Dotting Your I’s and Crossing Your T’s on Employment Paperwork

Editor's note: PCT interviewed Allen Fugler, director of risk management for Xterminator Pro, a division of Houston International Insurance Group (HIIG), for our spring survival guide. In the following online extra, Fugler offers this checklist to help keep you prepared:

Accident report forms
Make sure you have a form for each type of incident that might occur. Auto accidents, general liability claims and on-the-job injuries each require a formal procedure and a form that captures important information. For example, for auto accidents, you should capture time, date, location, driver name, vehicle identification, the other driver’s name, police report and officer’s name. Encourage employees to attach photographs of the accident, including damage to the vehicle and any structures, signs, etc.

Employee injury forms (state and OSHA 300A)
Each state has a First Report of Injury (FROI), which captures information such as employee name, hourly rate of pay, full-time/part-time status, etc. This basic information should be recorded on a company-specific form and then transcribed onto the FROI form by the insurance agent. If your company has 10 or more employees, you must capture information on all employee injuries that require medical attention, a cessation of job duties, or hospitalization on the OSHA 300A form, which should be posted on a wall visible to all employees and reported to OSHA annually.

OSHA and state employment posters
In addition to any posters required by OSHA, each state requires the display of its own labor posters — e.g., minimum wage, right to worker’s comp, sexual harassment. Seek a vendor for your state that can provide an all-in-one poster that includes all required federal and state postings.

Vehicle maintenance logs

At least monthly, record tire wear, oil levels, washer fluid levels, wiper replacement, etc. — everything that goes into keeping your vehicles safe. Proper maintenance, and records of that maintenance, are critical when allegations of negligence arise in civil lawsuits and worker’s comp claims.

Vehicle use and cell phone policies
Telematics can provide incredibly valuable information on driver behavior and route efficiency. File the information collected — vehicle location, hard-braking incidents, excessive speed, etc. — and use it as needed to modify employee behaviors and route management. Ignoring this information can put your employees in jeopardy and open your business up to negligence claims. If you haven’t installed telematics technology yet, consider it: Insurance companies are increasingly requiring it for continued insurability, and it has become relatively inexpensive and user-friendly.

Cell phone use policies should be signed annually by each employee to remind them not to use their personal or business-issued phones for talking, texting or media/data access while driving a company vehicle. Vehicle use policies can address cell phone usage and more: non-employee passengers in the vehicles, take-home privileges, drug and alcohol abuse, any deductible responsibility by the driver in the event of an accident, etc. Both policies should be part of your employee handbook.

Employment applications
Make sure your employment applications are compliant with current employment law, employment discrimination, ADA, EOC and HIPAA. Applications must meet state and, if applicable, city standards. NYC has different employment laws than the rest of New York, for instance.

Licensing and training records
Stay compliant with your state regulatory agency on licensing and training records. If you’re providing in-house hours to accommodate training regulations, the state inspector expects you to keep those records. Display appropriate certifications or keep them on file, depending on your state’s requirements.

MVR release forms
Work with your insurance agent on the proper release of motor vehicle reports (MVRs), taking into account the privacy laws that protect people’s driving records. Most insurance companies check MVRs at least annually to determine an employee’s eligibility for insurance based on their driving record.