Risk and Insurance Magazine: Laying off the Risk...an interview with Labor Finders Risk Manager Wayne Salen

Labor Finders International is the granddaddy of daylabor temporary staffing companies. Florida and California are itstwo largest markets. Its workers earn $10 to $13 anhour.

By Peter Rousmaniere

In the best of times, the firm employed close to 200,000 workers.Now its workforce is down to less than 100,000. I contacted them tofind out if they have experienced a rise in workers' compensationclaims due to its turnover in recent months.

The company hasn't, at least due in part to controls it has had inplace for some time to control for layoff-induced claims.

And here a number of us (not me, I am vain enough to say) havebeen worry worts over the danger that when workers are laid offthey have a greater propensity to file claims.

Wayne Salen is the risk manager of the Palm Beach Gardens,Fla.-based company. "We have a best practice that involves signingin and out each day," he told me. "That signature confirms whetheror not they were injured or had an incident that might warrant anymedical treatment."

"We'have not had any problems with post-employment filings sincewe can go back to the date of alleged injury and find theirsignatures attesting to no injury or illness following that day atwork with our customer. We bring the collaboration with ourcustomer to bear as to witnesses and with site supervisor in chargeof our temp placements."

Salen says that the temporary staffing industry, having beenaround for years, has long since learned how to control for thisrisk.

FURTHER INSIGHTS

In search of further insights on how employers should manage in atime of layoffs, I contacted Kevin Foy, a Baltimore-based lawyerand a principal in CompResponse, which advises insured employers oninjury prevention, managing claims and keeping their insurers' feetto the fire. Many of Foy's clients are in the highly volatileconstruction industry.

Foy said the employer should do everything it can to encourage itsworkers to immediately file unemployment claims, "in fact, perhapsdrive the employees down to the unemployment office."

When filing for unemployment benefits, the worker usually has tosay he is ready, willing and able to work. Foy, putting hislawyer's hat on, says that "This gets the worker to honestly answerthose questions, usually under penalty of perjury that is in thefine print, before a lawyer teaches him to create an injury. Theunemployment statements can be used, on the merits and forimpeachment purposes, to defend against the comp claim."

And this: "A exit questionnaire where the worker states he has nothad any work related injury might be helpful. The employer shouldhave its legal counsel review it for legal advice beforeimplementation."

None of the above, Foy avows, can provide a guarantee that anyclaims without merit will not be approved by a judge.

Harry Shuford, the chief economist for National Council onCompensation Insurance, says flatly that "the conventional wisdomis wrong"--claims do not surge during recessions. He found that insix of the last seven recessions, workplace injury rates fell. Infive of six expansions, they rose. "There is every reason tobelieve that this (recession induced) downward pressure will beobserved in the current economic downturn."

Have we hammered enough nails into this coffin?

PETER ROUSMANIERE is an expert on the workers' compensationindustry.
July 1, 2009
Copyright 2009© LRP Publications


http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=225882451