work comp – Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk

Can you guess the top 10 OSHA violations for 2023?

By Anita Byer, Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently revealed a preliminary list of the most frequently cited safety violations for fiscal year 2023, which ended September 30^th. The announcement, which was made at the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo., is significant because knowing how and why workplace injuries occur puts employers in a better position to develop and implement their own safety and training programs.

This year’s list of most frequently cited safety standards looks a lot like last year’s. In fact, except for a slight change in order, the lists are identical. Fall protection was the most frequently cited violation for the 13^th consecutive year. Here is the complete list.

Fall Protection (General Requirements)
Hazard Communication
Ladders
Scaffolding
Powered Industrial Trucks
Lockout/Tagout
Respiratory Protection
Fall Protection (Training Requirements)
Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment (Eye and Face Protection)
Machine Guarding

An employer’s failure to observe safety standards can quickly become an OSHA violation. These can be very costly. The maximum penalty for the following OSHA violations is currently $15,625 per violation, except for willful or repeated violations, which carry a maximum penalty of $156,259 per violation.

WILLFUL: A willful violation is defined as a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.
SERIOUS: A serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.
REPEATED: A repeated violation occurs when a previously-cited business fails to correct the violation or is cited again for the same or a substantially similar condition.
OTHER-THAN-SERIOUS: A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but is not serious in nature, is classified as “other-than-serious.”

Workplace safety, for better or worse, begins at the top. Knowing how and why workplace injuries occur puts employers in a better position to prevent them. With an effective workplace safety program, employers can reduce the risk of workplace injuries and may even end up paying less for workers’ compensation insurance.

Please contact us to find out how an effective workplace safety program can reduce the cost of workers’ compensation insurance.

Does workers’ compensation cover employees injured at company-sponsored events?

By Anita Byer, Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk

Company-sponsored social and recreational events have become common in today’s workplace. They can be a great way to recognize achievements, celebrate holidays, strengthen bonds, build moral or just let off some steam. But what happens if an employee is injured while attending a company-sponsored event? Is the injury covered under their employer’s workers’ compensation policy? Well, that depends.

Workers’ compensation insurance generally covers injuries that arise out of and in the course and scope of employment. However, depending on the circumstances, injuries sustained by employees attending company-sponsored social or recreational activities may be covered by workers’ compensation. This determination can be both state- and fact-specific, with each state applying its own interpretation of whether injuries “arise out of and in the course of employment” when they occur at a company-sponsored social or recreational event.

In Florida, for example, “recreational or social activities are not compensable unless such recreational or social activities are an expressly required incident of employment and produce a substantial direct benefit to the employer beyond improvement in employee health and morale that is common to all kinds of recreation and social life.” Under this standard, issues of compensability often turn on whether the employee’s attendance at the company-sponsored event was truly voluntary.

An injury sustained at a company-sponsored event will likely be deemed employment-related (and covered by workers’ compensation) if attendance is mandatory. Attendance at a “voluntary” event may also be considered mandatory if employees feel forced to attend. A company-sponsored event is not truly voluntary if attendees are rewarded or absentees are punished.

It should also be noted that the employer need not actually “host” the event for liability to be imposed. For example, if employees are required to attend an event sponsored by a customer, they are likely covered by workers’ compensation because the employer made attendance mandatory hoping to benefit from the goodwill generated by the staff toward the customer.

Generally, employer-sponsored picnics, sports events, recreational leagues, and company retreats are meant to foster team building, inspire loyalty, and boost employee morale. Such events are usually well-received by employees and may serve as a reward for hard work. However, employers would be wise to consider the potential risks involved when planning these events. To minimize exposure, employers should:

make clear to employees that attendance and participation are not mandatory; and
when possible, plan events away from the company premises and on weekends to emphasize that such events are social and not work-related.

When these and other appropriate risk-management measures are taken, employers can maximize the benefits of company-sponsored while minimizing the risk of compensable workers’ compensation claims. Please contact us if you have questions about Worker’s Compensation and Employers Liability Insurance Coverage.

Florida approves 8.4% workers’ compensation rate reduction for 2023

By Anita Byer, Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk

Florida employers will be paying less for workers’ compensation insurance in 2023. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved an overall average statewide decrease of 8.4 percent in workers’ compensation insurance premiums. The rate decrease will apply to new and renewal policies beginning January 1, 2023. This is the seventh consecutive year workers’ compensation rates have gone down in Florida.

The 8.4 percent rate reduction was initially proposed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), a rating organization authorized to make rate filings on behalf of workers’ compensation insurance companies in Florida. The reduction was based on NCCI’s analysis of claims experience data for the 2019 and 2020 policy years as of year-end 2021. According to NCCI:

favorable claims experience has been observed during these time periods;
Florida’s frequency of lost-time claims (injured employee receives wage replacement benefits) has generally declined over the most recent eight years; and
Florida’s average indemnity cost per case have been relatively consistent over time, while those for medical have been slightly more volatile from year-to-year.

NCCI notes that the rate reduction not influenced by the pandemic as its analysis did not include COVID-19 claims data. Nevertheless, NCCI’s assessment of possible pandemic-related impacts revealed that:

most COVID-19 claims are medical-only or indemnity-only and continue to be small (less than $1,500);
large claims (over $100,000) account for fewer than 2% of all COVID-19 claims, but more than 60% of total COVID-19 losses;
most claimants were employed in the healthcare industry;
the average age of workers with large claims is 55, which is 8-10 years older than that those with non-COVID claims; and
COVID-19 claims decreased significantly in 2021.

Although rates are going down next year, NCCI cautions that inflation has the potential to negatively influence the workers’ compensation system nationwide. Wage inflation is a concern as many workers, particularly those in leisure and hospitality, have seen significant pay increases recently. This directly impacts the cost of workers’ compensation insurance because payroll is used as the base to calculate premium. Rising medical claim costs (medical inflation) can also lead to higher premiums.