Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group

  • March 16, 2005: 9:30 AM
  • Bureau of Labor Standards, First Floor Training Room

March 2005 Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group Meeting Minutes

Minutes:

Present: John Rioux, Acting Chair (Maine Department of Labor), Gary Baxter (Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company), Brian Doe (Hannaford), Carol Grenier (sitting in for Stefanie LaRose, Cannon Cochran Management Services, Inc.), Al May (Maine Bureau of Public Health), Steve Minkowsky (Workers? Compensation Board), Louise Morang (Maine Association of Occupational Nurses), Ralph Tucker (McTeague-Higbee), Dave Wacker (Maine Department of Labor), and Leslie Walleigh (Workplace Health).

Absent: Bill Peabody, Chair (Maine Department of Labor), Brad Brown (Maine Bureau of Insurance), Peter Doran (Maine Occupational Research Agenda), Denise Dumont (US HealthWorks), Vanessa Santarelli (Maine Department of Labor), Saskia Janes (Maine Public Health Association), Stefanie LaRose (Canon Cochran Management Services, Inc.), Jeff Levesque (Workers? Compensation Board), Kim Lim (Maine Department of Labor), and Pat Philbrook (Maine State Nurses Association)

Staff: Ted Bradstreet (Maine Department of Labor) & Terry Hathaway (Maine Department of Labor)

Guest: Paul Fortier (Workers? Compensation Board)

John Rioux opened the meeting of the Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group at 9:37 A.M. as Bill Peabody was absent. Intro-ductions were made.

Approval of January 19, 2005 Minutes. As the February meeting was cancelled, members approved the minutes with one correction.

Draft of Summary for Labor Committee. A draft copy of the ?Report of the Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group to the 122nd Legislature, Joint Standing Committee on Labor? was handed out to members for their review. John Rioux stated that the purpose of this report is to raise questions which are to be addressed by the second draft after comments. John asked members to send any comments, via e-mail, to Terry Hathaway by Friday, March 25th. Leslie Walleigh requested that the document be e-mailed to the members for review. John Rioux agreed that would be done.

Workers? Compensation. Steve Minkowsky handed out a copy of Chapter 11, Section 4, Electronic Filing. He explained that EDI is ?electronic data interchange? in two (2) formats; one being the State of Maine Proprietary EDI Format and the other, an IAIABC (International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions) enhanced release. These are for First Report of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The NOCs (Notices of Controversy) should be filed electronically starting July 1, 2005 and the MOPs (Memoranda of Payments) should be filed electronically starting January 1, 2006. Workers? Compensation is on track with rules.

Paul Fortier said that EDI is the way of the future. MO (Medical Only) means different things to different carriers. Some carriers classify incident only as a MO. Leslie Walleigh asked if when legislation was passed, was the intent that MO?s be connected and was there a time frame. Steve Minkowsky replied that there is a seven (7)-day time frame for an M.O. to become L.T. With EDI, the time limit is not a problem as opposed to reports being submitted by mail. Leslie also asked about in-house medical treatment. Steve replied that if it is in-house treatment, it does not generate an invoice. He also said that Workers? Compensation needs to stick with the legislation and there is no requirement to file an incident only. However, the group suggested that M.O.?s could be helpful for safety issues. Steve will talk with the Workers? Compensation Board?s legal counsel for a definition of Medical Only and will report back at the next meeting on April 20th, with a recommendation. Also, Steve said it would require additional legislation for MO?s. John Rioux said that there should be an identification of MO?s for the legislative report.

Paul Fortier said that Workers? Compensation generates a letter to employees when a LT is filed; however, when it?s an MO, there is no letter generated. There are some MO?s which are sent to Workers? Compensation voluntarily. Leslie Walleigh thought the intent of the bill was to collect MO?s; Paul said that the bill was for EDI.

Paul said that the group should stay away from modifying the law. Workers? Compensation will provide whatever data they have available to the group.

Everyone agreed employees should be made aware of their rights. Paul Fortier said that the Workers? Compensation Poster sent to all employers has all rights of employees listed.

In coding the FROI?s (First Report of Injury), the narrative explaining how the accident occurred is lost.

What about Dirgo? Postponed to the April 20th meeting.

Other. John Rioux presented the group with a draft of ?The Social and Economic Costs of Employee Misclassification in the Maine Construction Industry?. The study, initially done by Kurtis Petersons (Bureau of Labor Standards? intern) last summer was done in conjunction with the Harvard School of Public Health. John will solicit input from Workers? Compensation.

Next Meeting. The next meeting of the Occupational Safety and Health Data Collection and Injury Prevention Work Group will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2005, 9:30 to 11:30 A.M., First Floor Training Room, Bureau of Labor Standards, Hallowell. The agenda will include Dirigo and Steve Minkowsky.

Adjournment. Mr. Rioux adjourned the meeting at 11:13 A.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry M. Hathaway

Recording Secretary