One of the advantages of completing the coursework for becoming a Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ is that there is no need to take a leave of absence from work to complete the coursework.
We offer a thorough 12-hour course on workers’ compensation, medical cost containment and insurance that also provides up-to-date strategies and tactics. And while it will take time and effort to complete the coursework, it is not necessary to be away from work. So participants who are currently employed in the field are able to apply some of what they are studying right away. When you are in school, but away from work, you studies cannot inform you work and vice versa. Those preparing for our exam to become certified in workers’ compensation will benefit from studying with their real-life experiences in mind.
Once someone has completed the coursework and paid the registration fee, they can take the online examination to get their Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ designation. It will usually take about two hours to complete the exam, but please note that this is not a timed examination.
And since as you know, our field is vibrant and ever-changing, continuing education is required to maintain the Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ designation. Once you have finished the initial course of study and passed the exam, you will need to complete at least 15 hours of continuing education every three years to keep your Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ designation current.
Times are tough and we know that you want to control your workers’ compensation costs. At the same time, you cannot reduce costs in a way that will put your organization’s employees at risk. One of the best ways to combine the goals of workers safety and reigning in comp costs is to make sure that your workers’ compensation program is designed to meet your organization’s needs.
Here are some tips to make certain that you have a program that provides the coverage you really need:
-Carefully review you carrier/TPA’s proof points.
-Look for a carrier/TPA that is willing to have an ongoing relationship and understands your organizational goals.
-Check out your carrier/TPA’s track record. Do they have longevity? Do they have a number of satisfied clients who renew with them?
-Emphasize that you want your employees to return by implementing an official return-to-work program.
-Use a cross-section of employees to review your workers’ compensation program. You will want input from people in human resources, finance, and those who are function supervisors.
-Invest in training the employees who administer your workers’ compensation program. The National Registry of Workers’ Compensation Specialists offers Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ training that is the best available. After completing a self-study curriculum and comprehensive examination, your employees can become certified on the ins and outs of workers compensation and how medical cost containment works to reduce workers’ compensation insurance costs.
Internet search giant Google recently appointed its very first official risk manager. Kelly Crowder will be the company’s first risk manager since it started. When you think about it, although Google is a giant in its field, it is a newbie as organizations go. Some sources say Google is eight years old; others give it up to dozen years. In a short period of time, Google has morphed from a small company with just a few employees into a huge conglomerate.
Prior to being hired, Crowder worked for Google as a consultant who was an employee of another firm. During her time there, she has worked to help Google transition from a transactional model to an enterprise risk management model.
Crowder did not get to where she is without education (her undergraduate degree is based on a double major in finance and risk management). Even if you do not see yourself overseeing risk management at a company like Google, you still need a firm knowledge base in the field. A Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ certification can give you a firmer footing. You want to be prepared for whatever challenges may arise on your current job and you want to shore up your credentials because you never know who may come calling.
It can be instructional to look at workers compensation cases, even when the laws in your own state may differ.
In Schilling v. Huntington County Community School Corp., et al., an employee who was employed for only a portion of the year by an Indiana school system learned that he was not eligible for health care coverage under the school’s medical plan when he was injured doing other work.
The employee drove a bus for a school system for half of the year. During the remainder of the year, he worked as a farmer. When he suffered an injury while performing farming duties (he got into a car accident with transporting grain), he thought that the related medical costs would be covered under the school’s policy since he was an employee.
As it turns out, the school’s medical coverage plan has a clause which states that injuries that occur while an employee is engaged in secondary employment are not covered by the plan. The employee appealed the school’s original ruling and the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school. It is true that any injury would affect the employee’s ability to perform his work duties, but since he was not injured on the job that provided coverage, he was not able to claim coverage.
It is quite an achievement for a company to go three years without any lost time or restricted duty incidents. The best policies and the best practices cannot always prevent injury, but they can go a long way towards creating a safe environment that decreases the chances of injury. From 2006-2008, Excel TSD of Tennessee LLC managed to do this and more. The company maintained a below average illness and injury rate for this time period as well.
Unless you are in the same industry, you may not be able to guess what kind of work the 15 employees at Excel TSD of Tennessee do. Well, it is a commercial facility for storing and treating hazardous waste. This means that this is a workplace where people are working with dangerous materials on a regular basis.
Earlier this month, Excel was given the Governor’s Award of Excellence for Workplace Safety as well as the SHARP award. An employer must have less than 250 employees and be in a field that is classified as high-hazard to receive the SHARP award.
This company kept employee safety at the forefront of its operations and you can too by making sure that you are up-to-date on practical strategies and tactics to help you succeed and prosper in a changing insurance and risk management environment by become a Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ .
You may be asking yourself what is the value in getting the Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS) designation. Perhaps you figure that as long as you know most of the rules or can look them up, you are fine. You may be fine…until you come across a situation that requires more than looking up a rule.
