1 Attachment
Report of Workers’ Compensation, Employee Health, Safety and Wellness Initiatives.
Update on Workers’ Compensation Program Initiatives
A. Claims Reviews
Quarterly in-person claims reviews with Intercare supervisors, adjustors, and managers to review high exposure and high reserved claims is a continuing initiative beginning in Fiscal Year 2021-2022. The purpose of these meetings is to ensure cost control strategies are in place and to bring claims to closure in a cost-effective manner. During these meetings, Intercare adjusters also present cases for settlement authority to the Human Resources (HR) Division Manager.
In addition, telephonic/remote videoconferencing claims reviews with the City’s large Departments, including Police, Fire, Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement (PBCE), Transportation, Environmental Services Department (ESD), Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS), and Airport continue monthly. These meetings provide an opportunity for Intercare Claims Adjusters to review the return-to-work and medical status of employees with the Departmental Worker’s Comp Liaisons, Office of Employee Relations (OER), and the HR Division Manager, with the primary goal of returning employees back to modified or regular work.
B. Quarterly Workers’ Compensation Liaison Meetings
Quarterly meetings between the HR Department and City Department Workers’ Compensation Liaisons are ongoing. During these meetings, the HR Workers’ Compensation Senior Analyst and Division Manager provide guidance on best practices for ensuring employees get the best possible care and information on how liaisons can manage workers’ compensation claims in the most efficient manner possible with the goal of returning employees to work and resolving claims.
C. Workers’ Compensation 101 Training / Supervision Academy Ongoing training, taught by representatives from Intercare and the HR Workers’ Compensation Division, is specifically designed for supervisors, managers, and Departmental worker’s compensation liaisons. Training focuses on clarifying roles and responsibilities in reporting and managing claims and how these groups can facilitate benefits and the return-to-work process for injured employees. This past fiscal year, Workers’ Compensation 101 Supervisor training was delivered to the staff from Environmental Services Department, Airport, Public Works, and PRNS, in addition to the city-wide Workers’ Compensation Liaisons and supervision academy attendees. 2 D. Firefighter and Police Fastlane Programs
The Firefighter and Police Fastlane Programs continues to be an effective tool in expediting care through authorizing Kaiser Permanente Occupational Health to conduct recommended diagnostic testing, prescribe physical therapy/acupuncture, and perform surgeries that will advance treatment, recovery, and return to work for Firefighters and Police Officers. This program expedites the treatment process by bypassing the Utilization Review (UR) approval process at Intercare.
Through the end of June 2024, Intercare reports that 68 firefighters utilized the Firefighter Fastlane Program. Of the 68 firefighters seen, diagnostic tests were ordered for 27 firefighters. In addition, 21 firefighters were released to full duty, 23 firefighters were released to modified duty, and 24 were taken off work.
Through the end of June 2024, Intercare reports that 101 Police Officers utilized the Police Fastlane Program. Of the 101 officers seen, diagnostic tests were ordered for 37 Officers. In addition, 53 Officers were released to full duty, 24 Officers were released to modified duty, and 24 were taken off work.
Update on Employee Safety, Health, and Wellness Initiatives A. City Safety Officers
On March 14, 2023, the City Manager’s Office authorized a significant restructuring of the City’s Safety Program to have Safety Officers representing various Departments throughout the City have a dual reporting relationship with the Division. This restructure provides the Division’s Health and Safety Program Manager with increased authority and responsibility to further develop and implement a more robust, comprehensive, and consistent Safety Management System (SMS).
Foundational SMS work has continued through the work of the HR Department’s two Health and Safety staff members (Program Manager and Safety Analyst). HR staff members have implemented multiple key initiatives, including holding monthly Safety Officer Meetings and city-wide safety policy work. This team has also engaged Departments to significantly increase safety training and participation in Public Works and PRNS, developed new safety training tracking systems, provided hands-on assistance for large city-wide and department-specific issues, and further developed the City’s ergonomics program.
