ALCA Announces New Safety Program
Herndon, VA – The Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) has announced the creation of the new ALCA/STARS Safe Company Program. Designed to move the entire landscape industry toward safety excellence, the program encourages all landscape contractors to take safety to the next level.
“Safety seems to be on everyone’s mind now, thank to compliance issues and rising insurance premiums,” says ALCA Safety Committee Chairperson David Snodgrass, CLP. “This is the ideal opportunity to move safety to the next level and to do it for all the right reasons. Being safe means we care about people, about saving lives, and reducing injuries.”
The new program asks participants to sign a “Pledge of Honor” that they will “join in the mission of moving the entire landscape profession toward safety excellence through active involvement, sharing experiences, and becoming a mentor for living safety.”
STARS members commit to developing a strong safety program using the ALCA/STARS Safety Resource Manual as a guideline, having an active safety committee in place, and conducting weekly safety awareness meetings. They will also be asked to participate in the ALCA Safety Awards Program, to comply with all OSHA posting requirements, and to encourage other companies to become ALCA STARS members.
“Being safe for ‘all the right reasons’ has powerful rewards that go beyond humanitarian concerns,” adds Snodgrass, noting that the acronym STARS stands for Safety Training Achieves Remarkable Success. “Intrinsically safe companies are well managed that demonstrate a high degree of integrity and professionalism – an important point of distinction for employees, customers, suppliers, and communities.”
STARS members receive other benefits, too. They will become partners in a safety alliance comprised of ALCA, OSHA, and CNA and be in a position to leverage the combined resources of the group. Members also receive a framed STARS pledge certificate, the ALCA/STARS Safety Resource Manual, a listing on the ALCA Web safety page, and recognition at ALCA’s Green Industry Conference. Their memberships will also be announced in a press release sent by ALCA.
“Being a STARS member gives companies an opportunity to share best safety practices with other members of the network,” relates Snodgrass. “More than anything else, though, participation will bring with it all the positive things that result from developing a strong safety program.”
For more information about the program, please visit www.alca.org, contact Kirsten Combs at kirstencombs@alca.org, or call the ALCA office at (800) 395-2522
Calif. Bill Allows Workers to Directly Sue Employers
Before Gov. Gray Davis was recalled in Calif., he signed Senate Bill 796, giving workers rights to directly sue their employers for such violations of the state labor code as minimum wage and overtime. Workers can receive a quarter of the civil damage award if they win in court.
According to the California Labor Federation, the law was necessary because state regulators cannot handle all the labor complaints filed by employees.
Business owners in California are worried that the legislation will further exacerbate an already over-litigious climate, making employers even more circumspect when contemplating layoffs or firing employees.
SB 796 awards attorneys’ fees and costs to employees who prevail in court, but will not reimburse fees and costs for employers when they prevail. Some see companies settling claims just to avoid the high cost of litigation.
SB 796 was authored by Assembly Member Joseph Dunn (D-Santa Ana).
Workers’ Comp. Rates Fall Slightly in California
In December 2003, California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced that workers’ compensation premium rates filed by insurers had dropped an average of 3.6 percent.
The California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) reports that 95 insurance carriers (a third of the state’s insurers) filed rates with the Department of Insurance to take effect January 1, 2004. Sixty-nine of those said they will reduce rates; 16 will maintain the rates; and 10 will increase them.
State Fund, which writes policies for more than half of the California market, will reduce rates on average by 2.9 percent.
Labor FACTS
95,600 – Number of first-line supervisors/ managers of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers in the United States in 2002.
52.4% – Percentage of these supervisors/ managers in the buildings and dwellings services in 2002
Source:www.bls.gov
