Workers compensation administration

Individual state workers compensation act Whether the safety and health professional possesses a direct or indirect responsibility for workers compensation claims, it is imperative that an expert-level knowledge of the applicable workers compensation laws and regulations for each state in which employees are working be acquired and maintained. Additionally, safety and health professionals should possess a thorough knowledge of all aspects of the workers compensation administration and management. 

In other words, in competitive markets, where firms are looking for skilled labor and seeking optimal HRM policies (policies that minimize the sum of the accident costs, as discussed in Chapter 1), the workers compensation administrator s role should be minimal. Administrators... 

One common responsibility of safety professionals that can create conflict in unionized as well as nonunion operations is that of workers compensation administration. In theory, the management of the safety and health function in most operations is a proactive activity, e.g., prevention of injuries and illnesses. Workers compensation administration is a reactive activity resulting from the injury or illness already having taken place and the monetary compensation for the injury or illness. Although the safety function and the workers compensation are linear in nature, resulting from a cause and effect, these functions are substantially different and can create opposition and conflict in both unionized and nonunion operations when both functions are managed by a safety professional. 

With the aging American workforce, safety professionals should be cognizant of the various laws that impact retirement, insurance, protection of medical information, and related areas. Safety professionals often encounter issues that are impacted by these laws and, in many cases, have direct responsibility for such areas as state workers compensation administration, management of medical records, and management of health insurance programs. 

The company incurred 50 eye injuries in FY 1996 with a workers compensation cost of 200,000. The frequency of eye injuries escalated in FY 1997 to 85 injuries at an estimated cost of 400,000. Additionally, the 6 percent increase in workers compensation benefits passed by the legislature in FY 1997 takes effect in January 1998, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require this program. 

Improved business and cost savings including reduced workers compensation praniums, reduced administrative and human resources burden associated with filing injury and illness reports, managing workers compensation cases and training new employees. The companies also experienced improved efficiency in operations and material use, and improved productivity. They were able to leverage their limited health and safety resources. 

Some 121 firms completed the survey forms, for a sample response rate of 53 percent. The survey consists of 11 sections, covering the general safety record of the company, company and employee characteristics, management culture, human resource practices, safety practices, and safety consultation programs provided by the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) consultation unit. Table 2.1 summarizes the question items included in the 22-page survey. These 121 firms have matched with about 5,125 workers compensation indemnity claims for the years 1990 through 1998— that is, the claims were filed by workers of those 121 firms. Federal employer identification numbers were only available for about 10 percent of fire sample and have proven to be unreliable for matching. Hence, we used the name of... 

Data for the CFOl are compiled from various federal, state, and local administrative sources, including death certificates, workers compensation reports and claims, reports to various regulatory agencies, medical examiner reports, police reports, and news reports. Source documents are matched so that each fatality is counted only once. To ensure that a fatality occurred while at work, all information is verified from two or more independent source documents or from a source document and a follow-up questionnaire. Approximately 30 data elements are collected, coded, and tabulated, including information about the worker, the fatal incident, and the machinery or equipment involved. This database does not give any descriptions of the accidents (types or causes). 

Every state in the United States has a workers compensation system. There may be variations in the amounts of benefits, the rules, administration, etc., from state to state. In most states, workers compensation is the exclusive remedy for on-the-job injuries and illnesses. 

Administration of the workers compensation system in each state is normally assigned to a commission or board. The commission or board generally oversees an administrative agency located within state government that manages the workers compensation program within the state. 

The workers compensation commission or board in each state normally develops administrative rules and regulations for the administration of workers compensation claims in the state. 

Most state workers compensation systems possess some type of administrative hearing and appeal process. ... 

The smelta has met its internal environmental objectives. Ambient lead levels in the smelter have decreased from an average of 0.45 mg/m to 0.27 mg/m. The reduced ambient lead levels, combined with a comprehensive Health Protection Plan (HPP), has reduced biological leads in smelter woricers from an average of 42 pg/dL in 1990 to 29 pg/dL in 1999. The HPP includes process, oigineering, administrative, and housekeq>ing controls. The HPP was jointly developed with input from management, the union and the Workers Compensation Board. 

An obsolete ANSI standard that defined how eompanies conld record and track injuries and illnesses prior to the Occnpational Safety and Health Administration (OSH A) regnlations. This document defined terms like Permanent Total Disability, Permanent Partial Disability, and Temporary Total Disability that are used throughout safety and workers compensation literature. 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), repetitive strain injuries are the most common and costly occupational health problem, affecting hundreds of thousands of American workers, and costing more than 20 billion a year in workers compensation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly two-thirds of aU occupational illnesses reported were caused by exposure to repeated trauma to workers upper body (the wrist, elbow, or shoulder). One common example of such an injury is carpal tunnel syndrome. Replacement Air... 

Social Security Administration. These benefits may be rednced by workers compensation payments in some states. 

A quasi-judicial system where employers have a statutory obligation to pay medical expenses, disability, and other benefits for work-related injuries or illness. Administrative aspects and extent of coverage of workers compensation laws vary from state to state. 

Because of the estimating procedure the National Safety Council statistics may undercount U.S. workplace fatalities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has also calculated worlq>lace fatality rates since the late 1930s but the scope of their survey has changed so dramatically that one cannot use the BLS data to identify a time trend. Nevertheless, the BLS s most recent data collection effort creates the most reliable source of information on fatal workplace accidents in the United States. 1 The BLS conducted a census of fatal occupational injuries for 1992 using data from death certificates, workers compensation claims, medical examiners records, autopsy reports, motor vehicle accident records, and OSH A and Mine Safety and Health Administration fatal injury reports. The BLS estimated Ae average worker in the United... 

Using total expenditures as a measure of size the WC program is now larger than food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and unemployment insurance. In 1987 WC covered about 88 million workers, 87 percent of the labor force, and paid about 25 billion in total benefits, approximately 1.4 percent of total payroll. Including administrative expenses the total cost of workers compensation insurance is now about two percent of total U.S. payroll expenses (Schwartz, et al. 1989). 

Our book could not have been written without the generous financial support from many sources. We have been helped by a grant from the Workers Compensation Project of the University of Connecticut via the Employment Standards Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, who bears no responsibility for our policy recommendations. We have also been fortunate to have had sabbaticals from Bentley College and Indiana University, during which we wrote much of our book. Incidental manuscript preparation expenses and expenses for out-of-pocket research costs have also been generously provided by Bentley College and the Office of the Vice-President for Research and the University Graduate School of Indiana University. 

The Department of Labor has many activities to foster and promote the safety and health of workers. The Women s Bureau seeks to improve women s working conditions. Other important agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Office of Workers Compensation Program. 

Workers compensation laws followed and several states and the federal government passed them. Courts declared initial laws unconstitutional over issues of due process and mandatory participation by employers. State laws that followed were primarily elective laws. Employers could elect to come under the law. The first constitutionally acceptable workers compensation law was passed in 1911. Since then, all states have passed such laws. States continue to change laws to include more workers, to extend and modify benefits, change administrative procedures and restructure benefit methods. States also look to reduce workers compensation costs to compete for employers. 

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