June 1991 - San Francisco Police Officers Association

June, 1991 Notebook Page 7Controller's Audit: City Workers'Compensation Costs Too Highby Mike Hebel, Welfare OfficerWonder why the number of complaintsabout inadequate medical care for job injuriesare rising? Concerned about physiciansmore concerned about returning youto work than returning you to health?Perplexed by the bureaucratic hassle if youselect your own treating physician?Part of the answer to these and otherconcerns about light duty, payment delays,and use of a very select number of "treatingdoctors", can be found in an Audit Report,dated March 31, 1991, prepared by theCCSF Controller's office.Its major recommendations are trulystartling. Read on.Cost RisingThe audit concluded that San Franciscomaintains an increasingly expensiveworker's compensation program. Costsgrew at a yearly rate of 13% for the pastdecade - almost double the '7% yearlyrate of overall city expenditures, and nearlytriple the Bay Area consumer prie& indexfor the same period.The Audit's major findings were:1. Medical costs increased at an averageof 13% annually over the past decade.2. City employees often net moremoney on industrial disability leave thenwhen working, resulting in extendeddisability payments and increased medicalcosts.3. There is inadequate monitoring ofworkers' compensation claims, resulting inunnecessary medical and disabilitypayments.4. Many City departments lack or refuseto implement limited duty assignments.5. The City is ignoring pre-employmentphysical and psychological standards thereby inviting greater numbers of industrialdisability claims.The audit asks - what is driving thesecost so high and how can they be contained?The answer, surprisingly, is not thatadditional claims are being filed by Cityworkers but rather the rising medical anddisability payments associated with theseclaims.Cost containment suggestions urge fundamentalalterations in the City's workers'compensaion program. They include: effectivepre-employment physical examinations,safe work practices and training,remove financial disincentives foremployees to return to work, develop comprehensiveinterdepartmental light dutyprograms, and alter the manner in whichCity employees receive medical care for jobinjuries.Escalating Medical CostsEscalating medical costs are the majorfactor contributing to increases in workers'compensation expenses. For FY 1981 toFY 1990 medical costs increased from$4.5 million to $14.4 million - a whopping220% increase.During this same period, disability payrose from $4.7 million to $7 million - upover 40%.Disability pay for police is up $3.7 millionfrom FY 82-83 to FY 89-90. The Controllerblames this jump on 2 factors:salary increases averaging about 7% annuallyand the provision of full salary forpublic safety officer while recuperating fromjob injuries.Says the Controller: Medical costsand disability pay must be contained!S.F. General HospitalIn 1972 the Retirement System respondedto a flood of complaints about hospitalcare at SFGH for injured City workers byentering into a contract with the St. FrancisHospital.San Francisco General Hospital administratorshave expressed interest in providingmedical care to injured City workers.The Controller is urging the RetirementSystem to rebid the workers' compensationmedical contract.Has SFGH 'improved its hospital careand general environment so as to regainthe trust of City employees? I continuallyhear a. resounding NO!Take Away Full Pay Disability Leave!That's what the Controller recommendsthe Board of Supervisors do! Because industrialdisability pay is tax free, the Auditnotes that disabled public safety employees(police, fire, paramedics) can receive an annualincrease of 37% if off work on DP fora full year - this amounts to more than$10,000. Employees can augment theirtake home pay by purchasing privatedisability insurance policies.The City's chief administrative officerrecently found that: "San Francisco'semployees average 34 days from work foreach disability claim, a rate 100% higherthan the statewide average for local governmentemployees."According to the latest study conductedby the California Department of IndustrialRelations, public safety officers spend moredays away from work due to occupationalinjuries than any other job category.However, the nature of police/fire workmainly explains this finding. These two occupationsrank very high in terms ofdanger, injuries sustained, and theseriousness of the injuries.The Controller's Audit recommended:"The Mayor and Board of Supervisorsshould request the state legislature toamend the state law which gives publicsafety officers more net income when onindustrial disability leave than when theydo work."400 Cases per WorkerState guidelines presently recommendthat claim adjuster caselaods not exceed200 cases. Historically, the CompensationDivision has experienced workloads twicethat amount.The Police Department claim adjustersare Carl Morgan and Joe Unamun. Whilethe subject of some complaints from policeofficers, they generally do a good job consideringtheir enormous caseloads.Light Duty AssignmentsThe audit noted that the Police Departmenthas over 100 light duty positionswhile the Municipal Railway has nonebecause a labor agreement precludesmanagement from requiring injuredworkers to perform light duty.The Audit concludes: "Limited dutyassignments, commonly known as light duty,is a proven method for returning injuryworkers in a timely manner."City Employment Hiring Criticized"The City hires workers who have agreater likelihood of becoming industiraldisability claimants because preemploymentphysical and psychologicalstandards are not established or not ignored."With respect to the Police Department,it was poignantly noted that during themost recent recruitment for police officers,the Department hired for placement intothe Police Academy 40% of the