Some of you have been asking about Safety Day and Recognition
Awards.
By way of an update, I have recommended to Director of
Administration, Scott
Darkenwald, and the Governor's Office, that we not hold
the event this year.
They concur.
As you know, we've just completed an arduous and difficult
special session
and many state supervisors and employees are already gearing
up for the
regular session in January.
It would be difficult to justify the additional expense
of Safety Day,
including one hour of paid leave for state employees,
when many agencies are
struggling to get their work done with the hiring freeze
that is in effect.
Those of you who qualify, however, for the Governor's
Employee Recognition
Awards will receive a letter of commendation and a plaque.
Your agency heads
will also receive a letter of commendation and we will
recommend that your
agency heads find an appropriate time and place to give
you and/or your
safety committees this award.
The letter will either be sent from the Governor's Office
or from the
Director of Administration. If you have any questions
about the recognition
awards or Safety Day, please contact me at ext. 3687.
I hope that you're all enjoying this beautiful fall weather!
We have received a number of recent phone calls from state
agencies about 15
passenger vans and liability in light of the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration's (NHTSA)Consumer Advisory issued earlier
this year. As you
may recall, we provided the state Risk Management Advisory
Council with
detailed information about 15 passenger vans some time
ago.
By way of an update, there is no current product recall
underway for any 15
passenger van through the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
Since federal legislation does not prohibit use of these
vehicles to
transport students over 17, it is our position that state
agencies and
universities may use them and we will continue to insure
them. Financial
resources permitting, we recommend that state agencies,
evaluate alternative
forms of transportation in the future.
At present, however, we recommend that each agency at
least download the
abbreviated advisory below from NHTSA for 15 passenger
vans and 1) place it
in the van in a conspicous place or; 2) at some other
conspicuous location
where the van is 'checked in' and/or 'checked out.' You
might also consider
having your drivers read and sign the abbreviated advisory
(at the link
below) before they drive the van and then keep a record
of this
acknowledgement somewhere. Here is the link to the abbreviated
advisory......................... http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/hot/15PassVans/ROLLOVER_HANGTAG_LaserRes.pdf
Also, I have attached a Power Point slide presentation
that we use in our
training which contains some very valuable information
about 15 passenger
vans and safety issues as well as web links where you
may obtain additional
information. You will need to have Power Point to open
it up. You might
check with your data processing people to help you either
convert the
document to a readable format or obtain your own, personal
version of Power
Point. We use the National Safety Council's DDC 4 hour
course as well as
'Coaching the Experienced Van Driver II.' If you're interested
in training,
please contact me.
In addition, CBS '60 Minutes' produced a 20 minute video
entitled 'Rollover'
which discussed the problems associated with driving 15
passenger vans. I
believe that you'll find it to be insightful and interesting.
We have
purchased two copies. Please contact Terry Bomar or Carol
Rhodes if you
would like to 'check out' a copy or you can order one
yourself for $29.95 by
contacting CBS and asking for the video 'Rollover' which
aired during 60
minutes on September 9th, I believe.
Other clarifications and updates:
1) As you know, access to the property/casualty information
system (PCIIS)
and web based claims reports is password protected, therefore,
you must use
your own, unique CM# and passwords to get into the system.
We have already
provided most of you with passwords. If you cannot remember
them, contact
Kristie Rhodes for PCIIS assistance and Jennie Younkin
for access to your
claim reports. It is our intent not to provide hard copies
of your reports,
in the future, since these may be obtained on-line.
2) The claims section of our website and a few other documents
are 'access
restricted.' This means that they are in a restricted
area on our website.
If you are inside the state network and backbone, then
you have automatic
access and no passwords are necessary. However, if you
are outside the state
network, when it prompts you for the following passwords....................
Please type your user name and password.
Site: discoveringmontana.com
User Name: ____________
Password: ____________
Domain: _____________
Please enter risktort as the username, tortoise as the
password, and
mtdmz.ad as the domain.
