I recently received this hotline inquiry:
Q: We have a safety bonus program that gives a $25 gift card each quarter for all groups that have no lost-time accidents, and at the end of the calendar year provides them with a share in an $8,000 bonus check. In researching this, I found that OSHA has stated that safety bonus programs which give monetary rewards to employees for no-lost time accidents can be seen as creating incentives to not report accidents or to pressure fellow employees not to do so. However, I read in a SHRM article that the Secretary of Labor stated that there would not be a fine for keeping such programs. Should we stop our incentive program it or leave it as is and wait for the DOL to prohibit it?
A: We’ve seen this memo from OSHA on HR That Works. Incentives always have their shadow side. If management makes it clear that they want injuries reported, the next step is to approach your employees and ask how the company can use these incentives in a way that does not encourage non-reporting? They might well have some better ideas than what you’re using. There’s no law prohibiting safety incentives – just concerns about possible negative results from using them.
