Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Small businesses and staffing agencies often use a professional employer organization (PEO) for workers’ compensation coverage, along with other general human resource outsourcing. This often means that the employer’s exposure for workers’ compensation claims shifts entirely to the PEO, even though the employer maintains control of the day-to-day activities of the employee. For PEOs, this means that they cannot directly control the safety protocols that their clients implement. As a result, this creates unforeseen workers’ compensation exposure for PEOs.

In order to mitigate this exposure, PEOs should develop close working relationships with their insureds to ensure that proper investigations are performed with respect to potential accidents. Once a close working relationship is developed, PEOs should then work with their insureds to develop comprehensive employee handbooks and safety protocols. Partnerships with insureds should also extend to a thorough return to work plan for restricted duty. The ability to set clear expectations about modified-duty options will help a PEO move a workers’ compensation claim forward.

This will create a more proactive approach in limiting potential work accidents or, if the unpreventable occurs, established protocol will aid in the initial investigation and future mitigation of exposure.