Four years with no OSHA recordable injuries. Five years with no OSHA recordable injuries. These are statements you don’t read often for fast-paced manufacturing production facilities in the Pacific Northwest. Why is this a rare thing and how did two Vigilant member companies do it? Alta Forest Products’ facilities in Morton, Washington, and Naples,…
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Heads up, Washington employers: the maximum weekly benefit for the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program has increased from $1,000 to $1,206 as of January 1, 2021. Each September, the Employment Security Department (ESD) is required to adjust the maximum weekly benefit amount for the following calendar year to 90…
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Lately I’ve received a lot of questions about Vigilant’s perspective on Kept-On-Salary mandates. Here’s where we stand: We oppose KOS Mandates Our fundamental objection to KOS mandates is that they ALWAYS benefit a group retro program and its association sponsor, but do NOT ALWAYS best serve the individual member companies that are paying for it. In…
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Washington Manufacturers: On my daughter’s 7th birthday she was gifted a Magic 8-ball. You know, the one with the blue liquid that you shake and it magically answers whatever question you’ve asked. Often the response would be a non-committal answer like “Ask Again Later” or “Cannot Predict Now.” Feverishly, she would ask the question again, shake it…
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Washington Manufacturer: Who do you contact within Labor & Industries (L&I) to help you with a difficult workers’ compensation claim issue? Who is advocating for your interests with the Department? Not knowing where to start and how to be impactful can be overwhelming, frustrating, and even demoralizing. Just as the company you keep is…
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Washington Manufacturer: I am personally persuaded that there is no greater purpose in life than to love and serve others well. This is the reason why I find so much gratification leading our Vigilant team in our mission to help employers promote safe, fulfilling, legally compliant, and productive work environments, improving…
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On February 8, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee signed SSB 5061, which expands Washington’s unemployment insurance benefits to high-risk individuals and members of their households, who voluntarily quit their jobs during a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) can begin providing benefits to…
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As the CFO of Vigilant I am often asked how I would evaluate a Retro program in Washington State and what would be my greatest objectives for such a program. Although my responsibilities as CFO lie largely in the financial area, my top objective would still be to provide a…
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On January 8, 2021, Washington’s Departments of Labor & Industries (L&I) and Health (DOH) again extended and modified existing COVID-19 (coronavirus) safety rules for temporary worker housing (TWH) in the agriculture industry. As a reminder, the larger framework for agriculture COVID-19 safety compliance in Washington continues to be Proclamation 20-57.1, and the implementing requirements for worksites, which we reported…
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Governor Jay Inslee has announced that Washington will move from a county to a regional reopening approach during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, beginning on January 11, 2021. The “Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery” plan divides the state into eight geographic regions and initially provides for two levels of reopening: Phase 1 and Phase 2.…
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