High-pitched  squeals,  loud  machinery  and other  audio  influences  can  cause  long-term damage to an employee’s hearing. What kind of  ear  protection  are  your  employees  using? Are  they  using  it  on  a daily   basis?   Are   they continuing  to  use  it  all day or just putting it on when things seem loud- er than usual? Even though the Occupational Safety and Health   Administration (OSHA) has implement- ed  guidelines  and  stan- dards    for    acceptable noise  levels  at  work,  it shouldn’t take an OSHA citation for   employers   to   protect   their   workers against   potentially   harmful   primary   or background noise. But there might be factors that are beyond your  control:  Maybe  some  employees  don’t think  they  need  protection.  Perhaps  some have more sensitive ears than others, and as a result  are  at  greater  risk of serious injury. Regardless of the situa- tion, partial or total hear- ing  loss  harms  the  vic- tims.  And  if  you  don’t have workers compensa- tion coverage in place, it can be financially devas- tating to your business. There  are  many  meas- ures that can be taken to prevent hearing loss. But once  the  damage  is  done,  comp  coverage might  make  the  path  to  recovery  far  easier. For   more   information,   call   our   service team today. n I t can be a huge burden for an employer to attempt to manage workers compensation for   employees—alone.   That’s   why   many firms have hired a manager to do the job. A workers comp manager doesn’t neces- sarily  have  to  be  some  hot-shot  lawyer  or claims  guru,  says  a  recent  insurance  trade press report; someone with top-notch proj- ect  management  skills  and  an  ability  to implement new ideas would fit the bill. If  you  decide  to  hire  a  workers  comp manager, make sure to give them a senior- level title so that they won’t be hung up in the red tape of your organization. You want the   manager   to   drive   changes,   and   an executive title gives off the necessary aura. Also,   a   rookie   manager   can   familiarize himself with the field by attending workers comp  risk  management  seminars,  reading comp newsletters (or any other relevant lit- erature)   and   consulting   sites   such   as workerscompensation.com to stay fresh on state laws. There   are   many   other   considerations in  hiring  and  properly  training  a  workers comp   manager.   We   can   help   you   sort through  them  all.  After  all,  we  want  you to view us as a backboard against which to throw any insurance and risk management ideas. n Consider Hiring a WC Manager Are You Protecting Your Workers’ Hearing?
What constitutes workers compensa- tion  fraud?  Maybe  this  will  help:  The Florida  Bureau  of  Worker’s  Comp- ensation  Fraud  regularly  encounters four types of comp scams, which it lists as  premium  fraud,  working  without workers compensation coverage, fraud- ulent certification and claimant fraud. Why do employers commit workers comp  fraud?  Easy:  to  save  money  by beating   the   system.   What’s   more, there’s always the possibility that regu- lators  will  fail  to  sniff  out  the  scheme and the employer will get away with it. That  is,  of  course,  if  no  one  ever  gets hurt—an expectation that’s completely unrealistic. If  the  system  catches  a  fraudulent employer and they’re convicted, they’ll pay restitution to the state and the insur- ance company. At the least, they’ll have to dish out the cost of the investigation. And there’s always the potential for jail time; not exactly a walk in the park. People  tempted  to  commit  comp fraud  don’t  understand  that  the  pur- pose of workers compensation is to save them  money.  Imagine  the  expenses incurred if an uncovered employee suf- fered a serious injury on the job. Quite simply,  no  comp  policy  means  zero protection for anyone involved. We can help you design and maintain a workers comp program that will offer you and your employees the protection and  savings  you  deserve.  For  more information,  or  a  free  review  of  your current coverage, call us today. n V incent Mazzara of the Florida Bureau   of   Worker’s   Comp- ensation  Fraud  reports  that  the misclassification  of  employees  is one of the most common forms of workers comp fraud. Mazzara explains that his inves- tigators  are  trained  to  recognize fraud indicators. When they take a photo of 20 roofers at a jobsite, and then check the records to find five   roofers   and   15   clerical   or maintenance   employees   with   a lower modifier, they know that a comp scam is taking place. “We go to the jobsite and ask the workers on the roof who pays them,” says Mazzara. “If that per- son can’t provide the proper certi- fication for those roofers, he can be arrested.” Although this example is a bla- tant  attempt  to  circumvent  the system, many employers uninten- tionally  misclassify  their  employ- ees, and are thus still out of com- pliance.  This  is  a  common  situa- tion that can contribute to a less- than-pleasant   (and   very   expen- sive) audit experience. Is it unfor- tunate?   Yes.   