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  • An employee causing an incident can be bad news for a business, especially if that employee ends up hurting someone else. Negligent hiring is a case where an employee injures a co-worker or customer while on the job, leaving you and your company in a difficult position.

    Avoiding negligible hiring cases.

    What Counts as Negligent Hiring

    Employers are expected to take reasonable care with their employees. The level of required care depends on the job itself and how much the hired individual may come into contact with third parties. Another factor is foreseeability, or whether the employer should have been able to foresee if the potential employee is a threat to engage in dangerous conduct. The necessary legal elements of negligent hiring or retention include:

    •  Existence of an employment relationship

    •  Employee’s incompetence

    •  Employer’s actual or constructive knowledge of such incompetence

    •  Employee’s act or omission causing plaintiff’s injuries

    •  Employer’s negligence in hiring or retaining the employee as the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury

    If all of the above factors are present, it can lead to a guilty verdict for employers. Companies lose roughly 75 percent of negligent hearing cases, costing them upwards of millions of dollars in settlements. 

    Keeping Compliant and Avoiding Negligent Hiring

    When you add an employee to your team, you need to ensure that they’re the right individual for the job. That includes making sure that you are running criminal background checks to avoid hiring the wrong person.

    Group Management Systems can help your company perform necessary background checks through risk management strategies designed to strengthen your business. Contact us today to see how working with a Professional Employer Organization can benefit you and your business.

  • Summer days make for more than just fun in the sun. Summer weather leads to a spike in outdoor jobs, hotter conditions, and workplace injuries. While these issues are a year-long concern, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the rate of workplace injuries increases during the summer season. 

    More injuries mean more workers’ compensation claims, and more claims mean that your company will have to pay a higher workers’ compensation rate. However, business owners can take steps to help lower workers’ compensation rates by employing loss prevention strategies that can help reduce the risk of accidents in the workplace. 

    Image of an injured employee. Contact GMS about workers’ compensation risk management strategies.

    Put the Right Workplace Safety Programs and Strategies in Place

    4.1 million people suffer workplace injuries each year. Preventative measures can help limit the risk of accidents in your workplaces. Some measures include:

    • Safety training programs
    • Development of safety manuals
    • Development of safety guidelines for employees
    • Workplace inspections and guidance on OSHA compliance
    • Development of drug-free and drug-testing programs

    Employers pay roughly $74 billion dollars each year for workers’ compensation claims. Simple measures such as safety programs and manuals can help teach your employees about proper procedure so that they don’t unknowingly put themselves at risk. Inspections and testing policies can help make sure that these procedures are followed

    Have a Team That Can Handle Claims Management

    No matter how many programs or safety measures you put in place, accidents can still happen. When they do, it’s important to have a team that can help you protect your business against bad claims.

    Group Management Services partners with businesses to help guide them through the claims process and create loss prevention strategies that minimize risk. Contact us today to learn more about how we can make your business safer through workers’ compensation risk management.

  • Not all workplace injuries happen outside. The office isn’t the most dangerous location, but it can still be home to some minor injuries and issues. Here are three threats to employee health in an office space. 

    Image of an injured employee. Contact GMS about risk management

    Slips and Falls

    You don’t have to work on ladders or heavy equipment to be hurt by a fall. While an office won’t provide nearly as many obstacles for employees, it doesn’t take much to throw someone off balance. 

    A wet floor is one notable threat for employees. Loose carpeting or flooring can trip up even the wariest of walkers. Free cables or unclear pathways can also trip up employees and cause them to fall. While a trip in a hallway isn’t as dangerous as a fall off a ladder, an awkward landing can lead to breaks, sprains, and potential hospital visits.

    Lifting Items and Falling Objects

    What goes up must come down. If you’re not careful, both directions can lead to injury. Even offices can require some heavy lifting, whether it’s equipment, supplies, or something else entirely. Improper lifting can lead to back or neck injuries, so it’s important to lift by bending your legs instead of leaning over and hurting your back. Also, if something’s too heavy, it’s probably best to get help.

    Falling objects can also cause problems in the office. Old or broken storage devices can cause objects to fall on people, leading to head injuries. Also, storing objects too high can lead to accidents while workers struggle to reach what they need.

    Workstation Woes

    Sometimes a workstation can be an employee’s worst enemy. Bad workstations can have a number of issues, including broken chairs or computer screens at an improper height. These problems can lead to a number of health issues, including:

    • Bad posture
    • Muscle strain
    • Eye strain
    • Carpal tunnel syndrome

    These aches and pains can hurt employee productivity and lead to more problems down the road, including the need to miss time.

