If your company participated in Group Rating or Group Retro during the 2023 policy year (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024) and had a claim during the green year(s), you’re required to complete two hours of safety training by June 30, 2024. Please be sure to complete submit the training certificates to your team at Spooner (or your TPA, if you’re not a Spooner client). If you’re unsure if you need to complete this training, reach out to your client services manager. The training doesn’t have to be completed in person – so there’s still time to meet the requirement by participating in one of BWC’s online courses. Here are some details on fulfilling the two-hour training requirement, per the Ohio BWC website.
Two-hour Training Options
A variety of training sources are available for you to fulfill this requirement. They include the following offered through BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene:
• Education and Training Services Center courses
• Ohio Safety Congress & Exposition (OSC) safety education sessions
• Safety council seminars, workshops, or conferences featuring a safety topic that are at least two hours long (Safety council monthly meetings do not qualify.)
Guidelines for courses offered through non-BWC training forums
• The group sponsor, third-party administrator, or an independent source can sponsor a course, provided it meets the two-hour criteria.
• The topic must be workplace safety related and at least two hours long or be two one-hour classes. The class(es) may be held in a classroom, online, or a webinar with the proper documentation needed to submit to a group sponsor.
• The class(es) must be conducted by reliable and credible safety training sources.
• Employers can do in-house training provided they document it, and the training is beyond the expected regular day-to-day safety training in the workplace.
Posted By Brandy King
September 24, 2024
Category: 2018 Group Retro, Retro Refunds, Ohio Bwc, Missing Refunds
You may have received, or will soon receive a letter from Ohio BWC stating that they are “unable to approve your request” to issue premium refunds based on 2018 Group Retrospective Rating. To recap, BWC chose to withhold 2018 Group Retro refunds from Ohio employers in light of the large dividend that was released to employers in 2020. Spooner appealed that decision on behalf of our clients with the intent of getting those Group Retro refunds paid out to participating employers, like your business. Spooner has maintained our stance and our fight over the last three years as the hearings and appeals process has continued to play out. Why did we receive this letter? These letters are a response to the protests we filed on behalf of Spooner clients who participated in 2018 Group Retro. We filed these requests to preserve our appeal rights, should we continue to be successful with the legal action that is now before the Court of Common Pleas. We have concerns that if we prevail in the legal proceedings, BWC may attempt to pay only the lead plaintiff in the case, as opposed to all Group Retro members. Why now? The final snapshot to determine refunds for the 2018 group retro program was on June 30, 2022. We filed the appeals at the end of June 2024 to comply with the two-year statute for filing protests with BWC. What should we do now? There is nothing that employers need to do at this time. If it becomes apparent that action is needed
Posted By Brandy King
September 24, 2024
Category: Ohio Bwc, True Up
With the filing deadline over a month behind us now, hopefully your policy’s 2023-2024 BWC True Up has been completed. The reporting period has historically been July 1through August 15, with a grace period of 30 days. Spooner’s team has been notified that for the current and coming policy years, the True Up period for reporting payroll and paying any remaining balances will be July 1 through August 31, with no grace period. It’s important to note that failure to True Up can impact your eligibility for Group Rating and Group Retro, which can translate to thousands of dollars in lost
Posted By Brandy King
September 24, 2024
Category: Hazcom, Osha, Ghs, Compliance, DOT, Safety Update
OSHA Issues Final Rule on HazCom Standard to Align with Revised GHS In July, OSHA’s final rule on the Hazard Communication Standard for classifying and labeling chemicals went into effect, and will be phased in over a four year period. Changes were made to the standard so that it will align with the 7th revision of the UN’s Globally Harmonized System (GHS), and will impact chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers utilizing hazardous chemicals. The updated standard includes changes to definitions that will impact labeling, handling and classification of hazardous chemicals. Here are some high points: • Additions the definition of Bulk shipment, Combustible dust, Gas, Immediate outer package, Liquid, Physician or other licensed health-care professional (PLHCP), Released for shipment, and Solids. • Clarifications to the definition of Exposure or Exposed, Pyrophoric gas • An addition to Section (f)(5) Transportation clarifying labeling for bulk shipments and pictograms to align with Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements. This solves the issue of having to use both HCS and DOT pictograms for the same hazard. • Smaller containers may utilize special labelling. Capacities under 100 ml will have minimum labeling requirements of a product identifier, applicable pictograms, signal word, manufacturer’s name and phone numb
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