Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group

  • August 20, 2008:

Minutes:

Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group

Minutes

Bureau of Labor Standards Central Maine Commerce Center Frances Perkins Conference Room B August 20, 2008

Present: William Peabody, Chair (Maine Department of Labor); Brad Brown (Bureau of Insurance); Brian Doe (Hannaford); Jeff Levesque (Workers' Compensation Board); Kim Lim (Maine Department of Labor); Al May (Maine Center for Disease Control); Louise Morang (Maine Association of Occupational Health Nurses); John Rioux (Maine Department of Labor); and Leslie Walleigh (Maine Center for Disease Control).

Staff Present: Terry Hathaway, Linda Huff, and Leslie Manning.

Call to Order: Bill Peabody called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.

May 21, 2008 Minutes. Jeff Levesque made a motion to accept the May 21st minutes as amended. John Rioux seconded the motion. Vote, unanimous.

Announcements. Bill announced that Ted Bradstreet is retiring and that Linda Huff will be replacing him as the Research and Statistics representative for this work group. Ann Beaulieu received a promotion to Statistician II.

2008 Topic Updates.

M.O. (Medical Only). Jeff explained the hand-out ?FROI (First Report of Occupational Injury) Filings @ MWCB (Maine Workers Compensation Board) 2007-June 2008. Jeff inquired if BLS (Bureau of Labor Standards) had enough of the M.O. (Medical Only) sample. He then explained that there has been a sharp rise in M.O. due to the Wilson Decision. Jeff and John (Rioux) will continue working on the M.O. to see what employers are affected.

Jeff also explained that there is no way to determine when a M.O. becomes a recordable lost- time case as this is a data base issue. Bill asked about the definition of the M.O. Jeff replied that M.O. is not defined in the Act. Bill stated that BLS supports the OSHA definition of M.O. Discussion continued.

Bill explained that the work group's focus is how can we show reporting of M.O.is a good practice. Now, the question is, how is a M.O. defined? Bill suggested that M.O. should be defined in a way that is based on treatment so that a significant amount of cases can be identified. Further discussion

Bill Peabody and John Rioux will be going to the Maine Workers' Compensation Board meeting on September 30th to testify.

Self-insured Study. After discussing the relevance of the self-insured study, the work group agreed that this project should continue. Brian has already said that Hannaford is willing along with a couple of other self-insureds. Leslie Manning suggested the Maine State Government.

MHDO (Maine Health Data Organization). Leslie Walleigh will work on this after Labor Day.

Small Business Survey. John handed out a draft letter as well as a draft of the Small Business WEB Training Follow-up Questionnaire for the work group to review. John will send out electronic copies to the members. He is looking for feedback.

Detailed Review of Prevention Activities. Dave is in training. Reviewing curriculum for training initiatives and is in the process of bringing his staff up on the most current standards. SafetyWorks! will have a modular classroom to take to gravel pits and public works crews. This will provide hands-on feedback for those who are not using web-based training. Bill added that SafetyWorks! is doing an LEP (Local Emphasis Program) regarding the public works departments.

Other. Bill added that the Department?s Center for Workforce Research and Information is currently looking at 1099 forms. Those are forms used those who are filing tax returns as independent contractors.

Next Meeting. The next meeting of the Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., Frances Perkins Conference Room A, Central Maine Commerce Center.

Adjournment ? Bill Peabody adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry M. Hathaway, Recording Secretary