    Help Protect Employees with a PEO

    Workplace injuries are bad for any business. Group Management Services helps businesses through loss prevention strategies that can help protect your employees and your business. Contact us today about how we can help your business avoid office injuries and potential workers’ compensation claims.

  • The knee is the largest joint in our body and, by the nature of its use, takes the brunt of our day-to-day activities. Think about all of the things you do on a daily basis and then try to imagine doing any of them without your knees. Rolling over in bed would be about the only thing you could perform; you couldn’t even stand up to start your day without the use of your knees. 

    Those jointed masses of bone and ligament help us to stand, bend, squat, walk, jump, run, crawl, kneel, pivot, and even sit. Thinking about everything that these joints do for us, it only makes sense to take good care of them.

    Did you know that your knee absorbs four times your body weight when walking and 10 times your body weight when running? Given these numbers, it is evident that even workers with a smaller body frame, carrying an appropriate weight are still stressing their knees every day. Adding my 20-40 pounds of extra body fat, depending on the month, only compounds my chances of experiencing a debilitating knee injury at work sooner rather than later.

    Image of a workplace knee injury. Learn about the impact of knee injuries at work and how risk management services can help.

    Impact of Knee Injuries in the Workplace

    Due to the amount of work our knees perform to propel us through life, they are often the first to break down and let us know they are doing so. Most people have experienced knee pain at one point in their lives, or will experience knee pain in the future. The American Osteopathic Association states that “close to 65% of Americans ages 18 to 34 have experienced chronic pain or someone they care for has experienced chronic pain during the past year.” This number accounts for a large portion of our contemporary workforce. Those of us that work in heavier job classes like skilled trades or nursing can experience knee degeneration at a more rapid pace.

    According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, workplace knee injuries account for 15-20 percent of lost time injuries resulting in 16 days away from work on average. . Early diagnosis and treatment can drastically reduce overall claim cost and days missed from work. Ignoring the pain will rarely make our knee issues go away. Let’s take a look at some simple, cost-effective measures you can implement in your workplace to reduce exposure.

    • Raise the work level so workers are on their knees less.
    • Design workspaces so workers can sit rather than kneel.
    • Stage materials so that workers don’t have to bend or kneel to lift.
    • Use a rolling stool when floor work and movement are required.
    • Provide opportunities for workers to stretch knees through their full range of motion. This helps to lubricate the knee joint.
    • Train your workforce on appropriate knee exercises and stretches.
    • Provide an opportunity for them to stretch before, during, and after work.
    • Provide shock absorbing knee pads for individuals expected to work from their knees.
    • As always, keep your work environment free of clutter and tripping hazards.

    Set an Example for Workplace Safety

    Safety starts and ends with you. The culture is yours to create. Develop it. Own it. Exemplify it. 

    A Professional Employer Organization can help you set the standards for workplace safety by developing safety manuals, training programs, and other strategies to protect your people. Contact GMS today to learn more about risk management services that can create a safer working environment.

  • As a business owner, you get to make the rules in  your own company. However, there are still plenty of regulations and laws that can impact your business.

    It can be difficult for owners to keep track of every single rule and avoid non-compliance costs when they’re  busy, well, running a business. That’s why it can pay to invest in human resource outsourcing through a Professional Employer Organization. A PEO can help your business stay in line with complicated regulations to help you keep your HR functions in order. Here are areas  where a PEO can help save you some money.

    Image of compliance needs for a business. Learn how human resorce outsourcing with a PEO can help with compliance.

    Four Areas Where Non-compliance Can Cost Businesses

    Workplace Safety

    OSHA takes safety very seriously and can dole out some significant fines for non-compliance. According to the OSHA Penalties list updated Jan. 13, 2017, serious violations can cost a business a whopping $12,675 per violation. It’s 10 times that amount for willful or repeated penalties.

    Workplace inspections and guidance on compliance can do more than just avoid costly OSHA fines. They can make your workplace safer and minimize risk for workplace accidents. 

    Hiring

    Hiring employees can be a costly experience if you aren’t compliant with appropriate policies and practices. There are several laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that can trip up companies that aren’t careful, leading to lawsuits from disgruntled applicants over improper job applications, discrimination, or other issues.

    Healthcare

    Even with the current political administration in power, businesses should still plan for Affordable Care Act  compliance. As our own Andrew Szczesniak wrote earlier this year about the future of the ACA , “it’s impossible to predict with any certainty what will happen in the next 12 months, let alone the next two years.”