Specific policy work completed during Fiscal Year 2023-2024 includes updates to the Substance Abuse and Drug Free workplace policies, pending final approval, updates to the COVID-19 Prevention Program, and the development and adoption of the City’s newly implemented Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP), including completing WVPP training for all City staff.
3 B. Beautify SJ Hazard Assessment Project.
In January 2023, the Human Resource Safety team was directed to conduct a full audit of the BeautifySJ (BSJ) safety program to ensure staff are appropriately trained and equipped to carry out their work safely.
In response to this request, the HR Health and Safety Division’s Program Manager engaged BSJ staff in a project to comprehensively identify, classify, and mitigate hazards. This involved a series of meetings where BSJ staff received training on hazard identification, prioritization, and mitigation techniques and a series of facilitated working sessions where staff developed Codes of Safe Practice (COSPs) and Standard Operating Procedures to ensure staff were fully aware of hazards and trained on personal protection equipment and methods.
In addition to providing training and developing COSPs, information collected during this project is being used to develop a training matrix delineated by BSJ workgroup and individual classification. This matrix provides a breakdown of regulatory and Cityrequired training by classification, the nature of the training (e.g., in-person, virtual, training length, etc.), and the required recertification frequency, if applicable. In addition to improving employee safety, utilizing this type of matrix prevents training gaps and ensures regulatory compliance.
C. City-wide Vulnerable Populations Safety Training Program.
While completing the BSJ hazard assessment project discussed above, HR Health and Safety Division staff identified similar hazards and training needs encountered by citywide staff who work primarily in the field and with unhoused residents. Based on the universal nature of this need, HR Safety recommended developing a city-wide Vulnerable Populations training series. This project involved extensive interdepartmental coordination in completing hazard assessment fieldwork, developing hazard analysis tools, and training on hazard analysis techniques. HR Health and Safety Division staff continue to capture and organize this information in the form of a training matrix delineated by Department and individual classifications.
While conducting a needs assessment, staff identified mental health awareness and deescalation training as the most acute training needs. To meet this need, the HR Safety team partnered with the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health to provide mental health awareness and de-escalation training. As the title suggests, this training equips employees with knowledge and communication tools that enable them to recognize persons in crisis or suffering from mental illness, de-escalate situations, and continuously evaluate the situation to prioritize their personal safety. Training is ongoing, and by the end of 2024, this project will have resulted in 2,400 hours of training being delivered to 600 City staff. This training has been exceptionally well received, and the HR Safety team continues to receive and facilitate requests for additional training opportunities.
4 D. New PRNS Safety Officer Position
A position was added to the PRNS Department to provide an embedded subject matter expert to conduct hazard analysis, develop Department and workgroup-specific safety procedures, and champion the Department’s safety culture. Since the position was created and filled in early 2024, the PRNS Safety Officer has begun a review of department-specific safety policies and procedures, continued work on improving the BSJ safety program, and now serves as the Department Emergency Operations Center Safety Officer.
E. Workplace Violence Prevention Program
With the passing of Senate Bill 553, employers were required to develop a workplace violence prevention plan in accordance with newly codified Labor Code section 6401.9 and were required to fully implement the program by July 1, 2024. While the City already had a Workplace Violence policy in place, the development of a new program was necessary to meet the requirements of the new labor code. To satisfy this requirement, the City developed and adopted its new Workplace Violence Prevention Plan during Fiscal Year 23-24. To meet the July 1, 2024, training deadline, HR safety partnered with the HR Workforce Learning and Development team to develop and deploy interactive online training to all City staff. This project was completed, including policy adoption, training development, and deployment in four months.
F. Safety Scoreboard
A primary focus of the HR Health and Safety Division, in collaboration with Department Safety Officers, has been to continually improve the department’s understanding and visibility of the performance of safety programs through providing analysis of accident and injury incident rates, incident outcomes such as frequency and severity, and associated workers’ compensation costs and metrics.