If you have any questions, please contact Kristie Rhodes,
Jennie Younkin, or
myself.
We have a number of items to share with you regarding
employee safety and
risk:
1)At the request of many of our clients, RMTD's course
on State Employee
Fraud is being offered in Billings on November 7th. This
course is free to
all state and university system employees. Employee fraud
is a real concern
for any employer. Government is not exempt from it. This
course is
recommended for supervisors, employees in finance, and
simply any employee
who can identify and prevent fraud. See the attached flier
for more
information.
2)Also by request, our course on contract writing will
be offered in
Billings following the Employee Fraud course. This is
a very important
topic. Risk should be transferred and the state held harmless
in regards to
work conducted by a contractor. One cannot assume the
state is protected
unless the contract is clear. This course covers the reasons
why hold
harmless provisions should be in a contract and it also
provides easy to use
and understand language you can include in any contract.
It also will help
your employees understand the ramifications of language
a contractor may
place in a contract. See the attached flier for more information.
Please
register at the training page of the RMTD website:
www.discoveringmontana.com/doa/rmtd.
3)Two special offerings of Defensive Driving have been
scheduled for the
Helena area by Aric Curtiss for November 6 and 7. These
are 4-hour classroom
courses. One offering is scheduled for the afternoon and
the other is
scheduled for the morning to accommodate all employees.
Both classes have
limited rosters so your employees are encouraged to register
early. The
one-page flier attached can be printed and posted or electronically
forwarded to employees. Agencies may be eligible for a
5% discount on their
auto liability insurance premium if they have 3% of employees
attend this or
other recognized defensive driving courses. RMTD will
again offer the
Defensive Driving course to assorted locations across
the state this coming
Spring.
4) Kristie Rhodes and Aric Curtiss of RMTD will be busy
providing the ever
popular course "Street Smart from 9 to 5" over
the next three months across
the state. This course differs from a Violence in the
Workplace course in
that it focuses on defusing violent situations before
they escalate.
Valuable skills are taught in this course. The course
is ideal for front
desk employees who deal with the public or fellow employees,
and any other
employee who may come in contact with a hostile individual.
Fliers for this
course are being sent to all recipients listed on the
RMTD mailing list
distributed at the most recent RMAC meeting. Rosters for
each offering are
limited to 40 participants, therefore employees are encouraged
to register
early.
5) The RMTD Training Calendar & Registration page
is working great! Any
state or university system employee can view the always
current RMTD
training calendar and register at this site. http://rmtd.doa.state.mt.us/pls/rmtd/RMTD_CTIS_TRAINING.training_list
Once
an employee registers for a course a printable detailed
confirmation is
available to them. This system tracks RMTD training by
employee, course,
date and agency. A detailed report of all RMTD training
your employees have
participated in is available for the asking. Contact us
at 444-2421 for a
report for your agency.
6) The on-line Safety Resource Library which many of you
have used has been
updated. Many of the links that were broken have now been
fixed and new
topics have been added to provide you with even more information.
The
library can be found at: http://www.discoveringmontana.com/doa/rmtd/safetylosscontrol/library/index.as
p, or find it on the Safety & Loss Control page of
the RMTD website. If you
have other links with valuable information available,
please contact our
offices.
7) The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) is the
source for consumer
related recalls and safety alerts. You can add yourself
to their free
electronic notification service by visiting http://www.cpsc.gov/.
Recalls
and alerts are issued daily. Often these cover items you
or your employees
may be using. Many of the recalls and alerts are not otherwise
broadly
distributed to the public.
8) Nobody should need to be reminded of the state of the
budget for the
State. During these times safety can become more important
as there are
fewer resources to pay for an accident. As a reminder,
the training courses
and other services provided by the Risk Management &
Tort Defense division
are provided at no additional charge to you, your agency
or your employees.
There may be a cancellation fee charged for registered
employees who do not
attend a scheduled training course while there is no fee
to register and
attend. You are encouraged to utilize the services available
through RMTD.
