Workers comp. It can be one of the highest costs for a charter school.  Here are some tips to keep your premiums low.

• Invite your insurance company to do a risk management review. Most carriers will offer this service at no cost to policyholders.
• Establish a drug-free workplace. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “employed drug abusers cost their employers about twice as much in medical and worker compensation claims as to their drug-free coworkers.”
• Screen new hires — make job offers dependent on passing a pre-employment drug test.
• Set up a safety program. Expect improvements within the next few years, as your company’s 3-year experience record of losses compared to similar businesses, is a major factor in premium rates. Incidents, claims, and losses should decline with new safety measures, reducing workers’ compensation expenses.
• Conduct new-hire training and refresher sessions with all employees on equipment operations, safety procedures, and incident reporting.
• Form and oversee safety committees to evaluate safety conditions, present safety messages to employees, and recommend changes that address causes of injuries and worker safety concerns.
• Perform scheduled audits and impromptu site inspections to check compliance with safety standards, correct violations, create plans to avoid recurrences and follow up on corrections.
• Offer training to First Aid, CPR, AED, etc.; designate employees to respond to emergencies.
• Document safety activities, including training sessions and meetings.
• Create an incident response plan, which may limit the severity of a worker’s injury and expose multiple employees to dangerous chemicals.
• Develop procedures for immediate reporting of any incidents along with prompt evaluation and treatment of employees with injuries.
• Establish relationships with healthcare providers (physicians, occupational healthcare, and urgent care facilities) to evaluate and treat employees quickly. Ask your employees for their preferred providers before an incident.
• Develop a light-duty program — identify projects or day-to-day duties that employees can perform while recovering from injuries.

If you are interested in receiving works comp. Quotes for your charter school, please reach out to our office.