Tag Archives: prevention

Prevention of injuries and losses due to liability is the single-best way to lower insurance costs in the first place. Instead of buying cheaper, less protective premiums, manage your insurance costs first.

Claims Management, Construction Practice Group Content, Food & Beverage Practice Group Content, HR Challenges, Human Services Practice Group Content, Transportation Practice Group Content, Workers Compensation Insurance

When An Employee Refuses Medical Injury Treatment For Potential Workers Compensation Claim

Is your employee refusing medical injury treatment for a potential worker compensation claim? Based on the geographic location of your business, many state workers’ compensation statutes limit and mandate certain employer actions when a worker is injured. Depending on the state, there are specific timelines to follow and forms to complete. But what about when a worker injures themselves and refuses to accept treatment or file a claim? What are your responsibilities? While the exact legal answer depends on your situation and state laws, consider the following to limit your liability. Not sure click here.

When You Notice An Employee Injury

If you’ve notice that one of your employees has been injured, whether they have mentioned it or not, gently bring it up. Then, discuss the circumstances of the injury with the employee to determine whether the injury occurred when working. Many state workers’ compensation statutes obligate employers to report injuries as soon as they have knowledge of them. Delay in reporting the injury could result in a much larger claim & fines from the state. Completing the paperwork to report injuries is not an admission of your liability—on the contrary, it could protect you. This is where we see Employers are weakest, as they have no consistent systems in place. This could ultimately help them defend themselves in a workers compensation claim hearing.  

 

In the Case of An Employee’s  Refusal For Medical Treatment For A Potential Worker Compensation Claim

When discussing the injury with the employee, explain that reporting job-related injuries ensures injured workers to certain benefits. This is in action while recovering from the injury. This should have been in writing in your employee handbook as part of your policies and procedures. Further notifying your employees of their obligation to report timely. All potential workplace injuries should be part of your initial on-boarding process. If the employee refuses to file a claim for the injury, file the employer’s portion of the report with a statement of refusal to pursue a claim signed by the employee. It is crucial that you document this conversation to protect your organization from being penalized in the future. Typically we advocate separate reporting forms, one for the employee and one for the direct report supervisor. This serves a dual purpose of taking down details of the incident and as an accident investigation report. 

Employees that do initially report injuries but then refuse treatment under the physician or facility that your organization furnishes should sign a similar form confirming this refusal. The employer also has a right to state to the employee that the only way they could be allowed back at work is if they passed a medical clearance test. This test determines their physical capacity to perform the work. Self-diagnosis by an employee is rarely a good idea. 

Workers Compensation Benefits for Employees that Refuse Medical Treatment

State workers’ comp statutes vary, but in most cases, workers’ compensation benefits are suspended for employees that refuse to comply with any reasonable request for examination or refuse to accept medical service or physical rehabilitation which the employer elects to furnish. Benefits may not be payable for this period of refusal of treatment—check with your workers’ comp carrier. 

What Employers Can Do When An Employee Refuses Medical Treatment For A Workers Compensation Claim

It is important that you prepare for an eventual employee’s refusal to submit a claim or refusal to accept treatment for a workplace injury. All employers should have a legal representative draft a form for refusal of treatment that complies with state requirements so it is immediately available when needed. Discuss with supervisors the importance of documenting and reporting all injuries, whether or not the worker chooses to report them.

 

Workers compensation insurance is obligatory in most states. Contact a Risk Advisor at Metropolitan Risk by CLICKING HERE or call (914) 357-8444 for more information.

Other

New Sexual Harassment LawsPassed: Great for Employees, but What does it Mean for Employers?

Recently, a new bill was passed that will revolutionize sexual harassment laws in the state of New York. When it comes to sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, a few main changes have been made. First, there is a lower threshold to report a claim. In the past, an act had to be deemed “severe or pervasive” in order to merit legal action. Now, workers will be able to bring action upon more situations that affect them adversely. In addition, workers will now have more time to report a claim and can report a claim even if they didn’t follow the company policy exactly. 

 

After many years of hard work, legislators in New York are finally starting to reap some rewards when it comes to workplace harassment. This law is great news for employees as there has been a recent societal push to eliminate inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Now, workers will feel more comfortable at work and find it easier to report these occurrences. While this bill aids employees, it will probably hurt employers. The bill will likely result in more expenses for a company in the form of training, settlements, and attorney related costs. 

 

With more ease in reporting workplace harassment incidents, more claims will likely occur. This will result in more satisfied employees but also more costs incurred by companies and an increase in insurance premiums. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to understand these changes in the law and continue to push for a respectful, harassment-free workplace. Without adapting to this new ideal, businesses will lose large amounts of money as a result of the new bill. The passing of this bill is a huge step for New York in terms of a better workplace, but it is also a caution for companies to buckle down on inappropriate workplace behavior or face the consequences. 

