The News You Need for Feb. 19
Do you have a favorite president? Well, we sure do. It's our own Robert Bennett , the President of WorkersCompensation.com
Incorporating Positive Psychology into Workers’ Compensation
Integrating Positive Psychology in Workers' Compensation can help improve the recovery outcomes and support the injured workers' effective return to work or life. Positive Psychology is a scientific approach focusing on human strengths and well-being, providing a framework promoting resilience, optimism, and fulfillment. It addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of recovery. Positive Psychology encourages a positive outlook and stress management through strategies like gratitude journaling, mindfulness, and strengths-based counseling. It helps discover new purpose and meaning, contributing significantly to mental and emotional well-being and physical healing. Working collaboratively with employers and healthcare providers can create a compassionate, supportive recovery environment. This holistic approach emphasizes the importance of mental and emotional recovery alongside physical rehabilitation, ensuring a more rounded and effective healing journey. By implementing Positive Psychology in workers' compensation, we can revolutionize the recovery process and improve the overall satisfaction and quality of life post-injury.
The Pillars of Positive Psychology in Workers’ Compensation
1. Emphasizing Strengths and Resilience: Boosting confidence and engagement of injured workers can be significantly enhanced by identifying and utilizing their strengths. Resilience training, a key component of Positive Psychology, teaches individuals how to adapt to challenges, which is invaluable for overcoming the obstacles presented by workplace injuries.
2. Cultivating Positive Emotions: Techniques like gratitude exercises and mindfulness meditation can help injured workers shift their focus from pain and loss to appreciation and present-moment awareness. These practices have been shown to reduce stress, alleviate symptoms of depression, and enhance overall life satisfaction.
3. Fostering a Growth Mindset: By promoting the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed, a growth mindset encourages injured workers to view their recovery journey as an opportunity for learning and personal development. This perspective can transform challenges into stepping stones toward achieving their Return To Work goals.
4. Encouraging Engagement and Flow: Activities that promote engagement and induce a state of flow, where individuals become fully immersed and lose track of time, can help distract from pain and foster positive experiences. This can be particularly beneficial in occupational therapy or when exploring new hobbies and interests during recovery, as it encourages engagement and a sense of purpose.
5. Building Positive Relationships: The process of recovering from an injury is strongly linked to the social support that an injured worker receives. Workplace programs that promote and facilitate healthy relationships between injured workers, their families, healthcare providers, and employers can create a supportive network that fosters open communication and mutual understanding. Building positive relationships is of utmost importance as it plays a critical role in the successful recovery of an injured worker.
6. Pursuing Meaning and Purpose: Helping injured workers find meaning in their experiences and encouraging them to set goals aligned with their values can significantly impact their mental health and motivation. Finding purpose is vital to a fulfilling RTW process, whether through vocational counseling or volunteer opportunities. Pursuing meaningful activities can help injured workers feel a sense of purpose and positively impact their overall recovery.
Practical Applications
Incorporating Positive Psychology into Workers' Compensation (WC) goes beyond physical recovery methods and includes mental and emotional well-being. This holistic approach involves training case managers and healthcare providers on Positive Psychology techniques to improve resilience and promote a growth mindset among injured workers. By organizing workshops and programs that focus on building these psychological skills, the recovery and return to work process can be significantly aided. Additionally, leveraging technology through apps for mindfulness, gratitude journaling, and goal setting can support individuals in their journey toward recovery. Virtual support groups and online counseling offer accessible, continuous emotional support, bridging the gap between physical recovery and mental health. (Check out Kind Souls Foundation, a warm line offering support to those displaced from work.) This comprehensive strategy ensures a supportive recovery environment, fostering physical healing and psychological well-being.