9) The following agencies are hereby recognized for their
efforts during
FY2002 to develop and establish comprehensive and effective
safety programs
in accordance with the criterion reported by each agency
on the State of
Montana, Safety Program, Self-Assessment Report. As you
may recall, these
reports were submitted in August.
EXCELLENT: (rating 77 and above)
Montana Department of Transportation - 83
Montana Tech of the University of Montana- 80
Montana Department of Agriculture - 80
University of Montana - 79
Commissioner of Political Practices - 78* (small agency)
GOOD: (rating 65-77)
Montana Secretary of State - 73
Montana DPHHS - 72
Montana Department of Commerce - 72
Montana State Fund - 66
Commissioner of Higher Education - 66 (incomplete)
Montana Department of FW&P - 65
Those agencies above, who self-reported as having an Excellent
rating, will
receive a gold plaque from the Governor's Office. Agencies
self-reporting a
Good rating will receive a silver plaque from the Governor's
Office. Each of
these agencies' directors' will receive the plaque to
award as they see fit
at an appropriate time and place as well as a letter of
recognition.
As always, feel free to contact our office with any questions
or concerns.
We have a few items for you to 'digest,' then 'disseminate.'
1) The Risk Management & Tort Defense Division is
sponsoring its annual
contracting seminar on December 12, 2002. It is entitled
'Reducing Risk
Exposure in Contracts' and will be held at the Commissioner
of Higher
Education's Complex, Rooms A & B from 8:30 to noon.
A flyer is attached.
Please promote this important training within your agency.
The state's
contractual liability is very significant and the seminar
addresses 'hold
harmless provisions' and 'insurance specifications' in
contracts.
2) If you have any items that you would like us to discuss
or address at our
next Advisory Council meeting, give us a shout and we'll
put them on the
agenda. No date or time has yet been set for the next
meeting!
3) We would like to change the name of the current advisory
council to the
state risk management committee to more appropriately
reflect your
responsiblities. You are not advisory in nature, instead
you collect and
disseminate information within your agencies. Many of
you also have
responsibility for your agency's safety/loss prevention
programs.
4) Finally, we are looking at the cost and feasibility
of creating a true
'Advisory Committee' which consists of insurance, claims,
loss control, and
other industry experts to give us advice, help us oversee
our program, and
make suggestions on ways to improve our services and offerings.
As always, I am interested in your feedback and suggestions.
If you have any
questions, please contact me at ext. 3687.
With Regards,
Brett E. Dahl, Administrator,
Risk Management & Tort Defense Division
A number of you have inquired about the status of the
workers' compensation
dividend bill, volume discount legislation, and Christmas
Trees.
Let us away...............................
1)First the bad news! The workers' compensation dividend
bill is 'dead.'
Apparently, the Legislative Council could not, by statute,
approve the
creation of a special appropriation which would give the
Office of Budget
and Program Planning (OBPP) discretionary authority to
release the dividend
money to state agencies. Due to the variety of funding
sources from which
the workers' compensation premiums originate, this is
an administrative
nightmare to set up any other way. If you have questions
or suggestions,
contact me or call Steve Bender, Director's Office, Department
of
Administration (ext. 2032).
2)Then the good news! The volume discount initiative is
still alive. Last
time we discussed with OBPP they indicated that they would
attempt to
incorporate boilerplate in HB2 which gives agencies the
discretionary
authority to spend the money. The boilerplate cannot be
added until after
legislative sub-committees have met, probably sometime
in January or even
February. We are tracking this issue carefully and will
pursue vigorously.
3)'Tis the season' for Christmas trees! Remember, local
ordinance requires
that trees in public buildings be treated with chemical
retardant. General
Services sent a memo to all agencies reminding them to
be careful with
Christmas trees this season. The memo indicated that agencies
can purchase
FlameSafe tree flame retardant at a local store. We recommend
that agencies
use the supply that we have on hand FIRST before going
out and purchasing
the chemicals, . Basically, we are giving our supply away
to those agencies
that request it on a first-come, first-serve basis. One
bottle will treat a
standard-sized tree.
