Month: June 2017

Do volunteers qualify for workers’ compensation?

Posted on by Patty Busse

Generally, to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, a person must be established as an employee by receiving some form of payment from the employer for his or her services.

So, when someone is injured while volunteering, they’re usually not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, but there are exceptions. For example, volunteers who are paid in kind or who fall into particular classes specifically mentioned in state law can be considered employees.

Non-monetary compensation

Someone who is being paid in kind for their services — through free meals from a restaurant or reduced rent from a landlord, for example — could be considered an employee if the parties had entered into an agreement about compensation. There must be some intent to enter into this relationship — receipt of a mere tip or gift doesn’t make someone an employee.

Protected classes of volunteers

In some cases, state law defines certain classes of volunteers as employees for the purposes of workers’ compensation.

Minnesota law  defines the following types of volunteers as employees:

  • Volunteers working in state institutions, such as correctional facilities, under the supervision of the commissioner of Human Services or the commissioner of Corrections.
  • Volunteers participating in programs established by local social service agencies , such as a county health and human services department. In this case, “local social services agency” means any agency established under Minn. Statutes section 393.01 , with each county in the state typically having a social services agency that includes the board of county commissioners.
  • Volunteers in the building and construction industry who are working for joint labor-management nonprofit community service projects.
  • Volunteers serving at a Minnesota veterans home.
  • Volunteer ambulance drivers and attendants.
  • Volunteer first responders (such as firefighters).

Wisconsin law also includes certain volunteers in its definition of employees, including:

  • Members of volunteer fire squads, rescue squads or diving teams.
  • Students in a technical college who, as part of their training, perform services or produce products for which the school collects a fee or who produce a product that is sold by the school.
  • Public or private school students performing services as part of school work training, work experience or work study program, if certain conditions are met.
  • Employees, volunteers or members of emergency management units and certain regional emergency response teams.

Good Samaritans

So-called Good Samaritans are almost always ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits because there’s typically no intent to establish an employment relationship and they’re not usually compensated for their services. For example, in a 1969 Minnesota case (Huebner v. Farmers Co-op)  where a tractor driver was seriously injured while helping a grain elevator operator who had asked for assistance, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the driver wasn’t eligible for workers’ compensation.

Things to consider when using volunteers

Since volunteers typically aren’t entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, organizations should think about the likelihood of an injury, and the potential legal and financial consequences if one occurs. If an injured volunteer files a lawsuit, who will pay the damages?  Will a general liability or some other insurance policy defend against the claim and pay resulting damages?  An employer’s potential liability may well exceed the value of the volunteer’s services.

For more information, see our Volunteers in the Workplace Legal Advisory – Minnesota and Volunteers in the Workplace Legal Advisory – Wisconsin .

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

The danger of distracted walking

Posted on by Patty Busse

Injuries from “distracted walking” have more than doubled since 2004, and surveys have shown that 60 percent of pedestrians are distracted by other activities while walking as well, according to a 2015 report by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons .

The study also shows that distracted walking is resulting in people falling down stairs, tripping over curbs, and stepping into traffic, causing cuts, bruises, sprains, and fractures. Walking while distracted can also cause you to miss potential hazards like ice, snow or a change in the walking surface, putting you at risk for a fall.

To avoid distracted walking accidents at your workplace, encourage employees:

  • NOT to use cell phones, tablets or other devices while walking
  • NOT to read documents while walking
  • NOT to carry more than they can handle safely
  • To take it slow when they see snow
  • To stay focused on their path and their end goal
  • To wear proper footwear

Encourage your employees to watch each other’s backs. When employees see coworkers being distracted by cell phones, stress or other factors, encourage them to help each other get back on track and focused. Showing you care is often a very effective safety measure.

There are many things supervisors can do to promote safety in the workplace and awareness among employees. Start by being a good example and practicing what you preach. Avoiding distractions yourself will go a long way. Hang SFM’s Don’t be distracted posters as reminders, and check out SFM’s other free downloadable safety resources.

