Author: Randy

Michigan Work Comp 2013 – New Rules Regarding Independent Contractors

How the work comp law in Michigan is changing in 2013

On and after January 1, 2013, services are employment if the services are performed by an individual whom the Michigan administrative hearing system determines to be in an employer-employee relationship using the 20-factor test announced by the internal revenue service of the United States department of treasury in revenue ruling 87-41.

This is a big change in the law and seems to return us to the days of the economic reality test. It appears that employer control over an individual will now be a major factor in the determination of employment status. This change will hopefully reduce the number of employers who try to game the system.

via News Rules Regarding Independent Contractors | Workers Comp Lawyer Help.

Pneumonia Can Be Prevented – Vaccines Can Help

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that is usually caused by bacteria or viruses. Globally, pneumonia causes more deaths than any other infectious disease. It can often be prevented and can usually be treated.

Every 20 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies from pneumonia. Many of these deaths are preventable through vaccination and appropriate treatment.

via CDC Features – Pneumonia Can Be Prevented – Vaccines Can Help.

Risk Management in HR

The risk management process

Risk management is a cycle. That means that it is not something that gets checked off a “to do” list but it is a continuous activity. Having a risk management process means that your organization knows and understands the risks to which you are exposed. It also means that your organization has deliberately evaluated the risks and has strategies in place to remove the risk altogether, reduce the likelihood of the risk happening or minimize harm in the event that something happens.

At a very basic level, risk management focuses you on two fundamental questions:

What can go wrong?

What will we do to prevent the harm from occurring in the first place and in response to the harm or loss if it actually happens?

via Risk Management in HR | HR Planning | HR Toolkit | hrcouncil.ca.

Drowsy Driving Prevention Week — November 12–18, 2012

Drowsy driving has been identified as a major factor compromising public health and safety . In the general population, nearly 5% of respondents to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reported that, at least once in the preceding 30 days, they had fallen asleep or nodded off while driving . Results of a questionnaire administered at truck inspection stations in several U.S. states indicated that 28% of commercial motor vehicle drivers acknowledged that at least once during the preceding month, they had fallen asleep while driving . Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among youths aged 15–24 years , and drowsy driving has been identified as one type of teen driver error . Given the prevalence and dire consequences of drowsy driving, CDC encourages parents, educators, health-care providers, and the general public to learn more about healthy sleep practices that can combat drowsy driving.

Additional information is available online from the National Sleep Foundation at http://www.sleepfoundation.org and from CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/sleep.

via Announcements: Drowsy Driving Prevention Week — November 12–18, 2012.

Aging workforce: Retaining valuable nurses

The impending retirement of RN baby boomers is now a workforce reality that could have a profound impact on U.S. healthcare. The CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health projected that in 2010, middle-aged and older workers would outnumber younger workers. Thus, baby boomer RNs those born between 1948 and 1964 are now in what has been traditionally known as the retirement years. Nurse administrators and educators are challenged with the task of retaining these knowledgeable, skilled nurses while aggressively recruiting generation X and millenial nurses.

via Aging workforce: Retaining valuable nurses : Nursing Management.

Herniated Disc-What Increases Your Risk

There are various risk factors for a herniated disc.

There are some risk factors you cannot change. But if you know about them, you can be prepared to consider how they will affect you. These include:

  • Advancing age. The process of aging of the discs in the lower back, as well as repeated injury to the discs and spinal muscles, makes a person more likely to have low back problems, which usually begin in midlife.
  • Being male.
  • History of back injury, previous herniated disc, or back surgery.

Some risk factors you can change, with lifestyle changes or medical treatment. If you take steps to limit the risks from these factors, you can decrease your overall risk of having a herniated disc. Risk factors you can change include:

  • Your job or other activities that increase the risk of developing a herniated disc, such as long periods of sitting, lifting or pulling heavy objects, frequent bending or twisting of the back, heavy physical exertion, repetitive motions, or exposure to constant vibration (such as driving).
  • Not exercising regularly, doing strenuous exercise for a long time, or starting to exercise too strenuously after a long period of inactivity.
  • Smoking. Nicotine and other toxins from smoking can keep spinal discs from absorbing all the nutrients they need from the blood, making disc injury more likely. Smoking also increases your sensitivity to pain. For information on how to quit smoking, see the topic Quitting Smoking.
  • Being overweight. Carrying extra body weight (especially in the stomach area) may put additional strain on the lower back, although this has not been proven. But being overweight often also means being in poor physical condition, with weaker muscles and less flexibility. These can lead to low back pain. For information on how to maintain a healthy weight, see the topic Weight Management.

via Herniated Disc-What Increases Your Risk.

Construction’s “Fatal Four”

Out of 4,114* worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2011, 721 or 17.5% were in construction. The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, followed by electrocution, struck by object, and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” were responsible for nearly three out of five (57%) construction worker deaths in 2011*, BLS reports. Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 410 workers’ lives in America every year.

Falls – 251 out of 721 total deaths in construction in CY 2011 (35%)

Electrocutions – 67 (9%)

Struck by Object – 73 (10%)

Caught-in/between – 19 (3%)

via OSHA Commonly Used Statistics.

Stroke is Sometimes Called a “Brain Attack”

A stroke happens when blood flow to a part of the brain stops. A stroke is sometimes called a “brain attack.”

If blood flow is stopped for longer than a few seconds, the brain cannot get blood and oxygen. Brain cells can die, causing permanent damage.

There are two major types of stroke: ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.

Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. This may happen in two ways:

A clot may form in an artery that is already very narrow. This is called a thrombotic stroke.

A clot may break off from another place in the blood vessels of the brain, or from some other part of the body, and travel up to the brain. This is called cerebral embolism, or an embolic stroke.

Ischemic strokes may be caused by clogged arteries. Fat, cholesterol, and other substances collect on the artery walls, forming a sticky substance called plaque.

A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in part of the brain becomes weak and bursts open, causing blood to leak into the brain. Some people have defects in the blood vessels of the brain that make this more likely.

via Stroke – PubMed Health.

Major Changes to the Hazard Communication Standard

New changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard are bringing the United States into alignment with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), further improving safety and health protections for America’s workers. Building on the success of OSHA’s current Hazard Communication Standard, the GHS is expected to prevent injuries and illnesses, save lives and improve trade conditions for chemical manufacturers. The Hazard Communication Standard in 1983 gave the workers the ‘right to know,’ but the new Globally Harmonized System gives workers the ‘right to understand.

Hazard classification: Provides specific criteria for classification of health and physical hazards, as well as classification of mixtures.

Labels: Chemical manufacturers and importers will be required to provide a label that includes a harmonized signal word, pictogram, and hazard statement for each hazard class and category. Precautionary statements must also be provided.

Safety Data Sheets: Will now have a specified 16-section format.

Information and training: Employers are required to train workers by December 1, 2013 on the new labels elements and safety data sheets format to facilitate recognition and understanding.

via Hazard Communication.

National Diabetes Month — November 2012

November is National Diabetes Month. In 2010, nearly 26 million persons in the United States had diabetes, and an estimated 79 million adults had pre-diabetes. Persons with diabetes can take steps to control the disease and prevent complications, and those with prediabetes can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes through weight loss and physical activity .

via National Diabetes Month — November 2012.