Keefe, Campbell & Associates, LLC

Editor’s comment: For those of you who haven’t heard, they have greatly expanded the Americans with Disabilities Act under a new statutory scheme called ADA Amendments Act or ADAAA. It will be almost impossible to avoid the ADAAA requirements of “reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with a disability” in the future.

Please note the new federal ADAAA is going to make it crucially important to understand the capabilities of your workers, particularly if they have disabilities that require accommodation. We assure you they won’t “give you a break” on workers’ comp benefits if a disabled worker exceeds their limitations and becomes injured. A pre-employment strength testing service has been created to screen applicants for pre-existing physical conditions. For any employer whose employees will be undertaking physical activities on a daily basis, knowing whether or not an applicant is able to handle the stress of the job can save an employer energy, time and money.
As a result of extensive risk management analysis, The Horton Group, an Orland Park-based insurance and risk management company, has created a strength testing service that can help businesses determine the physical well-being of prospective and/or current employees.
“You can imagine, hiring your next work comp claimant is a fear of every employer, specifically any employer that is taking on any level of self insurance for this line of coverage,” said Ken Olsen, Horton’s president of employee benefit services. “So we created ways for an employer to be assured that the new applicants coming in or the new hire they’re making are going to add to the workforce in a positive way.”
Network Safety Consultants (NSC), The Horton Group’s safety consulting firm, learned about the technology three years ago and soon formed a partnership with Cost Reduction Technologies, an industry-leader in isokinetic testing, said Gary Glader, president of NSC. “As soon as we became aware of the technology, we quickly realized the benefit this would bring to employers,” he said. The process begins when a business owner contacts NSC concerning a prospective employee. NSC then surveys the location of the client company to assess the physical demands of that particular job.
“We go out and make observations of the work being done and we actually put numbers to the work that’s being done, in terms of how much weight is lifted and the frequencies at which those weights are lifted,” said Glader. Once the data from the job site is collected, NCS sends the information to its technology partner, which then generates a body index score that is a baseline number by which the applicant will be judged. Harder work is given a higher number and vice versa. After that, the job applicant takes the test. The test is performed on an isokinetic machine, which feeds data into a computer. The machine is similar to those found in a typical gym, yet is created specifically to test the shoulders, knees and back.
Exams are conducted identically for each participant, testing the extension and flexion of the three body parts. The applicant performs five repetitions at each station, at the weight corresponding to the body index score. The test is conducted at Horton’s Orland Park facility and takes approximately 15 minutes. The data from the applicant’s exam is sent directly to the employer, who can then decide whether or not that person will meet the physical demands of the job. The cost of the process is around $150. The unique advantage of the test is that the data can be used as a baseline to measure the extent of post-employment injuries that may occur. An employee who has a workers’ compensation claim performs the strength testing after the supposed injury so an employer can be sure as to the validity of the claim.
“It has occurred before where an employee who claims an injury has taken the test and the score is stronger than the original test,” Glader said. “The argument then becomes, ‘what’s the injury?’” Situations like these can prevent an employer from incurring unnecessary costs as a result of a false claim. The results of the strength testing service have proved that many candidates are not in good enough physical condition to handle the demands of the position they are applying for. “I think the best feedback I can give is in the number of applicants that we’ve actually rejected for the jobs,” said Glader. “Out of the three dozen tests we’ve conducted so far, we’re rejecting about one out of every five applicants.”
The program is one of the many initiatives Horton has in place to help small and mid-sized business owners prevent losses of time and money through unnecessary workers’ compensation claims. “We know that early detection is one of the best ways to reduce cost and the amount of absenteeism that might be created out of waiting until the last minute to treat a particular injury,” Olsen said. “If the information that comes from these reports can be beneficial in getting them to act earlier with some physical therapy to deal with an injury versus waiting until a serious episode, we might be able to reduce costs.”

Companies utilizing the service have built a reputation of being serious about hiring qualified candidates for the job. Proof of this is in the number of applicants who have failed to show up for the test. “They obviously understand that they perhaps were not as open about something that they might have been in an earlier process,” said Olsen. “The strength testing will fish that out.”

This article was initially researched and drafted by Jeremy Stoltz of the Business Ledger and we added the ADAAA information. Please reply with your thoughts and comments.