Don’t miss your moment

We also have a series of short videos demonstrating what people can miss going on around them when distracted.

 

This post was originally published on January 24, 2014, and updated on June 30, 2017.

Four signs you genuinely value workplace safety

Posted on by Patty Busse

It’s easy to say “safety first.” It’s tougher to truly carry it out.

Here are a few signs that you and your organization practice what you preach when it comes to employee safety:

  • Your workflow expectations match your safety doctrine.
    Your production quotas aren’t so high, nor deadlines so tight that workers have to cut corners on safety to meet them. You’ve tested and verified that it is possible to meet expectations while following all of the proper safety procedures. One way to test this: if you catch a frontline employee violating your safety rules, ask why. You might learn that the employee feels the need to carry too much at once or skip putting on safety equipment in order to meet production goals.
  • All leaders consistently communicate the company’s safety expectations to staff.
    Safety procedures are part of new-hire training, and then reiterated and expanded upon regularly by supervisors. Safety is mentioned often — a regular topic in staff meetings. Employees know if they break safety rules, their supervisors won’t look the other way. The communication isn’t limited to words. Employees see that their supervisors follow the safety rules, too.
  • You analyze your safety programs to make sure they’re working.
    Just like you’d analyze any other process change or company initiative to make sure it’s giving you the desired results, you evaluate your safety efforts periodically to see if they’re working. You make changes as necessary to improve your results. Safety initiatives aren’t rolled out and then forgotten. You remind your staff about ongoing safety programs regularly to keep them top of mind.
  • Your workplace is an environment of mutual respect.
    Since employees often know best the safety risks and challenges of their jobs, your company fosters an atmosphere in which employees feel comfortable informing leadership when there’s an issue or opportunity for improvement. Similarly, employees respect their leaders enough to follow company safety rules.

Management sets the tone for employee safety. Employees can tell the difference between a management team that just says “safety first” and one that really means it, and their behavior will follow suit.

Research reveals wellness program best practices

Posted on by Patty Busse

What makes an employee wellness program successful?

Researchers from the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health attempted to answer that question by identifying best practices in the most effective wellness programs.

So, what did researchers say are the key success factors?

The name of the study gives it away: “Promoting Healthy Workplaces by Building Cultures of Health and Applying Strategic Communications.”

According to the study, two primary keys to employer-sponsored wellness program success are:

1) building an organizational culture of health and
2) applying strategic communications

The researchers analyzed nine companies whose wellness programs showed demonstrable results, reviewed past research and held roundtable discussions with experts in the field. Their findings were published in the February 2016 Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine .

Key success factor #1: Building a culture of health

The study defines a workplace with a culture of health as one that “places value on and is conducive to employee health and well-being.”

“Employers with successful wellness programs have learned that isolated ‘perks’ or programs such as an on-site fitness center or menu labeling, will not have much impact unless they are part of an overall culture that permeates all aspects of company life,” the study says.

Everyone has a hand in the culture

Leaders, managers and employees all have roles to play to truly integrate wellness into the fabric of an organization.

  • Leaders set the example when they practice healthy behaviors, implement healthy policies and practices, and provide enough resources to sustain wellness programs, the study says.

    For example, at one large company the researchers studied, the CEO was public about his own weight loss goals.

  • Managers must encourage employees to incorporate healthy activities into their workdays.

    “In a culture of health, managers offer work flexibility, decision latitude, reasonable goals, social support and consistent messaging on the value of health and well-being,” the study says.

  • Employees can help shape and build the wellness program so that it meets their needs. Employee engagement could include focus groups, program evaluations or simply having an environment where employees feel free to share their suggestions with leaders.

    “At many of the organizations we visited, employees reported being very engaged in the program and ‘owners’ of the program because initiatives were continually evolving based on their feedback,” the study says.

Embedding wellness as a way of life

Ultimately, wellness must be seen not just as a program, or even package of programs, but as a part of how the organization operates, the study says.