 

Make sure your team and company are aware of the new sexual harassment laws and contact one of our RISK ADVISORS today or call 914.357.8444.

Construction Practice Group Content, Food & Beverage Practice Group Content, HR Challenges, Human Services Practice Group Content, Other, Risk Transfer, Transportation Practice Group Content

New Bill To Broaden Workplace Harassment Puts Business At Greater Risk

N.Y. State lawmakers are working towards stricter standards on workplace harassment. Under today’s guidelines, judges have determined “pulling a bra strap” or “suggesting a woman gets breast implants” doesn’t qualify as workplace harassment. The proposed revisions to the law suggest any discriminatory conduct that is more than petty or slight inconvenience is harassment.   

If this law passes, Gary Friedman, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, said the proposed changes may result in more claims going to trial. “This is going to force employers to raise the level of awareness within their current workplace environments. Further, it’s going to force them to police their culture and work environment more carefully and diligently,” Mr. Freeman said in an interview.

New York City already enforces stricter workplace harassment laws, than the rest of the state. This new bill would change the existing standards to make the policies less precise and more context-specific, state-wide, and would eliminate an employers’ ability to use Faragher-Ellerth Defense. The defense allows employers to avoid being held liable if a complaining employee doesn’t follow set harassment policies set forth in their companies employee handbook. These stricter harassment guidelines throughout New York state should encourage you to look at your own workplace harassment program.

**UPDATE 6/20/2019**

The New Sexual Harassment bills have passed and the bar has been lowered for what sexual harassment is.  This is a great opportunity for employees who feel like their accounts have gone unheard, but what about the employers? 

Employers now have to brace themselves for the upcoming challenges of ensuring their sexual harassment policies are up to date and brace themselves for more cases going to trial. Under the previous laws, judges were able to quickly dismiss harassment claims because the claim did not fall into the “ Severe or pervasive” category of sexual harassment. 

These new bills make it difficult for employers to avoid liability for their employees’ behaviors. They also expand the interval to file complaints about workplace harassment with a state agency. This also ensures that anti-harassment training will be provided in multiple languages.

Employers should arm themselves with a strong sexual harassment policy and supplemental EPLI Insurance which most small to mid-sized businesses overlook. Employers Protective Liability Insurance is also known as EPLI Insurance. With information being ubiquitous, word travels fast. The real hidden utility of EPLI Insurance is the fact that it will pay for your companies defense. It’s easy and free for employees to bring suit against your company. Conversely, the expense to defend your organization starts at six figures. EPLI insurance can help offset that cost as well as pay for the settlement in some cases. These policies call a fraction of what it costs for defense. As your company grows so does the probability of an EPLI lawsuit. CLICK HERE for more information on EPLI Insurance.

 

We offer tools to our Metropolitan Risk Clients, to help create the best training program for you and your employees. Click here to learn more about our harassment training courses.

Make sure your team and company are aware of this new law and contact one of our RISK ADVISORS today or call 914.357.8444.

HR Challenges, Other

Is Sexual Harassment Prevention Policies Mandatory In Any Workplace?

In May of 2018 the City of New York enacted the Stop Sexual Harassment in New York City Act (NYC-SSHA), implementing sexual harassment prevention policies in the workplace. In addition, New York State established their new statewide employer requirement related to workplace sexual harassment in it’s 2019 budget law created April 2018.

Here’s the skinny:

FOR Companies in NYC: 

Effective date Law Affected employers New Provision
April 12, 2018 State All employers in the state of New York •   Subject to sexual harassment claims by nonemployees (previously, only employees could file these claims against an employer).
 

 

 

May 9, 2018

  

 

 

 

 

Local

 Employers with 1-3 employees in NYC •   Subject to gender-based harassment claims (previously, these claims were allowed only against employers with four or more employees in NYC).
 

All NYC employers

 •   Subject to gender-based harassment claims for up to three years after alleged harassing conduct occurs (previously, these claims could be filed for only one year after the alleged harassing conduct).
 

July 8, 2018

 NYC contractors and subcontractors •   Must include their practices, policies and procedures relating to preventing and addressing sexual harassment as part of a report required for certain contracts.
 

 

July 11, 2018

  

 

State

  

 

All employers in the state of New York

 •   Prohibited from including nondisclosure requirements within any settlement or other agreement to resolve a sexual harassment claim, unless the complainant prefers to include one.

•   Prohibited from including mandatory arbitration requirements for sexual harassment claims within any written contract.
 

Sept. 6, 2018

  

Local

  

All NYC employers

 •   Must display a workplace poster about sexual harassment.

•   Must provide a fact sheet about sexual harassment to new hires.
 

 

 

Oct. 9, 2018

  

 

 

State

  

 

 

All employers in the state of New York

 •   Possess a written sexual harassment policy.

•   Distribute the written policy to all employees.

•   Present annual, interactive sexual harassment training to all employees.