    With many people committed to the ACA through at least 2017, businesses still need to make sure that they stay compliant. Failure to offer coverage under current legislation could end up costing a company thousands of dollars  each month, depending on the number of employees at your company and how/if you offered employees coverage. The specifics can get complicated, so The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has an easy chart that you can follow to see where you fall.

    Payroll

    Businesses have to deal with tax liabilities and responsibilities. If you don’t stay compliant, you could end up having to cut a few more checks as a penalty. 

    Bloomberg reported back in 2014 that “the IRS issued 6.8 million penalties totaling $4.5 billion” for business in the U.S. over the course of a year. That’s a lot of lost cash that could be avoided by making sure your business is compliant with tax liabilities and responsibilities.

    Stay Compliant through Changing Regulations

    It can be tricky enough for some businesses to stay compliant with every rule and regulation. It gets even harder when laws are created or updated. 

    The ACA is a great example of how changing legislation can create questions about what you need to do to keep your business compliant and avoid costly penalties. A PEO has a dedicated team of HR specialists who can help you stay up to date on the legislation and regulations that may affect your business. 

    With a PEO, you don’t have to toil away for long nights trying to make sense of every little detail. PEO experts know how to do that so your business is safer and stronger in the long run. Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about how a PEO can help your business with compliance.

  • Eddie woke up one frigid, Ohio, winter morning as he always did. That day, he assumed, would be no different than any other day. He arose to the tune of his 4:30 a.m. alarm clock sounding, what his wife and children often called “the fall-out alarm.” His wife darted awake as well, but quickly rolled back over and off to sleep again. 

    Image of a wet floor. Learn about the dangers of slip and fall accidents at work.

    Eddie rambled down the stairs to the kitchen and poured his first cup of black coffee, slugged it down, and then filled his travel mug as he hustled out the door to go to work. He’d been a machinist for the same small tool and dies company for the past 20 years and was a valued employee. The owner had been heard, on a fairly regular basis, saying, “This company would fold if it weren’t for Eddie.” This was probably the truth; Eddie hadn’t missed a day of work since he’d been there and, on a daily basis, out-produced the rest of the shop combined. He was smart, efficient, and met every deadline he was ever given. 

    What Eddie didn’t know about that day was that it would be his last for the next 15 months. Upon entering the building Eddie slipped in a puddle of hydraulic fluid. With his hands occupied with his lunch, coffee, and a trashcan someone left out the night before, he was unable to brace his fall in any way and fell to the concrete floor. Eddie suffered a broken elbow, collar bone, and hip, as well as a herniated disk. 

    In a split second, Eddie’s, his family’s and his employer’s lives all took a drastic turn for the worse. The hydraulic fluid on the floor was left by another employee the night before. When asked, that employee stated he was going to clean it up in the morning before anyone else got there. What he didn’t know was that Eddie was planning on getting to work early the following day to finish a big project. Due to one worker’s inattention to detail, Eddie and his family faced some of the toughest times they’d ever encountered. Eddie’s employer felt those hard times too.

    Eddie’s fall resulted in some very serious injuries; after multiple surgeries, doctor visits, and countless hours of therapy, his injuries cost well over $300,000 in medical bills alone. This doesn’t even take into consideration the lost time wage compensation and loss of production his employer suffered from Eddie’s absence. 

    Slip, Trip, and Fall Injuries in America

    In America, employers pay over a billion dollars a week for slip, trip, and fall (ST&F) injuries. ST&F injuries also result in 15 percent of work-related fatalities, are a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, and account for one-of-every-six Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) claims every year. The alarming fact behind those numbers is that most of the injuries were very preventable had employers utilized just a few cost-effective strategies.

    Let’s take a look at some simple adjustments you, as an employer, can make to your workplace to help prevent ST&F injuries.

    • Housekeeping or making sure the workspace is free of clutter and employees clean spills immediately.
    • Designate and mark passageways for walking.
    • Provide or require associates to wear appropriate footwear.
    • Make sure floor openings and holes are appropriately guarded or covered.
    • Provide proper lighting in all spaces.
    • Perform frequent “walk-throughs” to identify hazards, and then mitigate those hazards.
    • Train employees on specific hazards in your workplace.
    • Train employees how to recognize possible hazards.
    • Lead by example and create the safety culture in your workplace.

    Remember, your employees aren’t reading this blog, you, the employer, are. Safety starts and ends with you. The culture is yours to create. Develop it. Own it. Exemplify it. If you want to make your workplace safer, contact GMS today to learn more about workers’ compensation management and loss prevention strategies. 

