Policy
Name:
|
Drug-Free
Safety Program (DFSP) Safety Grants
|
Policy #:
|
EP-04-03
|
Code/Rule
Reference
|
Ohio
Revised Code (ORC) 4121.37
and Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 4123-17-58(J).
|
Effective
Date:
|
July 1,
2015
|
Approved:
|
Kevin R.
Abrams, Chief of Employer Services
|
Origin:
|
Employer
Policy
|
Supersedes:
|
Drug-Free
Safety Program (DFSP) Safety Grants policy revised July 1, 2014.
|
History:
|
New
policy, November 1, 2011. Revised effective July 1, 2014, July 1, 2015.
|
Review
Date:
|
July 1,
2020
|
I. Policy Purpose
The
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) will offer DFSP Safety Grants to
eligible employers in accordance with the applicable laws and rules.
II. Applicability
This
policy applies to BWC Employer Programs, BWC Division of Safety and Hygiene
(DSH), and employers.
III. Definitions
Unless otherwise defined, all terms used
in this policy carry the same meaning as set forth in BWC Employer Services’ Drug-Free
Safety Program Policy.
IV. Policy
A.
Program purpose.
1.
BWC provides
start-up grants (Safety Grants) to participating employers to partially offset
the costs involved in creating a compliant DFSP in the employer’s workplace.
2.
Safety Grants may
not fully cover the employer’s cost of implementing the DFSP.
B.
Eligibility
criteria.
1.
To qualify for the
DFSP Grants Program the employer must:
a.
Be participating in
the Basic or Advanced DFSP.
b.
Be a state-fund
private employer (PA) or a public employer – taxing district employer (PEC).
c.
Have active Ohio
workers’ compensation coverage at the time of application and maintain active
coverage for the entire program year.
d.
Be current (not more
than forty-five (45) days past due) on any and all undisputed premiums,
administrative assessments, fines or monies otherwise due BWC. An amount due
BWC is “undisputed” if the employer has not filed a formal protest through
BWC’s Complaint System. If any monies due have been certified to the Attorney
General for collection, the employer is not eligible for a Safety Grant, unless
the certified amount has been placed in a hold status due to an appeal.
e.
Be in its initial
program year of DFSP participation, or the program year immediately following.
i.
Previous enrollment
in the discontinued Drug-Free Workplace Program is not considered previous
enrollment in DFSP for purposes of determining eligibility for the DFSP Grants
Program.
ii.
If a company is sold
and the new owner obtains a new workers’ compensation policy number, the
company’s participation in DFSP prior to the acquisition and issuance of the
new policy number is not considered previous enrollment in DFSP for purposes of
determining eligibility for the DFSP Grants Program.
2.
Client employers in
a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) relationship are eligible to apply
for a DFSP Safety Grant under the following conditions:
a.
The client employer
must be enrolled in DFSP and apply for the safety grant under its own BWC
policy number.
b.
Proof of premium
payment to the PEO must be submitted upon request by BWC.
3.
Employers participating
in DFSP but not receiving the DFSP bonus due to concurrent participation in BWC
rating or employer programs that are incompatible with the DFSP bonus (as set
forth in OAC 4123-17-74
Appendix C) are eligible for a Safety Grant if all other program eligibility
requirements are met.
4.
The following
employers are not eligible for the DFSP Grants Program:
a.
Self-insuring
employers.
b.
State agencies.
c.
Professional employer
organizations (PEOs).
d.
Employers participating
in a DFSP Comparable program.
e.
Employers returning
to DFSP after a period of non-participation.
f.
Employers paying
only the minimum administrative charge, subject to the exception for client
employers in a PEO relationship noted above.
C.
Application.
1.
Employers must
complete the Drug-Free Safety Program Safety Grant application, which can be
found in the Drug-Free
Safety Program SafetyGrant$ Procedural Guide.
2.
Employers may apply
for grant money more than once. BWC requires a new application when re-applying.
D.
Operation of
program.
1.
Safety Grants are
available on a first come, first served basis while funding and BWC resources
are available. The program and funding may be discontinued or put on hold at
any time.
2.
BWC reserves the
right to limit the amount of reimbursements and to set caps on such
reimbursements for each and every specific reimbursable drug-free service and
to limit which drug-free services are eligible for reimbursement.
3.
The DFSP Safety
Grant is awarded as a reimbursement. The employer must pay for
reimbursable expenses (as defined below) then apply for reimbursement of a
portion of those expenses.
4.
The employer’s
request for reimbursement must be submitted within one year of the conclusion
of the second year of participation.
5.
Employers must
provide documentation of expenses including, but not limited to, service
invoices and proof of payment.
a.
BWC is not able to
reimburse bundled charges. All service invoices accompanying requests for
reimbursement must be itemized.
b.
Acceptable documentation
for proof of payment for a service is the employer’s paid invoice and a copy of
the canceled check or other form of payment to verify the expenditure.
6.
Reimbursable
expenses.
a.
Written DFSP policy
in conjunction with legal review.
i.
One time only review
from external, non-corporate licensed attorney.
ii.
BWC will reimburse
the actual cost of developing the employer’s initial DFSP policy in conjunction
with external legal review of the policy, up to a total of $750. The services
must be properly documented and result in the development of a written policy
that is submitted to BWC.
b.