Is   it   unavoidable? Not when managed correctly. For advice, contact us. n Misclassification Comes Back to Haunt Employers What Do You Know About Comp Fraud? Good risk management can go a long way to help curb workers comp costs. It’s the  building  block  on  which  you  can stack    all    other    safety    measures. Unfortunately, many firms avoid adopt- ing  risk-management  procedures—and end up paying a price for their ignorance. Here’s what the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research has to say  about  managing  risk  in  its  work- book,  Principles   of   Risk   Management: “There  are  various  definitions  of  risk management, but the basic theme is to protect  the  company’s  assets  through identification and analysis of exposures, controlling  the  exposures,  financing  of losses with external and internal funds, and implementation and monitoring of the risk management process.” The  Alliance  emphasizes  that  risk management should: • Be practical and professional; • Be interdisciplinary and enterprise- wide; • Consider strategic, operational, and financial risks; • Use   the   five   steps   of   the   risk management  process  of  identification, analysis, control, financing and admin- istration; and • Optimize risk to help an enterprise achieve its goals. We don’t expect you to take this as the final  word  from  us  on  managing  risk. Instead, we’d like you to understand the importance  of  risk  management  for your business in ensuring worker safety and helping reduce injuries. n Risk Management Is a Business Foundation
COPYRIGHT ©2006. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is under- stood that the publishers are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. If you currently have a post-injury response program for your business, you  probably  know  that  it  slashes workers  comp  costs  drastically and helps get employees back on the job—quickly. High comp costs usually result from   a   business   or   employer with  a  staff  that  has  frequent injuries  for  long  periods.  But those  costs  can  be  reduced  by 50%,   says   a   recent   insurance trade press report, if the program focuses   on   “post-injury”   cost containment. Any    successful    post-injury program includes a promise that an  injured  employee  will  receive the  best  medical  care  available  and will  return  to  the  office  only  when they’re   cleared   to   do   so.   What’s more,  says  the  report,  the  program must  be  applied  consistently,  exist for   every   injury,   and   list   “who reports  injuries,  who  an  injury  is reported   to,   who   transports   the employee to medical providers, and how medical restrictions are obtained.”  The  plan  should  be  in  a format that can be communicat- ed clearly to managers, supervi- sors and employees. A  transitional-duty  job  also can be created to help an injured employee   ease   back   into   the swing of things. There are many other  steps  involved  in  creating and  carrying  out  a  successful post-injury plan—and it’s some- thing   that   we   can   help   you through. It’s   never   too   late   to   take a  crack  at  rising  comp  costs. To avoid becoming another workers comp    horror    story,    contact    us today. n O f  the  many  deaths  suffered during   the   hurricanes   that struck    Florida    in    2005,    25% occurred    during    the    cleanup process and not during the storm itself,    according    to    the    Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Although   many   of   those killed were cleaning up their private   residences,   numer- ous  others  were  paid  work- ers   from   companies   con- tracted   for   cleanup   activi- ties. The numbers are similar for  other  U.S.  disasters  that caused major property dam- age     and     required     extensive cleanup.  Many  accidents  happen when workers participate in activ- ities   that   they   might   not   be trained  to  do,  such  as  using  a chainsaw. If local relief workers need to be covered by workers compensation, it’s  equally  essential  for  any  out- of-state firm involved in the effort to have the proper coverage. How  would  your  comp  policy cover  the  activities  of  employees working  out  of  state?  Employees constantly  travel  for  various  rea- sons. And it doesn’t matter if the out-of-state  work  performed  by your   employees   is   as   physically grueling as disaster recovery or as seemingly    harmless    as    sales, because  the  bottom  line  is  that coverage  might  change  depend- ing  on  where  the  injury  occurs. This is why it’s important that you have  a  program  that  covers your mobile staff. That’s  where  we  come  in. We’ll  provide  you  with  solid protection. You’ll  be  able to rest    assured    that    should something happen to them—whether   they’re   in Seattle on a construction job or in New York on an educa- tion   committee   work   group— they’ll   have   coverage   that   will stand behind them. Please give us a  call  if  you  have  any  questions or  if  there  are  changes  in  your operations. n Comp Is Key for Traveling Staff Post-Injury Response Programs Are Beneficial It doesn’t matter if the out-of-state work is physically grueling or seemingly harmless.
Thank you for your referrals. If you’re pleased with us, spread the word! We’ll be happy to give the same great service to all of your friends and business associates. J ust when we thought it couldn’t get any weirder, here’s a story from the Chicago Sun-Times about a Santa Cruz, CA, bus driver charged with fraud  and  grand  theft  for  completing  a  marathon—while  receiving workers comp for a back injury! Some injury. The culprit on the run was a 57-year-old employee with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District who participated in the Big Sur Marathon. We’re not sure where he placed in the 26.2-mile trek, but we’d love to know. While  running  through  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery  in  the nation, the runner was also robbing the insurance system of thousands in workers comp funds. It seems he was milking the system from an injury claim he filed in June 2003. “You can’t run marathons if you’re not well enough to drive a Metro bus,” said District Attorney Bob Lee. “It’s not just wrong; it’s criminal.” n Bus Driver on Comp Completes Marathon!
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