Welcome to Work Comp Wednesdays! Insurance People is the industry-leader in North Carolina workers’ compensation insurance. Each week, our team takes a frequently asked question and expands on the issue for our clients, prospective clients, and community members to better understand the confusing nature of Work Comp.
Stop Hiring Claims
Hiring employees is one of the hardest tasks for any businessowner – especially with today’s labor shortage. Employees not only ensure your business can function, but they dictate company culture and future growth. Unfortunately, not everyone that applies has the physical or mental qualifications necessary to perform the job. Unqualified candidates could potentially pose a direct threat to the health and safety of themselves and/or others around them. Screening potential new hires is the most efficacious method to prevent ‘hiring a claim waiting to happen.’
Benefits of Screening
Identifies pre-existing impairments – those that may affect job performance and those that don’t.
Identifying pre-existing impairments allows the employer to understand if they will need to provide reasonable accommodations. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers must provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, unless to do so would cause undue hardship.
Identifies habitual claimants
Workers’ compensation fraud is commonly seen in the industry. Employers should beware of applicants that have a history of habitual claims, as it might be an indication of potential fraud in the future.
Increase in employee cohesion and retention
Hiring qualified candidates will help create a safe and unified workplace. Employees that share a common work ethic and abide by safety practices are more likely to remain at the company.
Reduction in injury rates
Screening job candidates prevents ‘claims waiting to happen,’ from either potential fraud or those that don’t possess the physical or mental qualifications necessary to perform the job. By hiring screened, qualified candidates, employers should see a reduction in injury rates.
Creates a ‘Guard Tower’ – questionable applicants won’t show up
The implementation of the applicant screening creates a guard tower for your company. Questionable applicants are unlikely to pursue the job opening if they know they have a chance of being identified for insurance fraud.
Creates a common standard
Consistency across the company creates a common standard that employees understand and respect. By establishing screening procedures, management has guidelines and applicants recognize expectations.
Screening Best Practices:
There are multiple ways to screen job candidates, however, the Institute of WorkComp Professionals suggests that employers implement a Conditional Offer of Employment with a Medical History Questionnaire and a Report of Preplacement Medical.
To learn more about these best practices and how it can help your organization’s Workers’ Compensation Program cut costs, please contact our agency’s Workers’ Compensation Specialist, Mitch Kaufmann, ACRA, CBIA, MWCA.