Managing Employee Injuries and Disability and Occupational Safety

3. R ISK M ANAGEMENT S UGGESTION Because of these new procedures, an employer may incur penalties for unreasonable delay in furnishing benefits, and may prejudice its defense of a claim. Additionally, the failure of an employer to promptly investigate could cause an employee to seek legal counsel or institute other litigation which could be injurious to the agency’s interests. Consequently, we suggest that an agency consider implementation of the following policies and procedures:

Policies and Procedures:

 The managers or supervisors in the agency to whom on-the-job injuries are to be reported and investigated should be specifically designated. Supervisors and other first-line managers or department heads should ordinarily be designated.  The supervisor or manager who is designated should be carefully instructed as to what information the employee is to report. That information would include, at a minimum, the time and place of injury, the date, the name of the employee and signature, circumstances of the injury, and the names of any witnesses. An employer should consider promulgating a policy which requires employees to report any work-related injuries or illnesses to the person designated for such purpose. The employees should be apprised of the individual to whom injuries should be reported.  All injuries should be reported and reviewed. This can provide a basis for avoiding similar injuries or accidents in the future.

B. I NVESTIGATIVE C HECKLISTS

Although one cannot anticipate every circumstance of injury, the following checklists may assist the manager in gathering information:

C. I NVESTIGATIVE C HECKLIST FOR I NJURIES ON E MPLOYER ’ S P REMISES

 Did the injury occur at a place where the employee is required or where he was permitted to be?  Was the employee actually on the employer’s premises or on an approach or exit from the premises?

 Was the employee performing work within the scope of his duties?

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Was the work he was performing unauthorized?

 Was the employee acting in violation of any orders from his employer?

Managing Employee Injuries, Disability and Occupational Safety ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 58