WFIA RETRO | December 2021 News

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)

Slip/Trip/Fall Prevention – When it Comes to Wet Surfaces, Don’t Slip Up

Wet weather can be a nuisance, meaning a lull in retail business and wet messes tracked in by customers and employees. Moreover, the wet walking surfaces present a serious slipping hazard for you, your customers and your vendors. In fact, surfaces that are wet for any reason—weather-related or not—are a workplace hazard. Download strategies for preventing slip and fall injuries due to wet surfaces.

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:

  Julie Osterberg, WFIA Group Manager, at josterberg@ernwest.com.

Other News

Excellence in Safety Award Applications – Starting on January 1, 2022, the Washington Food Industry Association will begin accepting applications for the Excellence in Safety Awards. This award is a way to recognize employers focusing on employee safety and accident prevention. Any company that is actively enrolled in the 2021-2022 WFIA Retro program and has not been part of the WFIA Waiver Program for the last 2-years may apply. One winner from each employer premium-size group (small, medium, large) will receive an award. Go to the WFIA Excellence in Safety Awards online for more information.