The Impact on Recovery Outcomes
Integrating Positive Psychology into Workers' Compensation can significantly enhance recovery outcomes. Research indicates that engaging in positive psychological practices can lead to improved mental health, which, in turn, may accelerate physical recovery. This symbiotic relationship between psychological and physical well-being is supported by evidence showing that positive mental states are linked to physiological benefits such as reduced inflammation, enhanced immune responses, and lower pain levels. In the context of Workers' Compensation, this approach could result in faster recovery times, increased satisfaction with the recovery process, and more effective return-to-work transitions. For employers, the benefits are twofold: a decrease in absenteeism and a reduction in healthcare costs, while employees enjoy a higher quality of life and increased job satisfaction, illustrating the broad impact of Positive Psychology on the Workers' Compensation landscape.
Challenges and Considerations
Integrating Positive Psychology into Workers' Compensation poses a significant challenge that demands a shift in organizational culture. It involves valuing mental and physical well-being equally and educating workers' compensation professionals about Positive Psychology techniques. Achieving this goal will require significant time and resources for training, including employers, claims adjusters, and medical providers alike.
Measuring the impact of psychological interventions on recovery outcomes is also a challenge. New metrics and evaluation methods will be needed to determine the effectiveness of these interventions. It is crucial to secure buy-in from all stakeholders, including insurers, employers, and employees, to ensure a unified approach towards implementation. Not all measurements will be seen as hard data and therefore, creative approaches must be used for benchmarks.
Customizing Positive Psychology interventions to cater to the diverse needs of injured workers is essential. This involves considering the differences in injury types, personal backgrounds, and recovery environments. It is crucial to have flexibility and customization in the program design to ensure effective interventions for injured workers. Each person is unique and should be treated as such.
Adopting Positive Psychology in Workers' Compensation represents a significant paradigm shift in how we approach injury recovery. This approach recognizes that recovering from an injury involves more than just physical healing; it also involves mental and emotional resilience and a renewed sense of purpose. By incorporating Positive Psychology's principles into the Workers' Comp system, we can create a more compassionate and effective recovery process that empowers workers to achieve their fullest potential. This transformative approach is a testament to our commitment to improving the quality of life for injured workers and building a more resilient and thriving workforce. As we continue integrating positive psychology into workers' compensation, we are not just reforming a system but also redefining the essence of recovery and work reintegration. We are setting a new standard prioritizing comprehensive well-being for individuals and communities.
Amazon Worker Knifed in Face
New York, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – A 23-year-old Amazon delivery driver said he was scarred for life – physically and emotionally - after being stabbed in the face while working.??
His attack was one of the latest attacks on workers doing their jobs across the country.??
William Herrera of Yonkers was delivering packages earlier this month in the Bronx when a suspect walked up behind him and sliced his face from his lip to his earlobe, police reports said. Surveillance video captured the attacker, dressed all in black, approach Herrera and jab him with an object in his right hand. After the two struggled, Herrera moved to run around the delivery van, and the suspect followed him out of view of the camera. Video later showed Herrera bleeding from his face and reaching out to flag down an officer for help.??
"I got to look every day in the mirror and see this on my face," Herrera told NBC New York. "I've never had one stitch in my entire life and the first time I got a stitch, I got 110 stitches?"?
Herrera told police that the attacker seemed intent on wounding him rather than taking something from the unlocked Amazon delivery van.??
"My van was completely open. He could have took the whole van if he wanted to," Herrera told media outlets. "He didn't take nothing. He just wanted to cut me, I guess."?
Police are asking anyone with information about the attack to come forward.??
In Brooklyn this week, a worker at a New York City weed shop attacked a city investigator looking into reports the store was operating without a license.?
Prosecutors said in a Feb. 8 press release that the employee shoved the inspector into a window last year, when the investigator tried to shut the store down.??
Ariante Moss, 27, allegedly shoved the inspector out of the Big Chief Exotics Smoke Shop and smashed a door on his arm when he realized the man “was a law enforcement agent,” the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said. Agents with the Department of Taxation and Finance later arrived with a closure order and shut the store down permanently.??
