The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce magazine "Business Voice" reported in the June 2012 edition that Nevada employers with a history of claims should expect to pay higher premiums beginning on March 1, 2013. Premiums are set by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. The number and severity of work injuries are compared with the claims histories of similar employers. Employers with expensive lost time claims will pay much higher premiums than employers with fewer claims.
This magazine article advises employers to make sure that every claim is accurate and closed in the next three months before new policy premiums take effect. It also encourages employers to prevent future claims by making the workplace safe. It discusses that employers with temporary light duty work programs can save thousands of dollars in premiums by keeping the claim as a medical only claim. ( A medical only claim is a claim where only medical bills are paid, and no lost time compensation benefits are paid.)
These are good suggestion for employers to save on workers’ compensation premiums. However, I’m concerned about the statement that employers can lower the number of claims filed by rewarding employees who don’t have claims.. While such reward programs undoubtedly result in fewer claims, However, some employers go too far and use so-called safety incentive programs as a way to intimidate and discourage employees with job injuries from filing legitimate claims.
Employers should not be offering to pay injured employees cash for not filing a claim after an employee is injured. Sometimes a person does not know how seriously they are injured in the first days or weeks after a work accident. For example, the sudden onset of low back pain at work after lifting a heavy truss could be just a bad sprain. Not wanting to be the one to ruin his employer’s claim-free record this year, this injured worker might not report the injury as work-related when he first gets medical treatment. Only after the injury does not improve, and a MRI shows a herniated disc , does the injured worker file a claim. That claim may be denied by the insurer however, because it was not reported and filed right away.
