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robintek

Jul 01
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DRIVE SAFELY BY ADHERING TO RULES FOR SKID PREVENTION

By Workplace Safety

You might think of vehicular skidding as the result of chemical spills and inclement weather only. In reality, skidding can be caused by many driving behaviors that are completely avoidable. It is essential to familiarize yourself with and avoid unsafe driving traps, and to be aware of the limitations of your vehicle. Safety Rules of the Road:

Rule 1: Inspect the tread on your tires. Without tread, tires cannot get enough traction and your vehicle will be more prone to skidding — regardless of what other precautions you take. Get your tires rotated regularly, and make sure there are no flat or bald spots on your tires.

Rule 2: Observe the speed limit in good weather, and in bad weather, drive below the limit. One of the most common causes of skidding is driving too fast for the current weather conditions. Rushing to your destination does no good if you risk life and limb to do so. Keep your vehicle, yourself, as well as other drivers and pedestrians safe by monitoring your speed carefully.

Rule 3: Avoid the tendency to over accelerate, or you might force your wheels to spin without gaining any traction.

Rule 4: On a slippery road, avoid using the speed retarder.

Rule 5: Exercise caution with how sharply you turn the vehicle. If you make a sharp turn that the vehicle cannot handle, you could force it to skid.

Rule 6: Try not to slam on the brakes. When you brake too hard, the result is that you lock your wheels and run the possibility of skidding. Back wheel lock can result in a jackknife as your trailer skids sideways and tries to “catch up” with your front wheels.

Rule 7: Reduce your speed on curves and turns. If you drive through curvy roads and turns too quickly you might not give your trailer or rear a chance to change direction.

Stopping a Skid in Progress
If you find yourself beginning to skid, and feel that you are running the risk of jackknifing, follow these instructions:

  • Skidding while braking: Take your foot off the brake pedal then push your clutch in while you steer.
  • Skidding while accelerating: Take your foot off the gas pedal and you should stop skidding. Next, push your clutch in while you steer.
  • Skidding while turning: As the trailer begins to jackknife, steer your vehicle in the direction you are headed for. Then, as the trailer begins heading in the direction you want, quickly turn the wheel in the opposite direction. This is called a countersteer.

The more familiar you are with these methods of skid avoidance and skid stopping, the more successful you will be when you need to employ them. If you think that some focused training would help you in better executing these tips on the real roads, let your employer know that you are interested in additional training.

Jul 01
Love0

GET READY FOR HEALTHCARE REFORM’S IMPACT ON FSAS AND HSAs

By Employment Resources

If your company currently sponsors a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA) to allow employees to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses with pre-tax dollars, be prepared for upcoming changes. New health care reform legislation could make these “cafeteria plan” benefits less appealing to employees.
Under the new law, maximum annual FSA contributions are reduced, and there are new regulations affecting how the funds can be used. The intent of the new rules and penalties is to generate revenue which can be used to fund aspects of the health care reform package.

FSAs and HSAs (assuming the employee is covered under a qualified high deductible health plan) allow an employee to contribute tax-free funds that can used to pay for deductibles, drug co-pays, treatments that are not covered by Health insurance, and other qualified medical expenses.

Beginning on January 1, 2013, the annual limit for FSAs will be set at $2,500. Previously, the IRS had stipulated that employers could establish their own FSA contribution limit, and according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, these limits generally fell into the $2,000 to $5,000 range. In 2009, Mercer’s National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans stated that the average yearly employee contribution was $1,424.

Annual limits for HSAs, however, were not affected by the new legislation.

Be aware that some restrictions will become effective more quickly. For example, as of January 1, 2011, FSA and HSA participants will no longer be able to spend the funds on over-the-counter medications unless a physician has prescribed them specifically. Also starting next year, non-qualified withdrawals from HSAs will be subject to a 20% penalty instead of the 10% penalty which is applied currently.