The value of accurate, timely, and actionable data lies in its use for conducting trend analysis to understand the types, causes, and frequency of injuries at a department and workgroup level. This granular level of detail informs safety improvement plans, prioritization of which new safety policies to develop, development of position-specific procedures and associated training, and the broader allocation of safety-related resources.
To facilitate this analysis at a city-wide level, the HR Health and Safety Division developed a Safety Scoreboard that includes recordable incident statistics, frequency and severity information, and workers’ compensation costs. This scoreboard has been added to the HR SharePoint Safety page and is continually updated with data provided by Department Workers’ Compensation liaisons.
In addition to addressing lagging indicators such as incident rates and workers’ compensation costs per labor hour, HR Health and Safety Division staff are working 5 with Department Safety Officers to identify leading indicators to add to departmentspecific reports. Leading indicators, such as training attendance and completion of scheduled safety inspections, provide a more complete understanding of engagement with safety programs and allow Departments to set meaningful improvement goals in how they proactively prevent injury incidents.
G. Ergonomics Program
The City’s Ergonomics Program continues to evolve with the goal of improving employee education and training on ergonomic hazards and thereby, reducing repetitive motion and cumulative trauma injuries.
To ensure continuous improvement related to the City’s Ergonomic Safety Program, the Division is evaluating online workstation ergonomics training from different vendors to offer to City staff. In addition, ergonomic evaluations of employee workstations continue to be completed by the department-trained evaluators as well as by a third-party ergonomist. Chair fittings and recommendations continue to be completed for departments city-wide by the Division.
H. Wellness
Employee well-being has been an integral part of HR’s commitment to fostering a healthy and engaged workforce. As part of this commitment, HR has been promoting wellness throughout the City and has added a Wellness Senior Analyst position. Efforts have been focused on expanding wellness offerings since July 2022, and there are numerous initiatives for the current Fiscal Year.
The addition of the HR Wellness Analyst position in September 2022 has allowed the Department to begin developing a comprehensive workforce wellness strategy that engages employees effectively. In October 2023, HR hosted an in-person Benefits Fair, with over 500 employees attending. The fair facilitated connections between employees and benefit providers, addressed Open Enrollment questions, and provided flu shots to more than 200 employees.
Throughout the last Fiscal Year, HR launched several successful wellness campaigns, including the 10k A Day and Chirpy health challenges. These campaigns promoted physical activity and overall well-being, with more than 800 employees and an average of 90 teams participating in each campaign. The Department also held the Walktober fitness challenge in October 2023 which had over 1,000 participants and 100 teams. In May 2024, HR hosted an in-person Health and Wellness Fair, which drew participation from over 750 employees. The fair offered chiropractic adjustments, non-metabolic screenings, nutritional samples, and access to multiple wellness resources.
To prioritize emotional health, HR has continued working with our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, Concern, since January 2023. Enhanced EAP benefits are now offered, including life coaching, a digital platform, an expanded network of 6 providers, and specialty programs for first responders, resulting in higher utilization compared to the previous provider.
The return of onsite biometric screenings through healthcare providers has enabled employees to access health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other relevant indicators conveniently. This year’s Open Enrollment Benefits Fair will include additional wellness offerings, such as massages and food samples, to further engage employees in their health and well-being.
Finally, HR recognizes the importance of establishing a wellness committee to drive employee wellness efforts. To that end, HR has begun work engaging departments to establish a “Wellness Champions” committee, comprised of employees representing various City departments. This committee will play a pivotal role in designing, implementing, and sustaining wellness initiatives that cater to the diverse needs of the City’s workforce.
