by David Schek | Jul 20, 2017 | Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance
Workers’ comp coverage and the Americans with Disabilities Act protections can overlap at times after a work injury. ADA protects people with disabilities from discrimination, not employees injured on the job. However, a work injury can trigger ADA.
For instance, if an employee is treated for a work injury and is able to return to work, there are no ADA protections. But if that same injured employee cannot return to the same position because of the injury, this is considered an impairment and ADA applies.
Workers’ comp laws differ by state and is typically the exclusive remedy. ADA is federal law and can open employers up to litigation. Depending on the workers’ comp law in the state where your company is operating, offering a similar or modified position to the disabled employee may meet the ADA requirements.
Staffing firms, in particular those that supply temporary employees in high-risk industries, need to be aware of when the ADA applies and its impact on workers’ comp.
Work Comp Staffing Solutions has many workers’ comp and general insurance solutions to keep your insurance rates as low as possible.
Please visit our web site at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com, call us at 202-302-1212, or email us at david@StaffingCompSolutions.com for more information about all our staffing and workers’ comp offerings.
Sincerely
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
by David Schek | Jul 13, 2017 | Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance
Unnecessary tests and unqualified doctors can double or even triple the medical cost for workers’ comp injuries. Experts say that the excessive use of MRI’s and doctors who don’t specialize in occupational medicine, lead to poor outcomes for injured workers and higher costs for cost employers.
In one case scenario, an employer required its injured workers get treatment in rural areas approximate to the company. It turns out very few had backgrounds in occupational medicine and were more likely to recommend multiple surgeries. Despite having to drive further to a city, the more qualified doctors saved the employer over $50,000 by performing only one surgery instead of three.
Certain injuries are also more likely to receive a battery of unnecessary tests. Shoulders and backs tend to get CAT Scans, which provide no diagnosis. It’s less expensive and quicker to get an MRI, which can provide better data for treatment.
Staffing firms should make sure their claims departments have a list of occupational doctors to treat their injured workers. Treatment requests for tests should also be scrutinized in the best interest of the injured worker. Employees will get back to work faster, lowering workers’ comp costs. Work Comp Staffing Solutions has many workers’ comp and general insurance solutions to keep your insurance rates as low as possible.
Please visit our web site at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com, call us at 202-302-1212, or email us at david@StaffingCompSolutions.com for more information about all our staffing and workers’ comp offerings.
Sincerely
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
by David Schek | Jul 6, 2017 | Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance
Frances Perkins was an American Hero making worker safety an important part of the American industrial story.
Born in 1880, Frances Perkins was an early pioneer for workers safety in the US. She was the longest servicing Labor Secretary under President Roosevelt. While she was trained as a sociologist, her life was forever changed when one day after having tea in lower Manhattan with a friend, she witnessed the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire where workers jumped from 8 stories to their deaths to avoid being burned in the fire at the factory. The lack of safety measures at that factory, and the deaths that resulted, caused Frances to devote the rest of her life to work place safety.
.
During her term as Secretary of Labor, Perkins executed many aspects of the New Deal, including the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration and its successor the Federal Works Agency, and the labor portion of the National Industrial Recovery Act. With the Social Security Act she established unemployment benefits, pensions for the many uncovered elderly Americans, and welfare for the poorest Americans. She pushed to reduce workplace accidents and helped craft laws against child labor. Through the Fair Labor Standards Act, she established the first minimum wage and overtime laws for American workers, and defined the standard forty-hour work week.
While Work Comp Staffing Solutions’s main goal is to secure the least expensive work comp option for your staffing company, we also want to help make sure that you are familiar with all the current safety issues to help reduce accidents among your employees.
Please visit our web site at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com, call us at 202-302-1212, or email us at david@StaffingCompSolutions.com for more information about all our staffing and workers’ comp offerings.
Sincerely
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
by David Schek | Jun 29, 2017 | Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance
A Florida-based staffing company recently learned a hard lesson about discrimination and had to pay out five figures in damages to an employee after being sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The company allegedly violated the religious rights of the employee, a Rastafarian, by requiring him to cut his dreadlocks to meet company grooming standards.
It turns out this was a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. After learning the hard way, the staffing company reviewed its policies and updated its employee handbook to address disability and religious accommodation requests.
Right or wrong, employment laws and regulations present some of the biggest challenges for staffing companies. In addition to federal laws, there are state laws that affect employment decisions and can be challenging for staffing firms in multiple states. A Professional Employer Organization or Employer of Record can manage your compliance with myriad laws and handle your workers’ comp as well.
Work Comp Staffing Solutions has many workers’ comp and general insurance solutions to keep your insurance rates as low as possible.
Visit our web site at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com, call us at 202-302-1212, or email us at david@StaffingCompSolutions.com for more information about all our staffing and workers’ comp offerings.
Sincerely
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
by David Schek | Jun 15, 2017 | Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance
According to a recent study on automotive fleet companies, safe driving policy does not match practices. A study by SambaSafety, concluded that while 80% of automotive fleet companies say driver safety is there main priority, the stats don’t back it up.
70% don’t monitor drivers and 59% don’t have a safety program in place. Driving can be a dangerous profession, and it behooves these companies can have a safety culture that doesn’t encourage unsafe practices. One such example provided by the study says that berating a driver for missing a call may encourage reckless driving to make it to the next one on time.
This is a good advice for staffing firms that provide drivers for various industries. Instilling a safety culture in drivers, especially those who may be transporting cargo for long distances, is key to preventing accidents and injuries. This in turn keeps workers’ comp costs low.
Work Comp Staffing Solutions has many workers’ comp and general insurance solutions to keep your insurance rates as low as possible.
Visit our web site at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com, call us at 202-302-1212, or email us at david@StaffingCompSolutions.com for more information about all our staffing and workers’ comp offerings.
Sincerely
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
by David Schek | Jun 1, 2017 | Workers Comp, Workers' Compensation Insurance
In our last blog we discussed the spike in drug use in workplace, including the use of opioids. Starting in August, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation will phase in prescribing guidelines for opioids for work injuries.
These guidelines will only apply to federal workers, but could possibly set a standard for states or even employers, if feasible. The federal standards include limits on how long an opioid can be prescribed and documentation from a physician for review by a claim administrator, if that limit must be exceeded. The guidelines also attempt to get doctors to consider tapering doses and consider whether an opioid is even necessary.
Opioid use has been connected to slower return to work rates, can cause impairment, and lead to harder drugs. Employers, including, staffing firms, to the extent they are able, should consider setting guidelines for opioid use. Fewer opioid prescriptions will lower work comp costs and get workers back to work faster. Work Comp Staffing Solutions has many workers’ comp and general insurance solutions to keep your insurance rates as low as possible.
Visit our web site at www.StaffingCompSolutions.com, call us at 202-302-1212, or email us at david@StaffingCompSolutions.com for more information about all our staffing and workers’ comp offerings.
Sincerely
David Schek
President
StaffingCompSolutions.com
