Tag Archives: Injuries

by | November 1, 2010 · 12:04 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety And Wage Issues: Hotel Management Should Expect 2011 OSHA Regulations To Require A Written “Injury And Illness Protection Progam” And Dept. Of Labor (DOL) Rule Requiring Full Disclosure On “Worker’s Pay Computation”

 

  • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a regulation mandating that employers have a written health and safety program, referred to as an Injury and Illness Protection Program or “I2P2.”
  • This rule would give an OSHA investigator the authority to find that an injury should have been avoided even if it was not regulated under a specific standard.
  • OSHA will also publish a regulation that will require employers to analyze every employee injury to determine if it is a work-related recordable musculoskeletal injury.
  • This regulation would set the stage for OSHA to revive its controversial ergonomics standard.

 

  • The Wage and Hour Division at DOL has a highly anticipated rule that would greatly expand recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  • It would require employers to disclose how a worker’s pay is computed and complete a written “classification analysis” for each worker who is exempt or outside of the coverage of the FLSA.

For more:   http://www.worldtrademag.com/Articles/Column/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000932009

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by | October 31, 2010 · 12:44 pm

Hotel Industry Employee Risk Management: Employee’s Use Of Stairs In Multi-Story Hotels Subject Them To “Significantly Greater Risk Of Injury” And Result In Higher Workers’ Compensation Benefits

“Because the employees’ periodic breaks were mandatory, Phillips was required to use the staircase six times during each shift. In fact, in its opening brief, Rio calculated that during the course of Phillips’ 17-year employment, she traversed the stairs approximately 25,000 times,’
 
“…the court concluded that the frequency with which Phillips was required to use the stairs subjected her to a significantly greater risk of injury than the risk faced by the general public. Consequently, Phillips should be awarded benefits, the high court wrote…”
 

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that although employers are not “absolutely liable” when employees are injured “on the job,” companies should apply the “increased risk test” to determine whether they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

The justices explained the increased risk test in Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino v. Phillips. According to court documents, Kathryn Phillips was a poker and blackjack dealer at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. While taking her mandatory 20-minute break during her usual eight-hour shift, she walked down the stairs to the employee break room, slipped, and fractured her ankle.

Her treating physician determined her injury was work related, and Phillips had surgery to repair her ankle. But Rio’s third-party administrator, Sedgwick CMS, denied her claim saying Phillips did not prove the injury arose out of her employment.

“The types of risks that an employee may encounter during employment are categorized as “those that are solely employment related, those that are purely personal, and those that are neutral,” the high court said.

 

 

 

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by | September 25, 2010 · 7:08 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management: “Premises Liability” Holds Owners And Managers Legally Responsible For Accidents And Injuries And Can Only Mitigated By “Daily Documented Property Inspections” Of Potential Hazards

“Premises liability” holds owners and property managers legally responsible for accidents and injuries that occur on property. Liability will vary depending on the legal rules and principles in place in the state where the premises liability injury occurred.

There are, essentially, three classifications of people on your property:

  • Uninvited trespassers
  • Licensees—those entering with permission for their own purposes
  • Invitees—those entering for the benefit of the owners and occupiers

Your obligations to each will vary, and your duty gradually increases as you move from trespasser to invitee.

Trespassers can be undiscovered or discovered. For an undiscovered trespasser, the obligation is not to willfully cause injury. A discovered trespasser should receive a warning of hazards that are not obvious. This is the same duty you owe a licensee.

The invitee garners the greatest obligation. Here the owner or occupier must act to keep the property in reasonably safe condition and warn the invitee of any latent defects.

For best results, employ and document daily property inspections. Have a plan in place that requires employees to keep an eye out for hazards and a system in place to document compliance with the process.

Nonetheless, injuries on your property can occur. However, liability is not automatic. If you have maintained a diligent inspection process and can document compliance, the claimant will have a difficult time proving that you knew or should have known about the condition causing the injury. This provides an avenue to escape liability.

Other traditional defenses center upon the comparative negligence of the injured person and can take many forms. For example, it includes the provision of warnings that go unheeded. It also includes hazards that are so obvious as not to require warnings, but nonetheless go unnoticed.

For more:  http://www.hotelworldnetwork.com/injuries/premises-liability-take-steps-now-protect-your-hotel

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by | August 10, 2010 · 3:27 pm

Hotel Industry Employee Injury Risk Management: Hotel Management Must Increase Training To Reduce Repetitive-Stress Injuries To Housekeepers

“Anybody who runs a hotel has to be crazy,” Davis said, not to address any problems that can lead to injuries among employees because of the implication for worker’s compensation.

Hyatt housekeepers had the highest risk of injury, according to the study. The lowest risk were with the Hilton chain. The problem is housekeepers are prone to repetitive-stress injuries from continually doing such things as changing sheets, washing bathroom floors and vacuuming.