•   The policy and program must meet minimum standards provided under models to be established by the New York State Department  of Labor and the New York State Human Rights Division.
 

 

 

April 1, 2019

  

 

 

Local

  

 

Employers with 15 or more employees in NYC

 •   Provide annual, interactive sexual harassment training after 90 days of initial hire to all employees (including interns) who work more than 80 hours in a calendar year.

•   Maintain a record of all trainings for at least three years.

•   May establish own training program that meets minimum legal requirements or use an online interactive training module to be established by the NYC Commission on Human Rights (NYC-CHR).

 

For Companies who have at least (1) New York Employee:

Effective July 11, 2018, the amendments prohibit employers from including any:

  • Nondisclosure requirements within any settlement or other agreement to resolve a sexual harassment claim, unless the complainant prefers to include one; or
  • Mandatory arbitration requirements for sexual harassment claims within any written contract.

Effective Oct. 9, 2018, the amendments require every employer in the state to:

  • Adopt a written sexual harassment prevention policy
  • Distribute the written policy to employees; and deploy a poster in a high trafficked area.
  • By October 9th , 2019 Conduct annual sexual harassment prevention training consistent with Dept of Labor Guidelines for employees annually.
  • Train new employees as soon as practical.

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU ARE A METROPOLITAN RISK CLIENT WE WILL PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMIZABLE TRAINING TOOL FOR YOU & YOUR EMPLOYEES.

CLICK HERE for Additional Information on our Learn Pro Training System.

The amendments also include additional new requirements for employers that submit bids to the state or to any of its departments or agencies. Within each bid submitted on or after Jan. 1, 2019, these employers must certify that they are in compliance with the law’s new written policy and annual training requirements.

 

 

 

Make sure your team and company are aware of this new law and contact one of our RISK ADVISORS today.

 

 

Claims Management, Construction Practice Group Content, Loss Control, OSHA, Workers Compensation Insurance

The Importance of a Work Site Accident Witness

The Importance of Worksite Accident Witnesses

Finding a witness to a worksite accident resulting in injury or property harm is of the utmost importance to contractors. A worksite accident witness is an integral component for the defense. They can discern the chain of events such as where the worker was and what they were doing or what they were working on the moment prior to the accident.

Work-site injury procedures and steps to finding a witness: take police, fire, and EMS statements and records AND:

  • Talk to the staff and acquire names and contact info of potential witnesses who could have been at the scene.
  • Ask for a complete list of all the workers on the project.
  • Look at certified payroll documents and lists of persons working on the day of the accident on CCIP- Contractor Controlled Insurance Program
  • Observe the scene at the same time the incident happened. In addition, observe mailmen or delivery men who may be a witness to the case. Look at the scene at the same time the incident happened.

Find people who can give detailed information about the project, interaction between workers, and behavior of the general contractor to piece the clues together to present to a judge and jury.

A worksite incident form should have a section dedicated to identifying the witness and relaying their account of the accident. Next, statements from a witness should be taken as soon after the incident as possible.  The sooner you can locate a worksite accident witness, the better for all parties involved.  The clearer their memory, the more details they will be able to share regarding the incident.

Still want more info? If you would like to take a deeper dive into this issue or perhaps require assistance developing a worksite incident/day of loss reporting protocol including witness statements, contact a Risk Advisor today by Clicking Here.

Construction Practice Group Content, Food & Beverage Practice Group Content, General Liability Insurance, Human Services Practice Group Content, Loss Control, OSHA, Risk Management, Transportation Practice Group Content, Workers Compensation Insurance

How Do You Know if an Incident Must be Recorded on Your OSHA 300 Log?

9/19/14 UPDATE: [OSHA has issued a final rule requiring employers to notify OSHA when an employee suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye. Under the revised severe injury rule, employers will be required to notify OSHA of work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or losses of an eye within 24 hours. Previously, OSHA’s regulations required an employer to report only work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees. Reporting single hospitalizations, amputations, or lose of an eye was not required under the previous rule. The new rule, which also updates the list of employers partially exempt from OSHA record-keeping requirements, will go into effect on January 1, 2015 for workplaces under federal OSHA jurisdiction. The new rule maintains the exemption for any employer with 10 or fewer employees, regardless of their industry classification, from the requirement to routinely keep records of worker injuries and illnesses.]

————————

This is a question we get all the time. So we figured it was time for a blog post.

Employers are sometimes confused by the differences in what they need to report to their workers’ compensation carrier and what they need to record on their OSHA 300 log.

At Met Risk we recommend to our clients that you submit a First Report of Injury to us even if the employee needed only minor treatment. Having this “Incident Only” report will be helpful if the employee reports symptoms or needs treatment later on. Our Claims Advocates will also let you know if you need to report it to your workers compensation carrier or not.

However that does not mean everything needs to be recorded in your OSHA 300 log.

Continue reading How Do You Know if an Incident Must be Recorded on Your OSHA 300 Log? →