NH Department of Labor (NH DOL) auditors are out in the field and visiting NHADA members.
Please review Peg O’Brien’s article on how to prepare for an audit (adjacent page). In addition to her excellent recommendations, we have heard that auditors are looking for up-to-date Safety Summary forms and minutes from Safety Committee meetings.
The Safety Summary form is required for all employers with 15 or more employees at any time during the calendar year and for all employers who have never completed the form before or have not completed it since 2010. You may download the Safety Summary form by going to http://bit.ly/2qTd2CM. Once completed, it should be faxed to 271-2668 or mailed to:
Safety and Training
NH Department of Labor
P.O. Box 2076
Concord, NH 03302-2076.
All employers with 15 or more employees shall have a Joint Loss Management Committee (Safety Committee) composed of equal numbers of employee and employer representatives.
The committee must meet at least quarterly to carry out the duties required by the NH statute, RSA 281-A:64 including, but not limited to, maintaining and disseminating a committee policy statement, and clearly established goals and objectives. The committee must also review workplace accident and injury data; be sure not to include any personal identification of the injured employee. In addition, the committee is charged with establishing safety programs that include annual health and safety programs, which themselves must include annual health and safety inspections and communication of identified hazards with recommended central measures to the person most able to implement controls. The minutes of every meeting must be posted for all employees to review, and the minutes should be retained so as to provide them to a NH DOL auditor if requested.
The NHADA Workers’ Compensation Trust (WCT) Loss Prevention team is available to assist members with the establishment of a committee. We will attend meetings regularly to ensure that the committees are meeting all of the required criteria. Safety committees are a great way for members to demonstrate to staff their commitment to a safe workplace. They are proven to reduce injuries in the workplace.
Please contact your Loss Prevention representative to start a Safety Committee or to get assistance completing the Safety Summary form.
Brian Duplessis or Pete Sheffer are always available to coordinate the Loss Prevention team’s assistance. Reach them respectively at bduplessis@nhada.com or psheffer@nhada.com. And, of course, reach Loss Prevention by phone at 800-852-3372.
