fraud, and can expose someone that may have a prescription drug problem. An easy way to get strong medication is to file a comp claim, and any weapons you have to fight fraudulent claims are worth it.(WCxKit)
In summary, a third-party PBM is a useful tool not only for cost-savings but also for catching the many forms of prescription abuse out there. Doctors get lazy when it comes to prescribing medications. Sometimes the answer to every injury is a prescription of Vicodin, Percocet, or some other narcotic when none are needed. Not only are these medications expensive, but they can carry long-term health problems including addiction, which only increase the overall cost of the claim. Using a PBM is another way of being proactive when it comes to handling your claims, and your carrier/TPA will have more information on what you can do to implement a PBM program for use on all of your claims that require prescription medication.
Ask your TPA what programs they offer.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Manage Your Workers Compensation: Reduce Costs 20-50% www.WCManual.com.
Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact
Stuart Colburn, Esq., has done it again with his third installation on prescription drug abuse in America for the LexisNexis Communities on Workers Compensation.
Part One explained “the problem”.
Part Two identified stakeholders and his final blog offers solutions. You may read his complete blog
here or take a look at this brief summary.
1. Government Regulation
“Prescription drug abuse and diversion is a problem requiring close interaction between public and private sectors. Stakeholders must work together using tools at their disposal in a coordinated effort to fight supply and demand,” Colburn wrote. He suggests a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) that would include:
- Scheduled and other highly abusive substances.
- Real time data transmission between stakeholders.
-A requirement for doctors to check the PDMP database before writing a prescription.
- A requirement for pharmacies to check the PDMP database before dispensing narcotics.
Integration with neighboring states.
2. Physicians
“The public has an unreasonable view of the knowledge base of healthcare providers. Although every doctor graduated from medical school, knowledge itself comes from specialized training,” he wrote, “Scheduled narcotics should only be prescribed by doctors with the requisite training and experience. Those doctors granted the additional license to prescribe scheduled narcotics would be subject to additional regulation.”
3. Pharmacies
“Pharmacies should be required to participate in a prescription drug monitoring program for scheduled narcotics before dispensing scheduled narcotics,” Colburn suggested.
4. Pharmaceutical Companies
“Drug companies should design drugs to deter abuse. Drug companies can employ manufacturing techniques, making it more difficult or impossible for drugs to be ground up into a powder,” he added.
5. Consumers
“Public education about prescription drug abuse should be paramount on billboards and in our school systems. Every day, 7,000 young people abuse prescription narcotics for the first time. Patients who receive a prescription or scheduled narcotics should also undergo approved education and information,” Colburn wrote.
6. Payers
“Payers should implement strategies designed to identify addicts, diverts and outliers. Payers should urge policy makers to adopt PDMP and common sense laws giving regulators the information and power necessary to fight PDA,” he wrote. “Payers have ever more increasingly sophisticated software able to perform advanced predictive modeling and performance analytics that can identify outlier doctors and possible addicts.”
© Copyright 2011 Stuart Colburn, Esq. Reprinted with permission.
This information was provided by attorney
Stuart Colburn, a Shareholder at Downs Stanford in Austin, Texas. Colburn has extensive experience in all phases of dispute resolution before the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers Compensation and in district courts across the state. Stuart represents clients regarding workers compensation, non-subscription, subrogation, and bad faith litigation. He is the founder and the first chairman of the State Bar of Texas (SBOT) Workers Compensation Section; course coordinator for the SBOT the Advanced Workers Compensation Seminar; and course coordinator for the Texas Workers Compensation Forum. He can be reached at:
scolburn@downsstanford.com
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Public transit workers in Toronto will in the near future be subject to random drug and alcohol testing as the city's transit service was given permission to start testing employees in safety-sensitive positions, according to a report from the Canadian OH&S News.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was pushing for random testing to be added to the Fitness for Duty policy because the current policy, which came into effect in 2010, has been ineffective at deterring workplace intoxication, says Brad Ross, director of public communications for the TTC. (WCxKit)
The current policy allows for workers in safety-sensitive positions – operators, maintenance staff, supervisors and executives – to be tested for alcohol and marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and PCP, using breathalyzers and saliva swabs, when there is a reasonable cause or testing post-incident, post-violation, post-treatment and pre-employment.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents the majority of TTC workers, is already challenging the present policy, and random testing will be added to the grievance, commented Ian Fellows, the union's lawyer in the grievance litigation.