Jul 01
Love0

E-FILING FORM 5500? ADHERE TO THESE RULES

By Employment Resources

Starting January 2009, all Form 5500s are to be filed electronically using the Department of Labor’s newly implemented program, EFAST2. Here are some tips to remember to ensure that you fill this online form and file Form 5500 smoothly and without facing any hassle:

  1. Before filing using EFAST2, responsible parties should register at their website. Here they would identify the individual who would be completing the Form 5500 and all signing parties. Early registration is recommended.
  2. The five roles available upon registration are Filing Author, Filing Signer, Transmitter, Schedule Author, and Third Party Software Developer. It’s important that one understands their roles prior to registration as they cannot change them once the registration is complete.
  3. The Filing Author is the individual who completes this online form at EFAST2, and those who sign the Form 5500 should register as the Filing Signer.
  4. Each individual uses their personal credentials and these are not associated to the company. The process of registration assigns each user with a personal identification number and password.
  5. Either the Filing Author or a third party administrator can complete the Form 5500 online. This third party administrator should be certified to prepare the form and submit it for the company.
  6. According to the Internal Revenue Code, the plan sponsor, employer, or plan administrator is allowed to sign the filing. However instructions provided with Form 5500 states that forms that are not signed electronically by the plan administrator could be rejected and subjected to civil penalties under Title I of ERISA.
  7. Social Security information should not be added, as filings entered under the EFAST2 program will be posted on the Department of Labor website. Also if your plan is regarded as a defined benefit plan, certain details from the Form 5500 should be posted on your company’s intranet for employee viewing.
  8. For those filing extensions, a Form 5558 copy does not need to be attached to the Form 5500. Those who have already submitted a Form 5558 for the plan year would only need to check the right box on Line D. A hard copy of the Form 5558 must be maintained for the plan’s permanent record.
  9. Schedule SSA and E have been eliminated from the Form 5500. One needs to file the annual registration statement directly with the Internal Revenue Service.
  10. A hard copy of the Form 5500 must be kept with the permanent records of the plan, with all the necessary signatures.

These tips should help make the new e-filing process smoother for all to use. Remember to register early on the EFAST2 website, http://www.efast.dol.gov, before starting the application process to avoid unnecessary errors. And finally, be sure to read through the instructions and be aware of each person’s role in completing the Form 5500.

On a lighter note, it is funny to note that although this e-filing system was implemented to save paper, one still needs to maintain a paper hard copy.

Jul 01
Love0

COBRA ADMINISTRATION REQUIRES PROPER DELIVERY OF NOTICES

By Employment Resources

The COBRA continuation of coverage law requires that certain notices be furnished to employees and other qualified beneficiaries by the employer or plan administrator. Because the penalties for noncompliance with the COBRA notice requirements can be costly, following the requirements for furnishing — that is, delivering — the necessary notices is an important part of COBRA administration.

COBRA notices that the employer or plan administrator must furnish include:

  • The initial (or general) notice containing information about COBRA rights and responsibilities, which must be provided to the employee and spouse within 90 days of when the employee first becomes covered under the plan.
  • The election notice, which must be provided to qualified beneficiaries within 14 days of the administrator being notified of a COBRA-qualifying event.
  • The notice of unavailability of COBRA coverage, provided when the administrator receives notice of a qualifying event from an individual who is not eligible for continuation coverage.
  • The notice of termination of COBRA coverage, required when COBRA coverage terminates before the maximum COBRA continuation period.

In providing COBRA notices, the employer or administrator should “use measures reasonably calculated to ensure actual receipt” by the employee, spouse, or other qualified beneficiary. COBRA regulations recognize that notices might be furnished through a number of different methods, including mailing, hand-delivery, and electronic transmission. According to these regulations, a notice is considered furnished as of the date of mailing, if mailed by first class mail, certified mail, or express mail; as of the date of electronic transmission, if the notice is transmitted electronically; or upon receipt by the individual to whom a notice is directed, if the notice is hand-delivered.

In the case of the initial COBRA notice, which must be provided to both the employee and covered spouse, the regulations specify that a single notice may be provided, addressed to both the employee and spouse if, on the basis of the most recent information available to the employer, the employee and spouse reside at the same address. There is no separate notice requirement for dependent children who live with the employee or spouse who receives the notice.

Though the regulations permit the initial notice requirement to be satisfied by including COBRA information in a summary plan description (SPD), since spouses also are entitled to this notice, plans that include the COBRA notice in an SPD and then hand-deliver the SPD to the employee at work will not be considered to have fulfilled the initial notice requirement concerning the spouse. Similarly, delivery of a required notice to an employee’s work e-mail would not meet the requirements when notice also is required for a spouse.

Though the regulations offer several options for delivery of COBRA notices to the required parties, in practice, many employers have opted for delivery by first class mail. First class mail has the advantage of being a reliable method for delivery of items and an accepted business practice. If an employee or other intended recipient raised an improper notice challenge, the employer or administrator would need to prove that it furnished the notice through an acceptable delivery method, not that the employee actually received the notice. Thus, establishing processes for mailing notices and keeping records that such processes were followed are important. For example, obtaining a certificate of mailing (which provides evidence that an item has been presented to the Postal Service for mailing) would establish that the notice was, in fact, mailed. Note that a certificate of mailing differs from certified mail with a return receipt. The latter provides evidence of actual receipt by the addressee, which is not required to show compliance with COBRA notice requirements.