I. Wellness - Police Department
The San Jose Police Department (SJPD) provides a holistic approach to wellness, providing resources from peer support to fitness facilities to education and counseling in all areas of wellness, including physical, financial, and occupational. The Department maintains a civilian Health and Safety Officer who manages occupational safety and compliance, injury prevention, and wellness programs. SJPD also has a Wellness and Employee Support Team (WEST), staffed with a sergeant and an officer, with a sergeant and a lieutenant fulfilling ancillary duties. This team also manages the Department’s Critical Incident Stress Management program. WEST manages the peer support team, conducts critical incident debriefs, and maintains a list of referrals for counselors who specialize in treating law enforcement and first responders. In addition, during Fiscal Year 2023-2024, SJPD Communications team received a comfort dog to assist dispatchers and call-takers during stressful events.
In Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the Police Department focused on wellness, including mental health and physical well-being, through health screenings, trainings, and professional referrals. Specifically, the Department and the San Jose Police Officers’ Association jointly offered body scans through Body Scan International, which included a full body scan, analysis, and consultation for each employee screened. During these scans, health risk indicators are identified, such as artery blockages, abnormalities, and other concerns. In addition, the Department hosted three biometric screenings that included total cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure, combined with 1:1 consultation and three onsite flu shot clinics.
Mental health and wellness trainings continue to be offered to Police Department employees. In Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the Department hosted 21 safety and wellness classes. Through coordination with HR’s Employee Benefits, the Department hosted Kaiser webinars including Cardiac Health and Stroke Prevention. Training sessions were recorded and available for employees to view up to 90 days from the date of the 7 respective class. The Department also focused on providing stress management education through 16 classes, including mindfulness, understanding stress and resiliency, and myofascial relief and yoga classes, with instructors who focused on first responder mental health and wellness. In addition to the wellness courses, introduction to ergonomics was included in the three call-taker/radio dispatcher academies for Police Communications.
Trainings managed through WEST included specialized wellness training for new peer support team members. This training certified staff in Critical Incident Stress Management. Training was also provided to patrol staff in various areas of stressrelated subjects, including financial management and stress debriefing. In addition to training, WEST partnered with comfort dog organizations to bring comfort/therapy dogs to briefings, around the office, dispatch, and special events.
In addition to services, the Department maintained the “Lighthouse” app which allows employees and their families to access health and wellness resources in a confidential manner. The app is customized to include peer support information, EAP resources, videos, and other tools. The Department is currently in the process of implementing additional classes, health screenings, and other wellness and safety initiatives.
J. Fire Department Update
The Fire Department’s Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Workers’ Compensation expenditures of $13,467,968 increased by $3,765,130 compared to Fiscal Year 2022-2023 expenditures of $9,711,838. This increase is due to the one-time settlements in Fiscal Year 2023- 2024, which totaled $1,610,286, and a 30% increase in Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits paid over the previous fiscal year, $2,495,803 in Fiscal Year 2023-2024 versus $1,755,645 in Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
To reduce injuries and associated workers’ compensation costs, the Fire Department is engaged in several initiatives toward improving workforce safety and wellness, including:
1. Maintaining an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
2. Conducting Monthly Workers’ Compensation Conference Calls between Intercare, the Fire Department, and the HR Department’s Worker's Compensation Division to review open claims, medical treatment status, and return to work eligibility.
3. Participation in the Firefighter Fastlane Program through Kaiser Permanente and Agile Occupational Medicine.
4. Placement of employees with specific work restrictions into temporary modified duty assignments.
5. Conducting quarterly Firefighter Safety Committee meetings between management and San Jose Firefighters, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Local 230 to review safety, health and wellness initiatives, and injury types, causes, and costs to prevent reoccurrence.
8 6. Development of custom monthly cost and injury trend statistics reports in partnership with the HR Department and Intercare.
7. Supervisor's Accident Investigation Form (SAIR) utilizing Simpligov workflow capturing data in a way that allows the Department to track workplace injuries/illnesses, identify causation, trends, and connective actions, develop injury reports, as well as ensure appropriate review of injuries/illnesses by chainof-command.