Washington state fraud program brings in millions

Tumwater, WA – More than $137 million was collected last year by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries' workers' compensation fraud program, according to a new report issued Jan. 18.

The annual report (.pdf file) to the state's legislature details the money the program collected from employer premiums, audit assessments, overpayments to workers, health care and vocational providers, and fraud recovery orders.

According to the report, L&I's Fraud Prevention and Compliance Program brought in $7 for every $1 invested in 2010.

Highlights from the report include:

• Completion of 5,789 claimant investigations of suspected workers' comp fraud or abuse, which was a record
• Assessed $26.4 million through employer audits, including $7.2 million against companies who hired employees but failed to open a workers' comp account
• Seventeen cases were referred for criminal prosecution

L&I said in a press release the collections were evidence of the success of targeting and enforcement working.

Source: The National Safety Council

Train at Your Location

Investing in employee safety is smart for your business. Bring Evergreen to your location to advance employee safety and health.

Not only is on-site training cost-effective, but it helps ramp up the speed of your learning objectives. Nearly any topic in Evergreen's curriculum can be customized and presented at your site.

On-Target Content - We work with you to determine your training objectives and to develop content that hits the mark.

Lasting Impact - Instructors help you identify follow-up measures to maximize long-term effectiveness and return on investment.

Cost Savings - A custom-designed on-site program is often more cost-effective than sending a group of employees to off-site courses.

Give Stephanie a call to discuss if on-site training will benefit your organization. 800-521-0778

Scholarship Opportunity

Attention: ESC member company employees, children or stepchildren of employees, or children or stepchildren of member company owners. Applications for the $1,000 Monty C. Lish & Stanley O. McNaughton Scholarship for Safety and Health Careers must be postmarked by February 15, 2001.

The Evergreen Safety Council (ESC) Board of Directors established the Monty C. Lish & Stanley O. McNaughton Scholarship for Safety and Health Careers to honor Mr. Lish & Mr. McNaughton for their vast contributions to community service, education and particularly their dedication to ESC. The scholarship program was developed to encourage more college students to consider Safety and Health professions as viable and worthwhile careers.

Business and Driving: Inseparable

Contributed Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council
Most of us drive a motor vehicle; and many of us drive a motor vehicle as part of our job. Large trucks, delivery vans, repair trucks of all sizes or even your personal vehicle, with the illuminated, magnetic “Pizza Delivery” sign stuck on the roof.

Business and driving seem to be inseparable. The sad fact is that motor vehicle-related incidents are consistently the leading cause of work-related fatalities in the United States.

According to the numbers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the approximately 5,700 fatalities annually reported, 35% are associated with motor vehicles. Between 2002-2008, on average:

• 1354 workers died each year from crashes on public highways.
• 324 workers died each year in crashes that occurred off the highway or on industrial premises.
• 358 pedestrian workers died each year as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle.

Since you first attended a “driver’s education” class, as preparation to taking your first driver’s license test, have you attended a driver improvement course? While most of us consider ourselves to be pretty good drivers, each of us does not have to think long on the subject to recall a recent on-the-road incident where the “other guy” was certainly not driving safely.

Unfortunately, it’s not always the overt, intentionally unsafe act or behavior that leads to a collision, but often the way your driving behavior is perceived and how other drivers react to the event. Most of us could benefit from a refresher session to remind us of those safe driving behaviors that, if not already, should become habits.

Does your company offer such a course? If not, contact Evergreen Safety Council, as our Eversafe Driving Course can be structured to meet the needs of your companies’ drivers. We can also train you to become an Eversafe Instructor, to provide in-house training for your fellow employees. Let’s ALL be safe out there!

Presentation Skills for Effective Safety Communications

Do you provide training for your employees? Have to give presentations as part of your job? Do you wish you were more comfortable when standing in front of a group?

Here's a funny, 2-minute video just to make you laugh. (Yes, a "competitor" made it.) Feel free to share if you've ever done anything like this as a presenter. We can all learn from each others experiences.

Evergreen Offers a Presentation Skills for Effective Safety Communications course twice a year as part of the Safety & Health Specialist series. The next class is on January 27th. Register today, and be ready for the next time you need to make a presentation. Class size is limited to allow for group participation.

This workshop allows participant to practice effective stand-up and round-table speaking and presentations. Effective presentation principles are covered, including exercises and critiquing presentation effectiveness and style. Some materials are sent out prior to the class.