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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Connor-Helring Associates, Inc.

June 2021

We're pleased to send you this month's WorkComp Advisory. Our goal is to provide information that will help you understand how to control your Workers' Compensation costs.

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Five tips for employers pondering what to do next about CDC masking guidance

Employers facing complicated return to work issues are frustrated by the lack of guidance particularly on how to verify if an employee has been fully vaccinated and to what extent vaccinated workers can be treated differently from unvaccinated workers. Here are five tips to help navigate this challenging situation…



Case study: Return-to-work program results in 49% reduction in lost time days

Learn the key elements of a return-to-work program that enabled the aircraft manufacturer, Sikorsky, to significantly decrease an injured worker's disability duration period…



Key takeaways from the 2021 NCCI Annual Issues Symposium

Learn what was reported at the NCCI Symposium about COVID-19 claims, profitable combined ratio, rising wage rates, the impact of the pandemic on medical treatments, escalating medical costs, and future concerns…



HR Tip: New tool helps build the case for investing in mental health

A free, new tool, the Mental Health Cost Calculator, provides employers with data-driven insight into the costs of employee mental distress in the workplace and identifies the ways this impacts employer costs, including days of work missed and excess turnover…



OSHA Watch
Federal
  • Recording of vaccine reactions will not be enforced
  • New guidance from CDC on masking and social distancing being reviewed
  • Proposed changes to handrail standard
  • Informal hearing on proposed changes to the HazCom standard
  • New resources: Beryllium safety, PPE foremergency response and recovery workers, fall protection

State
  • Cal/OSHA:Fully vaccinated workers do not need to quarantine
  • Cal/OSHA: CDC guidance under review
  • MIOSHA: Significant updates to emergency rules; draft permanent rules withdrawn
  • Nevada OSHA: Updated guidance on facial coverings and social distancing
  • Oregon OSHA: Temporary COVID-19 workplace protections extended; Updated requirements on physical distancing and facial coverings
Recent fines and awards



Legal Corner

ADA
  • Reassignment is last resort alternative for accommodation
FMLA
  • Can a worker be fired for quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19?
Workers’ Compensation
  • Injunction preventing enforcement of AB-5 against motor carriers overturned - California
  • Violation of rules does not nix benefits - California
  • Court nixes penalties and attorney fees despite employer’s admission of accident - Nebraska
  • Employee who failed to disclose new job should not be barred from future benefits - New York
  • Tow truck operator was employee, not an independent contractor - Pennsylvania
  • Employee cannot sue insurer for failed suicide attempt - Wisconsin



Things you should know
  • DOL withdraws independent-contractor rule
  • CMS releases new version of WCMSA Reference Guide
  • CMS orders nursing homes to track worker vaccination
  • CPWR releases series of infographics
  • New resources for reducing the risk of MSDs from overhead work
  • New report identifies states with highest rates of severe workplace injuries
  • Musculoskeletal injuries in construction workers change with age
  • Study: Reducing physical work demands for older workers can lead to fewer injuries
  • Alabama becomes 37th medical marijuana state
  • State news



 
 
Note: The material in this eBulletin is provided as general information and is not a substitute for legal or other professional advice.
Connor-Helring Associates, Inc.

EMAIL
Maureen McLaughlin, CPCU, CWCA
Tom Kelly, MWCA


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PHONE (570) 344-7060
ADDRESS
1906 Sanderson Avenue
Scranton, PA 18509


Fast fact:
Among private carriers and state funds in NCCI jurisdictions, there were 100 death claims. The industry spent $260 million in COVID-related incurred losses in 2020, on over 45,000 claims; 75% of claims were indemnity only. The costliest one percent of COVID-19 claims accounted for 60 percent of COVID-19 loss dollars. Over 95 percent of COVID claims were less than $10,000, with the average cost around $6,000. – NCCI Annual Issues Symposium


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