If you would like a bottle, please contact Terry Bomar
(ext. 2421) of our
office. The tree needs to be sprayed from top to bottom
and the Tree Safe
allowed to dry before the tree is decorated. One spraying
will last the
season. The entire bottle should be used but if there
is extra it should be
dumped in the tree water reservoir. Of course, the usual
precautions with a
live tree still apply. The Tree Safe is only an additional
precaution.
Some of you have asked why there is no boilerplate in
HB2 currently that
provides for state agencies to spend the volume discounts
and
early-return-to-work proceeds.
See Jane Hamman's explanation below. The good news is
that there are no
restrictive amendments at present that prohibit the ways
personal services
funds are used.
OBPP has promised that if an amendment is made to force
this issue, then
they will add our language to the restriction at that
time.
Our goal, as you know, is to make the volume discounts
and the
early-return-to-work discounts available for state agencies
to spend rather
than revert to the general fund or other operating categories.
-----Original Message-----
From: Hamman, Jane
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 9:43 AM
To: Dahl, Brett
Cc: Muri, Cathy
Subject: RE: HB 2 Boilerplate
It's not in the introduced version because the Executive
is recommending
that there be NO restrictions on expenditures of personal
services in the
2005 biennium due to the severity of the cuts required
to balance the
budget. Personal services are not "locked up"
in our version. If an
amendment gets made to force this issue, then we will
insist that your
language to added to the restriction at that time.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dahl, Brett
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 8:47 AM
To: Muri, Cathy; Hamman, Jane
Subject: HB 2 Boilerplate
I know that you're both extremely busy with the legislative
session,
hearings, and a very difficult budget process.
However, by way of reminder, some time ago we agreed to
incorporate
boilerplate in HB2 which would preserve state agency's
ability to use
early-return-to-work discounts issued by the Montana State
Fund to fund
modified positions and return injured state employees
to work. The state
early-return-to-work program is an essential part of managing
disability
costs by funding alternative positions for injured workers.
We are hoping to
preserve these discounts for state agencies like last
legislative session.
In addition, I have attached proposed language which allows
agencies to use
volume discounts issued by the Montana State Fund for
their safety programs,
ADA accomodations, and disability management. These are
changes that have
also been discussed, and per Jane, the thinking was that
we would introduce
the boilerplate this session and see where it went.
I believe that last legislative session, Cathy introduced
the boilerplate. I
don't care who does it, but our clients are asking about
it and I didn't see
it in HB2 so I wanted to 'jog everyone's memory.' Let
me know if there is
anything that we can do to facilitate. Our clients are
asking about this and
I wanted to assure that we are vigorously pursuing this
as an option.
This is just a short note to let you
know of a couple new opportunities
and enhancements the Risk Management
& Tort Defense Division is offering
you and your coworkers. Please share
this information with anyone. Some
of the information is time sensitive
so react quickly. If you have any
questions please feel free to contact
me.
Be
Safe,
Aric
Curtiss
RMTD
1)FIRST
AID and CPR TRAINING
RMTD is wrapping up the 2003 open
enrollment offerings of First Aid/CPR
classes. We offer American Red Cross
Standard First Aid across the state
to all employees on a first registered
basis with limited space on each roster.
Over 200 more state employees will
be certified in First Aid and adult
CPR before this course offering is
completed
later this month.
While we train many employees, we
do not have the resources to train
all state employees on this valued
topic. Therefore we propose partnering
with your staff. Here are the details:
-Local chapters of the Red Cross are
offering Instructor Training in Helena,
Butte, Missoula, Great Falls, and
Billings. Other chapters may also
be scheduling this training. We invite
your agency to develop a certified
instructor. The cost for certification
is roughly $60 and typically requires
three evening classes
but depends on the local Red Cross office.
