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NEWSLETTERS
NEWSLETTERS
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In this issue
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Case Study: Implementation of comprehensive Workers' Comp program helps bus company drive down premiums |
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Recognizing fatigue: an "invisible epidemic" adversely affecting the bottom line
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Retention tips
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Case Study: Implementation of comprehensive Workers' Comp program helps bus company drive down premiums
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Insured
A school bus contractor with 30 drivers.
Situation
The company was enrolled in a special state program for school bus operators that allowed it to receive a safety group dividend and preferred pricing on their Workers' Compensation rates. Although the bus company didn't file many claims, there were two or three claims--the result of accidents--that were spiraling out of control. As a result, its Experience Mod jumped from 1.079 in 2004 to 1.782 in 2007. With this increase combined with the insurance carrier's debited surcharge due to the poor claims experience, the company was paying a 240% surcharge. Ultimately, its Workers' Compensation coverage was dropped from the carrier's program.
Assessment
Certified WorkComp Advisors (CWCAs) reviewed the loss-runs claims report from the carrier and found three claims that were incorrect. The claims had not been closely monitored and no one at the company had kept in touch with the carrier. Thus, a breakdown in communication between the employer, physician and adjuster was creating an unnecessary cost for the company.
Solution
The CWCAs took over as the company's Workers' Compensation agent and immediately began a thorough review of the existing claims and implemented a plan for filing future claims. They then instituted a light duty return-to-work program and had employees attend a safety seminar that focused on accident prevention and how accident claims can affect the employer's profit and, ultimately, each employee's paycheck.
The CWCAs also put in place a physicians' panel to deal with new claims and had the employer implement hiring tools to avoid hiring potential claims. Recognizing that these steps will control claims, the CWCAs outlined them into a business plan and submitted the plan to the carrier. The result was an immediate savings for the company since the carrier applied a 15% credit to the policy premium.
Result
Through their efforts, the CWCAs were able to reduce the company's annual premiums from $80,000 to $65,000, while projecting that the Experience Mod will decline by 25% over the next two years.
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Recognizing fatigue: an "invisible epidemic" adversely affecting the bottom line
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While the effects of fatigue have long been a major issue in the transportation industry, the problem has not received much attention in other industries. Yet, as Americans become increasingly a 24/7 society, fatigue is permeating workplaces across the country. According to research in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, almost 40% of American workers experience fatigue.
According to the study led by Judith Ricci, total lost productive time averaged 5.6 hours per week for workers with fatigue, compared to 3.3 hours for their counterparts without fatigue. Ricci describes fatigue as an "invisible epidemic" because it is hard to recognize and often goes unnoticed. However, fatigue reduces a worker's ability to function, results in lower productivity and increases the chance of accidents and injuries.
Among those surveyed, the problem was more prevalent with women and with shift workers. Furthermore, workers who have one or more of nine particular health conditions - pain, digestive problems, depression, cold, flu, asthma, cancer, heart disease and diabetes - have more lost productive time.
According to Bill Sirois, VP and COO for Circadian Technologies, Inc., a research and consulting firm, the issues relating to sleep deprivation are becoming increasingly significant in the retail and emergency services sectors where the 24/7 service mentality has become the norm.
The U.S. Department of Labor notes that the symptoms of fatigue, both mental and physical, vary and depend on the person and his or her degree of overexertion. Some examples of fatigue include:
* weariness
* sleepiness
* irritability
* reduced alertness, lack of concentration and memory
* lack of motivation
* increased susceptibility to illness
* depression
* headache
* giddiness
* loss of appetite and digestive problems
Identify problem and craft solution
Workers who perform repetitive tasks
For workers who perform repetitive tasks, insufficient rest time increases the potential development of musculoskeletal disorders. In addition to adequate break time, the National Safety Council recommends that for static work, employers should change positions frequently and use fixtures or a vise. Awkward postures can increase fatigue and discomfort to the muscles and joints. To avoid this, position displays or work surfaces for easy viewing, use power tools in lieu of rotating the forearms, adjust work surfaces to elbow level and arrange the work station so that the most frequently used articles are within easy reach.
Shift workers
Workers who have shifts between 3 am and 6 am are at 15 times greater risk for automobile and industrial accidents according to Bill Sirios. Noting that it takes the human body two weeks to become adjusted to a schedule, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that people try to stay on fixed shifts and either stay away from rotating shifts or work them only every two weeks.
Furthermore, employees and management need to be educated about the impact of shift work on sleep-wake cycles and how to recognize the signs of fatigue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests encouraging sleep before working a night shift rather than sleeping directly following work as well as time management strategies to help shift workers become more efficient with hours awake so they can get proper sleep.
