| The WorkSTEPS Employment Testing Program is truly unique
and deserves your thoughtful investigation of its benefit for your company. The
effectiveness of the Program in reducing work place injury incidence and costs has been
substantially documented through cost savings incurred by industries which have utilized
the Program, testimonials to which are included in this site.
The WorkSTEPS Program was developed in response to
industry's need for reliable, medically/legally defensible employment testing programs
which could effectively reduce work place injury incidence and work place injury costs.
The Program, which is based upon objective scientific data, and collection, conforms fully
to EEOC Guidelines for application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Implementation of the WorkSTEPS Program has enabled hundreds of
industries to realize significant work place injury incidence and injury cost reductions.
The data generated by the WorkSTEPS Program has been used to successfully litigate
fraudulent injury claims, and to establish a basis for legitimate settlements of bonafide
work place injury claims.
In the first court case involving WorkSTEPS data, an
employee seeking $1.2 million in compensation, received a jury award of only $22,000, for
medical services and legal fees, based primarily upon pre-existing condition data recorded
during the WorkSTEPS testing of the employee.
Employers benefit by matching the physical demand levels (how
much one can safely lift) of the specific job to the physical capabilities of the
employee, which reduces injury incidence and decreases employee turnover. The WorkSTEPS
Test also assists in eliminating fraudulent claims and in establishing a basis for
legitimately controlling bonafide claims. The information is retained for comparison to
post-injury employee data and establishes a basis developing objective data based
rehabilitation and return to work programs.
In addition to the "essential function"
component necessary to make hiring recommendations in accordance with the ADA, WorkSTEPS
also performs a comprehensive battery of additional medical and functional performance
tests on each employee. This medical and functional data cannot be used to withdraw an
offer of employment tendered an employee, but it can be used to establish baseline
capabilities of an employee. This facilitates detection of existing impairments and other
medical and physical conditions of the employee.
| Components
of the WorkSTEPS Employment Test include: |
- Musculoskeletal evaluation including
assessments of range of motion, strength, posture, and joint integrity.
- Cardiovascular status, including recovery
condition, risk profile, blood pressure, and heart rate.
- Static (isometric) and Dynamic (isotonic)
strength evaluation of the back and extremities, with analysis for deficits and/or
abnormalities, and with resultant comparative analysis to our database containing
information from thousands of employees tested.
- Risk profile for "over-use
syndrome" (i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome).
- Job Specific or job simulation components
(essential functions) includes instruction in proper body mechanics and lifting
techniques.
|
Following completion of the test, results are entered into the
WorkSTEPS data base, which provides a profile of each individual employee according to the
physical demand levels of each specific job. The WorkSTEPS Program generates extremely
specific comparisons based on any number of collected data parameters. The reports
generated also establish the baseline medical and functional capabilities of the employee
for comparison to future, post-injury data.
The relationship with WorkSTEPS continues after the Employment
Test, as WorkSTEPS continues to work with employers to assist them with ADA and related
employer/employee issues. WorkSTEPS has a staff attorney available to answer employer
questions. This service is free to employer clients. |
