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robintek

Mar 01
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ENSURE YOUR WORKERS’ SAFETY IN THE TRENCHES

By Workplace Safety

There’s no question that working in the trenches can be a bit risky at times. However, every excavation jobsite doesn’t have to be a danger zone. With the proper safety guidelines in place, you can ensure that your workers remain secure and enjoy a safe working environment.

Make the rules crystal clear

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) offers explicit rules for excavation work. If you follow these regulations to the tee and enforce the rules with your employees constantly, you’ll be confident that your workers will stay safe in the trenches:

  • Before allowing workers to enter the trenches, you must clear all surface hazards and move the spoil pile back two feet.
  • Locate and protect, support, or remove all underground utilities and other hazards before workers enter the trench.
  • Provide a safe means of entry and exit from excavations that are more than four feet deep.
  • If you suspect hazardous atmospheres might exist in the site, you must test for these conditions. If hazardous atmospheres are detected, you should eliminate them before workers enter the trench.
  • If your team is working in an excavation site more than four feet deep with the potential for hazardous conditions, you must provide emergency rescue equipment. Depending on the particular jobsite, this emergency equipment might include a breathing apparatus, a safety harness and line, and a basket stretcher.
  • Provide adequate protection for workers in a trench where water could accumulate or where loose rocks or soil could fall or roll from the excavation face.
  • Your workers must be trained to know when to leave an excavation and how to respond to an emergency.
  • Employees must know how to properly use all provided equipment and protective gear.
  • All workers must maintain safe work practices at all times.
  • Employees should be trained to immediately report unsafe conditions to their supervisor.

Designate a safety leader

OSHA also recommends that employers designate a “competent person,” who can continually enforce safety rules. This competent leader should be responsible for:

  • Daily inspection of the trench, nearby areas and protective systems. The worker should look for any evidence of potential cave-ins, protective system failures or any other hazardous conditions.
  • Inspection of the excavation site after every rainstorm or other occurrence that could increase the odds of a hazardous situation.
  • Immediate removal of workers from the trench if any hazardous conditions exist.
  • Provide safe walkways where workers can cross over the excavation.
  • Protect workers from potential cave-ins by providing a protective system designed in accordance with OSHA regulations. This might include support, sloping and benching or shield systems.

Without the proper safety procedures in place, an excavation site can easily become a death trap for workers. Protect your workers with a comprehensive set of safety regulations. You should also train your workers on these safety protocols and constantly reinforce these regulations. Although it might require some extra time and effort on your part, a strict safety system will definitely pay off for you and your workers.

Mar 01
Love0

EMPLOY BETTER HOUSEKEEPING TO DANGER-PROOF YOUR WORKPLACE

By Workplace Safety

Oftentimes the smallest hazards can be the most dangerous ones in the workplace. From slippery floors and loose boards to protruding nails and cluttered walkways, there might be potential threats everywhere you turn at your office or jobsite. However, if you follow a few simple guidelines, you can easily remove these dangers and keep your workplace safe for your employees.

Disorderly = Dangerous

A cluttered and untidy workplace can lead to countless employee injuries and illnesses. For example, employees can slip on wet or poorly maintained floors, trip over boxes and other clutter in hallways, or bang their head on overhanging objects or badly stacked pallets. An unkempt workplace can also result in employees having a negative attitude toward safety in general. After all, if their employer doesn’t seem to care about safety, why should they?

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), “All places of employment, passageways, storerooms, and service rooms shall be kept clean and orderly and in a sanitary condition.” As the employer, you are responsible for ensuring that the floors in your workplace are safe, tripping hazards are removed from walkways, and any other threats, such as nails, splinters, holes or loose boards, are repaired.

A clean workplace is a safe one

To make your workplace safer and your employees happier, follow these general good housekeeping tips:

  • Make common housekeeping tasks part of every employee’s job. Everyone should pitch in to ensure a safe workplace.
  • Always keep walkways clear of boxes, debris, tools and equipment.
  • Ensure that all pallets are stacked properly.
  • Remove any hazardous overhanging or protruding objects, especially in walkways and common work areas.
  • Thoroughly check the workplace for any tripping hazards, including slippery floors, badly placed rugs, damaged carpet, holes and loose boards. Remove or repair these dangers immediately.
  • Ensure that no aisles or exits are blocked with boxes, equipment or other obstructions.
  • Keep floors well-maintained and clean. Always place “wet floor” signs on recently mopped floors.