"It's an invasion of our members' privacy. It treats everybody as if they've done something wrong and it requires them to submit to an invasive procedure," says Fellows. "They've got to offer up a sample of their bodily fluid and their DNA. That's contrary to our agreement and we say the [Ontario] Human Rights Code and the Charter of Rights."
While specifics regarding how the program would run have not yet been worked out, Ross notes the TTC would work with a third party to develop a testing protocol and it would be at least a few months before a system would be ready to implement.
"We need to figure out what percentage of employees we'd need to test on an annual basis, but in theory the way it works is you show up for work and the system tells us it's your turn for random testing," he says.
The saliva swabs, as opposed to the traditional urinalysis when testing for drugs, only show whether a person was impaired when the swab was taken based on a pass/fail threshold, not if they had used drugs in the past. The swabs would be tested by an outside lab, Ross says. "We're interested in ensuring that when you report for work, you're fit for duty, not what you did two days ago or two weeks ago, for that matter."
This is not the first time the TTC has tried to introduce random drug and alcohol testing. When it first brought the Fitness for Duty policy to its board of directors in September of 2008, random testing was in the policy, but the board refused to give it the green light. However, the board has changed since the policy was first introduced.
Ross reports that TTC staff felt the random testing policy was needed and would revisit the proposal at a later date. Ross also dismissed a recent incident, where a TTC bus driver was found with marijuana in his possession after a fatal accident, as the reason for trying to reintroduce random testing.
"There have been a number of public incidents over the last couple of years that have been cause for great concern, and there have been incidents within the organization that have not been public but are a concern as well," he says.
The number of incidents involving drugs and alcohol has not decreased since the policy was introduced, Ross added.
Though the TTC has data comparing the number of incidents from 2006 to 2008 and 2008 to present, they are part of the grievance litigation and are not being released to the public. Hearings began in 2011 and are scheduled throughout 2012.
Random testing brings the TTC, with its 1.6-million riders a day, more in line with public transit services in the United States, where random testing of all workers in the transportation sector is the law. "We are the third largest transit agency in North America after New York and Mexico City, and we feel that this element of the policy is necessary," Ross noted. (WCxKit)
Windsor's public transit service is the only one in Canada that has implemented random testing, but only for employees who drive routes that cross into Michigan.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact
Few people realize the workers’ compensation industry is actually 100 years old. It’s one of the most-successful public-private partnerships in U.S. history.
Since 1983, the Workers Compensation Research Institute
(WCRI) has been providing the public with research on WC public policy issues. Based in Cambridge, Mass., the organization includes among its members employers, labor organizers, public and private insurers, health care providers, managed care companies, and state government representatives from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Dr. Richard Victor, WCRI executive director, oversees the institute’s studies and analysis that has added ammunition for the reforms to various aspects of the workers' comp system. Prior to working at the institute, he spent seven years conducting research at The Rand Corporation in Washington , D.C., and Santa Monica , Calif. His law degree and Ph.D. in economics is from the University of Michigan.
LowerWC recently asked Victor for his impressions of the industry. What follows are some of his comments:
“One of the most important, and troubling, areas for workers’ compensation systems is to find the appropriate ways to use narcotics – and to discourage abuse and diversion. A second critical issue is to find new and innovative ways for help workers return to productive employment,” Victor says.
To this end, WCRI is conducting several research phases to help find answers for WC narcotic use and return-to-work issues, he says.
Victor says the latest trends in workers’ compensation also include medical cost management. “Medical costs now represent more than half of workers’ compensation costs in most states. There is increasing focus on pharmaceutical costs and utilization and the payments made to hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers,” he says.
Further, everyone wants to know how to save the employers money. Victor says, “Most large employers are focused on three legs of the four-legged cost containment table – risk financing, injury prevention, and claim management. The fourth leg is a large opportunity because employers have underinvested in it – improving the ‘rules of the game’ to make the system more effective for workers and more cost effective for employers.”
He continues, “This requires that employers join together to formulate political positions and strategies and gather available evidence about how a given state system is performing, how it might be improved, and what lessons can be learned from other states.”
California and Texas are good examples of where employers have taken collective action and costs have fallen significantly, Victor says. One of the chief objectives of the WCRI CompScope benchmarking studies is to help stakeholders and public officials set priorities and debunk myths.
