Things you should know

BLS report on injuries and illnesses

Nonfatal occupational illnesses and injuries held steady in 2018 at 2.8 per 100 workers, marking the first time since 2009 that they did not decline, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The total number of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers also remained unchanged last year compared to 2017, at 2.8 million. For the first time, the report included the number of visits to medical treatment facilities for nonfatal occupational injuries that required days away from work, which totaled 333,830 cases. Just over 39,000 of those involved in-patient hospitalization.

Retail was the only industry to report an increase in total recordable cases, although subsectors of other industries also saw increases.

Slips and falls mean high comp payouts in retail

Retail industry workers miss an average of 24 days of work due to injuries, according to a report by AmTrust Financial Services Inc. The highest claims payouts in retail were attributed to injuries from slips or falls from ladders or scaffolding at an average of $21,000 per claim; strains or repetitive motion injuries, averaging $14,000 per claim; and motor vehicle collisions, averaging $13,900 per claim. Nearly a quarter of all payouts were associated with lifting injuries.

Among retailers, the most hazardous classes included meat, fish or poultry retailers, hardware stores, automobile parts and accessories stores, and barbershops or hair styling.

New report on work-related MSD's in construction

A recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) finds that although work-related MSDs in construction have declined, the number of days away from work (DAFW) has increased. DAFW grew from eight in 1992 to 13 in 2017.

The report also includes resources to help reduce MSDs.

New government guidelines address weaning patients off opioids

The CDC's guidelines on opioid prescribing three years ago were well received by the worker compensation sector. New guidelines, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Oct. 10, are meant to give doctors a better grip on tapering off opioids, do not call for eliminating them from a patient's care when "the benefit of using opioids outweighs the risk," and provide "advice to clinicians who are contemplating or initiating a change in opioid dosage."

Incentives for wearing tracking devices can trigger creative cheating

A recent article in the Huffington Post suggests that employees get ingenious when they fall behind in meeting their targets. Strapping the tracker to the pet hedgehog, giving it to their children to wear, or putting it in a sock in the dryer (a permanent-press cycle is about 10,000 steps) and letting it roll are some of the ways they've gamed the system.

EPA modifies regulations for chemical storage

The Risk Management Program Reconsideration Rule, removes the requirement that companies publicly disclose the chemicals stored on their grounds, rescinds third-party audits and incident investigation root cause analysis, and mandates and modifies emergency planning and response requirements.

Early PT reduces visits and costs

Injured workers who start therapy within three days of injury require 38 percent fewer physical therapy visits to achieve successful outcomes, according to a white paper by One Call, a healthcare management company. "However, if an injured worker starts conservative care more than 30 days post-injury, the time to discharge increases from less than three weeks to nearly six weeks."

Three new resources to help manage the use of nanomaterials

The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) released three new Toolbox Talks, each in English and in Spanish, to help the construction industry manage the potential dangers of nanomaterials:

• Identifying Nano-Enabled Construction Materials
• Introduction: Nano-Enabled Construction Materials
• Prevent Exposure: Nano-Enabled Construction Materials

New video series aimed at raising worker awareness of MSDs

A new virtual toolkit from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, also known as EU-OSHA, consists of a series of videos aimed at helping workers understand their risk of musculoskeletal disorders and how to prevent them. Each of the 14 videos in the Understanding Musculoskeletal Disorders toolkit features Napo, an animated 3D character.

Illicit drug tool kit for first responders

A new virtual toolkit from NIOSH is intended to help protect first responders from exposure to illicit drugs, including fentanyl.

State News

California

• The Insurance Commission lowered the average advisory pure premium rate benchmark to $1.52 per $100 of payroll, effective Jan. 1, 2020 from $1.99 per $100 of payroll in July 2019.
• AB5, which changes the criteria used to classify employees and independent contractors, goes into effect Jan.1, 2020. Some estimate that nearly 2 out of 3 workers who are classified as independent contractors will be affected.
• The Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation may be delaying injured workers' access to benefits and increasing costs to employers, according to a state audit report that found the division does not have enough qualified medical examiners to handle caseloads.
• The Division of Workers' Compensation reminds claims administrators that report of claim counts for calendar year 2019 is due April 1.

Florida

• The 7.5 percent rate reduction demanded by the Office of Insurance Regulation will take effect Jan.1.

Illinois

• The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act ("CRTA") goes into effect January 1, 2020 and the state took the additional step of amending the Right to Privacy Act to include cannabis within the definition of lawful products. This prohibits employers from taking adverse actions (refusing to hire, terminating, demoting) against employees because they use a lawful product while not at work. The CRTA sets forth several factors regarding the discipline or discharge of an employee.
• The Workplace Transparency Act ("WTA") goes into effect January 2020 and bars employers from unilaterally requiring that a current or prospective employee waive, arbitrate, "or otherwise diminish" existing or future claims, rights, or benefits related to unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
• The average medical payment per claim with more than seven days of lost time was more than 15 percent higher than the median of 18 states studied, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

Minnesota

• A new regulation provides that workers may be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services if they need help returning to work after an injury and if their employer cannot meet their work restrictions. A rehabilitation invoice penalty warning has been added to its state workers' comp policies. Claims administrators have 30 days to pay or deny rehabilitation services. If they do not meet this deadline, they could be fined up to $2,000.

Missouri

• The Division of Workers' Compensation announced that the supplemental surcharge for the fund will drop from 3% to 2% starting Jan. 1. The supplemental surcharge is billed quarterly and is based on net premiums.

Nebraska

• Legislative bill 418 states that if a workplace injury results in a death of an immigrant, the consular officer of the nation in which the employee is a citizen is regarded as the sole legal representative of any dependents residing outside of the U.S. Prior to final settlements, non-resident dependents may file with the Workers' Compensation Court a power of attorney designating any suitable person residing in the state to act as attorney.
  
  The bill also states that service providers, collection agencies and creditors cannot attempt to collect a debt from an injured worker or their spouse for treatment of a work-related injury if the matter is pending in the Workers' Compensation Court.

New York

• The drug formulary goes into effect December 5. Any new prescription must be for a formulary drug, and a provider must obtain prior authorization for any non-formulary drug before writing a new prescription.
• The Workers' Compensation Board has dropped the assessment rate on employers for 2020 to 12.2% from 12.6% in 2019. The assessment is used to fund the administration of the workers' compensation system, and to fund benefits paid to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers.

North Carolina

• The Industrial Commission has formed the Criminal Investigations and Employee Classification Division to focus on the misclassification of employees and premium fraud.

Pennsylvania

• The Supreme Court ruled that the fluctuating workweek (FWW) pay method is not a proper method of overtime pay calculation under the Minimum Wage Act (PMWA). Employers using this pay method for non-exempt, salaried workers should take immediate action to review and revise their compensation method for these employees.
• Beginning in October 2020, employers in the construction industry will be required to use E-Verify, the federal government's web-based program that allows employers to verify an employee's work-authorization electronically.

Virginia

• The WCRI reports that reimbursement for physicians and other providers dropped 14% from 2017 prices after the fee schedule took effect in January 2018. There were 36 states in the study and the state moved from sixth-highest in 2017 to 12th, and was the only state that showed a significant decrease in prices for professional medical services.