A May 12, 2012, report by the Government Accounting Office “Better OSHA Guidance Needed on Safety Incentive Programs” raises some concerns about incentive programs and the way that many companies are using them.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. and the American Heart Association (AHA) are teaming up to conduct a first-of-its-kind research collaboration to study the effectiveness of workplace wellness initiatives offered at KKR and its portfolio companies.
“VPP will have the Department of Labor’s full support”
August 28, 2012
OSHA’s long-standing VPP, born during the Reagan years and which received staunch support during Republican years in the White House (2000-2008), came under scrutiny as the Obama administration, with a more open ear to organized labor’s concerns about the VPP use of incentive and behavior-based safety programs, took the helm.
OSHA’s beleaguered VPP is getting strong support from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). “All of OSHA should be in VPP,” said ASSE President Richard A. Pollock, CSP, in a letter to Rep. Timothy L. Walberg, chair of the U.S. Subcommittee on Workforce Protections’ Committee on Education and the Workforce.
A new initiative by a group of leading health care organizations has produced guidance for the use of outcomes-based incentives in employer-sponsored wellness (or health management) programs.
A new Government Accounting Office (GAO) report raises concerns about the effect of workplace safety incentive programs on accident and injury reporting, and recommends that OSHA add the issue to the field operations manuals used by its inspectors.
I have comments and questions about OSHA’s March 12, 2012 memorandum with the subject line: “Employer Safety Incentives and Disincentive Policies and Practices.”
Richard Fairfax, OSHA deputy assistant secretary issued a memorandum on March 12, 2012 to agency regional administrators and whistleblower protection program managers that might have slipped under the radar of many safety professionals.
Rising health care costs are prompting an increasing number of companies to encourage participation in employee health management programs through financial incentives and penalties, according to new research by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ:TW), a global professional services company, and the National Business Group on Health.
