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REHIRING AN INJURED WORKER
By Kimberly Daise

Among the most crucial aspects of reducing lawsuits is an efficient way of rehiring the injured employee or operating a functional return-to-work system. This particular program can bring about substantial premium reductions and failure to set up rehiring practices will often lead to litigated cases and even higher payouts to the injured employee.

An employer needs to bear in mind that a worker is not obliged to return to work until a medical expert releases the employee to do so. It is essential that the medical expert, the injured worker, along with the employer make an effort to coordinate and know about the injured worker’s status at all times. Return-to-work authorization and giving of light-duty tasks are quite essential issues to consider.
Case litigation and attorney’s involvement in workers’ compensation cases is much less in instances where a worker returns to serve his employer. The employing company should know about all the procedures required for rehiring and, even though an employer is not obligated to rehire the injured employee in every situation, it is against the law to fire an injured worker just because he files a workers’ compensation claim or claims benefits. Firing a worker because of these can cause civil liability to the employer.

It is in the employer’s interest to re-hire when the option is available.

DETERMINING EMPLOYEE VERSUS CONTRACTOR STATUS
By Kimberly Daise

It is always a daunting task to figure out who is a contractor or employee and preventing those hired as employees from being contractors, or vice versa. A few of the major things to be considered are cited below:
1. The extent to which the employee has un-reimbursed visit expenditures. Independent contractors usually have un-reimbursed expenses much higher than workers. Employers ought not to regularly approve reimbursement requests for business-related expenses, since this may be used as proof of employee status.
2. The extent to which the worker makes professional services accessible to the targeted market. In cases where the employee offers the same work to various companies, it is a major sign of independent contractor status.
3. The extent of the employees’ investment. A contractor usually holds a considerable investment in the facilities he employs in completing services for somebody else. Among the most valuable investments is an office space. Employers should not give supplies, tools, or equipment to persons hired as independent contractors.
4. An independent contractor often makes a profit or even incur a loss on the job. Workers receive paychecks regardless of whether the firm they are employed by makes profits or not.
5. Workers are paid on the monthly, weekly, or hourly basis. An independent contractor is generally paid by the task completed.
6. Does the employing company offer employee-type benefits like pension programs, insurance, sick days, or vacations? Independent contractors rarely provide such benefits.
7. Workers hired on a permanent basis are often regarded as employees. When a worker is given a job on the premise that the working relationship will carry on indefinitely, this indicates an employee/employer relationship.

Employers: Effective Safety Programs
By: Kimberly Daise
Every employer should ideally want to reinforce their safety program and minimize workplace accidents. You can scale down your employees’ compensation exposure with an active and effective safety program. Since a substantial part of the amount paid for employees’ compensation premiums is based on the frequency of injury, the premium payments can be reduced with a dynamic safety program.
Within your organization, one person should be appointed safety manager working towards the complete implementation of a safety program. What matters most to the safety manager is the ability to inform, train and educate workers. Since lots of accidents at work can be directly linked to unsafe conducts, it is the safety manager’s duty to encourage employees to operate safely.
An aspect of the safety program should state written guidelines and steps to indoctrinate new workers, continue training and updating all employees, investigate accidents, require periodic inspections, give first-aid treatment and provide an effective return-to-work scheme.
The employer also needs to understand that an insurance provider has the right to inspect the safety of the business premise. An effective program calls for the involvement of all personnel. We can assist you to comply with the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA). We can provide you with a safety consultant to enable you to apply safety programs and a lot more.
OSHA also offers information, training, and consulting services for employers. It provides publications designed to assist you with your safety program and compliance standards.
A good safety program is an important consideration for insurers when deciding whether and how to write insurance policy coverage.

WAYS TO REDUCE WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE COSTS

• If you are searching for ways to trim down workers compensation insurance costs, you’re mindful of the direct expenses which you pay in premiums.
• However what you might not have thought about is the indirect costs of workplace injuries and accidents, which go beyond what you pay for an employee’s compensation plan. Perhaps you may need to train substitute workers, adapt work schedules, analyze accidents and employ corrective measures. You can need to fix damaged property and equipment, lose efficiency and must cope with lower staff morale and absenteeism.
• That’s the reason my first recommendation – regulating workers compensation costs through a safety program – is crucial to your bottom line.
• 1. Developing your safety program
• A lot of accidents can be averted before they happen. Keeping a safety program allows you to detect and terminate workplace hazards that may result in injuries. The ROI on this kind of programs is apparently credible. Numerous studies have proved that for every dime spent on injury prevention, firms realize a $2 – $6 profit, as reported by Safety and Health magazine.
• This solid return may be the reason several states, including California, require businesses to keep a written safety program. Furthermore, putting requirements and concepts in writing implies that your company is dedicated to providing a healthy job environment for workers.
• If you’re starting afresh with a perceivably healthy work environment, you can get assistance developing your safety program from various sources at different prices. Think about using:
• • An independent consultant – third-party office safety consultants usually charge $100/hour.
• • A business-targeted template – Certain online businesses offer downloadable safety program templates specifically made for different industries for about $100 – $150.
• • Your workers compensation insurance agency – A lot of service providers offer fee-inclusive safety consultations to their clients.
• • Occupational Safety & Health Administration: OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program provides cost-free professional guidance to medium and small-sized businesses. Despite the fact that such services are “separate from enforcement,” prepare yourself to complete OSHA’s recommendations.
• And never forget, a safety program should be more than the piece of content. Only the help of the company executives and appropriate on-the-ground training will implement it (and help to make a significant difference in employee safety, and managing your workers compensation costs).
• 2. Return-to-Work Program
• Despite having a quality safety program, injuries can still happen. If they do, a return-to-work program can give a direct cost advantage to the employees compensation claim. Studies have shown that the longer an employee’s compensation claim stays open, the pricier the claim. Take, for instance, when injured workers get back to work later, the claim has to cover much more replacement revenue.
• Therefore, the aim of a return-to-work program is always to help injured staff return to work in the shortest possible time, even when it’s on a tailored principle while they recover. This may include giving a worker the opportunity to work part-time or light-duty hours, matched in partnership with the staff ‘s medical professional.
• A dynamic return-to-work program also provides indirect cost benefits. It can enable you to manage workplace connections with injured employees so as to avoid the alienation that can arise on each side during a long absence. And an initial return-to-work reduces the chance that the worker cannot return.
• Take a look at the return-to-work safety plan template of the Society for Human Resource Management for an example of the appropriate ways to set up your program.
• 3. Become a member of a Professional Employment Organization
• Last but not least, being a member of a Professional Employer Organization will help you to control your employees compensation claims and costs while assisting you to resolve the safety issues in your enterprise. An effective Professional Employment organization’s safety solutions can significantly help in promoting a high-return “culture of safety” at your company.
• A Professional Employment Organization can assist you:
• • Select employees’ compensation plan coverage. This can reduce employees compensation premium rates by negotiating competitive plans with insurance firms.
• • Assess the safety of the office and develop a safety program that will enable you to prevent accidents.
• • Resolve claims promptly and efficiently.
• • Maintain interactions with injured employees.
• • Execute a return-to-work program that boosts worker morale and minimizes the span and cost of workers compensation claims.
• • Taken as a whole, these efforts would make a huge difference in the amount spent on workers compensation and indirect expenses of workplace injury.