This expense is your responsibility. The
training includes Instructor Candidate
classes as well as specific skill
instruction. These classes start NOW
(this week in some locations) and
are not offered very often. You
can contact Aric Curtiss at RMTD for
more information.
-RMTD will allow your Certified Instructor
to utilize our equipment (manikins,
video, first aid training supplies,
student books and skill cards) at
no charge as available.
-RMTDs Certified Instructors Aric
Curtiss and/or Kristie Rhodes may
partner with your agency trainer(s)
to conduct training. The Red Cross
standards allow a ratio of 10 student
per instructor. By partnering, together
we may efficiently train larger
numbers of employees. The partnering
of RMTD staff is subject to scheduling.
-Agencies
MUST coordinate training through
RMTD. We have partnered with the American
Red Cross for special pricing and
authorizations. Your certified instructor(s)
must coordinate with us to be included
within our contract with the Red Cross.
We believe our contract will
yield better prices and flexibility
than what
you can obtain.
-At
this point RMTD will take care of
all records processing and coordination
with the Red Cross and undertake all
expenses associated for training provided.
-In
return, agencies must agree
to make your certified instructor(s)
available to likewise assist trainers
from other agencies if requested.
The basic idea is that we will create
a pool of Certified Instructors who
can assist each other, crossing agency
lines, to provide this valuable
training to as many employees as practical.
We
believe this may be the most efficient
way to provide the training with
the limited resources available. If
you are interested or have any questions
please contact Aric Curtiss at 444-3486
or acurtiss@mt.gov.
2)
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
There are currently 535 seats for
the scheduled Spring 2003 Open Enrollment
Defensive Driving courses offered
across the state. These seats will
go quickly. All classes require pre-registration
and space on the rosters are granted
in the order registrations are received.
Promotional materials are in the mail
now (see #3 below) and the courses
are on our on-line
calendar
always locatedathttp://rmtd.doa.state.mt.us/pls/rmtd/RMTD_CTIS_TRAINING.training_list.
Please direct employees to this site
for registration.
As a reminder, the State Vehicle Use
Policy may require some of your employees
to attend this course.
As another reminder, if your agency
has elected to participate in the
Automobile Insurance Premium Discount
program offered by RMTD, the scheduled
classes are the last chance to obtain
the required 3% participation and
to enroll any employee responsible
for an automobile accident resulting
in a claim as required by this program.
Register
early!
3)PROMOTIONAL
MATERIALS
A
new area of our website now makes
promotional material available for
you to print or route electronically.
See the "Promotional Material" link
on the Training page of the RMTD
website-
(www.discoveringmontana.com/doa/rmtd
)
4)
PROPERTY INSPECTIONS
With the millions of dollars of state
properties and contents, RMTD and
our insurance provider routinely conduct
inspections of selected insured properties.
These inspections are to identify
threats to the property and contents.
Typically these are fire related
threats. Recommendations to safeguard
state assets are made as a result
of these inspections. The next inspections
will be made in the Kalispell, Missoula
and Hamilton areas the week of April
28. Some locations have already been
selected for these inspections. If
you request an inspection of a property or
have questions about this service,
please contact Aric Curtiss
at 444-3486 or acurtiss@mt.gov
to discuss.
We hope that this message finds everyone surviving a very
difficult
legislative session as well as the unseasonably cold spring
weather.
We do have a number of issues that require your follow-up:
1) Our next Risk Management Advisory Council Meeting is
scheduled for May
20, 2003 at 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Commissioner' Higher
Education complex,
Rooms A & B. It is important for you to be there,
however, if you have
conflicts please assure that someone from your agency
is in attendance.
2) Attached below is the notice of election form for Auto
Insurance Premium
Discounts. Please return the notice of election form,
appropriately signed,
to Kristie Rhodes, by May 1st if you wish to participate
in the auto premium
discount. Also, attached is a history of those drivers
from your agency that
have been involved in vehicle accident(s) over the past
three years. We
would ask that you DO NOT share the accident information
with anyone other
than the driver within your agency and certainly not outside
your agency.
