GRIP Announcements
Early Incident Reporting Saves Money and Headaches
Claims reported within a week are 44% less expensive than those reported at four weeks! Please report claims to us immediately by calling your ERNwest Claim Manager, reporting claims via email at claimsreporting@ernwest.com, or reporting claims securely online in our ERNwest Reporting Portal.
GRIP + Return to Work = 100 % Wage Reimbursement
Avoiding Time-loss benefits through Return to Work (RTW) lowers your L&I premium rates and increases your GRIP refunds. GRIP offers a program that, when combined with L&I’s Stay at Work program, reimburses you up to 100% of the base wages for injured employees working modified duty. Now you can enjoy the enormous cost savings that come with avoiding state time-loss benefits at no expense to your company. Go to ernwest.com/grip-return-to-work for detailed information. (Password: WorkSafe)
December Topics
Return to Work (RTW) Tip
Offer a Reasonably Continuous Modified-Duty Position
The single most powerful tool an employer has in controlling its workers’ compensation costs is immediately providing meaningful work.
DECEMBER TIP: To keep your rates as low as possible, offer a reasonably continuous modified-duty position (work that you believe to be available for the foreseeable future) that fits within the restrictions provided by the medical provider and matches the workers’ pay and work pattern before being injured.
Focus on Safety (FOS)
Asbestos Safety
Did you know building owners and construction contractors both share responsibility for asbestos testing when doing work on a building and that asbestos is one of the most common and costly violations L&I will cite? Recently, two Washington state companies were fined a combined $800K in safety violations for knowingly exposing workers and the public to unsafe conditions. If you would like an asbestos good faith inspection you can contact ERNwest at safety@ernwest.com for more information.
Download the GRIP Asbestos in Construction training presentation.
Go to the L&I website for a list of certified asbestos abatement contractors.
Spot the Hazards Winner!
Last month we asked GRIP members to identify the hazards associated with the picture below.
Congratulations to Nick Graeff, Service Tech with RW Anderson for identifying the hazards below and providing his solutions.
Hazards Identified:
–Two guys on the roof shingling with one guy not wearing a harness.
–His partner is harnessed off. However, this does him no good, as he has way too much slack in his fall restraint safety rope—this is as bad as his partner’s situation.
Solution: First, I would recommend fall protection training and a site fall work plan before the job. Next, I would recommend the first guy climb off the roof, put on a safety harness and hook himself up to an anchor point on the roof, leaving out only enough rope to catch him if he starts to slip. The other employee needs to take up the slack in the rope he is currently using.
Workers’ Comp News
Are Your L&I Premiums as Low as They Could Be? (Part 1 of 4)
Labor and Industries recently adopted premium base rates for the upcoming 2022 calendar year. While their press release cites a 3.1% increase, this is an average across all risk classes and could be higher or lower for your company. Now is a great time to ask yourself if there’s more you could be doing to lower your premium rates in the future. Over the next four installments of this newsletter, we’ll review commonly overlooked strategies for lowering your rates.
The Medical Only Discount
When calculating your rates, L&I discounts the claim by $3,450 if the only benefits paid have been for medical treatment. In most claims, this discount removes the claim from your rate calculation completely. If any wage replacement (time loss, loss of earning power) or permanent partial disability (PPD) have been paid, the discount disappears and you’re hit with the full cost of the claim.
Earning the Medical Only Discount
You can control whether or not time loss or loss of earning power is paid under the claim with two simple strategies:
- Return all injured employees to work within their work restrictions as soon as possible. Identifying light-duty work ahead of time and utilizing our Return to Work Form is the easiest way to return injured employees and keep your medical-only discount. Download the Basics of Return to Work.pdf
- If your employee must miss work, bridge the time between their injury and their return by continuing their regular wages, known as Kept on Salary (KOS). Download the Basics of Kept on Salary.pdf
With increasing labor costs, supply chain shortages, and rising inflation, every dollar saved counts. For more information on these cost-saving strategies please contact:
Ashlee Day, GRIP Group Manager at aday@ernwest.com.
December Training
GRIP Training
GRIP-specific training benefits new members and serves as a great refresher for established GRIP participants. Click on the topics below for more information about the training and to register.
12/02/2021 | 10:00 AM | Getting Your GRIP on Claims, Comp & Safety (webinar)
12/02/2021 | 1:00 PM | Ladder Safety (webinar)
Live Training Events
01/06/2021 | 11:00 AM | Getting Your GRIP on Claims, Comp & Safety (Bellevue, WA)
01/06/2022 | 1:00 PM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts (Bellevue, WA)
ERNwest Focus-on-Safety (FOS) Webinar Series
Each month ERNwest offers topical discussions about safety strategies unique to your industry. Go to ERNwest.com/training for a full list.
OSHA Recordkeeping: Clean-up Time!
Oh No! You have just been appointed to keep track of the OSHA 300 recordkeeping log. You are new to recordkeeping and have no idea what you are doing? Relax, let us guide you through the process, and help answer your most burning questions. In this training, you will learn what is OSHA 300 Recordkeeping, who is required to keep logs, when should you post your summary reports, why should you keep them, how to record injuries and how long to keep records. This course is perfect for employees who are new to the recordkeeping process or want a refresher.
12/14/2021 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
12/16/2021 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/20/2022 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/20/2022 | 1:00 PM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/25/2022 | 10:00 AM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
01/25/2022 | 1:00 PM | OSHA Recordkeeping Nuts & Bolts
ERNwest Ongoing Webinars
ERNwest presents insurance industry topics monthly. Get training details and register online at ernwest.com/training.
- Understanding Industrial Insurance
- What is Retro?
- Fundamentals of Claims Management
- Using Kept on Salary (KOS) and Modified Duty Effectively
GRIP Resources
COVID-19
GRIP Safety at ERNwest
Access Toolbox Tips and general safety resources. ernwest.com/grip.
(Password: WorkSafe)
Contact
For precautionary reasons related to COVID-19, MBAKS offices may be closed and staff working remotely, but they can be reached via phone or email. Events and class cancellations are noted on the MBAKS Events Calendar. Refer to the MBAKS COVID-19/Updates for up-to-date information.
GRIP Retro Questions?
Ashlee Day, GRIP Group Manager, (253) 237-0809 | ADay@ernwest.com
GRIP Safety Questions?
Ann Kershul, GRIP Safety Manager, (253) 237-0819 | AKershul@ernwest.com
Michael Octave CSP, CHST, VP Safety, (253) 237-0812 | MOctave@ernwest.com
GRIP Stay-At-Work Questions?
Annette Brown, GRIP Stay-At-Work Coordinator, (253) 372-2357 | SAW2@ERNwest.com