“It is about creating a ‘way of life’ in the workplace that integrates a total health model into every aspect of the business practice — from being embedded in the corporate mission down to the policies and everyday work activities that are supportive of career, emotional, financial, physical and social well-being,” the study says.

Worker eating a healthy snack of fruit as part of a successful employee wellness program

Creating an environment that physically supports health

Do employees at your workplace have easy access to exercise and healthy food options during the workday? Is making the healthy choice the default option?

These key questions can help you determine whether your work environment physically supports employee health.

For example, researchers visited Next Jump, a company of 200 employees. Next Jump started by holding fitness classes in a company conference room after hours and later built an on-site fitness center. Management there stocks the refrigerator with free healthy snacks like yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, fruits, vegetables and hummus, and candy jars have been replaced with fresh fruit and nuts.

Key success factor #2: Applying strategic communications to improve employee health

Researchers called strategic communications “one of the most critical building blocks” for a successful wellness program.

Communications can help employees understand how the program works and what they’ll get out of participating. It can also be used to share success stories and reinforce the most popular aspects of the wellness plan.

One study researchers cited showed that organizations with frequent and strong communication campaigns were able to spend $80 per person less on financial incentives and still get high wellness program participation.

Successful wellness program promotional campaigns are built to achieve well-defined objectives, whether that’s motivating employees to make healthy choices by sharing success stories or increasing awareness of available health and wellness resources.

6 tips for an effective communication strategy

    1. Be transparent with employees about why the organization promotes health. Being genuine will build trust.
    2. Avoid targeting a specific health ideal, like achieving a body mass index of 25 or less, or taking 10,000 steps per day. Instead, encourage employees to set and achieve progressive goals that are attainable for them.
    3. Use a variety of messaging channels: email, newsletters, posters, direct mail, intranet and social media. And don’t forget word-of-mouth communication (especially from peers and leaders they know personally)!
    4. Communicate frequently to increase awareness and ongoing participation. Vary the messaging so it doesn’t become overwhelming or stale.
    5. Deliver messages at key decision points, such as nutrition-related messages at the point of purchase or general marketing about the programs during new employee orientation.
    6. Ensure the communication goes both ways. Ask employees for feedback and input to learn about their needs and interests. Use this to continuously refine the program.

    As employer-sponsored wellness programs continue to evolve, a mindset of continuous improvement, deepening the integration of health into organizational culture and open communication will help your employee wellness program thrive.

    This post was originally published on March 15, 2016, and updated on June 14, 2017.

Top seven workplace safety tips

Posted on by Patty Busse

Want to make your workplace safer, but unsure where to start? Or maybe you want to be sure you have all the basics covered before you delve deeper in a certain area.

Either way, these seven essentials, identified by SFM’s loss prevention staff, will help make your organization a safer place to work.

1. Know the hazards

To reduce your risk of work-related injury or illness, you must first know the particular hazards of your job or workplace.

Help identify hazards by downloading this free workplace safety analysis checklist . You can also learn about risks by analyzing all workplace injuries to find the root causes and asking your staff for input.

2. Reduce workplace stress

Job stress has been linked to health problems, higher health care costs, increased risk of workplace accidents and more. Take steps to prevent stress from interfering with employees’ productivity, health and well-being with these strategies to reduce stress in the workplace.

3. Get up and move

Encourage employees to take breaks and move around regularly throughout the day. Simply working in small breaks for movement can make a big difference in combating the dangers of staying in a static position all day long.

4. Pay attention to ergonomics

Use ergonomically designed furniture and equipment , and rearrange work areas to maintain a neutral posture and keep everything within easy reach.

5. Use safe lifting techniques

Use four safe moves when picking up and carrying heavy loads: Lift from a position of power, keep the load close to your body, use a staggered stance and don’t twist.

And watch the weight — the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends limiting manual lifting to a maximum of 35 pounds for the average person. Check out more safe lifting techniques or our lifting safety video  to see the technique in action.

6. Ensure employees wear personal protective equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) can dramatically reduce risk of injury if worn correctly. Examples of PPE include gear such as earplugs, hard hats, safety goggles, gloves, full-face masks and safety shoes.7. Encourage employees to speak up.

