President's Message

Hello.

Last month we had a special lunchtime gathering for our Friends of RIMS and Associates held at the historical Los Angeles Times Building in downtown LA. The LA Times building is very unique in both it’s character and history. It opened in 1935 and at the time was the largest building in the western U.S. designed and occupied entirely as a daily newspaper publishing operation.  Gordon B. Kaufmann designed the Times Building, which won a gold medal at the 1937 Paris Exposition for its architectural style. The lobby is one of the aesthetic highlights of the Times Building.  Its 10-foot-high murals were painted in 1935 by Hugo Ballin, who also painted the Griffith Observatory.

The event was attended by almost 40 “Friends”, most of the LA RIMS 2004 Board members and other Chapter members. The meeting gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of our new Friends and also enjoy time with those that have supported our Chapter for a long time.

As we look to 2005, our Board will include some new faces, but will most likely be made up of members that have been on the Board for many years. As it is great to have such experienced Board members, we also want to see some new faces with new ideas. So if you are interested, please contact me directly at Michael.Carlin@Jacobs.Com.

Dennis Healy, Director of Risk Management for Los Angeles Newspaper Group will be President for 2005. Dennis has held several positions on the Board including most recently Executive Vice President. Dennis is a member of several risk management organizations including American Society of Safety Engineers. Next time you attend an event, please wish Dennis well in his new leadership position.

As I close, we are always looking for feedback from our membership – both positive and negative. What we would really enjoy is for those that attend one of our events, and have ideas for improvement, to join one of our committees and dedicate some time and energy to improving our Chapter.

That’s all for now.

Michael Carlin
L.A. RIMS President

Chapter Clips

Attorney Richard Charnley ESQ. is best known for his ability to step in at the 11th hour and successfully defend cases which have gotten way out of control. His focus is on intellectual property, advertising injury, catastrophic injuries and entertainment disputes. As a pioneer in the use of high technology in the courtroom, Mr. Charnley has recently leveraged his experience into the representation of carriers and insureds facing complex technology tort and first party claims. Mr. Charnley is of counsel to Nelsen, Thompson, Pegue & Thornton, in Santa Monica, California.

To register for is meeting, click on this hyperlink:  http://www.larims.org/nxtmeet.html

L.A. Chapter Sponsor a Student

If you know of a student that should be considered for sponsorship to the 2005 RIMS National Conference in Philadelphia, please submit the student's name for consideration to Scott Ritto at mailto:sritto@decurion.com

RIMS Western Regional Conference

Thank you to the following companies for their contributions to this conference. Their tremendous support is truly appreciated by all who have planned and participated in the RIMS 2004 Western Regional Conference.

 Avery Dennison

 Boyle Engineering Corporation

Coachella Valley Water District

 The Community Redevelopment Agency

 of the City of Los Angeles

 Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.

 Fox Entertainment Group

 Jacobs Engineering

 LEGOLAND California, LLC

 Mattel, Inc.

 Pacific Life Insurance Company

 RIMS

 South Coast Plaza

 TIMEC Company, Inc.

 United States Marine Repair, Inc.

 Ventura Foods, LLC

 The Walt Disney Company

Legislative Updates

Final Rule Published on Handling Whistleblowers

OSHA has published a final rule establishing procedures for the handling of whistleblower complaints under the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act of 2002, known as the Sarbanes Oxley Act, one of 14 laws with whistleblower protections administered by OSHA.

The law, was enacted July 30, 2002 to protect employees in publicly traded companies and their contractors, subcontractors, or agents from retaliation for providing information an employee believes is a violation of a Securities and Exchange Commission rule or other federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.  OSHA has received a total of 307 employee complaints filed under the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley since its inception.

The rule establishes procedures for the timely handling of discrimination complaints made by employees or by people acting on their behalf.  It Includes procedures for submitting complaints under Sarbanes-Oxley as well as conducting investigations, issuing findings, and orders.  A major portion of the rule addresses litigation procedures.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao praised the concept of whistleblower protection under Sarbanes-Oxley noting that the new procedures "will protect courageous workers who speak out against corporate abuse and fraud."