One important part of this research is an upcoming conference. The WCRI Annual Issues and Research Conference will be Nov. 16-17 in Boston with keynote speaker Peter Barth, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Connecticut. This will be its 28th year.
The goal there to present new ideas and alternative views, Victor says. “Whether you are managing workers’ compensation claims, involved in strategic planning, concerned with medical costs and utilization, or just looking for a better understanding of workers' compensation – this is the conference for you.”
All of the sessions highlight the first presentations of the latest research findings from WCRI while drawing upon the diverse perspectives of highly-respected workers’ compensation experts and policymakers from across the country, he says. “Attendees tell us that they value the large attendance because it allows them to leverage their time while at the conference. There are also opportunities to meet and interact with WCRI researchers.”
“The most important advice I can give remains a secret until the WCRI conference, when I (present) ‘The Elephant in the Room.’ It will highlight some things that are underappreciated, but are likely to shape workers’ compensation systems for the next decade. The future is not always like the past,” Victor says. “Of course, I would like to see your readers attend to stretch their thinking, gain a competitive edge, and network with peers.”
Author Rebecca Shafer
, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of Manage Your Workers Compensation: Reduce Costs 20-50% on cost containment techniques. www.WCManual.com.
Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact
Posted in
Assessment & Diagnostics,
California Workers Comp,
Communication with Employees,
Drug, Alcohol & Impairment Testing,
Employment Law Issues,
Federal Workers Compensation,
Implementation and Rolling Out Your Program,
Management Commitment,
Professional Development Issues,
Return to Work and Transitional Duty,
Seminars and Courses |
Firefighters describe Australian State Government’s move to introduce random drug and alcohol testing across the brigade as an unnecessary invasion of personal privacy, according to a report from their union.
Fire Brigade Employees Union State Secretary Jim Casey said the State Government move was unwarranted, given there is no established problem with drug and alcohol abuse among firefighters. (WCxKit)
“There is absolutely no evidence to suggest firefighters have a problem with substance abuse and, on that basis, we see this as a gratuitous invasion of personal privacy. Nobody asks Mike Gallacher, the NSW Cabinet or their staffers to submit to random drug and alcohol testing,” Casey said. “StateGovernment ministers make multiple-billion dollar policy and investment decisions all the time. How do we know their judgment is not impaired by substance abuse?” he added.
Casey went on to say the brigade already has effective drug and alcohol protocols in place that are supported by the union. As he sees it, random drug and alcohol tests represent nothing more than a waste of time and money. (WCxKit)
“Firefighters run into burning buildings every day; they’re highly aware of the need to remain sober while on the job,” Casey added.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
A study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) report cites narcotic overuse as a major national public health problem. WCRI reports, “Medical treatment guidelines recommend that patients who receive ongoing narcotics prescriptions be actively monitored by the physician using urine tests and given psychological evaluations.”
According to WCRI study, Interstate Variations in Use of Narcotics, narcotic-prescribing physicians are not monitoring use, abuse, and diversion. The study is based on nonsurgical workers compensation claims with more than seven days missed work and prescribed pain medications.(WCxKit)
In some states, WCRI found prescribed narcotic use was more likely to turn into a long-term habit. These states are: California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. WCRI looked at 2006 injuries and the subsequent prescriptions through spring of 2008.
According to the abstract, other findings include:
1. The amount of narcotics per claim was the highest in Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania among the 17 states studied.
2. In the other 13 states, there were large differences in the amount of narcotics received by injured workers.
3. A higher than typical percentage of claims that received narcotics may signal overuse of narcotics for some states.
4. The proportion of nonsurgical cases with narcotics that were identified as longer-term users of narcotics was substantially higher than typical in California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. (WCxKit)
5. Few longer-term users of narcotics received the recommended services for monitoring, contrary to medical guideline recommendations.
For more information, the complete report is available for purchase
here.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing, publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
There are many adages out there about circumstances just not adding up. Two of my favorites are “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
This can be especially important when it comes to
new hires for your company. The greatest, most amicable person can walk through your doors and they could be the perfect worker in your mind. They could be experienced, charismatic, professional, and give you the best interview you have ever conducted.(WCxKit)
However, there can be issues lurking underneath that can expose your company to workers compensation costs.