Service workers, especially hotel housekeepers, have higher rates of on-the-job injuries, according to a report in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

The 2009 study analyzed injury records from 2003-05 at 50 hotels operated by the top-five hotel companies. Jobs studied included housekeepers, dishwashers, kitchen workers and banquet servers, representing 46 percent of the study population.

Since the study came out, the hotel industry nationwide has been looking at new ways to reduce injuries. Some properties have added extra employees for housekeepers don’t have to do heavy lifting.

For more:  http://www.news-journalonline.com/business/local-business/2010/08/07/hotels-seek-methods-to-reduce-worker-injuries.html

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by | July 2, 2010 · 8:47 am

Hotel Industry Fitness Center Risk Management: Hotel Operators Must Keep Detailed Equipment Maintenance Records And Use Caution With Trainers To Limit Injury Liability

What many facility operators fail to realize is that when it comes to defending legal claims, keeping detailed maintenance records for all equipment is just as important as the maintenance itself. “Somebody will get hurt and they’ll say either that the piece of equipment was defective or broken or not maintained well,” says Bradley. “Even if you did do regular maintenance, the question will be, ‘Where are your records showing that?’ If you reply, ‘Well, our records aren’t very good,’ then your case falls apart.”

“…most trainer-related injuries occur during the trainer’s first or second meeting with a new client, when trainers sometimes try to push out-of-shape exercisers beyond their abilities. “There’s a mentality among some people that ‘the more someone pushes me, the better that is,'” Fried says. “You end up with a trainer trying to make a good impression on the client, and they give them a full boot-camp-style treatment, and the client may just not be ready for that.”

Proper risk management in the fitness center begins, but does not end, with an industry-specific insurance plan. “Make sure you’re dealing with a broker who understands the risks that might be facing a health and fitness center,” Bradley says. “I’ve come across numerous cases where people thought they had the right kind of insurance plan, and, lo and behold, there was some kind of strange or vague exclusion in the policy that precluded coverage.”

Unfortunately, even the perfect insurance package can only go so far in protecting fitness facilities if a range of other risk management practices aren’t also in place. “There are enough competent brokers out there who understand the risks specific to the industry and who can sell you the right policy, so most clubs end up fairly well protected,” Bradley says. “But if you don’t do all the little things — like regular equipment maintenance logs — and you get hit and start to lose a couple lawsuits, you may still find a broker to write you a policy, but your premiums are going to be frightening.”

Facility owners may also put too much stock in their waivers, which have been deemed insufficient by some courts in protecting organizations from liability. Bradley notes that waivers remain a state-by-state issue, but says he has noticed a trend in the past three or four years in cases involving health and fitness facilities in which many courts “are finding ways to chip away at, find their way around and invalidate waivers.”

For more:  http://www.athleticbusiness.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=3579&zoneid=28

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by | June 7, 2010 · 7:14 am

Hospitality Industry Bodily Injury Liability: New Florida Law Will Help Limit “Slip And Fall” Cases And Forced Settlements

“…Maria Coppola says she slipped on pebbles and sand on the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club step..”

“…lawsuits, filed in the past six months in Collier Circuit Court, likely will result in settlements. That’s because defendants want to avoid costs of expensive litigation…”

In April, Gov. Charlie Crist signed House Bill 689, which requires that an injured person must prove a business, municipality or other defendant actually knew about a dangerous condition and should have done something to fix it _ or that the condition occurred often enough that the business should have expected it. These are legal standards known as actual notice, or constructive notice.

“This represents a significant shift and a major victory for business owners and their insurers in slip-and-fall cases,” said Kirkland Miller, an Ave Maria School of Law professor who specializes in premises liability. “More importantly, it could mean a reduction in the number of slip-and-fall cases being filed in Florida …”

For more:   http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jun/06/south-florida-called-no-1-hellhole-slip-fall-lawsu/

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by | May 14, 2010 · 2:35 am

Hotel Industry Employee Injury Risks: Hotel Housekeepers Have “Higher Rates Of On-The-Job Injuries” According To Medical Journal

“…hotel employees — and especially housekeepers — have higher rates of on-the-job injuries, according to a report last year in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine…”

"...hotel employees — and especially housekeepers — have higher rates of on-the-job injuries, according to a report last year in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine..."

Housekeepers are prone to repetitive stress injuries from such continual work as changing sheets, washing bathroom floors and vacuuming, according to nine researchers who studied three years of government-required accident logs at five union-represented hotels.

(From a Chron.com article)    More surprising, however, is that Hispanic housekeepers had a proportionally higher rate of injuries than non-Hispanic cleaners, according to the study. The research didn’t address possible explanations for that.

The research was funded by the union Unite Here, which represents hospitality employees, but the problem also has captured the attention of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

It recently hosted a conference in Houston on health and safety issues facing Latino workers.

