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Executive Director's Corner:
Pathway to Change
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Clairmonte Cappelle, Executive Director
As summer winds down and the beginning of the school year approaches, we at the Puget Sound Workers’ Compensation Trust and Unemployment Pool (PSWCT/UP) look forward to our continuing collaboration with you to make school districts the safest possible working and learning environment. We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver unsurpassed claims and risk management solutions to minimize total cost of risk while maximizing injured worker outcomes.
How we deliver on our commitment is just as important as realizing that commitment. We have become intentional about our risk management approach and how it aligns with our Agency’s mission – Success for Each Child and Eliminate the Opportunity Gap by Leading with Racial Equity. How do we deliver risk management services with an equity lens? This edition of Executive Director’s Corner introduces our
Pathway to Change
, our journey to its adoption, and the outcomes we aspire.
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What You Need to Know This Month
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Changes in Law Concerning Obesity Discrimination
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On July 11, 2019, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in
Taylor v. Burlington N.N.R. Holdings Inc. that obesity always constitutes an impairment under the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
The plaintiff had applied for a position with Burlington Northern as an Electronic Technician. After being given a conditional offer of employment, the employer conducted a pre-employment medical examination. At 5 foot 6 inches tall and 256 pounds, Mr. Taylor had a BMI of over 40. Although the pre-employment examiner found that Mr. Taylor met the minimum physical demands for the job, the employer required a supplemental medical examination, including for individuals with a BMI over 40. Because Mr. Taylor could not afford the testing, the employer withdrew the offer. Mr. Taylor sued on the grounds of disparate treatment under the Washington Law Against Discrimination under the theory that his to-be employer perceived him as suffering from obesity which qualifies as an impairment under the Washington law. The Washington State Supreme Court agreed.
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Indoor Air Quality: New School Year – The Perfect Time to Create A Healthier School Environment
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The start of the new school year is the perfect opportunity to act to improve student and staff health at your school. It is a proven fact that healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools helps students and staff to reduce absenteeism and increase productivity and test scores. Schools are now clean, well-organized; lot of buildings have been fixed or improved during the summer. Now it is the incoming staff’s turn to keep thing in good shape, learn about basic IAQ facts, increase awareness and contribute personally to a healthy indoor environment that support education.
There is a tremendous amount of information available on the net, but some of it is not high quality, can be misleading or focuses on advertising services. It is better to focus on scientifically proven info and education provided by the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Tools for Schools” program (
https://www.epa.gov/iaq-schools
) and the Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH) School Environmental Health and Safety and Indoor Air Quality program
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September 25 @ 9:30am: PSWCT/UP Virtual Roundtable Discussion
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We are pleased to announce the next virtual roundtable learning opportunity – Return to Work Best Practices: Documentation and the Stories Behind Them.
Wednesday, September 25 from 9:30am-10am.
RSVP when you see the flyer circulating.
Our virtual roundtables are designed to discuss and explore specific topics related to workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits in 30- minute segments. The inaugural roundtable brought together a wonderful assortment of members to hear a brief overview on reforms coming this summer from Labor & Industries. We're excited to share these professional development ideas that allow you to participate from the comfort of your own office or conference room.
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Here's What You're Saying About Our Services!
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Our
surveys to PSWCT Trustees, and claims, fiscal, and safety contacts focused on the stakeholder experience targeting three main areas: Pool Administration
(November 2018), Claims Management
(March 2019), and Risk Management
(May 2019).
Satisfaction with staff services rating professionalism, knowledge base, prompt response time, respectful treatment, subject matter understanding, and flexibility in having needs met all rated at 90% to 100%.
Even matters relating to rates (notifications, transparency, methodology, and benchmarking) surpassed industry averages by reaching 94% to 100% approval in WCT service.