Health & Safety

Recently Mayor Hahn and the Department of Transportation launched the Watch the Road safety campaign, intended to make the roadways in Los Angles County safer by changing bad behaviors that contribute to traffic crashes.  The goals of the program are to save lives, reduce injuries and relieve traffic congestion.

Over the past five years, Los Angeles County streets claimed more than 3,550 lives, injured another 440,000 and impacted thousands of families.  These deaths and injuries were the result of traffic crashes, primarily caused by aggressive tendencies, driving too fast and our own inattention.

Watch the Road is an education and awareness campaign, targeting drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.  Its sponsor, Operation Traffix, a coalition of public and private entities, believes that through education and a concerted united effort, we can change these hazardous behaviors and save lives.

Since behavioral change starts one person at a time, Mayor Hahn is asking for your help to “get the message out” to your friends and loved ones.

Remember, it is better to lose one minute of your life than your life in one minute.  Watch the road.  Please help by setting a good example of roadway user behavior and make a difference.

For more information about the campaign, please visit www.WatchTheRoad.org

Another Place They Can Turn to Help Prevent Accidents

For newer  workers, it sometimes can be difficult to know whom to turn to with a safety question, without stopping to seek out the safety manager.

But every workplace has employees known for their knowledge of safety.  You might want to consider distinguishing them with a different colored safety vest or hard hat, so other employees will know who they can turn to for advice - and perhaps prevent a costly accident - without disrupting the flow of work.

Census Bureau Reports 45 Million are Uninsured

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of the U.S. population without health insurance coverage grew to 15.6 in 2003, up from 15.2 in 2002.  The findings were part of a bureau report that found income to be relatively stable, but poverty on the rise.

The number of people with coverage dropped from 84.8 percent to 84.4 percent, mirroring a drop in the percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance.  This decline, the Census Bureau says, essentially explains the drop in total private health insurance coverage.  The findings were released on a day when both presidential candidates were promoting their plans to insure more Americans.

Among those who reacted to the findings were Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who used the opportunity to encourage the passage of legislation that would give workers in small businesses access to health insurance through Association Health Plans.  These permit smaller companies to band together to purchase premiums at lower rates.  "I hope the Congress acts on this commonsense legislation as soon as they reconvene in September,"  stated Chao.

A Heads Up On Possible Workplace Hazards

If someone files and wins a claim over an occupational  carcinogen, it could be personally devastating for the workers and costly to your company.

That's why researchers have put together a list of 28 agents classified as occupational carcinogens, along with other substances labeled "probable" carcinogens.  For the list go to:  http://snipurl.com/8r85

NIOSH Alert Addresses Falls Through Openings

A new NIOSH 'Alert' describes the conditions surrounding five deaths that resulted from falls through skylights and roof and floor openings, and includes recommendations to prevent similar incidents.

The document concludes that employers, workers, building owners, and skylight designers and manufacturers "may not fully recognize or appreciate the serious fall hazards associated with working near skylights and roof and floor openings."  As a result, these openings may be left unguarded or uncovered, and workers may be assigned to work around them without proper fall prevention.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says falls are one of the leading causes of traumatic injury death in the workplace despite relevant OSHA regulations, including ones specifically addressing skylights.

In the accidents it investigated, NIOSH identified the following contributing factors:

• Inadequate safety programs and worker training.

• Failure to identify and eliminate fall hazards or to provide an adequate fall-prevention system.

• Removal of hole covers by workers

• Failure to protect workers from fall hazards during bad weather conditions.

• Inappropriate task assignments for young workers

• Lack of written agreements between general contractors and subcontractors to clearly describe how safety responsibilities will be handled.

NIOSH urges employers to develop and enforce comprehensive fall-prevention programs that, at a minimum, comply with OSHA fall-protection standards.  The full text of the Alert can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-156.

To View the job opportunities in their entirety, please use this direct link to the LA RIMS website:  http://www.larims.org/exec.html

1)  Risk Control Consultant
     Majestic Insurance, Long Beach, CA

2)  Director of Risk Management
     Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Costa Mesa, CA