Workers’ compensation insurance provides coverage for medical benefits and wage replacement when an employee is injured or killed on the job. When an injured employee accepts workers’ compensation payments, he or she legally gives up the right to sue the employer later for damages or negligence. This is commonly known as the compensation bargain, and it is meant to provide a compromise between the two sides. One of the problems solved by this bargain is employer insolvency. If employers did not have workers’ compensation insurance, they could lose their entire company to pay for damages awarded to an injured worker by the court. For this collective liability system to work, individual immunity is a necessity. It ensures the adequate compensation of injured parties.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently released a list of recommended practices to help employers avoid retaliation problems. OSHA’s goal was to help workers feel more comfortable in the workplace when discussing or reporting important safety issues. The recommendations are applicable for private and public sector workers, and they align with the existing whistle blower protection laws. These were a few key highlights from OSHA’s recommendations.
Recent research shows that length of employment is one of the most important variables in determining workers’ compensation claims. It ranks higher than age as a contributing factor. When there is an influx of new workers or when older workers return, there may be a greater loss-time frequency. This difference is especially significant as the economy continues recovering from the recession of the late 2000s. For workers who were spending their first month on the job, injury rates were as much as six times higher than average during that time period.
The United States Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service have combined their efforts to help various states share resources and information that will expose worker classification violations. Employers found to be in violation could face paying back taxes, back pay to workers, missed overtime, retroactive benefits, interest, fines, staff effort charges and legal fees. With situations where there are multiple violations or willful negative intent, the penalties and fines are worse. In addition to the money a violation
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Workplace violence is a major problem in the United States. People are hurt or killed every month by coworkers or patrons. While it is not as common of a problem as sexual harassment or discrimination, workplace violence is a preventable problem if certain measures are taken to keep workers safe. This article offers some tips on how to prevent workplace violence.
Although thought of as a low risk industry, employees within the retail sector experience a proportionally higher number of injury/illnesses and sustain a higher rate of overexertion related disabling disorders when compared to private industry in general, according to an analysis performed by the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH). Retail store owners need workers’ compensation insurance with the right coverage to protect not just their employees, but the business itself.
Standards for workers’ compensation insurance policies are set by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). The NCCI uses more than 700 codes for specific job descriptions to help determine insurance premiums. These codes are applied to information submitted about your business by your insurance agent. Regulations vary from state-to-state, so setting standards is anything but a simple process.
Understandably, the complex nature of the process causes many employers confusion and concern about their workers’ compensation policies. Therefore, understanding the basics of workers’ compensation plans and how your premiums are determined is important.
The Total Worker Health team from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health published a workbook that provides guidelines for employees, employers and related professionals for starting safety programs in the workplace. The workbook also helps readers learn the first steps toward improving the well-being of workers and employers. This workbook gives people the knowledge necessary to pinpoint and address factors that contribute to lost hours of work, health problems, workloads, employee interactions, stress levels and unhealthy environments in the workplace.
Employment background checks are not just for high-tech companies or executive level management anymore. A thorough background check should be performed to avoid making any assumptions about an employee’s history.
To help you get started, this article outlines some essentials of a complete background check.
Some employees are happy to take chances when it comes to safety. They take needless risks in an effort to save time or cut their work load. In reality, risk takers are subjecting themselves and others to hazards that could cause a serious injury.
Workers form bad habits when they repeatedly perform their jobs in an unsafe way and don’t get injured. They become convinced that because of their skills they are incapable of being hurt. It’s this attitude that usually ends up doing them in, because they take even more chances until eventually a serious accident does occur. Unfortunately, that one accident can turn out to be fatal.