Ask for input from employees often, and ensure everyone feels comfortable bringing safety hazards to their supervisors’ attention.

7. Encourage employees to speak up

Ask for input from employees often, and ensure everyone feels comfortable bringing safety hazards to their supervisors’ attention.

 

Workplace safety matters to every industry

When we think about workplace safety, images of construction workers hanging off skyscrapers or power line technicians in cherry pickers often pop into our heads, but there are hazards in any workplace — even office environments.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the top three causes of workplace injuries accounting for at least one day away from work in 2015 (the most recent statistics available) were:

  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Overexertion in lifting (such as a strain or sprain caused by lifting something too heavy)
  • Contact with an object or equipment (being hit by something)

While some injuries might be unlikely in an office or other relatively low-risk environment, certainly a slip-and-fall or lifting injury is possible anywhere.

Reducing hazards as much as possible and training employees about the risks can go a long way toward prevention. SFM offers a number of free resources to prevent indoor slips and falls, winter slips and falls and lifting injuries.

 

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How three school districts reduced their workers’ comp losses

Posted on by Patty Busse

Safety improvements and early return-to-work have carried many school districts insured by SFM to the head of the class.

Through years of consistent effort and working in partnership with SFM, school districts have seen their experience modification factors drop as much as 50 points over time.

In a big organization like a school district, getting everyone to support and cooperate with safety efforts is essential.

Turning around a trend of high losses can be challenging in school districts. But those who’ve done it have seen their efforts pay off in the form of lower workers’ compensation premiums, reduced need to hire substitutes and improved employee morale.

Return-to-work programs key to controlling costs

Implementing strong return-to-work programs has been a key factor in reducing losses for many school districts insured by SFM.

Having light-duty, transitional jobs identified in advance helped the South Washington County Schools get injured workers with medical restrictions back to work sooner, said Assistant Director of Human Resources Theresa Lenarz. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota-based district saw a 73-point e-mod drop over six years, reducing its workers’ compensation costs by tens of thousands of dollars.

Their go-to light-duty assignments include shredding paper, alphabetizing items in their student information center and helping out with special projects like laminating or cutting out paper items.

Injured workers tend to appreciate being able to return to work even when medical restrictions prevent them from doing their regular jobs, Lenarz said.

“By and large, they’re really excited because they want to transition back into work,” she said. “It gives them the opportunity to try something new while they’re recovering.”

Implementing strong return-to-work programs has been a key factor in reducing losses for many school districts insured by SFM.

Early return-to-work can have a significant impact on any organization’s e-mod. When injured employees return to work before the state’s waiting period ends, the claim is considered medical-only, and loss costs are discounted by 70 percent when calculating the e-mod.

Focus on major loss sources for safety improvements

School districts have also made great strides in safety by focusing on preventing the most common injuries.

In schools, which have big parking lots with multiple entrances, snow- and ice-related slips and falls are often a major risk.

The St. Louis County (Minnesota) Schools district, which saw a 45-point e-mod drop over six years, has worked to prevent winter slips and falls in many ways, said SFM Loss Prevention Specialist Joe Morin.

Examples of the district’s tactics include:

  • Using proactive and responsive snow- and ice-control measures
  • Educating staff on slip-and-fall prevention tactics during classroom safety education courses
  • Posting SFM’s winter slip-and-fall prevention posters and other penguin campaign materials
  • Providing custodians with traction footwear to prevent falls in slippery conditions
  • Experimenting with liquid brine pretreatment

To help identify and address additional risk factors, SFM assists the district by conducting comprehensive site safety audits, workstation ergonomic evaluations and safety training. The district is very good about correcting any safety issues discovered, Morin said.

“They place a high value on safety and work together to make meaningful improvements,” Morin said. “Clearly, they’ve been very effective.”

Getting buy-in from employees helps make safety programs successful

In a big organization like a school district, getting everyone to support and cooperate with safety efforts is essential.