While OSHA doesn’t have a specific ergonomic standard — it was repealed by Congress in 2001 before it was scheduled to go into effect — the agency has the “general duty clause” as an enforcement tool. It requires that employers provide a safe and healthy place to work, Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, said in a telephone interview.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sixel/7002756.html

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by | May 6, 2010 · 6:20 am

Hospitality Industry Workplace Safety: OSHA Considering A Rule Mandating A “Formal Injury And Illness Prevention Program” For Employers

OSHA is considering a proposed rule for a formal Injury and Illness Prevention Program and will hold informal stakeholder meetings on the proposal. The proposal would require employers to develop a formal program to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses through a systematic process that proactively addresses workplace safety and health hazards.

(From a Safety.blr.com article)   On the basis of OSHA’s experience with workplace safety programs, a proposed rule would include the following elements:

  • Management duties
  • Employee participation
  • Hazard identification
  • Hazard prevention and control
  • Education and training
  • Program evaluation and improvement

 Injury and Illness Prevention Program State Requirements    There are 24 states that require a written injury and illness prevention program for certain industries, mostly as a requirement for worker’s compensation insurance coverage. 16 states offer discounts on workers’ compensation premium rates of up to 5 percent for qualifying organizations that voluntarily adopt and implement written safety and health programs.

California, for example, requires employers to have formal written injury and illness prevention programs. BLR has prepared written tips and considerations to help employers develop an injury and illness prevention program based on California’s requirements, and they cover OSHA’s proposed program elements:

OSHA Provides Incentives for Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

OSHA has a policy of reducing penalties for employers who have violated OSHA standards but who have demonstrated a good faith effort to provide a safe and healthy workplace to their employees. The Agency has long recognized the implementation of a safety and health program as a way of demonstrating good faith.

http://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/safety-administration/illness-and-injury-reporting-OSHA-300-log/New-Injury-and-Illness-Prevention-Program-Rule-Con/

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by | April 24, 2010 · 5:51 am

Hospitality Industry Workplace Injuries: Over 4% Of California State Workers’ Comp Claims Filed For Hospitality Workers With Injuries Including Skin Wounds, Strains, And Other Injuries Leading To Over $1.1 Billion In Benefit Payments

The study detailed data on more than 137,000 claims filed by restaurant workers in California for work-related injuries that occurred from January 2000 through the end of 2008. Researchers said that more than 90 percent of the claims were filed by employees in restaurants and taverns. Workers employed in facilities such as wineries, country clubs and hotels were also included in the sample.

(From a RiskandInsurance.com article)   Total medical and indemnity benefit payments on these claims amounted to just under $1.1 billion. In addition to accounting for 4.1 percent of the state’s workers’ comp benefit payments, restaurant workers filed 6.1 percent of all California job injury claims.

Leading claims. The study found that the number one injury diagnosis for restaurant workers was minor wound/injury to the skin. Researchers said these injuries represented nearly one out of three restaurant claims, but only 4.4 percent of the loss payments because workers were treated quickly and returned to work with no lost time. On the other hand, medical back problems without spinal cord involvement — typically sprains and strains — made up less than one in five restaurant claims but carried a much higher average cost and consumed almost one-third of paid losses in this sector.

Rounding out the top five injury categories were shoulder, arm, knee and lower leg sprains (10.4 percent of the claims and 8.8 percent of paid losses); other injuries, poisonings and toxic effects (8.1 percent of the claims and 9.4 percent of the payments); and ruptured tendons, tendonitis, myositis and bursitis (3.8 percent of the claims and 6 percent of the payments). Researchers found that second- or third-degree burns represented 3.6 percent of the restaurant claims. However, burn injuries accounted for only 1.4 percent of the total dollars paid on restaurant claims (about five times the proportion found for all industries).

http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=398239449

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by | March 25, 2010 · 5:21 am

Hospitality Industry Workplace Safety: Assistant Secretary Of Labor Stresses Need To Increase OSHA Penalties Against Employers Who Do Not Comply With OSHA Standards

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, who emphasized that current OSHA penalties must be increased in order to motivate employers to increase their compliance with the OSHA standards. Michaels stated that environmental laws currently carry much heavier penalties than penalties under the OSH Act, especially where loss of human life is involved.

(From and Hr.cch.com article)    The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the “Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA) (H.R. 2067).” The bill, introduced by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee, addresses three major weaknesses in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act:

  • It would expand OSHA coverage to more than 8.5 million state and local public employees who currently have limited or no protection from safety and health hazards at work.
  • It also would amend OSHA’s whistleblower provisions to expedite the process because the current delays in decision-making deprives workers of due process.
  • Finally, the bill would update civil and criminal penalties.

http://hr.cch.com/news/safety/032410a.asp

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