In addition to these general housekeeping tips, you should also educate your employees about fire prevention. Ensure that your staff is aware of the following fire safety facts:

  • An over-crowded storage area can cause a fire to spread more rapidly and can also block the spray from fire extinguishers or water sprinklers, making a fire more difficult to extinguish.
  • Blocked aisles can also contribute to the spread of fire and can prevent fire fighters from reaching and extinguishing the blaze.
  • Fire extinguishers and other fire-fighting equipment should never be blocked.
  • Never obstruct heating equipment, vents, lighting and electrical equipment.
  • Workplace fires are often caused by oil or debris that has collected in corners or other areas. That’s why it’s important to keep even rarely used areas clean and clear of clutter.

If you follow these simple good housekeeping steps and educate your employees about fire and safety hazards, you’ll be well on your way to a safer workplace. Not only will workplace accidents be much less likely, but your employees will be happier and more comfortable on the job.

Mar 01
Love0

STUDY REVEALS THE RIGHT APPROACH TO SUCCESSFUL ACCOUNT-BASED HEALTH PLANS

By Employment Resources

Account-Based Health Plans (ABHPs) have been a key part of the movement toward health care consumerism. ABHPs generally consist of a high deductible health plan coupled with some form of savings account, such as a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). In theory, ABHPs have the potential to lower individual and corporate health care costs by raising consumer awareness of cost — through measures such as the high upfront deductible — and by providing incentives, through the savings account accumulation, to choose the most cost-effective, quality care and forego unnecessary care.

However, not all employers that implement these plans see the expected drop in cost, nor the plan participation they envisioned. A study from Towers Perrin analyzes the factors in account-based plan strategy, design, implementation and management that characterize successful plans. High-performing programs, the study found, have the right approach to implementation, delivery and employee engagement.

One of its “most striking findings,” according to the study, is the critical role that comfort with financial risk plays in employees’ acceptance of and engagement with account-based plans. Thus, helping employees gain confidence in their ability to manage financial risk, in order to enable them to embrace the responsibilities necessary for a good account-based plan experience, is a key indicator of program success. ABHP participants who said they felt comfortable with the level of financial risk their plan exposed them to were more likely than those who were not comfortable with risk to:

  • Assess their plan experience as good (88% vs. 29%)
  • Say they understood how their health benefits program works (86% vs. 41%)
  • Say they thought they could affect their own and their employers’ health care costs (73% vs. 50%)
  • Find it appropriate that they pay a share of health care cost increases (71% vs. 40%)
  • Agree that they should pay a larger share of the cost if they use more expensive health care (61% vs. 30%)

The study stresses that employers are capable of increasing employees’ comfort with risk, with benefits communications being the critical element to accomplishing this.

Another characteristic of successful programs was their ability to build a new mindset, both for employees and employers, around health and long-term commitment to the program. According to the study, both employees and their employers need to build a new mindset in order for ABHPs to reach their full potential. For example, the study found that participants in account-based plans were less satisfied than participants in traditional plans with various aspects of their health plans. However, the study states that employee dissatisfaction appeared to be based more on perception than on a realistic comparison of plan features and benefits, indicating that the account-based plan participants were thinking of their health plan in a one-year cycle — like traditional plans run — rather than in terms of the long-term benefits of an account-based plan.

According to the study, successful programs also were able to create an organizational culture in which employees trust management and believe that the company cares about employees’ well-being, and to use strategic change management initiatives, ongoing communications and visible leadership to build trust and a healthy work environment.

In sum, companies that assessed employee readiness for change, communicated honestly and consistently about the account-based plan program, and launched the program within a structured change management strategy achieved better success with their ABHPs than companies that focused on isolated plan elements or applied traditional communication techniques. Thus, companies must recognize that account-based plans are, for employees, an entirely new way to think about health care, and approach implementation strategy and communications accordingly.

