Bill extends discount for workplace safety committees

In the past five years, Electro-Platers of York Inc. has saved $12,250 on workers' compensation insurance because the metal-finishing company has a statecertified safety committee.

But company President Dave Sollenberger said he will lose his statemandated 5 percent discount next month because the state imposed a five-year cap when it revised the workers' comp law in 1996.

Businesses such as Electro-Platers that immediately took advantage of the discount also will start losing the discount soon unless legislation sponsored by Lancaster Republican state Sen. Gibson Armstrong is approved by the House. His bill, which would remove the cap and extend the benefit indefinitely, passed the Senate unanimously three weeks ago.

The bill has been referred to the House Labor Relations committee.

Sollenberger said he had a safety committee even before the discount went into effect, and he plans to keep it because it keeps his workers safe and insurance premiums low.

But he will miss the discount on his policy, which costs him about $60,000 annually for his 60 full-time employees.

"I think (the discount is) extremely important because it helps offset the cost of having a safety committee," Sollenberger said.

The state originally had a one-year cap when the discount program was created in 1994 to reduce workplace accidents and increase safety, said Barry Ciccocioppo, a spokesperson for the State Department of Labor and Industry. The program worked so well that legislators extended it to five years.

Before the reduction was offered, there were only 400 certified safety committees statewide, he said. As of March, there were about 4,800.

Workplace injuries and deaths are at record lows, according to the state's latest statistics.

In 2000, workplace injuries dropped to their lowest point in 37 years, to 80,133. For the same year, there were 114 workplace fatalities, the second-lowest level since the state started keeping records in 1916.

Since 1996, the discount has saved companies more than $102 million in insurance premiums, not to mention reduced costs because of fewer accidents, Ciccocioppo said.

"What we found in all cases is that workers are eager to put this in place because they benefit as well," he said.

Safety committees identify hazards by conducting physical assessments of the property and serving as a clearinghouse for employee complaints.

They also investigate accidents and make safety recommendations to company executives.

Cindy Sklar is director of risk management for Eastern Alliance Insurance Co. of Lancaster, which has written workers' comp policies for 3,700 companies in Pennsylvania.

Although she said many companies decide to keep the safety committee after the five-year discount ends, she said some drop the committees, even though many see a decrease in the number of accidents. "I think (the provision) is a nice incentive," Sklar said.

Sklar said Eastern Alliance is very involved in training and setting up roles and responsibilities of members of the safety committees so that they can get certified by the state.

Among other requirements, committees must meet monthly and have an equal number of members from labor and management.

Diana Hartman, owner of COMP Assist in Lebanon, helps about 40 businesses a year develop and run committees. She said the added discount the state offers is important.

Many small companies choose not to have safety committees because of the time, money and manpower needed to run them, she said.

"It's very difficult for these companies to commit to do this," Hartman said. "It really comes down to dollars."