Effective Strategies for Optimizing Workplace Safety Practices

According to the National Safety Council, work injuries cost U.S. businesses $167 billion in 2022 and 75 million work days. Today, 60 million Gen Z workers are entering the job market, and evidence suggests that Gen Z blue-collar workers have noticeably higher injury rates than workers of other generations.

As someone who cares about the safety of your employees and the health of your company’s bottom line, consider what strategies you can employ to prevent workers’ compensation claims before they happen, create a plan to handle claims effectively when they do occur, and understand what the recent changes in cannabis laws could mean to you as an employer.

Claim Prevention

When running a business, many of your costs are outside your control. You might assume that’s also the case with what you pay for your organization’s workers’ compensation coverage. In reality, there are many things you can do to reduce the cost of covering your workforce and contribute to better overall well-being and morale. No matter how well you treat workers after an injury, it’s far more effective to take better care of them through prevention.

Injury and Illness Prevention

The best way to reduce the severity of workplace injury claims is to prevent them from happening. That begins with a strong organizational safety culture, built around a safety plan that includes a formal injury and illness prevention program.

Employee Involvement

A strong program reflects the reality that employees and management must actively encourage safer workplace practices. Strategies that have been proven to enhance involvement by employees include the following:

• Establish a representative and a collaborative safety committee.
• Introduce additional employee training.
• Implement safety suggestions for better worksite practices.
• Conduct unscheduled workplace inspections to verify worker safety practices compliance.
• Investigate incidents and injuries immediately.

Management Involvement

When employees see that management takes safety practices seriously, it creates a culture of respect, trust and—most importantly—timely reporting. At all levels, managers should do the following:

• Model and enforce safe work practices.
• Communicate openly with employees about safety concerns and practices.
• Immediately address observed safety issues.
• Conduct frequent management inspections of varying types and at different times.
• Handle incident investigations promptly, taking them seriously.

Creating Your Workers’ Compensation Process

Developing a clear, consistent process for handling worker injury claims can ensure workers get the treatment they need while lowering costs and preventing miscommunication. An effective process addresses issues before injuries occur when someone is injured and what happens afterward.

Before an Injury Occurs

Comprehensive planning before a first claim is filed is critical. A well-thought-out plan does the following:

• Ensures that employees understand how to report the injury and file a claim and why it is essential to do so quickly. It helps employees understand expectations about their return to work.
• Strengthens partnerships with practitioners, such as the physicians at the occupation clinic. Familiarizing them with your work practices and helping them understand your return-to-work efforts will make them more comfortable with earlier returns to work.
• Identifies hazards associated with specific tasks that could lead to serious injury. The organization can reduce claim severity by identifying and addressing where possible. Low-frequency jobs that carry a high risk warrant careful study.

Implementing a nurse triage program can help lower claim costs, avoid litigation and provide a better overall outcome for the employee and employer. The nurse’s role is to direct the worker to the most appropriate treatment, whether that’s an emergency room visit, an appointment with their primary care provider, or even rest and basic exercise at home. The program ensures workers are treated more quickly and are less likely to end up in the ER or urgent care.

When an Injury Occurs

Ensure that injured employees get the quality treatment they need quickly. Once first aid is addressed, the company should contact nurse triage to understand what else might need to happen medically. Management should ensure that the employee properly files a claim. It should include one individual designated as the employee’s contact.

After an Injury Occurs

After an injury occurs, appropriate management members should immediately investigate its cause. The focus of such an investigation is not to assign blame but to uncover any preventable circumstances that led to the injury. Communicating openly with employees (without violating privacy laws) can limit rumors and speculation while reminding other workers of the importance of safe practices.

Most individuals want to get back to work as quickly as possible. Assuring them that you have a common goal can help you head off litigation. A return-to-work policy can lower claim costs, reduce staff disruption and improve morale. Maintaining a bank of jobs that injured employees can safely perform can speed up their return from an injury.

Cannabis Conundrums

The intersection of workplace safety practices and the growing legalization of cannabis creates a lengthy list of complexities for employers. Every jurisdiction has its own laws and regulations, and the guidance of a local attorney is critical.

In most locations, employers still have the legal right to conduct at least some drug testing, prohibit marijuana use and possession in the workplace, and prohibit employees from being under its influence during working hours. They must comply with all federal and state drug testing laws and applicable licensing and contractual requirements. That’s complicated by areas with laws prohibiting employers from acting against employees who are authorized medical marijuana users (or users in general), underscoring the importance of local legal counsel.

Cannabis Creates Legal Complexities

Even states in which marijuana is legal may require employers to navigate through a surprisingly long list of applicable laws, such as:

• requiring employers to have written policies and certain testing protocols in place before they can conduct an employee drug test.
• providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities.
• not discriminating against employees or applicants based on a protected trait such as race, color, religion, national origin, sex and others.
• prohibiting adverse actions against employees based on off-duty participation in legal activities (except in a safety-sensitive context, such as driving or operating machinery).
• obtaining premium discounts for workers' compensation for employers with a drug-free workplace policy.
• limiting unemployment benefits for termination based on marijuana or other drug use.
• addressing employee privacy relative to drug testing.
• complying with OSHA’s General Duty Clause, requiring employers to provide a safe workplace.

In the states where medical marijuana is legal, a growing issue involves the use of marijuana to treat worker injuries when the worker prefers marijuana to opioids. However, until marijuana use is federally approved and regulated, such claims are not likely to be approved by carriers.

Value of A Drug Policy

A solid workplace drug policy that complies with state laws can go a long way toward keeping your organization drug-free. Our studies show that employees are three times less likely to produce a positive drug test if they know they'll be tested. Your policy should ensure training for manager enforcement, support for employees struggling with addiction, and rules for investigating accidents and incidents.

More Insights

Hylant helps employers identify, quantify and prioritize safety-related risks and find ways to address them strategically. Learn more here about how we can help you strengthen your safety, compliance and cost-control efforts.

Related Reading: Top 10 Ways to Control Your MOD

The above information does not constitute advice. Always contact your insurance broker or trusted advisor for insurance-related questions