  • Back in June of 2016, I wrote a blog that talked about some of the changes that were being planned over at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. As 2017 kicks off, there’s more to talk about.

    According to an interview in Smart Business, there are some distinctions that may have slipped under the radar for some small business owners.

    Image of risk management services for businesses.

    How OSHA’s Changes Can Affect Your Business

    For years, business owners were required to submit written reports to OSHA about workplace injuries and incidents. While these were limited to larger employees, companies with as few as 11 employees had to submit OSHA 300 logs. These logs were meant for internal use, but that has now expanded to certain large and “high-risk” employers who must log onto OSHA’s website to post them. These logs will then be available to others who can access the site.

    The idea behind these changes were to “nudge” businesses to create safer work environments which would in turn lower workers’ compensation costs. These logs can now be used by OSHA for data analysis as well as something that can trigger an audit.

    Are you a large employer or “high risk?” For OSHA’s purposes, a large employer consists of 250 employees or more. However, a company in a “high risk” industry can have as few as 20 employees to be affected.

    Do you feel confident that you’re not in a high risk industry? Don’t be so sure. In some cases, grocery stores, retailers, rental centers, food distributors, etc. can be classified as such.

    OSHA is also cracking down against widespread “blanket, post-accident drug-testing” feeling that those kinds of policies quash some employees’ reporting of claims for fear of retaliation.

    Find Out Where Your Business Fits

    Not sure where you fit in with these changes? Don’t know if your post-accident policy is legal? Well you have certain options. You can navigate OSHA’s website to see what changes affect you, you can speak with your attorney, or you can reach out to a Professional Employer Organization who has their own internal Risk Management Department to handle things such as these. Contact GMS today to find out where your business falls in under these changes.

  • Employment Practices Liability Insurance is an often overlooked form of insurance coverage for small business owners, and many do not realize its significance until it’s too late. EPLI protects employers from employee liability damages and defense costs from claims brought by any employee alleging claims such as sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliation.

    Image of a costly lawsuit that could have been prevented with Employment Practices Liability Insurance.

    Who Needs Employment Practices Liability Insurance?

    We live in an increasingly litigious society and employers must do everything they can to protect what they have worked so hard to build. The most vulnerable companies to an EPLI lawsuit are new or small businesses, typically due to the lack of handbooks and a legal department.

    The EPLI policy provided by GMS to its clients covers four major areas of concern: Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Employment Actions, and Retaliation. There are many subcategories to these titles that are ever increasing as employment law develops in the courts. Examples are wrongful termination, defamation, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, wrongful demotion, or failure to employ, promote, train or enforce workplace policies and procedures. 

    The Claims Journal provides a list of the top trending EPLI claims as of 2014:

    • Genetic Discrimination: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Information Act prevents companies from using genetic information to influence hiring decisions. 
    • Pregnancy Discrimination: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prevents employers from any negative action taken as a result of an employee’s pregnancy.
    • Illegal Background Checks: Employers must notify candidates of the request in writing and notify them that the results will factor into their employment decision.
    • Unpaid Interns: The Department of Labor set standards for whether it is acceptable to have unpaid interns. If they are simply performing the tasks of a paid employee without any educational element, the DOL has deemed that they require monetary compensation. 

    The Cost of a Lawsuit

    Many fail to understand that their existing general liability insurance policies will not cover them in these events. The effects of these lawsuits can be financially catastrophic for a small business owner.

    Recent studies show the average cost to simply defend your company against a suit is $45,000. They go on to state that even though 75 percent of these are found to be “groundless.” the rest have an average jury award of $342,000.

    How GMS Can Help

    The GMS EPLI policy has a $50,000 deductible, with the first $25,000 responsibility on the client. There are specific notice requirements that must be met in order to trigger the coverage. A GMS client must advise its assigned account manager of facts or circumstances which may reasonably be expected to give rise to a claim. It has been our experience that swift fact finding and analysis by our HR professionals and legal counsel can effectively diffuse a claim before it becomes a matter that needs referral to defense counsel.  GMS will counsel the client to either fight the claim or negotiate a proper resolution where warranted. GMS has often shielded its clients from spending needless sums in legal fees and expenses through risk management services.

    As you can see, it’s of the utmost importance to make sure you are covered against such allegations. Contact GMS today to see how we can make your business simpler, safer, and stronger.

  • Workplace safety oversights can be expensive mistakes for employers. When an injury occurs and a claim is made, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) will come down hard on an offending business if they determine it is at fault. Depending on the situation, employers may also find themselves dealing with a VSSR, another violation that can lead to additional penalties.