Truck drivers
One-third of truck drivers are said to have a sleep disorder, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Sleep apnea syndrome - a health condition in which breathing stops periodically during sleep - affects 18 million people in the U.S. Developing and implementing objective criteria for screening employees for sleep apnea and having a process to treat it will reduce preventable accidents, absenteeism and improve health costs.
Women
While work/life programs aimed at helping employees balance their work and personal responsibilities are valuable to all employees, women are the predominant caregivers and can benefit significantly from child care initiatives, elder care programs, and alternative work arrangements.
Other suggestions include allowing employees to take a short walk, take a break even if not scheduled, incorporate bright colors and creative lighting to make the workplace more stimulating, develop alertness monitoring programs to do spot testing, evaluating work schedules, and allowing employees to take a 15 minute power nap. A recent study published in Chest found that smoking leads to poor sleep; thus, anti-smoking programs can also help. |
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Retention tips
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Nearly 40% of workers feel disengaged
Employers looking to every source of competitive advantage often overlook the untapped potential in their workforce, according to Julie Gebauer, managing director and leader of Tower Perrin's Workforce Effectiveness consulting practice. Based on a survey of 90,000 workers from 18 countries, Towers Perrin found that just 21% of workers are engaged at work and almost 40% are partly to fully disengaged.
The study debunks the view that engagement is an innate trait, but finds that the organization itself - particularly senior leadership - has the most impact on engagement levels. The study also found that companies with the highest levels of engagement achieve better financial results and are more successful in retaining their most valued employees than companies with lower levels of engagement.
Phased retirement can help retain an aging work force
The 2007 Ernst & Young's Aging U.S. Workforce Survey found that nearly 30% of the polled companies are considering "phased retirement" programs to attract and retain an aging work force, while only 9% actually have such a program. While there are legal and practical limitations to "phased retirement" particularly in terms of defined benefit plans and medical coverage, it is a valuable retention tool and enables the smooth transfer of knowledge from experienced workers to younger ones.
Understand what irks workers
According to "Workplace Ouch Points," by Opinion Research Corporation, workers most often say that a lack of communication from senior management about the company's direction is the most frustrating part of their job. Age and gender are factors in what irks workers the most. Men are more frustrated by the fact they have to use politically correct language and younger workers are more frustrated by the lack of teamwork.
The issues that most commonly frustrated workers in 2007 were:
Poor communication from senior management about the business 17%
General office politics 16%
Lack of teamwork 15%
Having to use politically correct language 09%
Nosy co-workers 06%
Poor relations with an immediate supervisor 06%
Fear of backlash from reporting unethical behavior 04%
Corporate monitoring of email and/or telephone calls 04%
First expansion of law
The first expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) signed by President Bush on January 28, 2008, requires businesses to offer up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to employees who provide care to wounded U.S. military personnel. An employee who requests this new category of FMLA leave still must meet the existing requirements for FMLA eligibility, including length of service.
Unlike other types of FMLA leave, this leave is available to "next of kin," meaning the nearest blood relative of a service member, even if he or she is not a spouse, child, or parent of the service member.
The second major change to the FMLA is the addition of a new event that will entitle an eligible employee to the usual 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave. Immediate family members (spouses, children or parents) of soldiers, reservists and members of the National Guard are allowed time to deal with "any qualifying exigency." This term is not defined in the statue and will be clarified in regulations from the Secretary of Labor.
Most of the provisions of the FMLA remain unchanged, including employer coverage, employee eligibility requirements, health insurance continuation and reinstatement rights.
Key court decision affirming individual notice requirement
The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reaffirmed the Department of Labor regulations requiring employers to give employees individualized notice of FMLA leave in Downey v. Strain. The employee, Susan Downey, took 424 hours of FMLA leave for knee and shoulder surgeries from November 2002 to March 2003. In this leave she received proper notice from her employer and had slightly over 50 hours of leave time remaining for the year.
In June 2003, she suffered a work related injury and had surgery, requiring another two months of leave from the end of July to the beginning of October 2003. The supervisor charged this leave to FMLA, but did not inform Downey. Her FMLA leave was exhausted in early August and the rest of the time was covered with other paid leave. When she returned to work, she was reassigned to another division with fewer fringe benefits.
The employee sued arguing that the employer had failed to provide her with individualized written notice and had she known she would have postponed her surgery. The jury agreed and the defendant unsuccessfully appealed, arguing that the regulations requiring individualized notice were invalid. Under the law, the employer must promptly (within two business days absent of extenuating circumstances) notify the employee that the paid leave is designated and will be counted as FMLA leave. If the employee can prove that they are harmed by the failure to give notice, then there is a violation of the FMLA.
The decision in the case demonstrates that failure to properly notify exposes employers to liability for damages under FMLA.
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