What your new hire may not have told you:
1. They have had four knee surgeries.
2. They have been out of work watching TV for six months — or six years for that matter.
3. They are just lackluster work performers bouncing from one job to the next.
4. They lack the personality to deal with customers.
6 Ways Pre-employment Physicals and Background Checks Protect your Company:
1. Have all applicants complete a pre-employment physical before they can be accepted as new hire.
This should be standard for any position. Whether it is a sedentary desk job, or a job out on the production floor, having a physician do a physical exam on your candidate can save you a lot of aggravation down the road. This potential new hire may carry a lot of baggage medically that could become your responsibility after their first day of work. Physicians can spot surgical scars or other objective findings on exam that this person may not have indicated to you during their interview. Often it is thought that only workers performing heavy tasks should be considered for physicals. However, sedentary jobs can lead to back pain, neck pain, and repetitive injuries that may have been prevented if a physician noticed it during a physical exam before they were accepted as a new hire within your workforce.
With the current economy, a significant number of people have been
out of work for a very long time. This leads to general de-conditioning, and since they are a new hire they want to work as hard as possible to gain your trust and acceptance. Oftentimes these people out of work that start work again are the first to be injured, since they are physically unable to perform the job at the pace required without injuring themselves. Monitor your loss runs, and if new hires are accountable for the majority of your injuries, then you have identified a problem that needs immediate correcting. It can be corrected by modifying your new hire screening by implementing a physical exam before they are hired and start work
.
2. Have a detailed job description for your physician to review while performing the physical.
Just saying a worker will spend 90 percent of their time at a desk and 10 percent of their time walking to the printer and back is not a fantastic job description. Consider what goes in to a particular job day after day:
1. Talking on the phone.
2. Staring at a computer screen.
3. Reaching for things in a file cabinet.
4. Bending and squatting.
5. Reaching overhead.
6. Frequently lifting 40 pounds or more.
Whatever it may be the more detailed you are in your job description the better the doctor can assess your candidate and decide if they can physically do this job on a long-term basis in a safe manner. In the end, nobody knows the jobs within a workplace better than the employer. Additionally, the more detailed and elaborate you are in your job description, the safer your workforce will be because you will be hiring qualified, fit workers that can safely perform their job day after day.
3. Make passing a drug screen mandatory for all new hires.
This should go without saying. With prescription drug use on the rise, even though your potential hire looks on the outside to be healthy and responsible, there could be a lot internally that is physically wrong with them. For example, in one claim a worker sustained a back strain. During the interview, he said he did not go to the doctor right away because he had just taken muscle relaxers. Now, how did he get those? Were they his prescription? Does he take them every day? Does he have a prior comp claim that is active with another employer? Does his doctor refill the prescription without actually doing an exam? If this new hire already has some type of injury before even starting at your jobsite, how can you safely protect yourself and your fellow employees from being injured by someone under the influence of narcotics legally or illegally?
4. Ask for professional references and call them.
Most job applicants bring a reference sheet with them to the interview. Often these are professional references, but at times, a neighbor or relative could be used. Not that a relative could not be used as a potential reference, but they are not always unbiased? Calling all references should be standard practice in all HR departments. Again, not only to protect the company from making a bad hire, but, since this person will be working in and around all your other employees, you should not put them at risk by hiring an employee who past employers labeled as lazy, unsafe, or unreliable.
Make sure the references consist of previous employers – where the employees no longer work. Calling a current employer can be deceptive since they may give a good reference to get rid of a bad employee.
5. Have a private investigation firm run a background check on your applicant
Most PI firms have access to an insurance claims database, civil court records, police records, etc. This is especially important if you have workers driving your vehicles. Past traffic violations, DUIs, and other vehicle violations can be very detrimental to your company. By hiring such a person and putting them on the road in your company vehicle, that person is representing you and your company. The risk involved in vehicular accident claims is huge. You should only have workers with the greatest of safety records on the road representing your company. Equal attention should be given to potential new hires with extensive workers compensation histories, including litigation. This shows that they know the comp system, and are not afraid to retain counsel and litigate a claim if need be. Litigation increases your claims expense, and often a settlement will include their resignation from your company anyway, so before they start work for you, make sure they are not a “career claimant” bouncing from job to job looking for a settlement.
