Ari Rosenstein of CPRhr, a California human resources outsourcing and professional employer organization (PEO) firm, explains in the company’s Small Biz HR Blog how confusing workers compensation laws there make it an attractive place for lawsuits.(WCxKit)
His most recent article, offers five lessons the workers compensation industry can learn from this likely-to-be costly workplace injury case.
“California is notorious for being one-sided in its support of employees’ work comp claims. NFL players recognize they will receive higher benefits for filing an injury in California, over other states in the country,” he writes. For this reason, team owners encourage players to file workers comp claims in their home states.
Rosenstein writes, “Despite bearing some of the most employee-favorable workmans’ comp policies, and some of the most expensive insurance costs in the country, California employers have a lot they can learn from the NFL in the areas of managing workplace safety, reducing claims, and being proactive in keeping insurance costs to a minimum.”
5 Workers Comp Lessons from the NFL:
- Just as safety is the number one priority in football, so too, business owners should purchase necessary protective gear and educate staff on usage.
- Just a football players train several days each week, so should employees in other fields be trained constantly on handling equipment and proper machinery use. “An educated workforce will produce higher quality work with fewer workplace injuries,” Rosenstein writes.
- Basic drills, exercise, and maintaining overall health and fitness are a priority for athletes because the player with better health is a greater contributor to the team. Likewise, employers need to create a healthy work environment, which may include healthful snacks in the vending machines or incentives for exercising. Flexible work environments that promote a healthy work/life balance create productive and less accident-prone employees.
- The workplace floor has to be as clean as a football field – or the game stops immediately. Prevent injuries before they happen.
- Keep safety at the forefront; it doesn’t happen by itself. Directives to use safety equipment or stretch before each “game” has to come from the top down.
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.
Ari Rosenstein of CPEhr, a California human resources outsourcing and professional employer organization (PEO) firm, writes for the company’s Small Biz HR Blog. His article can be found here, We appreciate Ari’s guest contribution.
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