MANUFACTURING REBOUND PROCEEDS AT MODERATE PACE
Today in Manufacturing
Today in Manufacturing
The U.S. manufacturing recovery continues on track and
should outperform overall GDP growth through 2013, according to analysis of 27
industries ... continue
RESPONDING TO A WORKERS' COMPENSATION PENALTY
Industrial Accidents Division—Utah Labor Commission
In difficult economic
times, an employer may decide to cut costs by cancelling their workers'
compensation (WC) Coverage. As a small employer, you may not realize you are
required to have workers’ compensation insurance. However, having WC coverage
is always a good idea. Not only is it the law, workers compensation coverage
provides the exclusive remedy for work-related injuries.
This means that except
under very limited circumstances, workers' compensation insurance protects you
as the employer from being sued for remedies other than what is provided under
the Workers Compensation Act. While Utah has one of the smallest groups of compliance
officers in the U.S. who investigate cases to determine if employers have the
required Workers’ Compensation insurance, is also one of the best. Last year
alone over 23,000 employers were flagged in our monitoring system as not having
workers’ compensation coverage, with an estimated 4,700,000 employees at risk.
Some of these were resolved by a simple “clean up” of
the employer data, but a
large number still needs further investigation.
The Division places a
strong focus on educating employers about the process which officers use to determine
whether an employer is in compliance with the law. Initially, a notice of
non-compliance is sent to them advising the employer that we cannot locate
evidence of workers’ compensation coverage for their business. Typically this
problem is quickly resolved by providing the Division with the proper
employer’s workers’ compensation policy coverage information or other
verification that the company has no employees.
At times, we find
employers actively operating a business without the required WC coverage for
their employees. In those instances, penalties are assessed. The minimum
penalty is $1,000; penalties are deposited into the Uninsured Employers Fund.
This fund assists with payments to employees who are injured on the job, and
whose employer is uninsured and either insolvent or bankrupt.
If you have received a
non-compliance notice, the outcome regarding the penalties will vary greatly depending
on various factors. Protocols are in place which includes the possibility of
waiving or reducing fines based on your payroll information. Some of these factors
include but are not limited to:
1. If required, do you
now have workers' compensation coverage in place?
2. Is this your 1st
non-compliance offense?
3. What is the length of
time without workers compensation coverage?
4. How many employees
were employed at the time you were without coverage?
The Division will
consider other lapses in coverage and well as previous violations (penalties)
in its determination. The Division strives to maintain timely communications with
employers regarding their penalties, potential penalty reductions, and allowing
payment schedules, often resulting in many employers resolving their penalties
prior to going to collections.
The Division works with
the Office of State Debt Collections (OSDC) for accounts that needed to be sent
to Collections. In 2011, the Division collected $1,150,000 in-house and
$995,000 through OSDC efforts.
Often non-compliance
notices are a result of incomplete information about your company in our
system, so ensuring that the Department of Workforce Services (DWS), your
insurance carrier and the Division receive prompt notification of any important
changes regarding your company’s coverage status, number of employees, changes
of address and more, will prevent these problems from occurring.
Employers and employees
can find answers to frequently asked questions about workers' compensation by
visiting our Division page at: www.laborcommission.utah.gov.
UOSH LEAN SIX SIGMA PROJECT – A YEAR OF POSITIVE CHANGE
UOSH Lean Six Sigma Team
Utah OSHA (UOSH) has
jurisdiction over 1.3 million workers in the private and public sector and an
estimated 80,000 workplaces in Utah. Last year, over 30,000 workers were
seriously injured and 10 workers were fatally injured. UOSH is comprised of
only 32 full time employees so one of the challenges faced by the Division is
optimization of the current compliance case management process, as well as
reducing the time officers currently spend in non-value related activities.
In February 2012, UOSH
implemented a new evaluation process designed to improve the quality and
efficiency of inspections and case management protocols by using Lean Six Sigma
(L6S) program methodology. To undertake this complex task, an seven member
project team was created comprised of five UOSH employees and two
representatives from private industry (Christina Ross, Western Human
Resource Manager for Morton Salt and John Hymel, Safety Director for Jacobsen
Construction Company, Inc.) who provided valuable contributions to the
analysis of the existing
process and feedback regarding process improvement.
The first phase of the
project was to map out the existing compliance process in detail, develop a
description of boundaries for the inspection process, identify waste and their
root causes, develop solutions, and provide communication and feedback to the
Steering committee for review and approval. The team quickly identified three
major bottlenecks which caused the majority of delays: 1) the report review
process, 2) multiple and redundant forms, and 3) lengthy inspection reports
with unnecessary details.
Next, the project team began
working on recommendations for improvement. This included major revisions to
the Division’s Standard Operating Procedures manuals, a complete revamping of
the review process for compliance reports, and a new streamlined method of
information gathering and case file management.
In August 2011, the team
conducted a successful field test of the new process, which was then expanded
to include all compliance officers and continued through February 2012. At the
end of the field test period, the challenges were evaluated and compared to the
significant benefits acquired with the new process.
During the L6S field
trial period, the following measurable benefits were identified:
1. Considerable
improvement in time lines for case completion: 52% of cases were completed in
20 days or less, and only 21% took over 40 days to complete. This essentially
cut the time to process cases in half.
2. All
of the Standard Operating Procedures manuals and review processes were completely
re-written.
So what is the positive
impact of this new more efficient process for the workers and employers in the
State of Utah? The Division is able to conduct more inspections, as well as
better understand where UOSH can have the most impact on worker safety. We seek
to increase support services to employers and workers, and this new process
will allow staff to spend more time providing compliance assistance to
employers, conducting more safety interventions with workers exposed to
hazardous situations and working more efficiently on preventing serious
injuries and fatalities.
The complete
involvement, commitment and participation of the UOSH staff, and the continued
support and contributions of Steering Team members Chris Bardin, Director of
Safety and Health for The Layton Companies; D. Paul Riley, Global Safety
Manager for the Risk Management Division of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints; Thomas E. Bingham, President of the Utah Manufacturers Association,
and Labor Commission Division Directors and Management has been fundamental to
the success of this project.
What is the future of
L6S in UOSH? The future implementation of an integrated enterprise-wide
management system for all functions in the UOSH Division. And this is just the
beginning.
The Federal Reserve
chairman said job growth will require more consumer and business demand and
that the Reserve's policies will help boost growth … continue
But often overlooked in
the midst of these attacks are the food companies and owners investing in ways
to make food safer and Americans healthier … continue
|
Quick Manufacturing News
Wages rose by 10% last
year and will increase 13% this year, according to the government, prompted
by labor shortages and worker unrest. Click to continue
|
|
Quick Manufacturing News
Overall, confidence in
the equipment finance market is 61.7, up from the February index of 59.6,
indicating industry participants are optimistic despite concerns that
external factors, including gas prices and the upcoming elections, may have
on the market. Click to continue
|
|
Quick
Manufacturing News
A survey of 330 HR leaders
conducted by Deloitte and the International Society of Certified Employee
Benefit Specialists found that one-quarter of these HR leaders consider the
shortage, motivation and retention of qualified talent to be the most significant
challenge facing their organizations over the next three years. Click to continue
|
|
Quick Manufacturing News
According to new research,
employees working alongside coworkers who condone or accept absenteeism may
be more likely to miss more work – but only if they consider their supervisors
unsupportive. Click to continue
|
No comments:
Post a Comment