Beware: This is not foolproof: In one situation, a women in Charles Manson’s group did not show up on a criminal background check because the arrest was more than 25 years ago. She had turned state’s evidence and thus had not ever been “convicted” of the crime. The job she was applying for: childcare provider. Yes, this is true. Fortunately, someone in her neighborhood let the company know about her past track record. Hardly the type of person suitable for childcare.
6. Personality Profiling
Consider personality screening. Not every employee is suitable for every job. Customer service jobs require a pleasant, patient personality, and not everyone fits that mold. Personality profiling evaluates whether the moral compass is pointing the right direction. They check for traits such as entitlement mentality, theft, deception, cheating, dishonestly, drugs, hostility, and propensity to violence. In some situations the lost time rate dropped dramatically when using this type of testing. (WCxKit)
In conclusion, hiring new employees involves bringing a certain risk to your company. By being attentive and properly screening your new hires before they start work at your company, saves time and headache down the road by keeping the bad employees out, and only having a reliable, safe, productive workforce that is capable of doing their day-to-day jobs in the safest manner possible.
CHECK WITH LEGAL COUNSEL BEFORE IMPLEMENTING ANY TYPE OF EMPLOYEE SCREENING. STATE LAWS MAY LIMIT OR PROHIBIT THE TYPE OF TESTING THAT CAN BE DONE IN YOUR JURISDICTION.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Our WC Book: http://corner.advisen.com/partners_wctoolkit_book.html
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
When adjusters daydream, their non-work daydreams are like every one else – romance and money. But when they are about work, many dreams are about how much easier life would be if their clients – the employers – knew what they know. If you could see inside the adjuster's head, here are some of the things the adjusters wish their clients knew:
5 Things Adjusters Wish Their Clients Knew:
1. You Hire Too Many Druggies
Workers compensation adjusters know that from 38 to 50 percent of all workers compensation injuries are related to substance abuse, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor. The adjuster's biggest wish is that their clients had a drug-free workplace program. When employers have a published drug-free workplace program that includes pre-employment drug screens, random drug testing and mandatory drug testing of all employees involved in a work-place accident, the number of work-related injuries drops sharply. Hence, the adjuster daydreams about every employer having a drug-free work place and because of that, having a lot less workers comp claims to work on. (WCxKit)
2. Safety saves you Money
One of the first things the work comp adjuster does when a new work comp claim is assigned to him or her is to read the Employer's First Report of Injury (
FROI). The FROI has a section for the employer to describe what happened. When the adjuster reads, “
Employee hurt back lifting ________ (fill in the blank),” or, “Employee tripped over ________ (fill in the blank),” or, “Employee was struck by __________ (fill in the blank)," the adjuster recognizes what the employer does not see – the employer's safety program needs improvement. Lifting, tripping, and being struck by something are all types of accidents that can usually be avoided with an enforced safety program in place. The adjuster wishes the employer knew how many fewer accidents there would be (and how much lower the work comp premium would be) if the employer had an enforced safety program.
3. Treat Every Little Injury
Too often, the adjuster gets to handle the mess the employer made when they decided not to report a “minor” injury. The employee may have said he could “tough it out” when he strained his back, twisted his knee, or dropped 200 pounds on his foot. The untreated injury often gets worse before it gets better. Just like the old proverb “a stitch in time saves nine,” timely medical treatment for a small injury can prevent an employee from aggravating the injury and making it more serious. The adjuster wishes employers would send every injured employee immediately to the doctor (and while the employee is being treated, get the drug test done as there is often an alternative motive for “toughing it out”).
4. Keep in Touch with the Employee
The smart work comp adjuster knows the employee is another human being, and, just like almost every person, the employee wants to know that someone, anyone, cares about the injury that has occurred. The big burly roughneck is not going to think,” My employer is compassionate,” if he never hears from the employer after an accident. What he will think is, “They don't give a damn (or insert much stronger curse word) about me," and off he goes to get a lawyer who
will listen to him and who
will “make sure the employer pays for this.” The adjuster daydreams and wishes that the employer would stay in touch with the employee after an accident, sharply reducing the number of lawyers involved in their claims.
5. Keep in Touch with the Adjuster
The adjuster needs to know what the employer knows about the work comp claim. If the employer hears scuttlebutt that the employee's accident happened at home, or that the employee could return to work but does not want to, or any other information about the claim, the information should be shared with the adjuster. The adjuster's daydream here is the simple wish the employer would keep the adjuster informed of any developments.
