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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04071987 - 1.38 41 _TOf- BOARD OF SUPERVISORS -p; FROM: Harry D. Cisterman, Director of Personnel Uontra BY: Richard Heyne, Chief-General Government. Division Costa DATE: March 24, 1987 County SUBJECT: Approval of Contract with Med-Tox; Inc. for Study and Development of Job-Related Pre-Employment Medical Standards. SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION Recommended Action It is By The Board Ordered that the Chairman is authorized to execute on behalf of the County, a contract subject to a payment limit of $37 , 480.00 , with Med-Tox Incorporated. Such contract to conduct job analyses and provide technical services to obtain specific information regarding the physical abilities required for certain county job classes and to recommend medical examination procedures and scrt:,-ning criteria for Lite job classes. Financial Impact The payment limit, which is not to exceed $37, 480. 00, is paid out of the Workers ' Compensation Trust Fund. Background In order to address increasing legal and financial vulnerability in the areas of occupational health and Workers ' Compensation, and to enhance the County' s ability to hire and retain productive and safe employees for physically demanding jobs, the Risk Management Division, The County Personnel Department and the County Health Examiner have, through a competitive process, selected Med-Tox to conduct a one-year study of approximately forty ( 40) job classifications and to recommend job-related medical standards for persons being considered for employment. These same standards will be used to determine employees' ability to resume work after an injury has occurred. Med-Tox is a California based organization specializing in all aspects of occupational medicine, medical surveillance, safety, industrial hygiene, and environmental toxicology. The firm has its own physicians, safety experts and physical abilities analysts and maintains working relationships with other consulting groups and university professors so that it can augment its own staff whenever necessary. Staff members of Med-Tox are well acquainted with all of the issues that must be addressed by the standards project and have ongoing projects with companies and government agencies to develop medical and physical standards. Joining Med-Tox for this study are the principle investigators of the County of San Bernardino Medical Standards Project. This award winning project developed a unique method for conducting CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: , RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON T ri 7 1967 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS x UNANIMOUS (ABSENT --- ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Adninistrator ATTESTED April 7 , 1987 __ Auditor-Controller PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Personnel i SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Contractor - CM3e2/7-e3 BY ' DEPUTY Job-related medical examinations and designed a complete set of medical standards. Since the San Bernardino study, Med-Tox has specialized in implementing medical standards and has served a variety of county and local government agencies in training and installation. Med-Tox will conduct job task analyses of forty ( 40) Contra Costa County job classifications. Specific information regarding the physical demands and work conditions under which the jobs are performed will be gathered and analyzed. This data will provide the basis for a set of definitive job-related medical standards that can be used in medical exam and screening procedures by the County' s Occupational Health physician. The data will also make it possible to develop appropriate tests of physical performance capacity that identify those applicants 'who have the " great est probability of job success, . and the least probability of injury. Med-Tox will also train appropriate County staff to conduct job task analyses for any future studies that the County wishes to undertake. County medical personnel will also receive training in the application of job standards and recommended examination procedures. It is intended that the study will: - Improve current practices in the area of preemployment medical selection by providing examining physicians with more comprehensive and definitive information regarding the physical abilities required for safe and efficient job performance and a description of specific working conditions encountered on the job. This will help prevent employee injury and disability and ensure maximum. access of disabled applicants to County employment without increased risk. to them or others. - Reduce the exposure to discrimination suits in the area of preemployment medical selection by enhancing legal defensibility. It is commonly accepted that California regulations have placed employers at considerable financial . risk because they restrict the legally permissible basis for medical disqualifications of job applicants. By establishing medical standards and job analysis methodology the County will reduce the likelihood of making medical employment decisions that can later be found in violation of handicapped laws. Should complaints or suits occur, evidence that hiring . decisions are based on job-related and content valid information will be readily available. Consequence of Negative Action Failure to approve this contract will result in the County' s inability to address increasing cost and legal exposure in the area of Workers ' Compensation, disability retirement and health benefits and handicapped discrimination litigation.