3)Attached below is the notice of election form for the
workers'
compensation premium discount which applies if you have
established an
early-return-to-work program. Again, submit this form
to Kristie Rhodes by
May 1, 2003 (note: the Montana State Fund has asked us
to collect these).
You DO NOT have to return a notice of election form for
the
early-return-to-work program IF your agency opted for
the discount in prior
years and your agency is still fulfilling those requirements.
4) Attached below is the Safety Program Self-Assessment
Form which all
agencies are required to submit to the Risk Management
& Tort Defense
Division by July 5, 2003. Please submit the form and all
supplemental
documentation to me. As you may recall, the self-assessment
tool is used to
report agencies' progress in establishing comprehensive
and effective safety
programs as well as to recognize and reward those agencies
with 'good' or
'excellent' programs at Safety Day (September).
5) If you are a new member of the council and have not
yet received an
orientation, please contact Terry Bomar of our office
to schedule sometime
after April 18th.
6) We are interested in an updated 'head count' to ascertain
how many
agencies have fully implemented the state vehicle use
rule which was adopted
in October 2001. Fully implemented means that your agency
a) required their
employees read the rule; b) required its employees to
sign an
acknowledgement form that they have read the rule; and
c) and maintained an
agency copy somewhere, preferably in each employee's personnel
file. Our
goal in collecting this information is to determine whether
or not to modify
the rule. Please let me know sometime before June 1, 2003.
7) We are hiring a summer intern to work at the division.
Though we have
lots of projects to keep him/her very busy, we are always
interested in new
ideas. If you have suggestions about how we might best
utilize the services
of our intern to assist you in your world, please let
me know (ext. 3687).
THANK YOU for the feedback on the recent round of customer
surveys. As
always, we welcome your suggestions on ways to be more
efficient and cost
effective.
A number of advisory council members and state employees
have complained
that when they access our website from their own computers,
the don't see
the current cached images, including some of the most
recent updates.
According to our webmaster, the way to fix that problems
is to go to
Internet Explorer, under Tools > Internet Options >
General Tab > Temporary
Internet Files, click "Settings...". Then make
sure, under "Check for newer
versions of stored pages:" that "Every visit
to the page" is selected, then
click OK.
This should force the browser to update the cached page
and related elements
every time you access it.
If you have any questions, concerns, or problems, please
let us know.
By way of reminder, the Notice of Election forms for the
Early-Return-To-Work Program (i.e. Worker's Compensation
Premium Discount of
5%) were due yesterday. If you opted to participate in
this program in the
past, your election automatically carries over from year
to year so you do
not need to submit a notice of election form for FY04.
However, we DO need your Notice of Election forms for
auto insurance (i.e.
premium discount of 5% based upon participation in defensive
driving). To
date, we have received only about a dozen forms, whereas
last year 21
agencies opted to participate. Please encourage your agency
to participate
in defensive driving then sign and submit the notice of
election to us by
June 1, 2003.
The state's auto insurance premiums currently average
$96 per year for
collision and only $100 for liability. The reason these
costs are so low is
because the state's loss experience, on the whole, is
outstanding. We need
to constantly remind our employees of the need to be safe
and defensive
drivers.
By way of reminder, our next meeting is scheduled for
May 20, 2003 from 9:00
a.m. to noon over at the Commissioner of Higher Education
complex,
Conference Rooms A & B.
Topics to be discussed include 'Continuity of Government
and Your Safety
Committee,' 'Changes in Motor Vehicle Laws Legislative
Session Past,'
'Insurance Renewal 04', and 'Obtaining Web Based Claims
Reports' to name a
few.
It is very important that you attend, however, if you
absolutely cannot, a
replacement should be designated by management to attend
and to be
responsible for distribution of the information.
