Is Your Safety Program Discriminatory?

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Brandon Golden
6 years ago
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creating a safe work environment is critical to lowering costs and increasing productivity.

Discriminatory programs do not encourage a safe work environment but instead discourage employees from reporting accidents when they occur.

Recognize discriminatory programs Understand why unsafe behaviors occur Integrate incentives into risk management program Michael Davis Senior Vice President Risk

1 Is Your Safety Program Discriminatory? Counter False Claims and Unsafe Behaviors Through Nondiscriminatory and Integrated Risk Management Programs October 2013 Lockton Companies Reducing injuries and creating a safe work environment is critical to lowering costs and increasing productivity. More companies are developing incentive programs to promote safe behavior. However, problems arise when these programs are discriminatory. Discriminatory programs do not encourage a safe work environment but instead discourage employees from reporting accidents when they occur. In accordance with the standards set by OSHA, there are five steps organizations can take to establish an effective and nondiscriminatory risk management program. Recognize discriminatory programs Understand why unsafe behaviors occur Integrate incentives into risk management program Michael Davis Senior Vice President Risk Control Services Lockton, Houston Dr. Mary Reaston President and Founder Emerge Diagnostics Tulsa, Oklahoma Dave Keyser Director, Risk Management C.R. England Salt Lake City, Utah There are five steps an organization can take to establish an effective and nondiscriminatory risk management program. Refer to OSHA legislation Use baseline testing to combat false claims L O C K T O N C O M P A N I E S

2 Recognize Discriminatory Programs The first step in determining whether your OSHA program is discriminatory is determining what behaviors cause your employees to be penalized or rewarded. Your program could be considered discriminatory if employees are penalized for: Having injuries Reporting injuries Violating safety rules Giving rewards for not having accidents is also considered discriminatory. Understand Why Unsafe Behaviors Occur Based on Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs, the need for safety is the second most important after the basic need for food, water, and breathing. However, unlike these physiological needs, humans knowledge related to safety is not instinctual. Security for our body, property, and resources is learned behavior. Integrate Incentives Into Risk Management Program Incentives are never a substitute for a wellstructured risk management program. They may reduce the number of injury reports, but they don t promote safe behavior. It is more effective to integrate incentives into the management program of your operation. More important than merely integrating incentives, it is critical that incentives are given for the appropriate actions. Below is a chart determining the actions OSHA legislation determines as favorable or unfavorable to reward. According to these standards, giving incentives for not reporting and not having accidents can lead to a discriminatory program. Behaviors Positive Recognition Negative Reinforcement Employees won t sacrifice their safety without good reason. When they engage in unsafe behaviors, it s for reasons such as trying to please their boss or Violating safety rules Not reporting/having accidents Reporting all incidents daily customer or just not recognizing the hazard. Reporting Hazards This means it is up to the company to reduce the number of unsafe behaviors. It can do this Completing JSA s Completing observation cards by integrating the appropriate incentives into Completing training requirements risk management programs, referring to OSHA legislation and recognizing false claims. Attaining new job skills Completing pre-task inspections Attending safety meetings Source: OSHA Fairfax Memo 2

3 OSHA Directives Reporting an injury is a protected activity under the law. There are several pieces of legislation that protect this right. The Fairfax Memo, taking effect in 2012, targeted employers who have implemented safety incentive programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries, or employers who act on policies that require disciplinary action against employees who are injured on the job, violate injury reporting guidelines, or violate a safety rule. Safety rules violations include: Vague rules maintain situational awareness or work carefully. Was the deviation from the procedure minor, extensive, inadvertent, or deliberate? In a recent case, the safety manager for Shaw Group was charged and convicted of major fraud against the United States. During his tenure, he underreported accidents at TVA nuclear plants in Tennessee and Alabama. He deliberately falsified records of workplace injuries. He used the false injury reports to claim more than $2 million in safety bonuses. In April, he was sentenced to six years in prison followed by two years of probation. The Shaw Group used a purely rate-based incentive program that encouraged concealing injuries. Organizations should establish a comprehensive injury and illness prevention program that addresses underlying safety issues. By finding and fixing hazards, instead of suppressing them, employers can promote real safety in the workplace. Was there a reasonable basis for decision? Was the discipline disproportionate to the act? The rules cannot penalize workers who do not realize immediately that their injuries are serious enough to report. Organizations should establish a comprehensive injury and illness prevention program that addresses underlying safety issues. By finding and fixing hazards, instead of suppressing them, employers can promote real safety in the workplace. OSHA s Position of Safety Incentive and Disincentive Policies and Practices 29 C.F.R (b)(1) Covers incentive for not reporting injuries and illnesses, and Section 11 (c) which contains the whistle-blower statutes. Section 11(c) of the OSHA Act prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee because the employee reports an injury or illness. 29 CFR

Recognize and Combat False Claims If a claim is one where the injury occurred during the course and scope of employment, then a false claim is just the opposite.