    Image of saftey equipment. Learn what a VSSR is and how it can cost your business.

    What Exactly is a VSSR?

    As you may have guessed by the title of this post, VSSR stands for “violation of a specific safety requirement.” The list of safety requirements is outlined in the Ohio Administrative Code and are used to help determine injury claims through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).

    According to the BWC, “the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) states it is the responsibility of every employer in Ohio to provide a safe workplace and adhere to all safety rules.” If an employer is not adhering to one of the listed safety requirements, they could be hit with a VSSR. The existence of this VSSR could mean that the injured employee would be eligible for additional compensation through their BWC claim.

    Does Outsourcing HR Functions Mean You Lose Control of Your Business?

    How Does the BWC Determine if a VSSR Occurred?

    There are a few requirements that must be met before the BWC determines that  an injury was the result of a VSSR. In order to collect an additional compensatory award, the injured worker must prove the following:

    • That the safety requirement(s) was both specific and applicable
    • That the employer was not in compliance with the safety requirement(s) when the accident occurred
    • That the non-compliance with the requirement(s) directly contributed to the injury

    The BWC will then turn to their safety violations investigation unit (SVIU), to proceed with the investigation. An impartial investigator will notify everyone involved in the claim and contact the separate parties. After they gather all the facts, which includes a site inspection, interviews, and related documents, the investigator will file a report with his or her findings in the BWC claim before the Industrial Commission of Ohio (IC) has a hearing on the matter.

    Keep in mind that the ORC does not place all the responsibility on the employer. Workers are also expected to properly use safety equipment provided by the employer as well. If they don’t, then the BWC may not find the employer at fault for the injury.

    What are the Penalties Associated with a VSSR?

    If the IC deicides that an employer is at fault for a VSSR, it’s going to cost that company quite a bit. The IC will grant the injured worker an additional monetary award, which the BWC states can range anywhere “from 15 to 50 percent of the maximum allowable weekly compensation rate granted to the injured worker.”

    Multiple VSSRs can also become a costly problem. If a company has been charged with two or more VSSRs within a 24-month period, the IC can impose an additional penalty of up to $50,000.

    What Can My Business Do About VSSRs?

    It’s important to crack down on any potential violations. Make sure that you’re adhering to safety requirements and creating a safer working environment for you and your employees.

    Of course, this is easier said than done, especially if you’re not an expert on risk management and don’t have the time to become one. A Professional Employer Organization can provide your business with expert risk management services and strategies that can help you create a safer workplace and limit your risk for workers’ compensation claims. Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about how we can help you make your business a safer place.

  • Have you ever heard the expression “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?” Unfortunately, that might not always be true. 

    In the past year, recreational marijuana became legalized in the great state of Nevada. If you smoke weed and then get drug tested at work the next day, what happened in Vegas may come back to haunt you.

    How Legalized Marijuana Affects the Workplace

    This year, one in five American people reside in a state where weed is legal. What does this mean for the business owners that have employees in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Maine, California, Massachusetts, and Nevada? Here are a few things to keep in mind:

    1. Although some States have legalized marijuana, federally it is still illegal.
    2. Federal Law has been trumping State Law for the cases we have seen thus far.
    3. Your employees still cannot possess or use marijuana at work.
    4. You as an employer can still have a drug-free work place and enforce it.
    5. You need to sharpen up your policies and handbooks to protect your company.

    At this point, there is no significant case law to support employment decisions one way or another, as we are still in the infant stages of this new legislation. However, the Colorado Supreme Court reviewed a case involving the Lawful Activities Statute, C.R.S. § 24-34-402.5, last year.  

    The case, Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 350 P.3d 970 (Colo. 2015), involved a quadriplegic employee who used medical marijuana after work hours to help control his pain. He was fired after a random drug test showed that he had THC in his system. The employee went on to sue his employer claiming that his termination was in violation of the Colorado lawful activities statute, But his employer won the case because the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that his termination did not violate the statute because marijuana use was unlawful under federal law. 

    Staying on Top Of Federal and State Marijuana Laws

    Things are going to continually change over the course of the next couple years, but one thing that is going to remain is the need for HR specialists to keep you ahead of the game. Unfortunately, this endeavor can be both costly and time consuming for a small business owner. 

    The best way to protect yourself and your employees is to partner with a Professional Employer Organization. PEOs like GMS were created to help small to mid-sized businesses navigate through the ever-changing laws and regulations. Contact us today to learn more about risk management services and other ways PEOs can help your business.