A few items of business for your follow-up and/or feedback
since our meeting
in May:
1) As mentioned at our May meeting, we are forming a 'true'
industry
Advisory Council. We are working with the Governor's Office
to issue an
executive order, quite possibly in June. The new Risk
Management Advisory
Council membership will be comprised of risk managers,
insurance
professionals, and claims professionals from the public
and private sector.
We have submitted several names and are awaiting feedback.
2) Any suggestions on what to call our old group (i.e.
the former Risk
Management Advisory Council)? For example, should we call
it the Risk
Management User's Group, Risk Management Steering Committee,
Risk Management
Committee, etc. We're interested in your opinions here.
If you don't care,
that's okay too, we'll come up with something.
3) By way of reminder, safety program self-assessments
are due by July 5th.
To date, we've received less than 1/2 of the reports,
so we have a long way
to go. The assessments are required if you are an executive
branch agency or
if you want to participate in the Governor's State Employee
Safety
Recognition Program. Most of the requirements set forth
in the
self-assessment are necessary in order to be compliant
with the Montana
Safety Culture Act. We interested in knowing what progress
you have made in
implementing safety programs. We will also be using the
self assessment tool
to recognize those agencies who have established comprehensive
and effective
safety programs. You may find the self-assessment template
on our website at
During the past few weeks, the division has received numerous
questions
about how the new DUI laws will affect the state vehicle
use rule which was
adopted in October of 1991.
In accordance with administrative rule (ARM 2.6.205) any
employee with more
than 12 conviction points within the past 36 months (i.e.
convictions
received after the inception date of the rule......October
12, 2001) must
take defensive driving. Any employee with more than 15
conviction points
within the past 36 months (i.e. again convictions received
after the
inception date of the rule.....October 12, 2001) may not
operate a state
vehicle.
During the recent legislative session, more stringent
DUI laws passed.
According to Pam Bucy, Attorney General's Office, second
time DUI offenders
will now have their fines increased to $500 and their
licenses suspended for
one year during which time they MAY NOT operate a state
vehicle. In
addition, 10 conviction points are now assigned to a DUI
(up from 7 points
before passage of the law). We wanted you to be aware
that with higher point
restrictions for DUI offenses, more drivers are likely
meet or exceed the 12
to 15 point threshold established in rule.
Please remind your legal counsel and human resource folks
that in these
situations, we recommend that they consult with each other
and make
consistent decisions based upon facts and circumstances
and the criterion
established in Administrative Rule by the Department of
Adminstration below:
Those of you that think that drinking and driving isn't
a problem for state
employees, may be right. However, we have had a dozen
or so inquiries about
the rule and its interpretation within the past two weeks,
so it may be a
bigger than we think. In any case, we wanted to pass the
information on to
each of you.
Of course, we should remind our state employees that the
rule applies 'on or
off the job' and that drinking and driving is never a
good alternative.
Passage and implementation of the vehicle use rule as
we've discussed in the
past requires that your employees read the rule and sign
an acknowledgement
form that they have read and understood it. Sample forms
and
acknowledgements are available.
We hope that you are enjoying the pleasant summer weather
and planning
festive activities for tomorrow, July 4th. Be safe in
your celebrations!
1) By way of an update, insurance renewal for FY04 is
now completed. Changes
in coverage this 'go around' only involve fine arts and
property insurance
coverages.
2) This is the last call for Safety Program Self-Assessments!
We have
already sent out several reminders. To date, we have only
received 10
self-assessments. In light of recent increases in workers'
compensation
premiums, there is interest in knowing what is being done
at the agency
level as respects employee safety and early-return-to-work.
Please click on
the link below to download the report and the instructions
and submit by
July 15, 2003:
3) THANK YOU for your interest in auto and workers' compensation
insurance
premium discounts. There is still time to submit your
'Notice of Election
Forms,' however, they must be in by August 1, 2003. To
find more out about
the discounts, please click on the link below:
On
September 18, 2003, the Montana State
Fund is sponsoring a free seminar,
featuring Richard Pimentel, a nationally
renowned expert on disability management
(see promotional material below).