4 Recognize and Combat False Claims If a claim is one where the injury occurred during the course and scope of employment, then a false claim is just the opposite. A claim is false if it is not work-related, meaning it did not occur during the course and scope of employment, or the employee had a preexisting condition that was not worsened by work. To combat false claims, companies should adopt baseline testing as a proactive risk management process. Baseline tests such as the electrodiagnostic functional assessment (EFA) is an effective way to recognize and reduce false claims and prevent discrimination through objective diagnosis. For example, for many years, audiometric testing has been used with pre- and post-tests to document hearing loss prior to noise exposure and is not only recognized by OSHA but also spelled out in many state workers compensation statutes. Baseline testing enables the employer to accept only claims that are AOECOE (arising out of employment, in the course of employment). testing to identify MSD injuries needs to include specificity for physiological parameters tested and should include: Electromyography (EMG) Range of motion (ROM) Functional assessment (FA) According to a study by the American Physical Therapy Association, traditional functional assessments are not legally defensible and do not meet the criteria established by Daubert if their methods of determining effort include Waddell s signs (coefficient of variation, ratio of heart rate and pain, subjective documentation or observation of pain behavior magnification). Tests such as the EFA do meet Daubert requirements and are legally defensible. In order to be effective and hold up in court, baseline testing must be evidenced-based, job-related and consistent with medical necessity, does not identify a disability, and is specific for the parameters measured. For example soft tissue injuries better known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are among the leading cost drivers for work-related injuries. Baseline 4

5 The Baseline Testing Procedure Using the EFA When establishing a baseline testing plan the following steps should be included: 1. Establish written job descriptions that identify the essential functions and the physical demands. 2. Develop testing protocols based on the essential functions of a position as outlined in the job description. 3. Test appropriate groups of existing workforce with a fitness-for-duty evaluation and store as a baseline and then store the unread data as the baseline. The data should not be evaluated or read until after an injury occurs. 4. After an injury occurs, perform test again and compare with baseline. This process is similar to audiometric testing at the time of hire and then comparing annual audiograms or postloss audiograms to the baseline to measure any change in hearing threshold to determine if there has been a loss. What Makes a Good Baseline Test? Objective Nonloading and Noninvasive Evidence-based HIPAA compliant Consistent with job requirements Administered by qualified personnel Meets Daubert Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 5

Case Study Results A U.S.-based global transportation leader implemented their EFA-STM program in October 2011.

6 Case Study Results A U.S.-based global transportation leader implemented their EFA-STM program in October This testing prevented discrimination and allowed for the identification of false claims. In addition, if there was no claim, then there was nothing to enter onto the OSHA 300 log. The corporate policy in the case study included the completion of baseline testing for all drivers. Appropriate consent forms are signed by the drivers before the baseline testing is done stating that, if there should be a work-related soft tissue injury, the employee agrees to participate in the postloss testing. To be successful, a good baseline test is made up of five important requirements. They included: The evaluation that is objective and repeatable Tests must be nonload-bearing and noninvasive Consistent with job requirements Administered by qualified personnel Have appropriate consent forms signed prior to beginning the program. As of March 2013, 4,263 baselines were completed in locations such as Texas, California, Indiana, and Utah. The average cost for a sprain/strain claim for the company is $14,332. The EFA-STM program showed a 40 percent decrease in the frequency of soft tissue claims as well as savings in excess of $601,944 in direct costs the first year of the program. To date, there have not been any workers compensation claims filed for soft tissue injuries that had an EFA- STM baseline test and where the test and medical evaluation proved there was no correlation to AOE/COE. Several claims were denied immediately following the post-loss medical evaluation, and multiple others never returned or pursued the claims. Several claims were denied immediately following the postloss medical evaluation, and multiple others never returned or pursued the claims 6

Conclusion Improvements in safety performance cannot be accomplished by discouraging the reporting of accidents through the use of incentive programs.

7 Conclusion Improvements in safety performance cannot be accomplished by discouraging the reporting of accidents through the use of incentive programs. True safety improvement happens once we understand why unsafe behaviors occur, integrate incentives into the risk management program to encourage correct safe behaviors, and counter false claims with baseline testing. Incentive programs that OSHA believes are discriminatory may reduce the number of injury reports, but do nothing to encourage a safe workplace or stop false claims. Baseline testing using such tools as the EFA-STM can help identify those cases where false claims are being submitted. For information regarding the EFA-STM program contact: Dr. Mary Reaston, Ph.D. Emerge Diagnostics Tulsa, Oklahoma mreaston@emergedx.com 7

8 Our Mission To be the worldwide value and service leader in insurance brokerage, employee benefits, and risk management Our Goal To be the best place to do business and to work Lockton, Inc. All rights reserved. Images 2013 Thinkstock. All rights reserved. g\whitepaper\davis\2013\davis_safetyprogram_aug13.indd

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