Loss prevention program; safety coordinators; Interagency Advisory Council on Loss Prevention; employee recognition program; return-to-work programs; risk management programs.

(1) The head of each department of state government, except the Legislature, shall designate a safety coordinator. Such safety coordinator must be an employee of the department and must hold a position which has responsibilities comparable to those of an employee in the Senior Management System. The Department of Financial Services shall provide appropriate training to the safety coordinators to permit them to effectively perform their duties within their respective departments. Within 1 year after being appointed by his or her department head, the safety coordinator shall complete safety coordinator training offered by the Department of Financial Services. Each safety coordinator shall, at the direction of his or her department head:

(a) Develop and implement the loss prevention program, a comprehensive departmental safety program which shall include a statement of safety policy and responsibility.

(b) Provide for regular and periodic facility and equipment inspections.

(c) Investigate job-related employee accidents of his or her department.

(d) Establish a program to promote increased safety awareness among employees.

(2) There shall be an Interagency Advisory Council on Loss Prevention composed of the safety coordinators from each department and representatives designated by the Division of State Fire Marshal and the Division of Risk Management. The chair of the council is the Director of the Division of Risk Management or his or her designee. The council shall meet at least quarterly to discuss safety problems within state government, to attempt to find solutions for these problems, and, when possible, to assist in the implementation of the solutions. If the safety coordinator of a department or office is unable to attend a council meeting, an alternate, selected by the department head or his or her designee, shall attend the meeting to represent and provide input for that department or office on the council. The council is further authorized to provide for the recognition of employees, agents, and volunteers who make exceptional contributions to the reduction and control of employment-related accidents. The necessary expenses for the administration of this program of recognition shall be considered an authorized administrative expense payable from the State Risk Management Trust Fund.

(3) The Department of Financial Services and all agencies that are provided workers’ compensation insurance coverage by the State Risk Management Trust Fund and employ more than 3,000 full-time employees shall establish and maintain return-to-work programs for employees who are receiving workers’ compensation benefits. The programs must have the primary goal of enabling injured workers to remain at work or return to work to perform job duties within the physical or mental functional limitations and restrictions established by the workers’ treating physicians. If no limitation or restriction is established in writing by a worker’s treating physician, the worker is deemed to be able to fully perform the same work duties he or she performed before the injury. Agencies employing more than 3,000 full-time employees shall report return-to-work information to the Department of Financial Services to support the Department of Financial Services’ mandatory reporting requirements on agency return-to-work efforts under s. 284.42(1)(b).