Prosecutors said the shop had previously been the subject of two surprise inspections from the Office of Cannabis Management and had had unlicensed marijuana products seized. At the time, the office had ordered them to “cease unlicensed activity,” Eric Gonzalez, Brooklyn District Attorney said.??
However, the store continued to operate as an unlicensed marijuana store, leading to the closure.??
Moss was charged with assault, obstructing governmental administration and harassment. The inspector suffered no major damage but did have some bruising after the attack.??
“This defendant didn’t just defy the law by working in a shop that sold unlicensed cannabis products, but also allegedly violently attacked an investigator as he tried to lawfully shut down the illegal business,” Gonzalez said. “In Brooklyn, we have no tolerance for attacks on law enforcement personnel and will now seek to hold the defendant fully accountable.”?
And across the country, in Pleasant Hill, Cal., a city employee is dead after being stabbed to death in the park he worked at.??
Police said the employee was discovered unconscious on the grounds of the Pleasant Hill Park parking lot around 4:50 a.m. After inspection, officers determined the worker had died of stab wounds.??
Police identified the victim a Santiago Jacobo, 37, of Pittsburg, a member of the park’s janitorial staff. Jacobo had been working late Friday night in the park, officials said. When he didn’t come home from work, his wife became concerned and went to look for him. She was the one who discovered his body and called law enforcement, police said.??
“It feels so unreal how his life was taken in such a violent and cowardly way,” Maria Jacobo, a relative of the victim, wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family. “Santiago was a kind hardworking man and will be missed by many loved ones.”?
The Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District (PHRPD) offered condolences to Jacobo’s family.??
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by Santiago Jacobo’s death,” PHRPD General Manager Michelle Lacy said. “PHRPD has been in existence for over 70 years and nothing like this has ever happened before. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, two children, and extended family.”?
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Lacy said the city was providing therapy and mental health resources for all PHRPD employees to cope with Jacobo’s death. Additionally, she said she would be meeting with staff to identify what other measures and safety protocols the department could take to mitigate future risks.??
Do You Know the Rule? Minn. Protections for Medical Cannabis
Minneapolis, MN (WorkersCompensation.com) -- In Minnesota, there is a presumption that a patient enrolled in the registry program created by state law or a Tribal medical cannabis program patient is engaged in the authorized use of medical cannabis.
The presumption may be rebutted by evidence that:
(1) A patient's conduct related to use of medical cannabis was not for the purpose of treating or alleviating the patient's qualifying medical condition or symptoms associated with the patient's qualifying medical condition; or
(2) A Tribal medical cannabis program patient's use of medical cannabis was not for a purpose authorized by the Tribal medical cannabis program.
What are the legal protections participants in these medical cannabis programs enjoy?
The following are not violations of Minnesota law:
(1) Use or possession of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products by a patient enrolled in the registry program; possession by a registered designated caregiver or the parent, legal guardian, or spouse of a patient if the parent, legal guardian, or spouse is listed on the registry verification; or use or possession of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products by a Tribal medical cannabis program patient.
(2) Possession, dosage determination, or sale of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products by a medical cannabis manufacturer, employees of a manufacturer, a Tribal medical cannabis program manufacturer, employees of a Tribal medical cannabis program manufacturer, a laboratory conducting testing on medical cannabis, or employees of the laboratory; and
(3) Possession of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products by any person while carrying out the duties required under the program.
Additionally, medical cannabis obtained and distributed and associated property is not subject to forfeiture.
Get the compliance info you need from Minnesota and 52 other U.S. jurisdictions with Simply Research
What about licensing boards?
State law provides that the commissioner, members of a Tribal medical cannabis board, the commissioner's or Tribal medical cannabis board's staff, the commissioner's or Tribal medical cannabis board's agents or contractors, and any health care practitioner are not subject to any civil or disciplinary penalties by the Board of Medical Practice, the Board of Nursing, or by any business, occupational, or professional licensing board or entity, solely for participation in the registry program or in a Tribal medical cannabis program.
