August 16, 2007
Did you know...?
Employers can be burned by Workplace Workout Facilities
Many companies' human resource managers have concluded they can no longer afford to take a laissez-faire approach to employees' fitness and health. Mindful of the rising cost of health care - and the connection between obesity and health problems - companies are not-so-subtly prodding their employees to shape up by providing on-site workout facilities.
Making exercise cheap and convenient for employees is a popular strategy to try to encourage employees to shape up however employers seeking to improve worker morale and health with on-site workout and recreational facilities may also expose themselves to new liability.
Although such facilities so far haven’t generated a significant number of suits or claims, attorneys and consultants warn that employers considering the approach need to take steps to limit their liability. Companies could be held liable in injury lawsuits and – depending on state laws – workers’ compensation claims if someone were hurt using on-site workplace fitness facilities.
While employers with workout or recreational facilities often require users to sign waivers or hold-harmless agreements that step alone is not enough, some experts say. Some lawyers warn that waivers won’t hold up in court if the company was found to have equipped the facility with substandard, poorly maintained equipment or staffed it with untrained workers.
Companies that offer employees extra perks – such as reduced health care premiums or cash incentives – to use the on-site facilities could be setting themselves up for workers’ comp claims. The argument is that more closely the workout is associated with your job (i.e. calling a client while walking on the treadmill); the more likely it could be considered workers’ comp. Employers need to pay special attention to their state’s workers’ compensation statutes regarding on-site workout facilities. While workers’ compensation laws generally bar coverage for activities outside the scope of an individual’s job, that line is becoming increasingly blurred. Distinctions between work and non-work activities are not so easy to distinguish. For example, if you have your Blackberry or cell phone handy while waiting for a client to call while you are working out, you are still engaged in work.
Many companies have been earning accolades for providing their employees with perks such as on-site fitness centers and recreational rooms, as employers burdened with rising health care costs and workplace stress, seek ways to get their employees moving and motivated. The trick to a successful on-site workout facility is to properly furnish and staff the facility and make it clear to employees that they use the facilities while leaving their work behind at the office.
More and more companies are building fitness opportunities into the workplace as a way to help employees stay fit, healthy, and -- not least of all-- happy. The hope is that this will, in turn, make good business sense. Before your company incorporates an on-site fitness facility or other fitness activities, do the research to determine how to properly equip and staff a facility or program, how to motivate employees to use the facility and how to avoid injury lawsuits and workers compensation claims from such use.
To learn more about services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services Team at (816) 559-6306 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.
*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*
OHS-COMPCARE has eight (8) area clinical facilities:
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Blue Springs Clinical Facility |
Independence Clinical Facility |
Johnson County Clinical Facility |
St. Joseph Clinical Facility |
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801 NW St. Mary’s Drive |
19000 E. Eastland Center Crt, St. 200 |
10415 Lackman Road |
904 Edmond Street |
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Blue Springs, MO 64104 |
Independence, MO 64055 |
Lenexa, KS 66219 |
St. Joseph, MO 64501 |
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816-224-9121 |
816-478-9299 |
913-495-9905 |
816-233-7702 |
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After Hours Available |
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KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility |
KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility |
Wyandotte County Clinical Facility |
Grandview Clinical Facility |
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1650 Broadway |
6501 East Commerce, Suite 110 |
1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200 |
13830 S Us Highway 71 |
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Kansas City, MO 64108 |
Kansas City, MO 64120 |
Kansas City, KS 66102 |
Grandview, MO 64030 |
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816-842-2020 |
816-483-5550 |
913-596-2774 |
816-761-4664 |