NEW & IMPROVED

The Drug Free Safety Program Replaces The Drug Free Workplace Program Effective July 1, 2010:

The new DFWP program is going to be called the "Drug Free Safety Program". Below are the major points of the new program that have been finalized. This new program is effective July 1, 2010. There are some good news and some bad news with this program.

Basically, the State of Ohio BWC is reducing the program yearly discounts, which are a negative, but the program will allow each employer to participate for unlimited number of years with elimination of the five-year limit, which is good. Additionally, there will be only two levels (Basic Level and Advanced Level). The training is simplified and the same for each company no matter what size the company or how many employees a company has. So, they definitely have made it easier to follow and adhere to the program requirements. Finally, there are some additional safety assessments that are required and are simple to follow.

Who is eligible for the DFSP? Only state-fund employers may receive a discount. That includes private employers and public employer taxing districts with the exception of state agencies. Although ineligible for premium discounts, self-insuring construction employers may apply to be included in the state construction contractor database.

Here are the basics of the Drug Free Safety Program (DFSP):

Two levels of participation called the basic and advanced levels. It no longer matters how many employees participating companies have and each company can decide to participate in either the Basic or Advanced program.
There is no longer any DFWP -EZ or regular DFWP program dictated by the number of employees you have.
Basic level will provide a 4% yearly discount on Workers Comp rates.
Advanced Level will provide a 7% discount on Workers Comp rates.
If you are in Advanced Level and also in a Group Discount you are eligible for 3% additional yearly discount on your Workers Comp rates.
The combination of DFSP Basic and group-experience rating does not offer the ability to stack a DFSP discount on top of the group credit.
DFSP employers may apply for reimbursement (Grant Money) for specified start-up costs for the first two years of DFSP program operation. However, DFSP discounts are not intended to be an incentive to employers into doing the right thing but rather, to reward those employers that see the value in doing the right thing.
All Private companies start July 1 of each year (Apply by last business day in April) or January 1st of each year. (Apply by last business day of October).
All Public companies can only start January 1 of each year in the program (Apply by last business day of Oct.).
Safety Action Plan required by any company participating in the Advanced Level.
Online accident analysis training (one-time) for all supervisors within 60 days of the start of the program or within 60 days of someone becoming a supervisor.
Online accident reporting for all claims filed with the BWC while participating in the DFSP.
Policy still required with basic guidelines.
Minimum one-hour employee education annually. New employees must receive the one-hour training within four months of being hired.
Minimum two-hour training for supervisors in the initial year and minimum one-hour supervisor refresher for every subsequent year in the program. Newly promoted supervisors must receive the two-hour training within eight weeks of being hired.
Minimum six-panel drug test with the addition of "Ecstasy" as the sixth drug tested for.
Advanced level will require a 15% Random Testing component.
Basic and Advanced Levels will utilize 0.04 BAC as the cut-off level for a positive test for alcohol.
Companies participating in the Random Testing can be part of a consortium.
Basic Level does allow for termination for the first positive.
Advanced Level requires employers to provide second-chance agreements for first positive and companies must provide assistance to an employee who tests positive.
Follow up testing will be required at both program levels where a second-chance agreement is provided.
Employers participating in DFSP at either advanced or basic levels and the small deductible program may receive both benefits.
Employers participating in DFSP and the Safety Council Incentive Program may receive both benefits.
Employers participating in DFSP for a discount cannot pay salary continuation on claims with dates of injury January 1, 2010 and beyond.
Basic Level the employer will provide a list of community services available to the employee.
Advanced Level the employer will provide assistance to the employee that will include at a minimum a substance assessment and willingness to pay for the cost of the assessment.
Reporting deadlines for July Program companies is the last day of March.
Reporting deadlines for January Program companies or Public entities is the last day of September.
An annual progress report will be due March 31st each year.
For July 1, 2010 year (initial year only) the last enrollment day is June 2010.

Alcohol and other drug testing:

Employers will need to do:

100-percent, pre-employment drug testing (or new-hire testing or a combination of the two) for private employers and 100-percent of safety-sensitive or special needs positions for public employers;
Reasonable suspicion alcohol and/or other drug testing as appropriate;
Post-accident alcohol and/or other drug testing of anyone who may have caused or contributed to an accident following an accident investigation for private employers and, with documentation of reasonable suspicion following an accident investigation, for public employers;
Return-to-duty alcohol and/or other drug testing for employees who are given a second chance after a positive test;
Follow-up alcohol and/or other drug testing for employees who are allowed to retain employment following a positive test and who return to duty;
For Advanced-level employers only, random drug testing of 15-percent of the total average annual work force for private employers or 15-percent of the total average annual safety-sensitive positions for public employers.

You do not have to conduct a post-accident test if all of the following circumstances exist:

The accident resulted in a minor injury, even when off-site medical attention was required.
There was no violation of work rules.
An accident investigation determined there was no reasonable suspicion related to the accident.
The accident is considered normal in relationship to the job functions of the injured employee.

Comparing DFSP with DFWP/DF-EZ, DFSP is:

Wider reaching with expanded benefits;
- Benefits not limited to five years;
- Previous participants eligible to join;
- Simpler and easier to implement than DFWP/DF-EZ; one program with two levels, basic and advanced;
- Streamlined application process
Effective with measurable results;
- Streamlined safety components;
- Better reporting data;
- Continuous measurement and evaluation;
Actuarially sound.

Who benefits?

Employers who implement the DFSP provide greater protection for all employees. Consider these benefits:

Heightened awareness of safety and the ability to address gaps in safety systems which lead to:
- Fewer accidents;
- Decreased severity of accident;
- Increased productivity;
- Higher morale (employer shows caring through focus on safety).
Reduction in use of workers' compensation medical benefits by substance users
Decrease in loss, theft and pilferage to support substance user habits
Protecting the bottom line
Greater credibility in the community through reliability in products/services

State Construction Contractors:

Ohio law says all companies that bid or work on state construction jobs must have drug-free workplace programs — no matter how few or how many employees they have. This applies to contractors and all levels of subcontractors who want to work a State of Ohio construction project or who want to bid on and eventually provide labor services and/or supervise workers on state construction sites.

Participants on State of Ohio construction projects must have all employees receive one-hour of training at the start of the initial program in the first year of participating in this program. All new employees must receive the one-hour training within four months of being hired. There is no training requirement for subsequent years in the program.

All other requirements and testing guidelines are the same as the Basic Level of the Drug Free Safety Program as outlined above.