6. Modified Duty Saves Money
While physical therapy will assist the employee's recovery from musculoskeletal injuries, often-light duty work will do the same thing, and is a whole lot cheaper for the employer in the end. When the adjuster calls the employer about the employee returning to work on light duty, and has to deal with a supervisor who is only thinking about what is convenient for the supervisor, the adjuster sighs. When the employer refuses to accommodate light duty, the adjuster wishes the employer knew and understood how much sooner the work comp claim would be over if the employer would put the employee back to work on modified duty. (WCxKit)
Workers comp adjusters do not daydream or wish the employer knew everything about their jobs, but the adjuster will continue to wish the employers understand how the employer's action or inaction affects the adjuster's job. If you want the adjuster to feel yours is a wonderful company, heed the ideas expressed above.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
Ohio is the largest monopolistic state. All employers, who are not self-insured, must purchase their workers compensation coverage from the state. As the State of Ohio is acting as the insurance company for most Ohio employers, it is in the best interest of both the State of Ohio and the employers to have the least number of workers compensation claims possible. To achieve this goal, the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) offers a Drug-Free Safety Program.
Availability:
The Drug-Free Safety Program (DFSP) provides a premium discount to private employers and governmental employers other than state agencies who implement the BWCs Drug Free Safety Program. (Employers who implement their own drug free program and not the BWCs DFSP do not receive the BWCs premium discount). The DFSP focus is the prevention of the use of alcohol and drugs while on the job. The intent of the DFSP is to incorporate the employers drug abuse prevention program into the safety program, resulting in both a safer work environment and work comp claim reduction. (WCxKit)
Eligibility:
To be eligible to participate in the DFSP, the employer must:
Be in good standing with the BWC at the time of the application
Be current in the payment of their work comp insurance premiums [however, the BWC defines “current” as not more than 45 days past due in the payment of premiums, assessments, retrospective rating adjustments, and penalties]
Not allowed all lapses in work comp coverage to exceed 40 days combined in the 12 months prior to the initial application, or any subsequent renewal or the DFSP
Continue to meet all requirements for participation in the program
Levels of Participation:
There are two program levels that the employer can participate in, the Basic level and the Advanced level. The requirements for the Advanced level are more stringent and require greater participation by the employer. The Basic level offers a premium discount of 4%, while the Advanced level offers a premium discount of 7%. [Group experience rated employers receive a 3% discount and only if they are in the Advanced level of participation].
Requirements:
The DFSP requirements for both the Basic level and the Advanced level include;
1. Accident analysis training within 30 days of the start of the program year or within 60 days for employees becoming a new supervisor
2. Online accident reporting of all work comp claims
3. Workplace safety review within 30 days of the start of the program year
4. An annual report
5. Safety Action Plan within 60 days of the start of the program year (optional for the Basic level)
6. Written drug-free program policy outlining the details of the drug-free program
7. Employee education – one hour of initial training when hired and one-hour refresher each year
8. Supervisor training – two hours of initial training and one-hour refresher each year
9. Drug & alcohol testing required of 100% of all pre-employment/new hires, reasonable suspicion testing, post-accident testing, return to duty testing, and follow up testing. The Advanced level also requires 15 percent random drug testing
10.An employee assistance program
Disallowance of Work Comp Claims:
Ohio law allows for the denial of workers compensation to employees who were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of their injury. The employee has the burden of proving the proximate cause of their injury was not the use of alcohol or drugs in order to have their claim consider.
Examples of how this works:
1. The employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol and falls off scaffolding resulting in injuries. The work comp claim is denied.
2. The employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol and the scaffolding breaks resulting in injuries, the work comp claim would be accepted (assuming the scaffolding did not break due to improper assembly while the employee was under the influence of drugs or alcohol). (WCxKit)
Application:
For Ohio employers to apply for the premium reduction, the employer must indicate their desire to do so by completing the Application for Drug-Free Safety Program (U-140) [obtain a copy from the BWC website] and submitting it to the BWC. The employer must indicate whether they want to participate in the Basic or Advanced level of the DFSP. There are two program years. The first program year is from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 which is open to all employers. The Application for the DFSP must be submitted by last business day of October. The second program year, which is open to only private employers, is from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The application for the second program year must be submitted by the last business day of April.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