The Chisago Lakes School District, based in Lindstrom, Minnesota, would not have seen its e-mod drop 41 points over seven years if not for the support of the district’s superintendent, building principals, buildings and grounds directors and many more, said Director of Business Services Heide Miller.

“You’ve got to have support from the top down, and get everyone involved that you can,” Miller said. “It’s a district-wide effort. Everyone has a little part to play, and that really helps out.”

Roles might include giving safety talks in staff meetings, reporting or correcting unsafe conditions or simply wearing required personal protective equipment.

While e-mods don’t change overnight, they certainly can improve over time.

“The fact that organizations as complex as school districts can see reductions in their losses should be encouraging to all employers,” Morin said. “It shows that with persistent effort over time, it really is possible to see substantial and sustainable improvement.”

Take charge of health-related productivity losses

Posted on by Patty Busse

How do you reduce absenteeism and presenteeism in your employees?

Maintaining a safe workplace and encouraging health and wellness in the workplace may be part of it, according to two recent studies.

CDC measures the cost of chronic conditions

In an October 2016 CDC report , researchers measured the costs of absenteeism in employees with five conditions — hypertension, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity.

How costly were the missed workdays? In the billions of dollars.

The researchers estimated that each of the conditions cost employers more than $2 billion per year in excess absenteeism. The most expensive of these, obesity, was calculated at $11.2 billion. In their findings, hypertension caused the most missed workdays per employee and cost nearly $300 per employee per year.

For each condition, employees missed an estimated one to two workdays per year. Those with multiple conditions had more missed days.

Study finds workplace safety impacts job productivity

Another study, published in Health Affairs, measured productivity losses from another angle and found similar results to the CDC report.

The researchers looked at factors such as previous workers’ compensation claims, chronic health conditions and how physically or cognitively demanding a job was to measure health-related productivity losses. They then calculated the predicted costs of absenteeism and presenteeism per person per year.

If employers want to reduce health-related productivity losses, they should take an integrated approach to mitigate job-related injuries, promote employee health, and improve the fit between a worker’s duties and abilities.

The study, “Chronic Conditions, Workplace Safety, and Job Demands Contribute to Absenteeism and Job Performance,” found that these factors contributed to both absenteeism and presenteeism. The study was conducted by the Integrated Benefits Institute, Segue Consulting and the Colorado School of Public Health Center for Health, Work and Environment.

While absenteeism was measured in the number of sick hours taken in the last four weeks, the study authors acknowledge that presenteeism can be difficult to measure. Employees rated their poor job performance on a scale from 0 (best) to 10 (worst), and researchers converted the metrics into annual costs.

“There is good reason to believe that presenteeism — when employees come to work but perform at lower levels than usual because of health reasons — often accounts for more lost productivity than absenteeism,” they write.

Study findings:

  • Chronic health conditions and previous workers’ compensation claims contribute to higher absenteeism and presenteeism.
  • Workers with more chronic health conditions had proportionally more cases of absenteeism and presenteeism.
  • Employees with physically demanding jobs reported higher absenteeism, while more cognitively demanding jobs were linked to presenteeism, and “presenteeism is highest when jobs are both physically and cognitively demanding.”
  • The combination of multiple risk factors often led to increased absenteeism and presenteeism, such as employees who had both physically demanding jobs and a workers’ comp claim in the past year.
  • Employees with none of these factors had lower presenteeism and absenteeism.

Recommendations to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism

Based on their findings, the researchers suggest strategies employers can use to reduce health-related productivity losses. Their recommendations include integrating and analyzing health and safety data, considering each worker’s job fit, and addressing safety and wellness in the workplace.

“If employers want to reduce health-related productivity losses, they should take an integrated approach to mitigate job-related injuries, promote employee health, and improve the fit between a worker’s duties and abilities,” the study says.

Because of the compounding effects of poor health and work injuries, an integrated workplace safety and wellness program could combat multiple risk factors at once.

A holistic, Total Worker Health approach can address the causes of absenteeism and presenteeism on multiple fronts.

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