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Hip style vacuums have been around for a while but are not widely used by school district custodians. More common are the “backpack” style vacuums. Backpack style vacuums are a proven efficient, ergonomically designed, and durable vacuum that can reduce injuries and make custodians vacuuming tasks vastly more efficient compared to traditional canister or upright vacuums. The problem is that back pack vacuums are not a good fit for all. Some smaller statured employees or employees with certain injuries may find it difficult to wear back pack vacuums. Sometimes the size and weight of the back pack and its harness system cannot be fully adjusted for individuals of smaller stature.
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Meet Our Newest Staff Members!
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L-R: Krystalyn Gilman, Claims Specialist, Paola Armendariz, Claims Specialist, Heidi Palmer, Account Manager.
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RTW Documentation Best Practices
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The Puget Sound Workers Compensation Trust Members are being encouraged to document the activities that they are currently performing to return their injured workers back to work. Having an official documented Return to Work (RTW) program creates a culture of understanding with all workers, leaders and stakeholders within an organization.
Over the last year, I have met many of our members and it is clear to me that the Trust Members see the financial value of this program. There are several financial incentives in returning your injured workers back into their district. You are increasing the value of your worker, while simultaneously making the employee feel more valued in their job.
Forming an RTW program consists of analyzing the barriers, reviewing current practices, and considering best practices used in and around the workers' compensation system. The School District environment has many political, union, and hierarchical considerations to explore when developing an RTW System that will meet the needs of a district. RTW Intervention consists of analyzing the complexities of the workforce, needs at the school level (filling an injured worker’s position while away), the current RTW Culture, and assessing the benefit / risk of returning an injured worker back into the job from which they were injured. In adopting a system, districts have internal resources (RTW Coordinators) who have developed organizational practices on how they return their workers into light duty jobs. Best practices state that having current and accessible documentation about what happens if a worker is injured creates the stepping stones to a culture change in the workforce.
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Updates on Reasonable Assurance
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As you are aware from the April 2019 Sound Advice, the U.S. Department of Labor published federal guidance in December 2016 that changed unemployment compensation eligibility for both certificated and classified school employees. As a result, the Washington State Legislature updated several sections of the RCWs at the request of Employment Security (RCW 50.44) and the legislation took effect on October 1, 2018. One of the areas that was specifically impacted was reasonable assurance.
While Employment Security has promulgated general guidelines on how to comply with the new reasonable assurance requirements, there have been no definitive examples provided of an approved letter of reasonable assurance. Despite this, the Unemployment Pool provided member school districts with its best efforts guidelines to conform with the new change in state law. We are pleased to report that, to date, Employment Security has found our districts’ letters of reasonable assurance to be satisfactory.
More updates on this will be forthcoming.
This does not constitute legal advice. For guidance on how this may apply to you, please consult with your Labor and Employment counsel.
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Another Science Lab Safety Success Story!
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Welcome back to our
Cheers to Peers
column – a space to recognize some of the excellent work being done in our member districts. Today we are saying “cheers” to
Snohomish School District’s Custodial and Maintenance division
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Another Science Lab Safety Success Story!
Snohomish district is making good progress by disposing of approximately 350 pounds of hazardous wastes.
During the last two years, David Wells, Custodial Supervisor and District Chemical Hygiene Officer for science lab safety and Indoor Air Quality began collaborating with Elizabeth Jakab, WCT’s Industrial Hygiene Consultant. Although he has no science background, he does have a logical approach and invited Elizabeth to assess all high school and middle school labs last summer. One of the results of those visits, and the follow-up consult, is the safe and legal disposal of approximately 350 pounds of hazardous chemical wastes just from one of their high schools!
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6 Basic Steps to Accident Investigation
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Accident investigations are an opportunity to uncover safety problems and correct them.
What happens to this information after I submit the report?
Accident reports are reviewed by your district’s employee safety committee.
It is a regulatory requirement that the accident reports are inclusive of an accident investigation to ensure that the hazard was addressed to close the loop on the report.
If the supervisor’s investigation section is left blank or a detailed investigation was not completed, then the report must be sent back to the supervisor for completion
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