4th Annual Work Comp Conference Concluded
A packed room gets answers about Work Comp
July 16, 2010
A full house of attendees greeted the speakers at the most recent gathering on updates in workers' compensation in Connell's ongoing Seminar Series. The presenters provided information to HR professionals ranging from the design and implementation of return-to-work programs, the appeals process for workers' compensation and unemployment claims, recent trends and changes in the law, and a renewed emphasis in federal OSHA compliance.
The day began with a presentation by Commissioner Alice Bartlett of the Missouri Labor & Industrial Relations Commission. Commissioner Bartlett provided the audience with material updates on worker's compensation laws, regulations, and interpretations – and what they actually mean to the employer. Citing legal and administrative rulings, exemplified by specific case studies, the commissioner's presentation was well-appreciated by the attendees. A considerable amount of post-presentation discussion centered on the questions as to when and where claims eligibility came into force – particularly with emergency service employees who are on-call while at home.
Next at the podium was Margaret Ellis Holden, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Springfield jurisdiction since 1993. Judge Holden took a case-by-case approach to illuminate the thought processes and rulings in numerous work comp and unemployment cases in order to provide the audience with some operational guidelines for their organizational policies.
The third and final presenter was Daniel Stark, CIH, Program Manager for the Missouri On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program. While explaining the free services provided by his department to help business improve safety in the workplace, Stark continually reinforced that his services are activated by requests from businesses and that they do not report problems found to OSHA. He did make a strong point on the renewed activities by OSHA, including the hiring of additional manpower, increased inspection activity, and higher fines.
When Stark mentioned the PAW Act (Protect American Workers Act), he caught the audience by surprise. In fact, some governmental employees had actually left early because governmental organizations are not traditionally subject to OSHA requirements and inspections. However, as was explained, the provisions of the PAW Act, which is designed to strengthen and modernize the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA), would:
- Expand OSHA coverage to include state and local public employees, along with federal government workers.
- Expand coverage to millions of other workers inadequately covered, such as airline and railroad employees, and Department of Energy contractors.
Were you unable to attend? If you are an HR professional who likes to stay on top of the latest developments, our Seminar Series is the perfect resource. Audio selections from the conference are available in our Audio Library for listening online, or simply subscribe to the Connell Seminar Series iTunes podcast to automaticaly download the latest seminar- and HR-related recordings as soon as they are released.
Like most of our events, this seminar was pre-approved for continuing education credit for HR professionals who are PHR or SPHR certified. If you'd like to be notified of future conferences about Work Comp and other topics of interest to HR Managers, please contact Randall Gammill. Be sure to check back often for new events in our popular Seminar Series, and we look forward to seeing you at the next seminar!
- Listen to highlights of our seminars in our Audio Library
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