Mar 01
Love0

HEALTH CARE FSA DISTRIBUTIONS CAN BE REQUESTED BY EMPLOYEES CALLED TO MILITARY DUTY

By Employment Resources

Employers may amend Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans to permit reservist employees called to active duty to request distributions from their accounts. Qualified reservist distributions (QRDs), as these disbursements of health care FSA funds are called, were created by the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Act of 2008, and guidance for QRD administration can be found in Internal Revenue Service Notice 2008-82. They are an exception to the general rule that health care FSA distributions can only be made for substantiated medical expenses.

An employee who is called to active duty for a period of 180 days or more, or for an indefinite period, may request a QRD (so long as the plan provides for it, as described below). The request may be for all or a portion of the balance in the employee’s FSA. The employee must make the request no earlier than the date of the order or call to active duty and no later than the last day of the plan year (or grace period if the plan uses one) during which the order or call to duty occurred.

The Notice specifies that QRDs are optional with an employer, meaning that an employer can choose whether or not to amend its cafeteria plan to permit them. However, if QRDs are to be permitted, a plan amendment is required, and a QRD may not be made until the plan is amended. However, Notice 2008-82 does provide a transition rule for QRDs made before January 1, 2010. This rule enables plans to be amended retroactively to permit QRDs requested on or before December 31, 2009, so long as the QRD satisfies the other requirements and the retroactive amendment is made by December 31, 2009.

The plan amendment should specify how the FSA balance of the employee requesting a QRD is determined. This could be the amount of the annual election minus disbursements to date; the amount actually contributed minus disbursements to date; or some other amount (but not to exceed the annual election minus disbursements). If the plan amendment does not specify this, the amount available for the QRD will be contributions minus disbursements. The requested distribution must be paid within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days after the request has been made. The QRD amount will be included in the reservist’s gross income in the year paid, and must be reported on the employee’s W-2.

The plan amendment also can specify a process for employees to request a QRD, including how many requests may be made by an employee during the same plan year and whether the employee may continue to submit FSA claims after the date the QRD is requested.

The effective date of the law creating QRDs was June 18, 2008; thus, a QRD can only be made with respect to FSA balances in effect on or after that date. Also, QRDs cannot be made from non-health FSAs, such as dependent care spending accounts.

Mar 01
Love0

FUTURE HEALTH PROBLEMS ARE BRED BY YOUNG EMPLOYEES’ LIFESTYLE CHOICES

By Employment Resources

Most of us probably associate high health care costs with older employees. Although it’s true that many health problems — especially certain chronic conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes — tend to surface as an employee ages, the roots of such health issues frequently are sown at a young age. A survey from employee assistance program provider ComPsych finds that employees in their 50s and 60s had an overall healthier lifestyle than their co-workers in their 30s, indicating that wellness initiatives should in some fashion target these younger workers to help them avoid significant health problems down the road.
On several measures of healthy lifestyle, the older workers in the ComPsych study scored better than the younger workers:

  • Healthy diets: 52% of workers in their 60s ate healthy diets, compared with 18% of employees in their 30s.
  • Exercise: 27% of employees in their 50s exercised more than four days a week, compared with 20% of those in their 30s.
  • Outlook on life: 83% of workers in their 60s reported a very positive outlook on life, compared with less than half (46%) of workers in their 30s.
  • Stress: Less than a third (30%) of employees in their 60s said they had high stress levels, while almost two-thirds (65%) of those in their 30s reported high levels of stress.

Where employees are in their lives at these ages can partly explain these differences, according to ComPsych. Employees in their 30s are more likely to be in the midst of raising a family, which can add financial and time pressures that manifest themselves in more sedentary lifestyles, less healthy food choices and other negative, unhealthy behaviors. Since most people do follow the circle of life that places them squarely within such pressures during their 30s, employers should devote some attention to directing these employees to resources that can help them more effectively deal with this exciting but difficult time.

