Section 134. Workplace safety and loss prevention program; certification of safety and loss management specialists

1. The commissioner of labor, in
  consultation with the superintendent of insurance and the chair  of  the
  board  shall  develop  a compulsory workplace safety and loss prevention
  program for all employers whose most recent annual payroll is in  excess
  of  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  whose most recent experience
  rating exceeds the  level  of  1.2.  The  commissioner  of  labor  shall
  promulgate  rules and regulations for the implementation of safety, drug
  and alcohol prevention, and return to work incentive programs.
    2. The commissioner of labor shall  provide  written  notification  to
  employers whose most recent annual payroll is in excess of eight hundred
  thousand  dollars  and  whose  most recent experience rating exceeds the
  level of 1.2 that they are required to undergo a  workplace  safety  and
  loss  prevention  consultation  and  written  evaluation.  Copies of the
  written notification shall be provided to the department  of  labor  and
  the  employer's  insurer. The employer must arrange for the consultation
  and evaluation within thirty days after receiving the  notification  and
  must within ten days thereafter notify its insurer and the department of
  labor  in  writing  of  the  means  by  which  the  evaluation  is to be
  accomplished. The employer must provide its insurer and  the  department
  of  labor  with  a  copy  of  the  evaluation  within  thirty days after
  receiving it from the safety and loss consultant.  Any  remedial  action
  recommended in the evaluation must be implemented by the employer within
  a  reasonable  period  of  time,  but not to exceed six months after the
  employer receives the evaluation. The insurer, within sixty  days  after
  the  expiration of such six month period, shall conduct an inspection to
  ascertain whether the recommended remedial action has been  implemented,
  and  the  insurer shall within forty-five days thereafter provide to the
  employer and the department of labor a copy of its inspection report.
    3. If the employer does not arrange for a consultation and  evaluation
  or  fails  to  implement  recommended  remedial  action within the times
  prescribed, the insurer  shall  surcharge  the  employer's  manual  rate
  premium  by  .05  for  the  next  ensuing  policy period, and so long as
  non-compliance continues there shall be an additional .05 surcharge  for
  each  year  thereafter  of  non-compliance. An employer may challenge an
  insurer's determination that the employer has not taken the  recommended
  remedial  action  by  appeal to the department of labor on notice to the
  insurer. The department of labor shall thereafter conduct an independent
  inspection and its determination of compliance or  non-compliance  shall
  be  final.  However,  such appeal may not be entertained if the employer
  has not paid its billed premium including any surcharge thereof.
    4. Employers required to participate in the workplace safety and  loss
  prevention  program  established  by  this section shall be permitted to
  utilize the services of either the department of  labor,  or  a  private
  safety and loss consultant which has been certified by the department of
  labor and has paid the appropriate certification fee prescribed by rules
  and  regulations promulgated under this section. Private safety and loss
  consultants may charge employers a fee for  their  services,  and  where
  employers  elect  to  have  the  services  provided by the department of
  labor, they shall pay for such services in accordance with fee schedules
  established by the department of labor's rules and regulations.
    5. Fees charged by the department of labor to employers for  workplace
  safety  and  loss  prevention  consultations  and  evaluations  and fees
  charged to private safety and loss consultants for  certification  shall
  be  paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and the comptroller
  and deposited in the department of labor accounts  designated  for  such
  purposes.  The fees deposited in those designated accounts shall be used
  to cover administrative expenses of this program.

    6. Safety, drug and alcohol prevention, and return to  work  incentive
  programs.  Employers  insured  through  the state insurance fund (except
  those who are current policyholders in a recognized safety group) or any
  other insurer that issues policies of workers'  compensation  insurance,
  shall  be  eligible  for  a  credit  in  workers' compensation insurance
  premiums if they:
    a. pay annual workers' compensation insurance  premiums  of  at  least
  five thousand dollars; and
    b.  maintain an experience rating of under 1.30 for the year preceding
  and the years in which the credit has been applied for provided that  no
  insured  required  to implement a safety program pursuant to subdivision
  one of this section shall be eligible for a premium  credit  under  this
  subdivision; and
    c. implement any of the following:
    (1) a safety incentive plan, that has been recommended by a safety and
  loss  management  specialist after such specialist has been certified by
  the commissioner of  labor,  or  if  such  plan  otherwise  conforms  to
  regulations promulgated by the commissioner of labor;
    (2) a drug and alcohol prevention program that conforms to regulations
  issued  by the commissioner of labor, in consultation with the office of
  alcoholism and substance abuse services; and
    (3) a return to work program that conforms to  regulations  issued  by
  the commissioner of labor.
    The  credit  for each such program shall be established by regulations
  issued by  the  superintendent  of  insurance.  Such  regulations  shall
  include provisions for recertification on an annual basis.
    7.  An  individual  self-insured  employer  shall  be  eligible  for a
  reduction in the security deposit provided for in subdivision  three  of
  section fifty of this chapter, and a member of a group shall be eligible
  for  a credit against their contributors if such credit is authorized by
  the chair and in accordance with limitations set by the chair,  if  such
  employer  has  implemented  any  or  all  of  the following: a. a safety
  incentive plan that has been recommended by a safety and loss management
  specialist after such specialist has been certified by the  commissioner
  of  labor  or if such plan otherwise conforms to regulations promulgated
  by the commissioner of labor;
    b. a drug and alcohol prevention program that conforms to  regulations
  issued  by the commissioner of labor, in consultation with the office of
  alcoholism and substance abuse services; and
    c. a return to work program that conforms to regulations issued by the
  commissioner of labor.
    The credit for each program shall be no greater  than  established  by
  regulations  issued  by  the  superintendent of insurance or such lesser
  amount as determined by the chair of the board to be necessary to assure
  that the deposit remains sufficient to secure the  employer's  liability
  to  pay  the  compensation  provided  in  this  chapter.  The  chair, in
  consultation  with  the  superintendent  of   insurance,   shall   adopt
  regulations which provide for recertification on an annual basis.
    8.   The   commissioner   of  labor  shall:  (i)  receive  and  review
  applications from  applicants  for  certification  as  safety  and  loss
  management  specialists;  and  (ii)  certify  persons as safety and loss
  management specialists; and (iii) revoke  certification  of  safety  and
  loss management specialists for just cause.
    9.  The commissioner of labor shall monitor all safety incentive plans
  implemented by employers. As part  of  this  responsibility,  the  board
  shall   insure   that  employee  representatives  are  involved  in  the
  development of such plans through  meetings  and  discussions  with  the
  respective certified safety and loss management specialist.

    10. The commissioner of labor, in consultation with the superintendent
  of   insurance,   shall   promulgate   rules  and  regulations  for  the
  certification of safety and loss management specialists. Such rules  and
  regulations   shall   include   provisions   that  outline  the  minimum
  qualifications  for  safety  and loss management specialists, procedures
  for certification, causes for revocation or suspension of  certification
  and   appropriate   administrative   and   judicial  review  procedures,
  violations and penalties for misuse of certification by certified safety
  and  loss  management  specialists,  and  fees   for   certificate   and
  certificate renewal.