Editor’s comment: Well, we again come to one of those defining events that is sure to affect the world of workers’ compensation in one way or the other. We are confident our readers are going to see two out of three good things happen tomorrow.

First, the current administration will be ending. While we are sure it will rile some of our readers, we have to admit we will never miss this interesting bunch currently inhabiting the White House and Washington, D.C. They have the lowest approval rating and the highest federal debt in the history of either concept. We aren’t alone in wishing them well while sending them off to the distant horizon. Please note this article from May 2000: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/01/clinton.debt/. You will note U.S. debt was about $5.7 trillion when the current administration took office. In eight years, this country’s national debt is now $10.5 trillion or approximately $5 trillion higher! So when they claim they “held the line on taxes”, always remember they just printed more money and created massive debt for us to pay off in the future while they enjoy their government pensions.

We have also been amazed to see the current administration completely forget to plan, program, sketch, map out, diagram, arrange or prepare in any way for a successor. It is almost as if that concept was skipped. One would think if the members of the administration thought anything they did was the slightest bit important, they might want to see it survive to the next administration—instead; the polls are demonstrating we may have a “blue” president with an untouchable majority in both houses of Congress. It may be a generation before the “red” party gets back into power and lots of changes are going to be needed to resurrect their interests.

Second, the “blue” candidate may win, bringing a published author and brilliant orator to our highest office. It is our hope he will go a long way to end the infernal “victim mentality” in some communities because it is hard to be a victim and claim to be disenfranchised if your candidate is running the country. While we are confident this “blue” candidate will do everything in his wisdom and power to right the ship, we are also concerned when the folks who have donated to his giant war chest come to cash the checks they may think they get to write. Please note Illinoisans have already donated over $31 million to his campaign.

From the level of donations, we assure our readers the unions and trial lawyers are going to want lots of new laws, liberal/radical judges and increased benefits for their largesse. We are concerned the process of “tort deform,” and not reform, may be coming to a courtroom near you. While we don’t want to pre-judge, we also don’t see this candidate contributing to needed reforms that will help U.S. and Illinois businesses effectively compete and succeed in local and world markets. And to the extent U.S. workers’ compensation plaintiff lawyers quietly benefit from the millions donated by their partners, the big tort hotshots in the general liability system, we can expect workers’ comp to get more anti-business and less reasonable in both outcomes and secret legislative changes.

Third, and finally, the “red” candidate may win, bringing a maverick to Washington who may be able to rein in some of the special interests and pork projects. This senator is a highly decorated and distinguished war-hero who is a decent, honest and hard-working man who forecast the battles that have been waged during this long and arduous campaign that now is at an end. If he doesn’t win, we again feel his party will be headless and adrift in a sea run by the other side.

Please also note the very concept of “government” and politics are changing very rapidly. A number of very wealthy Illinois political insiders are facing federal indictments and trials. Political graft and job-buying are becoming dangerous things to do for those who prefer being out of prison. Some day, we hope this applies to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission where supposedly “civil service” jobs still remain political plums. You may not know it but the Indiana Toll Roads and Chicago Skyway are no longer operated by the State of Indiana or City of Chicago. Midway Airport has been sold and O’Hare Airport may follow shortly. The Illinois Lottery is repeatedly on the block for the highest bidder. Major facets of government are being considered for privatization right now.

Could the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission be “out-sourced” and privatized? There is no reason why it couldn’t be—please remember the taxpayers don’t pay for it any longer; Illinois business pays the full cost but gets very little in return for their money. Will the IWCC be privatized? Well, there are major political objections and roadblocks, the biggest being the entrenched sources who have worked hard and long to have the place running in their image and likeness. As we have said in the past, Illinois business will get a say in running the Commission when they demand to do so and politically force that to occur.

Lots of different services that have traditionally been viewed as government-only may soon be sold by the respective governments for the upfront cash. The main reason is the power that comes from having the rights to broker the jobs, equipment and vendors may be disappearing. Once government services and equipment are sold, the jobs and workers are privatized and won’t be going back to the public sector. We predict this trend will grow and continue. Please expect the political landscape will continue to morph with it.

However the election turns out, we are sure it will herald a new kind of democracy and even newer election techniques that are going to be watched and copied for years to come. Please give us your thoughts and comments on the election. Whatever you do, please be sure to vote!!