TOC - Case Studies

TOC Member: A remanufacturing operation in Oregon
Challenge: To turn safety performance from poor to excellent
Result: Time-loss and direct cost of accidents reduced

In 2001, this Oregon company had six accidents--two were serious--for a total cost of $63,000. OSHA investigated the two serious injuries, issued nine “serious” citations and fined the company nearly $9,000. As a result, company managers became serious about safety. They reorganized the management team, added a safety and training supervisor, upgraded the safety program and retrained the workforce. Joe Angyus, TOC's safety manager, conducted numerous safety inspections and helped the member build an effective safety program. The effort paid off--the company’s last time-loss accident occurred 847 days ago and the direct cost of accidents dropped to less than $3,000. The TOC member has applied for OR-OSHA’s SHARP Program that awards companies for effectively managing workplace safety and health. Having a good safety program adds value to a company.

TOC Member: A production facility in Washington
Challenge: To resolve a workers' comp claim filed by an employee who quit and moved out-of-state
Result: TOC member employer and TOC staff proved job did not cause injury

After claiming to have an on-the-job injury, an employee left the Washington company and moved out-of-state, where he found a physician who began certifying his loss of work time. Not sure if the former employee had been injured on the job, the member company took TOC’s advice and videotaped the worker's job duties. A TOC claims representative reviewed the tape, concluded that it showed the worker had exaggerated his job tasks and sent it to the two physicians involved in the claim. They agreed the job task could not have caused the injury. As a result, the TOC member did not have to pay for extended time-loss compensation, retraining and permanent disability.

TOC Member: An employer in Oregon
Challenge: To respond to a complaint from the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI)
Result: BOLI dismissed the complaint

TOC’s member employer received a complaint from BOLI, in which a former employee alleged the company had terminated her in retaliation for having filed a workers' compensation claim. The company contacted Kristine Cienfuegos, a TOC staff representative, who requested the member’s records pertaining to the situation. She reviewed the files, advised the member on the strong and weak points of the case and on the complaint process in general. She then drafted the response to BOLI’s allegations, explaining the real reasons behind the employee's termination. After reviewing the response, BOLI took no further action and dismissed the complaint for lack of evidence.

Member: A production operation in Oregon
Challenge: To have better communication and service for administering employee benefits
Result: The employer returned to TOC’s Health and Welfare Trust

The member company was very unhappy with its new carrier for dental and life insurance benefits. Not only was the carrier headquartered in Missouri, but the Oregon business found it was nearly impossible to contact customer service. Also, the member company worked with a new health insurance provider and encountered several problems--especially with its prescription plan--and customer service that was “okay”. The member company had moved to these insurers for rate reasons but in doing so lost some of the billing, COBRA and customer services provided by TOC’s Health & Welfare Trust.

When TOC called the company last year to see how the new carriers were holding up, its employee benefits administrator asked TOC to requote rates. She mentioned how much TOC’s COBRA services helped her save time--she had to do the COBRA administration for her company. The Oregon company decided to rejoin the TOC Health & Welfare Trust.