We’re workers’ comp experts and here are four things we’d never, ever ignore if we were an employer in Washington. Brandon Dion, CFO at Vigilant | Dan Beaty, VP Workers’ Comp at Vigilant Rising EMF/premiums. This probably indicates a systemic problem that requires attention. It could be due to a variety of factors such as…
On April 1, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule that “clarifies” (in reality, expands) the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany a Compliance Safety and Health Officer during an inspection of their workplace. Federal law gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative…
On March 1, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its COVID-19 isolation guidelines, removing the recommendation to isolate for 5 days, and instead recommending people treat COVID-19 (coronavirus) like any other respiratory illness. Even though many states have rescinded workplace COVID-19 requirements (and have also pared down previous isolation guidance for the general…
Governor Jay Inslee recently signed two bills impacting Washington workers’ compensation time-loss payments and stay-at-work reimbursements: HB 1927: Allows injured workers who are unable to work for 7 days or more (instead of the current standard of 14 days or more) to receive time loss payments for the first 3 days of work missed due…
As you know, L&I increased rates for Washington employers in January by 4.9% on average. If you’ve attended one of our recent webinars, you know rate changes fall into the category of things outside of your control when it comes to workers’ compensation costs. You might also recall the ridiculously busy but truthful graphic from…
QUESTION: Our Vigilant Washington workers’ comp claims manager asked us to provide a Supervisor’s Report of Accident after one of our employees was injured at work. I know our claims manager received all the information about the injury from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), so…
March 2, 2024, is the deadline for covered employers to submit injury and illness data to OSHA—for some employers, this just means their 300A Summaries, while for others, this means also submitting detailed data from their OSHA 300 Logs and OSHA 301 Forms. Covered employers must submit this…
Federal OSHA recently announced major penalties against two separate manufacturing companies after investigating workplace incidents in which a 16-year-old at each facility was fatally injured by machinery. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and many state rules, strictly limit the types of industries and environments where children can work. These two situations tragically illustrate…
It’s nearly time to finish completing the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and post the OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) for the 2023 calendar year. Federal OSHA generally requires employers with more than 10 employees to keep a record of work-related injuries and illnesses, except for establishments…
When an injured worker is laid off or has their hours reduced because of a production slowdown, you may experience unexpected workers’ compensation issues that could have been avoided with advanced planning. Here are some practical considerations to keep in mind if you must take the unfortunate step of reducing hours or headcount: Eligibility…
Question: What do I need to do to prepare our operations for the winter season? Answer: Start by training employees regarding winter weather safety awareness to ensure everyone is prepared and ready to implement a winter operations action plan focused on the areas listed below. Operations: Entrances and exits: Designate an employee to remove snow…
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has filed permanent rules to protect employees from exposure to wildfire smoke, which replace temporary rules that had previously been issued in the summers of 2021 and 2022. The permanent rules will take effect on January 15, 2024, and apply to almost all workplaces. Exemptions: The rule…
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