Laying out management and safety procedures that reduce injuries and the aggravation that follows, this book covers hiring, training, and managing employees with injury avoidance in mind. The authors provide a blueprint for dealing with injured employees and their families, and for determining the correct time for the employee to return to work. The book discusses the all-important issues of fraud, modified duty, substance abuse testing, and accident investigations. It also provides guidance for managing safety efforts in a manner that controls workers' compensation cost. The book shows readers how they can impact - favorably - the amount their organization pays in premiums.

The workplace is where 156 million working adults in the United States spend many waking hours, and it has a profound influence on health and well-being. Although some occupations and work-related activities are more hazardous than others and face higher rates of injuries, illness, disease, and fatalities, workers in all occupations face some form of work-related safety and health concerns. Understanding those risks to prevent injury, illness, or even fatal incidents is an important function of society. Occupational safety and health (OSH) surveillance provides the data and analyses needed to understand the relationships between work and injuries and illnesses in order to improve worker safety and health and prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. Information about the circumstances in which workers are injured or made ill on the job and how these patterns change over time is essential to develop effective prevention programs and target future research. The nation needs a robust OSH surveillance system to provide this critical information for informing policy development, guiding educational and regulatory activities, developing safer technologies, and enabling research and prevention strategies that serves and protects all workers. A Smarter National Surveillance System for Occupational Safety and Health in the 21st Century provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of OSH surveillance. This report is intended to be useful to federal and state agencies that have an interest in occupational safety and health, but may also be of interest broadly to employers, labor unions and other worker advocacy organizations, the workers' compensation insurance industry, as well as state epidemiologists, academic researchers, and the broader public health community. The recommendations address the strengths and weaknesses of the envisioned system relative to the status quo and both short- and long-term actions and strategies needed to bring about a progressive evolution of the current system.

The Construction Chart Book presents the most complete data available on all facets of the U.S. construction industry: economic, demographic, employment/income, education/training, and safety and health issues. The book presents this information in a series of 50 topics, each with a description of the subject matter and corresponding charts and graphs. The contents of The Construction Chart Book are relevant to owners, contractors, unions, workers, and other organizations affiliated with the construction industry, such as health providers and workers compensation insurance companies, as well as researchers, economists, trainers, safety and health professionals, and industry observers.

The purpose for the June 2012 Use of Workers' Compensation Data for Occupational Safety and Health Workshop was to explore ways in which workers' compensation information can be used for public health research and surveillance. Thirty-five poster and platform presentations described studies that utilized workers' compensation information while exploring limitations of these resources. The workshop proceedings contain summary articles for the presentations plus notes from the discussion groups for the 6 white papers that were drafted for the workshop. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Safety and Health Assessment for Research and Prevention (SHARP) program.

The Use of Workers' Compensation Data for Occupational Safety and Health Workshop was convened in June 2012 at the Frances Perkins Department of Labor Building in Washington DC. This was the second workshop that provided an opportunity for workers' compensation insurance industry organizations, public health practitioners and researchers, and government administrative agencies to discuss uses of workers' compensation data for public health issues. The burden of occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities is substantial. In the U.S. alone, costs are estimated at $250 billion annually. Tracking these costs and underlying hazards is essential for control of the economic and social burdens. Workers' compensation insurance covers but a fraction of these costs, although nearly all employers are required by the individual state mandates to have policies. Seemingly, claims records would be available for each incident yet investigators report at this workshop and elsewhere that the records are incomplete. Collaboration across the vested interests is needed to make workers' compensation data more suitable for research and surveillance purposes. In combination with other occupational safety and health resources, further utilization of workers' compensation data can help alleviate the burden of occupational injuries and illnesses in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The Use of Workers' Compensation Data for Occupational Safety and Health Workshop was convened in June 2012 at the Frances Perkins Department of Labor Building in Washington DC. This was the second workshop that provided an opportunity for workers' compensation insurance industry organizations, public health practitioners and researchers, and government administrative agencies to discuss uses of workers' compensation data for public health issues.The purpose for the June 2012 Use of Workers' Compensation Data for Occupational Safety and Health Workshop was to continue to explore ways in which workers' compensation information can be used for these purposes. The National Academies has called for greater use of surveillance data in order to identify priorities, focus resources and evaluate prevention program effectiveness.Six white papers were drafted for the workshop and discussed in breakout groups. At the meeting, thirty-five poster and platform presentations described studies that utilized workers' compensation information while exploring limitations of these resources. These workshop proceedings contain summary articles for the presentations plus notes from the discussion groups for the 6 white papers.

The workplace is where 156 million working adults in the United States spend many waking hours, and it has a profound influence on health and well-being. Although some occupations and work-related activities are more hazardous than others and face higher rates of injuries, illness, disease, and fatalities, workers in all occupations face some form of work-related safety and health concerns. Understanding those risks to prevent injury, illness, or even fatal incidents is an important function of society. Occupational safety and health (OSH) surveillance provides the data and analyses needed to understand the relationships between work and injuries and illnesses in order to improve worker safety and health and prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. Information about the circumstances in which workers are injured or made ill on the job and how these patterns change over time is essential to develop effective prevention programs and target future research. The nation needs a robust OSH surveillance system to provide this critical information for informing policy development, guiding educational and regulatory activities, developing safer technologies, and enabling research and prevention strategies that serves and protects all workers. A Smarter National Surveillance System for Occupational Safety and Health in the 21st Century provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of OSH surveillance. This report is intended to be useful to federal and state agencies that have an interest in occupational safety and health, but may also be of interest broadly to employers, labor unions and other worker advocacy organizations, the workers' compensation insurance industry, as well as state epidemiologists, academic researchers, and the broader public health community. The recommendations address the strengths and weaknesses of the envisioned system relative to the status quo and both short- and long-term actions and strategies needed to bring about a progressive evolution of the current system.