At the 2016 SAWCA Annual Conference a panel discussed how new technology is changing the medical community. The panel was: Jarrod Magan – VP of Client Technology Services – Sedgwick Tammy Boyd – Vice President of Business Development & Marketing – NeuroInternational Jill Rosenthal – SVP and Chief Medical Officer – Zenith Insurance Robert Snyder – Medical Director – Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Technology is having a significant impact on many elements of our lives and the field of medicine is at the forefront of this. Things like wearable technology, mobile apps, telemedicine, and phamacogenetics are transforming the patient
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This week Conference Chronicles will be blogging from the SAWCA Annual Conference in Sandestin, FL.  The Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators focuses on interaction, education, and collegiality among state regulators from 21 jurisdictions. Conference attendees include regulators, judges, and a wide variety of industry stakeholders.  You can learn more about the event HERE

The 2016 SAWCA Annual Convention kicked off with a Regulators Roundtable where workers’ compensation regulators from various jurisdictions discussed a variety of industry issues. The panel was moderated by John Williams the Commissioner from Virginia and featured representatives from sixteen jurisdictions. Attorney Fees The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that the part of their statute that capped plaintiff attorney fees was unconstitutional.  Attorney fees in Florida are paid by the defendant in addition to any benefits owed. The regulators were asked to explain how attorney fees work in their states. Every jurisdiction represented caps plaintiff attorney fees in some way,
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, Richard Mrizek with the U.S. EEOC office in Chicago and Matt Morris, VP of FMLA Resources with ComPsych, discussed issues surrounding ADA compliance and EEOC enforcement actions. In 2015, there was a record number of ADA activity before the EEOC. This included almost 27,000 complaints – over 30% of which involved ADA issues. EEOC enforcement actions generated over $128 million in benefits garnered. This aggressive enforcement from EEOC is expected to continue as they have issued statements promising continued “vigorous enforcement.” The discussion broke ADA compliance into five areas: Policy Issues The EEOC expects
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel talked about Walmart’s experience shifting to a vendor to manage their Accommodation Process. The speakers were: Herminio Vargas – Senior Manager Integrated Absence Management – Walmart Ben Cormack – Senior Manager Integrated Absence Management – Walmart Shawn Johnson – SVP Client Services – Sedgwick According to a 2015 DMEC Leave Management Survey, 82% of employers manage their ADA accommodation process internally. In 2013 Walmart initiated a process to move their return to work accommodation process to Sedgwick. Today Sedgwick administers approximately 80% of Walmart’s program. Walmart is the largest employer in the
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference a panel discussed the challenges of multiple laws regulating disability management the benefits of an integrated disability management program. The panel was: Jane Ryan – Return to Work Recovery and Claims Services – Mayo Clinic Trina Mouton – Manager Disability Management & Wellness – CenterPoint Energy Patrick Leary – Health and Productivity Professional Karen English – Partner – Spring Consulting Group There are currently many different leave of absence laws that employers must comply with including: Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) State Family and Medical leave laws Military Leave (USEERA) State Military
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel discussed a variety of workforce management issues facing employers in 2016. The panel was: Scott Mattes – Manager Workforce Health – Amerigas Propane Sonya Stephens – SR Benefits Analyst – Symantic Corporation Andrew Harrison – Americas HR Direct Benefits & Leave Operations Manager – Nike Nikki James – Americas HR Direct Leave Operations Supervisor – Nike Julie Johnson – Operations Manager, Leave Services – Liberty Mutual Joanne Archer – National Account Executive – Liberty Mutual Generational Differences There are currently more generations in the workforce than ever before and there are significant
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference Patricia Purdy from Pacific Resources and Kimberly George from Sedgwick talked about why mental health is important to the workforce today and into the future. According to a recent Gallop poll, employees are working more hours than ever before but 70% report they are disengaged from their employment. The stress associated with working long hours is having an impact on the workforce and behavioral health issues are common. At any given time, at least 20% of employees report symptoms of depression, chronic fatigue, anxiety or sleep problems. The majority of these conditions are untreated.
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This week Conference Chronicles is blogging from the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference in New Orleans. The Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) is committed to providing focused education for absence management professionals. From face-to-face conferences to helpful tools and resources, they provide you what you need to reduce costs, minimize lost work time, and increase staff productivity. You can learn more about the conference HERE

At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel discussed how organizations offering mental health solutions can improve the employee experience and engagement. The panel was: Scott Daniels – Director of Disability Benefits – Comcast Jack Stoddard – Chief Strategy Officer – Accolade, Inc. Hong Un – Chief Psychiatric Officer and Head of EAP – Aetna Adele Spallone – VP Business Integration & Strategies and Absence Management Services – Aetna One overriding thing to keep in mind when creating a behavioral health wellness program is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Something that works for a large employer with many resources
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