Ensuring correct delivery of the necessary notices, and establishing procedures that show COBRA notices are being furnished as required by law, can help avoid costly compliance challenges.

Jul 01
Love0

GET A GRIP ON SLIPS, TRIPS, AND FALLS

By Risk Management Bulletin

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) kill more than 21,000 Americans a year — more than from electrocution, drowning, and firearms incidents combined — at a cost of $60 billion to $80 billion (including medical bills, litigation, and insurance claims). They’re the leading cause of emergency room visits, nursing home admissions, and accidental deaths.

Across industries and across the years, STFs continue to be among the leading causes of workplace injury. According to OSHA, they account for the majority of general industry accidents (including back injuries, sprains and strains, contusions, and fractures) and 15% of all accidental deaths. The opportunities for workplace STFs are too numerous to mention. Slippery walking and working surfaces, leaks, debris left in walkways, uneven floors, protruding nails, bunched floor mats, and uneven step risers are among dozens of dangers your workers face.

Your employees know that falling is a hazard. However, knowledge alone isn’t enough to keep them on their feet. You need a program that identifies the problem, implements focused solutions, and monitors the results. To ensure that you’re doing all you should to keep your people on their feet, take these and other steps:

  • If you have wet or oily processes, maintain drainage and provide false floors, platforms, nonsolid mats, or other dry places where possible.
  • Use nonskid waxes and grit-coated surfaces in slippery areas.
  • Require slip-resistant footwear.
  • Clean up spills immediately.
  • Use smart housekeeping strategies, such as cleaning one side of a walkway at a time.
  • Provide floor plugs so that power cords don’t run across pathways.
  • Keep aisles and passageways clear at all times.
  • Reinstall or stretch carpets that bulge or have become bunched.
  • Provide good lighting for all halls and stairwells, especially at night.
  • Provide proper handrails and slip-resistant stair treads.
  • Train workers to use handrails, avoid undue speed, and maintain a clear view of the stairs ahead of them.

Focus on employee awareness and participation in your STF program. For example, BJF Healthcare (St. Louis, MO) started to see the benefits of its STF efforts once it found ways to get employees to become actively involved. To encourage participation, BJF ran a “Get a Grip on Your Slips” campaign during which employees called a hotline to report what they had don to prevent themselves or a co-worker from falling. By calling the hotline, employees automatically became eligible for a drawing for a prize. The company’s “Save Yourself a Trip” program motivated employees to come up with anti-trip and fall strategies and to share them with co-workers.

Jul 01
Love0

CONFINED SPACE SAFETY: A 1-2-3 APPROACH

By Risk Management Bulletin

There are nearly 5 million permit-required confined spaces in workplaces nationwide, plus another million “non-permit” spaces. Confined space accidents, which often result in injuries or fatalities, happen more often than you might think. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, these mishaps usually occur because workers encounter one or more of these potential hazards:

  • Lack of natural ventilation
  • Oxygen-deficient atmosphere
  • Flammable/explosive atmosphere
  • Unexpected release of hazardous energy
  • Limited entry and exit
  • Dangerous concentrations of air contaminants
  • Physical barriers or limitations to movement
  • Instability of stored products.

To prevent, or minimize accidents in confined spaces, we’d recommend a three-pronged safety program: Training, testing, and rescue preparedness.

1. Train
Training should emphasize recognizing what constitutes confined spaces, the potential hazards they pose, and the precautions that workers and managers must take to prevent accidents and injuries. Stressing that death is a likely outcome in confined space accidents usually makes trainees sit up and take notice.

2. Test
Testing, evaluation, and continuous monitoring are essential. More than half of confined space fatalities result from hazardous atmospheric conditions such as toxic vapors or lack of oxygen. NIOSH recommends that a qualified person test all confined spaces for oxygen level, flammability, and known or suspected toxic substances to determine whether the atmosphere is safe for entry.

3. Rescue
Make sure that trained, equipped, and experienced rescue personnel are available in case of emergency. A significant percentage of confined space fatalities and injuries involve would-be rescuers who rush in without proper training or equipment. NIOSH advises creating rescue procedures specific to the type of confined space and its hazards before rescuers enter the space.