candidateswho received a "D" grade (unacceptable forpolice work) on the psychological exam.The audit boldly asserted: "San Franciscois hiring police officers that otherpolice departments have already rejectedGROSSMAN DESIGN GROUPArchitecture Planning ResearchJohn P. Grossman, Principal151 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107415 543-8618MATRIXLand and Development, Inc.or would refuse to hire." It was noted thatthere was a demonstrated correlation betweena police candidate's grade on thispsychological exam and their actual performanceas a police officer. The Civil ServiceCommission has recently approved a$10,000 contract to study this situation.The Audit urged the Police Departmentto maintain hiring standards pertaining topsychological test results consistent withthose of most other California law enforcementagencies.One From The Heartby Gary Delagnes, Vice PresidentWhen you call a plumber to your hometo fix your toilet it's usually going to costyou about $50 an hour. Go see a shrinkand that will run you about $100 an hour.Hire an attorney to clean up a legal messand that will run you $150 an hour. Godhelp you if you need a good doctor; thatcan run you up to $200 an hour. Now ifyou have a fight with your husband andwant him out of the house, but he won'tleave, you call a cop. He or she is supposedto show up, clean up the mess,rehabilitate the couple,, and makeeverything beautiful again, all for the low,low price of $20 per hour. What a deal!Many people say that cops are held toa higher level, that they are not in this professionfor the money, but for the gratificationthey feel when they help their fellowman. Pretty realistic, isn't it?Since I have become more involved inthe POA I have seen the terrible toll thatpolice work can take. I have done a lot ofthinking about my own life and the professionthat I chose these past few months,and never before have I questioned why Ibecame a police officer more than I have- recently. I think money is probably part ofit. I'm sick and tired of working 10 side jobsa month to live in a decent house and goout to dinner every once in a while. But Ithink that really is a small part of it. Therewas a day I was so proud to say I was acop. I was so proud to say I was a SanFranciscan. But, as most of us know, thosedays are gone forever.I think of the things that I have seen in13 years. Things that no one else wantsto look at or deal with. Things that we haveall had to deal with. I don't know too manypeople that have had to look at a body lyingon the ground with the head 20 ft.away. I don't know too many professionswhere you have to kick in a door and seea 50-year-old man raping a 12-year-oldboy, or a mother sticking a burningcigarette into her screaming child's skin.How many people have to go inside theapartment of a person who has been deadfor two months and, when you help thecoroner pick up the body, have it explode.How many people have to look at the bodyof a 28-year-old woman who has just takenher life by jumping 30 floors from the SirFrancis Drake Hotel and then you're askedto notify her parents Not pretty thingsto think about or look at. Things all of usC D SCalifornia Drywall Supply, Inc."Service With A Smile"SAL MONTEZ,President 1601 Donner Street, Unit 3(415) 822-8802 San Francisco, CA 94124Randall RudnickPRESIDENT201 Filbert St., Suite 402, San Francisco,CA 94133(415)788-2197 • FAX (415) 989-3676HOLY NAME GRAMMARSCHOOL CELEBRATIONSan Francisco's Holy NameGrammar School will be celebrating50 years of Catholic education in theSunset District on November 10,1991. All of the school's alumni,families and friends are invited tocelebrate with their classmates andneighbors on that Sunday afternoon.Watch your mail for details.For more information or to providea current address or telephonenumber, please contact the schoolat (415) 731-4077.have seen and dealt with.I thought a lot about John Blessing lately.Why he had to die and what he diedfor. We have all had to deal with theRodney King questions. How can this happen?What terrible policemen. And we allthink to ourselves that only another copcould understand why. That, as' wrong asit was, we understand because most of ushave been close. Close to snapping infrustration. And only another cop wouldknow that Rodney King would be in troubleagain, and again, and again! Count onit.Nobody can tell me that this job can'tdestroy you. I'm seeing it now, as a goodfriend of mine will be leaving this departmentsoon. I knew him 13 years ago in myAcademy class and have seen what the joband the frustration has done to him. He isas great a guy now as he ever was, but hehas lost his way and he is going to haveto find his way back again. And you knowwhat. In the end, other cops are the onlyones who will give a s--t. And other copswill help him find his way back.I think I am going to finish my two yearsas Vice President of the POA and thenstart thinking seriously about pulling theplug. I don't want to lose my way (andsometimes I think I am), because I care toomuch. Not about the criminal on the street,but about my fellow cops that so few peopleunderstand, or even care to understand.A lot of people that are not cops mightthink this article is sour grapes. I didn'twrite this article for anybody but othercops, because I think you all know whatI'm talking about. We aren't perfect, but weare doing the best we can, trying to be anauthority figure in the most liberal city inAmerica. It ain't easy. My favorite moviewas always "The Magnificent Seven". In theend Steve McQueen says to Yul Brynner,"Everyone wins but us. The villagers keeptheir crops and their homes, but we rideon." Yul Brynner replies, "The people win,but we lose. We always lose."Sts. Peter aiulfPau(5a[e5iat Scitoof632-666 Filbert StreetSan Francisco, CA94133415/421-5219ILLUSIONTEE SFIIRTS &SWEATSHIRTS2170 INGALLSSAN FRANCISCO,CALIFORNIA 94124415/822-7108