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Seeking ways to fix<br />
workers’ comp woes?<br />
Safety programs can help reduce claims<br />
By Phillip M. Perry<br />
For employers large and small, the<br />
problem is the same: The rising<br />
cost of benefits is eroding the<br />
bottom line. And one of the costliest<br />
benefits is workers’ compensation<br />
insurance.<br />
It’s understandable that you to want<br />
to trim expenses wherever possible, but<br />
doing any serious cost cutting in this<br />
area presents special challenges. For one<br />
thing, you can’t reduce benefit levels the<br />
same way you can with health insurance.<br />
That’s because states mandate full treatment<br />
for on-the-job injuries.<br />
Your cost-cutting steps must be done<br />
in conformance with the law. And when<br />
it comes to workers’ comp, the state is all<br />
powerful.<br />
“With the exceptions of federal employees<br />
and employees working in maritime<br />
industries, state laws control workers’<br />
compensation,” says Christopher<br />
M. Fox, an associate in the Philadelphia<br />
office of Littler Mendelson, a law firm<br />
devoted to representing management in<br />
employment matters.<br />
Understanding various state laws can<br />
get complicated.<br />
“Each state has specific rules regarding<br />
how you notify employees of their rights,<br />
2 40 | BedTimes | BedTimes | April | April 2010 2010<br />
how they can file claims and what doctors<br />
they may or may not see,” Fox says.<br />
“Your state laws will also detail what<br />
steps you must take to report workplace<br />
injuries.”<br />
You can find information about your<br />
state’s laws on the U.S. Department of<br />
Labor Web site, www.dol.gov. Click on<br />
“Topics,” then “Workers’ Compensation”<br />
and then “State Workers’ Compensation<br />
Board.”<br />
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
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