Jul 01
Love0

THE SKINNY ON SUN EXPOSURE

By Risk Management Bulletin

Skin cancer accounts for more than half of the cancer cases in the nation each year. Exposure to the sun causes most of the more than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancers (such as the basal or squamous cell type), which usually develop on sun-exposed areas of the body: Face, ears, neck, lips, and the back of the hands.

If your employees work outdoors during the summer, they should beware of these symptoms:

  • Any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth
  • Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule;
  • The spread of pigmentation, such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
  • Change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain.

Training outdoor workers to limit their exposure to the sun can help them not only to prevent skin cancer but also protect them against sunburn, premature skin aging, and eye damage.

Make sure that your employees:

  • Avoid outdoor activities between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
  • Stay in the shade if they’re outside midday
  • Understand that because ultraviolet (UV) rays will penetrate clouds, it’ possible to get a bad sunburn even on a cloudy day
  • Know their risk factors for skin cancer such as a fair complexion, family history, multiple or atypical moles, and severe sunburns as a child.

If your workers must be outside during peak sunshine hours, have them use sunscreen and lip balm with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher, applied in generous amounts (about a palmful) several minutes before going outside, and reapplied every two hours – or after toweling dry or perspiring. They should also wear broad brimmed hats to protect their head, ears, and neck. Clothing should be dark colored, and made of tightly woven fabric treated with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating of 50 or higher. Workers can also wash sun protection into their clothes with an approved laundry additive that increases the protection and lasts through 20 washings.

Make sure that employees protect their eyes and the surrounding skin as well. They should wear sunglasses that provide 99% to 100% UV absorption and block both forms of UV radiation—UVA and UVB (pricier sunglasses or those with a darker tint don’t necessarily offer more UV protection). It’s wise to select wraparound glasses that offer side protection.

Jun 01
Love0

WILL YOUR CGL POLICY COVER YOUR LIABILITY FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S INJURY?

By Construction Insurance Bulletin

Two work crews building a new home are taking a break. One of the employees of the plumbing contractor and a carpenter get into a little verbal sparring. It starts out good-natured but turns heated, and the plumber picks up a metal nut and flips it in the other man’s direction. At that moment, the carpenter stands up directly in the nut’s path. It strikes him in the eye; the ensuing injury is so severe that he loses part of the sight in that eye. He sues the plumbing contractor and the employee who threw the object. Employer and employee both look for coverage and defense under the plumber’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy. Although the policy will likely cover the employer, coverage for the employee is not certain.

A CGL policy normally does not cover a person (an “insured”) for liability for injuries or damages “expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured.” If the insurance company concludes that the plumber’s employee either expected or intended to injure the carpenter with the thrown nut, it will not cover either his liability or defense costs. As R. Steven Rawls and Rebecca C. Appelbaum explained in a recent article, when courts have interpreted this policy language, they tend to agree on the meaning of the word “intended” but differ on the meaning of “expected.” Courts in various states have approached the meaning of “expected” in different ways.

  • Expected and intended mean the same thing. Some courts have ruled that the two words have the same meaning within the insurance policy’s context. If the plumber expected the carpenter to get hurt, he must have intended it, and vice versa.
  • What did the insured think was more likely to occur? A Texas court ruled that a result, such as an injury, is expected if the insured considered its occurrence to be more likely to happen than not to happen. The same court said that a finding that the insured intended an injury requires more proof than does a finding that an injury was expected.
  • If the insured committed a reckless act, does that automatically mean he expected an injury? Another Texas court did not believe so. It raised the possibility that someone, while aware of the risks of a particular action, might believe that the chances of something going wrong are low. An Indiana court also said that recklessness alone is not enough to prove that an insured expected an injury. However, an Illinois court said that some actions are so inherently dangerous (such as firing a gun) that the only possible conclusion is that the insured expected the injury.
  • Two-part tests. Some courts have used a two-part test to determine expectation. A Michigan court used a test that asked, first, did the insured foresee the injury that occurred? If not, was the likelihood of the injury so overwhelming and obvious as to make unbelievable the insured’s claim that he didn’t foresee it? A Delaware court said that, where the insured clearly did not intend to injure the other person and where he should not necessarily have known that an injury would occur, the policy would cover him.

Construction sites are dangerous places; injuries can occur either through horseplay or in the normal course of work. Contractors cannot emphasize too strongly to their employees the necessity of common sense and care on the job site. If an employee injures someone else on the site, his financial well-being could depend on a court deciding whether he should have expected the injury. That’s a chance no one should want to take.

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