When safety is the main focus, employers and their workers both stand to gain.
It was reported recently that the Pennsylvania Training for Health and Safety (PATHS) program certified and re-certified more than 50 workplace safety committees and saved employers more than $2 million in workers compensation costs during the month of April.
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PATHS is a no-fee, statewide service established by the Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers Compensation’s Health and Safety Division, to provide employers and employees with easy access to cost-effective health and safety resources. Services provided by PATHS help employers achieve greater efficiency in their workers comp cost-containment efforts by creating safer, accident-free workplaces.
When workplace safety committees become certified, employers become eligible for a 5 percent workers comp discount.
Dating back to the program’s beginning some 21 years ago, employers have seen a total savings of more than $570 million.
Pennsylvania Businesses to Witness Major Drop in Comp Rates
In related news for the Commonwealth, the Wolf Administration recently announced Pennsylvania businesses will see a significant cut in workers compensation insurance rates while benefit levels for injured workers will be maintained.
Workers comp insurance rates were in place to drop 5.99 percent as of April 1, reducing a key expense for many companies and saving Pennsylvania businesses an estimated $140 million this year.
This drop makes it the fourth consecutive workers comp insurance cut in as many years, and brings the cumulative savings to $550 million for the past four years.
More than 10,530 state-certified workplace safety committees have been established since March 1994, protecting more than 1,396,306 workers.
Additionally, employers with certified workplace safety committees have saved nearly $524.3 million in workers comp premiums.
These savings in insurance costs are due solely to the five-percent premium discount provided to businesses that have these committees.
More than 50 Ohio Employers to Receive Safety Grants
Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer recently reported that 55 Ohio employers will receive more than $1.5 million in Safety Intervention Grants to purchase machinery and equipment that will improve safety in their workplaces.
The program assists Ohio employers in reducing illnesses and injuries and creates a partnership with them to establish best practices for accident and injury prevention.
“All Ohio workers should return safely to their homes each evening, and safety grants help employers do just that,” said Buehrer. “That’s why we tripled funding for the program to $15 million a year. We’re pleased to see more employers engaged and thinking about what they can do to ensure their employees are protected.”
The grant dollars will go to employers in 38 counties representing 10 industries, including commercial, construction, manufacturing, service and transportation; as well as schools, cities, counties, townships and villages.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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