SAFETY

Under the Maste Labor Agreement (and OSHA law), we were suppose to have a statewide Advisory Safety & Health Committee with quarterly meetings. It was to be in place by July 1, 2009. As expected, it is now Jan 1, 2010 and still no statewide ASH committee is in place!

OWCP INJURIES

The Union is here to help you with any on the job injuries. Please contact your Union leaders to discuss all options for you and so we can address any safety/OWCP issues with Management that need to be addressed.

OWCP claims are very confusing - what to code time sheets to, how much pay will you received if you are injured on the job, etc. Most OWCP coordinators at the BLM offices, as well as Supervisors, are not well versed in OWCP. Do you know what your responsibilities are? Do you know what your Supervisor's responsibilities are? How about the OWCP coordinators duties or even the safety officers duty in relation to YOUR injury? Here is a great source of information for ANYONE who is injured on the job.
http://www.doi.gov/workerscompensation/

Here are some great lists to help you make sure you and your Supervisor are doing what needs to be done when you are injured on the job!
What are employees responsible for doing?
What are Supervisors responsible for doing?
What are OWCP Coordinators responsible for doing?
Safety Managers?

Here are some very good manuals from the Department of Labor website that you might find helpful. More times than not, Superivsors do NOT provide accurate information to the employees in these cases and it is the employees who end up having to decipher all the ins and outs of the OWCP claim system. Do yourself a favor - print these out and give them to all your Supervisors in your office! Keep one at home for your family as well in case of an injury or death.

Questions and Answers - publication CA-550
DOI Handbook on OWCP Claims - publication CA-810