Supervisors play a key role in the management of injuries, return‐to‐work and reasonable accommodations under ADA. While supervisors may be well trained in the functional aspects of maintaining a safe workplace, reporting injuries, investigating injuries and return‐to‐work programs, many fall short in their interaction with injured employees and their well‐meaning actions can be costly to […]

In a perfect world, every injured worker would be treated by a physician trained in Occupational Medicine, one who understands how to facilitate recovery and expedite return to work. However, it’s not unusual for employers and employees to be dealing with a family or urgent care practitioner who has little or no training in Occupational […]

Due to today’s economic conditions, more companies are looking for anything and everything they can do to give themselves a competitive advantage. Often times it’s their Experience Modification Factor (MOD). And easy to overlook, it is, since employers tend to be somewhat uninformed when it comes to Workers’ Compensation. Although it’s certainly a significant employee […]

Healthier employees lead to lower premiums, according to numerous studies. If companies can help their workers improve their health without cutting benefits or shifting more premium costs to employees, where is the downside? After all, Fortune 1000 companies have been using wellness programs for years to combat the rising costs of healthcare. So, the question […]

The fact that there is an obesity epidemic in the United States is evident everywhere. A movie theatre seat has grown from an average of 19 inches to 23 inches wide, revolving doors from six feet to eight feet wide, and supermarket aisles have expanded from five feet to seven feet, not to accommodate overweight […]

A recent report by the American Association of Family Practitioners notes that occupational diseases account for 860,000 illnesses and more than 60,000 deaths each year. And this runs the gamut of causes, everything from coal miners contracting black lung disease to assembly line workers in meat packing plants developing carpal tunnel syndrome. It would be […]

As year-end approaches, many businesses turn their attention to tax planning with the goal of minimizing federal and state taxes. Few invest a similar amount of time in reviewing their Workers’ Compensation, even though significant dollars are at risk. When a Workers’ Compensation policy is set up, premiums are based on an estimated risk. After […]

The proliferation of personal technology, predominantly cell phones, Blackberrys, and iPods, now infiltrates work life as well as leisure time. These devices are impacting job safety, a not‐so‐good vibration being felt, literally, from coast to coast. A Boston trolley driver is distracted while sending a text message and slams into another car, injuring scores of […]

Rising medical expenses are the culprits driving up Workers’ Compensation costs. While it’s true that Workers’ Comp rates are mostly flat or going down, any savings is being more than eaten up by higher medical bills. With the possible exception of safety issues, many employers feel that Workers’ Comp costs are beyond their control. As […]

By the very nature of the insurance business, agents are busy folks. So, it’s easy to understand how some “details” can be missed, like the importance of keeping a trained eye on an employer’s Workers’ Compensation Experience Modification Factor. What may be an unintentional oversight often translates into doing a disservice to a client, a […]