Workers’ compensation is not simply an insurance policy; rather it is an entire system that you really need to understand in order to be truly effective. It is one thing to know the rules; it is another to know how, where, and when to apply them. Getting certification not only shows your dedication to your work, it will also set you apart from others who have not taken this step to further their professional education.
This certification is for anyone who is interested in the industry. Even if you are not directly working to administer workers’ compensation, you may benefit for training if your work in a related field touches upon workers’ compensation issues. Some professionals who may want this certification include attorneys, underwriters and consultants.
Visit us here on the National Registry of Workers’ Compensation blog to learn more about certification and the read about what is going on in the field. You will see just how vital professional education is in an area such as workers’ compensation, where everything is not cut and dry.
Last week, we talked about how the workers compensation benefits for employees of Chrysler have been protected, thanks in part to Michigan’s Attorney General. Chrysler is being brought out by an Italian company because of bankruptcy and it was not clear at first whether or not the new owners were going to take on the responsibility of covering workers’ compensation coverage.
Well, lest anyone think that providing workers compensation is something to think lightly, a ruling handed down earlier this month indicted a business owner for not doing this.
The state of New Jersey paid the expenses when an employee of a paving company was injured, had surgery and a hospital stay of three months. The money for this employee’s surgery and recuperation came from the New Jersey Uninsured Employers’ Fund because his employer did not have coverage.
Now that employer has been charged with fourth-degree failure to provide this coverage. The penalties for this crime include a $10,000 fine along with a state prison stay of up to 18 months.
Even when you have a workers compensation policy in place, your staff may not be fully aware of how to administer that policy and you may be spending money on coverage that you do not need. Making sure that key employees who are involved in the administration of your workers compensation policy are certified through the National Registry of Workers’ Compensation Specialists can ensure that this aspect of your business is administered as efficiently as possible.
Allowing employees to work from home will cut costs, as long as you keep in mind that you still need to look out for telecommuting employees when it comes to injuries and their overall well-being. Just because they are out of sight does not mean that you can keep them out of mind. You will not really save money if a employee who works from a home office gets injured or becomes too stressed out to do their job. (And if you were not aware, stress is key issue for telecommuting employees, some of whom overwork themselves since they want to prove that they are worthy of the trust placed in them by letting them work away from the office.)
One way to minimize risk for telecommuting employees is to have them only work from home part time, if possible. When this is not possible, arrange to have telecommuting employees come into the office at regular intervals. That way you can speak with them on a regular basis to check on their overall progress and to and gauge their stress level. It is very important that supervisors keep up with telecommuting employees.
Give your telecommuting employees information on how to set up a work station at home from a trusted source like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Also make certain that employees who work from home area aware of and have access to all of the programs that your organization offers to employees who work on-site.
Although some efficiency experts have come forth to say that multitasking is not the optimal way for individuals to operate, many people must multitask when it comes to the duties they hold on the job. Some employers let positions that are vacant remain that way, choosing instead to fold the responsibilities of a vacant position into those of a job that is currently filled. And then those of you with small businesses have always had to wear many hats. You cannot afford to hire separate employees for some functions and often take many of them on yourself.
We have seen people who act as payroll, accounting and human resources simply because the company really cannot hire people to fulfill each one of these functions. If you are one of these people and you feel as though you may not be equipped to handle all of these functions, why not seek certification in at least one of the functions you fulfill? The National Registry of Workers’ Compensation offers Registered Workers’ Compensation Specialist (RWCS)™ training that you can take on your time and at your own pace. This way you will be ready to confidently handle any issues relating to workers compensation that may come up without feeling overwhelmed.
While “bailout” was being tossed around as a buzzword in reference to the American auto industry, employees at Chrysler had reason to be concerned not only about the future of their employer, but also about whether their workers’ compensation benefits would be protected. When a company is being sold because of bankruptcy proceedings or for any other reason, there is no guarantee that things will stay the same. A new owner may certainly be willing to consider all of a company’s assets, but they may be less willing to take on all of that company’s previous responsibilities.
Workers for the organization that has no official name, but is being called “New Chrysler” will not be without protection when it comes to workers’ compensation. There was the possibility that the sale of Chrysler would go through without the buyer agreeing to take on the workers’ comp benefits that the previous owners had in place. Before it entered into negotiations to be bought out by Fiat, an Italian car company, Chrysler’s annual workers’ comp costs were an estimated $25 million.
Michigan’s Attorney General stepped in to ensure that Chrysler/ “New Chrysler” employees did not lose out on workers’ compensation benefits when he filed an objection to the proceedings As part of the agreement with Fiat, those who work for the “New Chrysler” will not lose out on workers’ compensation benefits.