There are several ways to do this. Most companies’ health plans today include some types of wellness programs. Since younger workers are more receptive to new types of technology, make sure your wellness program communications include Web-based information, lifestyle quizzes, presentations, etc. Instead of simply communicating wellness program resources on paper, consider a CD or DVD presentation. When communicating on paper, use concise text and lots of graphics, so that materials aren’t tossed away as too time-consuming to read.

Use the same techniques for communicating the availability of the employee assistance program (EAP) and its resources. The stressors facing employees in their 30s can be abundant, with parenting young children, possibly dealing with aging parents, managing mortgage and credit card debt, etc. Stress can have a direct negative affect on one’s health. The often-overlooked EAP might be available to provide referrals for counseling for managing stress, as well as for financial issues. As with wellness programs, communicate the EAP through various media, including ways that target young, tech-savvy employees.

Your young employees might not be running up large medical bills today, but this will change as they age unless they begin to make the kinds of lifestyle decisions that bode for good health into their midlife and later years. Persuade them to tap into resources that can help them make healthy lifestyle changes sooner, rather than later. Contact us. Our specialists are eager to discuss these and other ideas for broadening the scope of your benefits offerings.

Mar 01
Love0

HOW SECURE ARE YOUR PEDS?

By Risk Management Bulletin

Thousands of businesses are storing terabytes of confidential business and personal information on personal electronic devices (PEDs), such as laptops, PDAs, removable disk drives, flash memory cards, etc. — leading to a spate of highly publicized security breaches involving the loss or theft of equipment containing customer records, Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers, and more. Could your organization be next?

Both federal legislation (such as the ADA, FMLA, and HIPAA) and a variety of state laws require companies to keep customer and client information confidential and to report the disclosure or theft of this data. To protect themselves against liability for such leaks and to manage the risk, more and more businesses are tailoring security policies for their personal electronic devices (PEDs).

Such a policy should:

  • Require encryption of all data on PEDs that carry confidential records.
  • Implement pass phrases containing letters, numbers, and symbols — and change them frequently.
  • Secure wireless networks with firewalls and passwords.
  • Create a two-step authentication process when using a PED for remote access.
  • Use a cable lock for laptops and place them and other PEDs in locked storage when not in use.
  • Have a “time-out” function for mobile devices that requires user re-authentication after 10 minutes of inactivity.
  • When feasible, require that the PED be marked as company property.
  • Have your IT department record the model number and serial number of all PEDs and store digital photographs of each device.
  • Create an automatic login to access to the PED and its confidential data.
  • Allow copying or extracting access only with two-factor authentication.

Our risk management professionals stand ready to offer you advice on creating a PED security policy. Just e-mail or call us.

Mar 01
Love0

DON’T LET DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COME TO WORK

By Risk Management Bulletin

Thousands of workers are being abused at home — and all too often, this abuse spills over into the workplace. According to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, there are 30,000 to 40,000 incidents of on-the-job violence in which the victims knew their attackers intimately. More than seven in ten (71%) of human resources and security personnel surveyed have seen an incident of domestic violence on company property.

A violent episode at work can easily endanger co-workers, as well as the victim. What’s more, female workers who are abused at home have higher rates of absenteeism, drug abuse, and depression that increase Health insurance costs and lower productivity — costing businesses more than $4.5 billion a year.

Federal and state law requires employers to provide a safe workplace for all employees. Failure to act on the knowledge that an incident of domestic violence could threaten workers on the job places a huge potential liability on your company.

In deciding whether an employee might be a victim might be a victim of domestic violence, beware if the worker:

  • Has unexplained bruises that don’t seem to fit their injuries
  • Wears inappropriate clothing that might be covering up injuries
  • Seems distracted at work
  • Has a high rate of absenteeism
  • Appears anxious, upset, or depressed
  • Receives repeated, upsetting telephone calls during the work shift

If you notice any of these signs, talk to your employee privately, telling them what signs you noticed and expressing concern about possible abuse. Be supportive and keep this information confidential, except for individuals who need to know, such as security personnel. Offer company and community support and be flexible with the employee’s working arrangements.