Employee education.
i.
Direct service
offered by qualified substance professional, including a webinar.
a)
BWC will reimburse
the actual cost up to a maximum of $250 per hour for one hour during the
initial program year and the program year immediately following.
b)
BWC will consider reimbursement
for multiple shifts and multiple location employer.
ii.
Online/web-based with
requirement that employees pass a quiz. BWC will reimburse the actual cost up
to a maximum of $25 per employee with a maximum total of $1,000 per year during
the initial program year and the program year immediately following.
iii. “Train the Trainer” training from a
qualified substance abuse professional, including a webinar.
a)
BWC will reimburse
the actual cost up to a maximum of $250 per hour for up to three hours, one
time only, for up to two managers who are employees of the DFSP employer (not
consultants), during the initial program year and the program year immediately
following.
b)
The grant for this
service is limited to a $750 maximum.
c)
To be eligible for
webinar reimbursement, the following conditions must be met:
i)
Each webinar must be
limited to a single employer.
ii)
All training
material must be received prior to the beginning of the webinar.
iii) The trainees must pass a written test.
d)
The following
additional webinar documentation must submitted:
i)
Certificates of
completion for all participants who will be providing Drug-Free education to
employees.
ii)
Name of the vendor
company.
iii) Name of the qualified substance
professional that led the webinar.
iv)
Date and time of the
webinar.
c.
Supervisor training.
i.
Direct service with
qualified substance professional involved.
a)
BWC will reimburse
the actual cost up to a maximum of $300 per hour for two hours ($600 maximum)
for each supervisor training class that includes a supervisor who has not yet
had at least two hours of training.
b)
BWC will reimburse
the actual cost up to a maximum of $300 per hour for one hour of refresher
training ($300 maximum) for each supervisor training class that includes a
supervisor who has had at least two hours of training.
ii.
Online refresher
training with a quiz is reimbursable. BWC will reimburse the actual cost up to
a maximum of $30 per supervisor with a maximum total of $1,200 during the
program year immediately following the initial program year.
iii. Refresher webinar provided by a
qualified substance professional. BWC will reimburse the actual cost up to a
maximum of $300 for one hour during the program year immediately following the
initial program year.
7.
The following
expenses are not reimbursable:
a.
In-house training
staff.
b.
Consultant, broker,
third-party administrator (TPA) or consortium participation fees.
c.
Substance testing.
d.
Salaries or wages
for staff conducting training.
e.
Charges for
education and/or training such as duplicating costs, room rental, equipment
rental or purchase, or food.
f.
Employee-assistance
expenses related to assessment and/or treatment services.
g.
Duplication of the
written DFSP policy.
h.
Supervisor train-the-trainer
classes.
8.
Drug-free service
vendors are not eligible for reimbursement of in-house expenses related to the
development of their own BWC drug-free safety program. A possible reimbursable
expense might be having the service vendor’s own company drug-free safety
policy reviewed by legal counsel.
9.
BWC will hold the
employer responsible to use the grant in the intended manner. An employer may
face civil and criminal consequences if it misappropriates or misuses grant
funds.
E.
Removal/exit from
program.
1.
BWC may disqualify
an employer participating in the DFSP Grant Program if it fails to satisfy
program requirements or it misrepresents information when submitting a grant
request. An employer misrepresenting information on the grant request will be
required to repay any misappropriated grant funds to BWC.
2.
If the employer
voluntarily withdraws or is disqualified by BWC from the DFSP program and the
employer received a grant for services rendered during the now-inactive program
period, the employer will be required to repay any grant funds received to BWC.
F.
Resolution of
complaints.
1.
Employer complaints
should be processed under the General
Employer Complaint Policy.
2.
BWC has not
identified any program-specific extenuating circumstances that apply to the
DFSP Safety Grants program.
G.
Scenarios.
1.
An employer submits
an application for reimbursement for legal review of its written drug-free
policy. The application indicates that the attorney who reviewed the written
policy was the Chief Legal Officer of the company.
Response: The application is denied.
DFSP grant funds cannot be used to reimburse wages and salaries of employees of
the company. In order for BWC to reimburse the employer for a legal review of
the written policy, the reviewer must be an external party, and not an employee
of the employer.
2.
An employer enrolls
in the DFSP for program year beginning July 1. The employer receives a DFSP
grant on August 5. On April 15 of the following year, BWC disqualifies the
employer from the DFSP due to failure to submit its annual progress report by
the March 31 deadline.
Response: If an employer is disqualified
by BWC from the DFSP program and the employer received a grant for services
rendered during the now-inactive program period, BWC will recover the grant
amount.
3.
An employer requests
reimbursement for multiple employee training sessions. The employer claims it
cannot have its second and third shift employees attend during the day when the
first shift employees are being trained due to production schedules. The
employer also has several facilities that are physically separate from one
another and the distance is such that the employees at the other locations
cannot attend the training being conducted at the employer’s main facility.
Response: Employers can be reimbursed
the actual cost of employee training up to a maximum of $250 per hour, limited
to one hour of training for each of the two years of start up of the DFSP.
However, BWC may permit reimbursement for multiple training sessions for multiple
shifts and/or locations upon review of the employer’s operational needs.
Online/web based training reimbursement is also available.