A pharmacist is not subject to any civil or disciplinary penalties by the Board of Pharmacy when acting in accordance with the medical cannabis provisions. However, nothing would stop a professional licensing board from taking action in response to violations of any other section of law.
What about criminal law and law enforcement?
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commissioner, the governor of Minnesota, or an employee of any state agency may not be held civilly or criminally liable for any injury, loss of property, personal injury, or death caused by any act or omission while acting within the scope of office or employment.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities are prohibited from accessing the patient registry under except when acting pursuant to a valid search warrant.
The following do not constitute probable cause or reasonable suspicion, and shall not be used to support a search of the person or property of the person possessing or applying for the registry verification or equivalent, or otherwise subject the person or property of the person to inspection by any governmental agency:
(1) Possession of a registry verification or application for enrollment in the registry program by a person entitled to possess a registry verification or apply for enrollment in the registry program; or
(2) Possession of a verification or equivalent issued by a Tribal medical cannabis program or application for enrollment in a Tribal medical cannabis program by a person entitled to possess such a verification or application.
Is there protected information?
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, neither the commissioner nor a public employee may release data or information about an individual contained in any report, document, or registry or any information obtained about a patient participating in the program.
No information contained in a report, document, or registry or obtained from a patient or from a Tribal medical cannabis program patient may be admitted as evidence in a criminal proceeding unless independently obtained or in connection with a proceeding involving a violation of the law.
Any person who violates the rules regarding protected information is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
What happens if there's a need for legal representation?
An attorney may not be subject to disciplinary action by the Minnesota Supreme Court, a Tribal court, or the professional responsibility board for providing legal assistance to prospective or registered manufacturers or others related to activity that is no longer subject to criminal penalties under state law or for providing legal assistance to a Tribal medical cannabis program or a Tribal medical cannabis program manufacturer.
What are the prohibitions against discrimination?
No school or landlord may refuse to enroll or lease to and may not otherwise penalize a person solely for the person's status as a patient enrolled in the registry program or for the person's status as a Tribal medical cannabis program patient, unless failing to do so would violate federal law or regulations or cause the school or landlord to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations.
For the purposes of medical care, including organ transplants, a registry program enrollee's use of medical cannabis or a Tribal medical cannabis program patient's use of medical cannabis as authorized by the Tribal medical cannabis program, is considered the equivalent of the authorized use of any other medication used at the discretion of a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant and does not constitute the use of an illicit substance or otherwise disqualify a patient from needed medical care.
Unless a failure to do so would violate federal law or regulations or cause an employer to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations, an employer may not discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon any of the following:
(1) The person's status as a patient enrolled in the registry program;
(2) The person's status as a Tribal medical cannabis program patient; or
(3) A patient's positive drug test for cannabis components or metabolites, unless the patient used, possessed, or was impaired by medical cannabis on the premises of the place of employment or during the hours of employment.
What happens if an employer conducts drug testing?
An employee who is required to undergo employer drug testing may present verification of enrollment in the patient registry or of enrollment in a Tribal medical cannabis program as part of the employee's explanation.
How about parenting rights and child welfare concerns?
A person shall not be denied custody of a minor child or visitation rights or parenting time with a minor child solely based on the person's status as a patient enrolled in the registry program or on the person's status as a Tribal medical cannabis program patient.
Under Minnesota law, there shall be no presumption of neglect or child endangerment for conduct allowed under the registry program or under a Tribal medical cannabis program, unless the person's behavior is such that it creates an unreasonable danger to the safety of the minor as established by clear and convincing evidence.
Thriving at work intertwines with positive psychology ?? Embracing challenges, like the Amazon worker's journey, mirrors Mandela's resilience. Legal adaptiveness, as seen in cannabis discussions, channels Branson's innovation spirit. Onwards & upwards! #SimplifyTheWork #GrowthMindset