The
training will be held at the Capitol House
Chambers from 8:00 a.m. to Noon. Though
Mr. Pimentel has spoken at previous seminars
sponsored by the Department of Labor &
Industry, Department of Administration,
and the Montana State Fund, disability
laws, practices, and case management
are foreverever changing.
We
encourage you to promote this training
and invite either your Human Resource Manager,
another key management team member, or
someone else who is vested in these issues to
attend.
--Brett
Dahl, Administrator,
Risk
Management & Tort Defense Division
1625
11th Avenue
P.O.
Box 200124
Helena,
Montana
59620-0124
(406)444-3687
----------Original
Message----- From: Boyle, Mary Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 4:22
PM To: Brown, Bob (SOS); Butler, Chuck;
Clinch, Bud; Darkenwald, Scott; Fishbaugh,
Arlynn; Galt, Dave; Governor; Hagener,
Jeff; Keating, Wendy; McCulloch, Linda;
McGrath, Mike (DOJ); Morrison, John; Olsen,
Arnie; Peck, Ralph; Prendergast, John;
Sensibaugh, Jan; Simonich, Mark; Slaughter,
Bill; Strege, Karen Subject: Montana State Funds Holds
Free Safety Training for State Agencies
July
28, 2003
Dear
Agency Directors,
As
you are well aware, the cost of workers'
compensation insurance is escalating.
Two
of the most important strategies that
can help control rising insurance costs
is an investment in workplace safety and
development of an effective early return
to work plan.At Montana State Fund, we know
that a safe working environment contributes
to a business' overall success and the
well being of its employees. We also know
that the sooner an employee is back on
the job, the better the outcome and the
lower the overall cost. That is why we
have committed ourselves to providing
employers with the best safety and claims
services and information available.
Because
we are committed to helping our state
agency customers control claim costs,
I want to personally invite you and your
key risk management staff to a free workers'
compensation training seminar on Thursday,
September 18. The training will be held
from 8 am - 12:00 Noon in the Capitol's
House Chambers.
The
four-hour training session will featureRichard Pimentel, a nationally
renowned expert on disability management,
workers' compensation cost containment,
rehabilitation, and job retention in the
workplace. Mr.
Pimentel is an acknowledged authority
on the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). His training has not only successfully
enabled managers and supervisors to participate
in cost reduction initiatives and implementation
of policies and procedures to reduce worksite
accidents and reinjury, but also to dispel
stereotypes and embrace diversity.
A participant at one of Pimentel's presentations
said"This
was the best presenter that I have ever
heard-extremely motivational-very insightful.Although he was entertaining he
hit all the nails on the head.I never laughed so hard and learned
so much at the same time!"
The topics that will be covered at
the training include:
XReturn
to work programs in state government settings. XDisability
management and an aging workforce. XHow
agencies can save on their workers' compensation
costs.
State
agency directors,
supervisors, human resource personnel,
and safety committee members are encouraged
to attend.In
this type of environment it becomes
incumbent on all of us to do what we can
to work together to prevent accidents
in the workplace. Top-level management
commitment and knowledge is essential
for success. This training will prove
to be a step in that direction.
I
look forward to seeing you and many of
your employees at the training. More
detailed information and registration
will be coming.You
can access information about Richard Pimentel
on www.miltwright.com/c_princip.htm.
If
you have any questions about the training
or safety in your agency, please contact
me at 444-6501 or send me an email.
You
may register for upcoming early-return-to-work
training at the link on the Montana State
Fund's website below. Many,
if not all of you, are on the State Fund's
mailing list, but we wanted to be sure
you had the opportunity.
Have
a Nice Day!
--Brett
Dahl, Administrator,
State
Risk Management & Tort Defense Division
1625
11th Avenue
P.O.
Box 200124
Helena,
Montana
59602-0124
(406)444-3687
-----Original
Message----- From: Boyle, Mary Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 3:26
PM To: Boyle, Mary