According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund, supervisors are usually the first people to become aware of an employee who might be a domestic violence victim. The fund recommends that supervisors refer potential victims to your company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or a community domestic violence program. The National Domestic Violence Hotline number is (800) 799-SAFE (7233).

Mar 01
Love0

WORKERS COMP: HANG TOUGH IN A TOUGH ECONOMY

By Risk Management Bulletin

With the stock market tanking, layoffs skyrocketing, and businesses cutting back, here are seven recommendations to help keep your Workers Compensation premiums under control until the tide turns:

  1. Because layoffs and less work might mean you have vehicles that are out of service, see if you can adjust the premium or get a credit.
  2. If your actual payroll and revenue are less than the “expected premium” on your Comp policy, try to get your audit as soon as possible. Schedule it now to take place right after policy expiration.
  3. Remember that lower industry payrolls will impact modifier calculations for your state and class codes. And don’t forget that lower worked hours can affect your OSHA Incident rates. Because it might take a year or so for things to equal out in the “numbers” at the NCCI and Department of Labor, plan for changes.
  4. Bear in mind that less work will mean fewer total Comp claims. This is already occurring in medical-only claims. As their caseload has decreased, attorneys for injured employees are getting more aggressive and working harder on smaller claims. Also, less work could lead to be an eventual increase in fraudulent claims.
  5. Make sure your insurance carrier understands that there’s less work for you to put injured employees back to work or on light duty.
  6. Be on the lookout for changes in the policies of your independent contractors, subcontractors, and other business partners. They might change insurers and coverages to lower their own costs. Be sure to secure insurance certificates and additional insured endorsements from them. Find out what changes, if any, need your attention and action.
  7. Watch for cutbacks on safety. Already in tight times, safety and risk management personnel may be some of the first to go.

As risk management professionals, we’d be happy to provide a complimentary review of your Workers Comp program — as well as your other coverages. Feel free to get in touch with us at any time.

Feb 01
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NLRB GUIDELINES ON WITHDRAWING RECOGNITION BASED ON LOSS OF MAJORITY SUPPORT

By Your Employee Matters

The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued an updated guideline memorandum addressing when an employer may legally withdraw recognition from an incumbent union.

Background: In 2001, the NLRB issued its opinion in Levitz Furniture Co. of the Pacific, holding that an employer may withdraw recognition from a union where it can prove that the union has lost majority support from the employees in the bargaining unit. The NLRB General Counsel then issued a guidance memorandum on the processing of unfair labor practice (ULP) charges, alleging that the employer withdrew recognition unlawfully. After Levitz and the original General Counsel memorandum, other cases have explored the standard of proof that employers must meet in order to establish a loss of majority support. The newly issued General Counsel’s memorandum standardizes the approach set forth in these cases.

The General Counsel’s Guidelines: The General Counsel first confirmed its longstanding policy that ULP charges will be dismissed “when the General Counsel has sufficient objective evidence that the Union has lost majority support.” It went on to state that “objective evidence sufficient to demonstrate actual loss must be specific enough to show that a numerical majority of the unit no longer supports the union.” Examples of such objective evidence include a petition, a poll, or individual statements from unit employees; however, the General Counsel cautions that what constitutes sufficient evidence depends on the circumstances of the particular case. The General Counsel acknowledged that under certain circumstances, hearsay (i.e. not firsthand) evidence regarding the loss of support may be sufficient. Regional Offices are also directed to consider any allegations that the loss of support is tainted by improper employer conduct or whether there is countervailing evidence showing a continuation of majority support for the union.

The General Counsel noted that the wording of employee petitions is important. An employee petition entitled “showing of interest for decertification” was insufficient to establish actual loss of majority status, where evidence showed that many employees signed the petition in order to secure an election. On the other hand, a petition entitled “we, the undersigned, no longer wish to be represented by the union” was sufficient to establish loss of majority support.

Lessons Learned. To ensure that withdrawal of union recognition is deemed valid, employers should rely only on specific, numerically based evidence, such as petitions, polls, or individual written statements from employees. The employer should also confirm that the language contained or involved in such documents clearly sets forth the lack of support for the union.

Courtesy Worklaw® attorneys Shawe and Rosenthal

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