Group-Rating Safety Accountability

Date: September 13, 2016

July 2016

RE:
Group-Rating Safety Accountability

Dear Employer: 

Each year Ohio
employers have the opportunity to participate in BWC’s Group-Experience-Rating
Program or Group-Retrospective-Rating Program. While these programs are not
required, they do provide you with an opportunity to significantly reduce your
workers’ compensation premiums, while increasing your awareness of safety and
risk-management strategies.

Workplace safety
is an important component of these programs. To succeed in accident prevention,
we encourage you to use the many resources available to you. We believe a
group-rating program is a partnership that includes you and your employees,
your sponsoring organization or third-party administrator (TPA) and BWC. Each
has specific roles and responsibilities, all designed to assist in preventing
workplace accidents. This letter outlines the safety services expectations you
should have as an employer enrolled in a group-rating program.

The employer
will:

  • Maintain
    a safe workplace;
  • Attend
    safety training to enhance workplace safety;
  • Use
    BWC’s safety services as needed;
  • Fulfill
    the required two-hour training requirement and provide proof of attendance to
    sponsor for claim(s)
  • occurring within
    the last year.

The certified
primary and affiliated sponsoring organizations will:

  • Sponsor
    eight hours of safety training (this may be done at one time or may be provided
    incrementally as long as the total is at least eight hours);
  • Provide
    information regarding safety resources to group members;
  • Possibly
    assist an employer in achieving its safety needs;
  • Manage
    employer fulfillment of the two-hour training requirement, where applicable;
  • Publish
    this letter to group members.

The TPA may:

  • Assist
    sponsoring organizations with fulfilling the group-rating safety requirements;
  • Assist
    an employer with its safety needs;
  • Work
    in conjunction with sponsors to develop safety training and deliver safety
    resources;
  • Provide
    resources for claims handling.

BWC will:

  • Monitor
    all group-rating safety activities to confirm requirements are met;
  • Remain
    in communication with sponsoring organizations to provide recommendations for
    fulfilling safety requirements;
  • Provide
    safety training through Ohio’s Center for Occupational Safety & Health;
  • Offer
    on-site safety consultation (hazard assessments, air and noise monitoring,
    ergonomics evaluation, training) by a BWC safety professional;
  • Offer
    publications and videos for safety program support;
  • Conduct
    employer visits to confirm the employer is meeting group-rating requirements,
    when appropriate.

The goal of this
collaborative effort is to make sure all your safety needs are met. Using these
resources will assist you in preventing accidents, reducing claims costs and
achieving the highest discounts possible. Below you’ll find contact information
for various resources.

Group sponsor:
National Federation of Independent Businesses/Ohio: [email protected]

TPA:
CareWorksComp: [email protected]

BWC: https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/employer/services/safetyhygiene.asp,
[email protected] 

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