(a) Eligibility. The following requirements shall determine applicant eligibility for the Program under this section: - (i) Applicants shall be registered and in good standing with the Wyoming Workers' Compensation program;
- (ii) Applicants shall be registered and in good standing with the Wyoming Unemployment Insurance program, if required;
- (iii) Applicants shall be registered and in good standing with the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office, if required; and
- (iv) Applicants shall have at least one (1) employee.
(b) Trade Secret Confidentiality Provision. Pursuant to W.S. 27-11-109(f) all information reported or obtained by the Department relating to applicant trade secrets shall remain confidential.
(c) Program Requirements. In order for a contract for the Program to be approved under this section, the applicant must demonstrate and allow, to the satisfaction of the Department, the following: - (i) Access to applicant health and safety information to assist in the effectiveness of the Program as identified by the Department;
- (ii) Access to the applicant worksite(s) to observe, photograph, and/or video affected health and safety processes before and after the contract for the Program is executed;
- (iii) The publishing of applicant health and safety information by the Department pertaining to the Program results, for the purpose of illustrating, educating and training employers and employees;
- (iv) That the funds expended from the Program shall be used solely for the enhancement or implementation of workplace health and safety programs as identified by the contract;
- (v) That the Program will enable the purchase of equipment to correct an existing or potential hazard(s) relating to a health or safety issue, or be utilized for training to correct employee health or safety training deficiencies, or some combination of equipment purchase and training.
- (vi) That there is a direct relationship between the equipment to be purchased or training to be obtained in accordance with (v) above and the applicant health or safety needs;
- (vii) That the equipment or training sought by the applicant as defined in (v) above is not normally provided by the applicant;
- (viii) That the applicant shall not substitute funds normally provided for health and safety equipment or training, or funds obtained from another source, with funding from the Program.
- (ix) How the applicant anticipates the funding from the Program will:
- (A) Reduce workplace injury frequency; and
- (B) Reduce workplace injury severity.
- (x) Optionally, the applicant may provide access by OSHA Consultation to the applicant's work site(s) to perform a comprehensive health and safety assessment prior to application for the Program;
(d) Program Funding Limit per Applicant. Funding from the Program shall be up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per state fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) for each applicant.
(e) Applicant Contribution. The applicant approved for the Program under this section shall be required to pay ten percent (10%) of the approved allowable expenses.
(f) Allowable Expenses. Expenses to purchase equipment or training related to the health or safety needs of the applicant shall be demonstrated satisfactorily to the Department, and shall lead to improvement of health or safety conditions at the applicant work site(s). Allowable training costs include the following: - (i) Direct training costs which include, but are not limited to, tuition, registration, class fees and class materials directly related to the training; and
- (ii) Direct training costs which include, but are not limited to, instructor's fees and travel expenses where the instructor is brought to a location for training by the applicant and the instructor is not an employee of the applicant;
(g) Non-allowable Expenses. - (A) Capital construction of any kind.
- (B) Trainees wages and fringe benefits;
- (C) The applicant's administrative expenses, which include, but are not limited to, bookkeeping, reporting and record keeping;
- (D) The applicant's cost of preparing an application for the Program;
- (E) Instructor's fees and travel expenses where the instructor is an employee of the applicant; and
- (F) Assessments, testing and certification exams not included in the training.
(h) Application Process. Applications for the Program will be reviewed by a panel composed of Department staff. Approval will be based on the applicant's health or safety needs as assessed by the panel, and the anticipated health or safety request. An applicant applying for Program funding under this section shall: - (i) Complete and submit the application provided by the Department; and
- (ii) Sign a release providing that the Department may disclose the identity of the applicant, as required pursuant to W.S. 9-2-2607, on a form provided by the Department.
(j) Contract, Payment and Expenditure of Funds Deadline. - (i) The Director of the Department, or his/her designee, may approve any application that meets the requirements of Section 4(a) through (h) of these rules.
- (ii) If the application is approved and funds are available, the Department shall enter into a contract with the approved applicant.
- (iii) Funds provided through the Program must be expended within ninety (90) days after the contract is executed, unless an extension is granted by the Director of the Department, or his/her designee.
(k) Schedule for Payment of Funds. - (i) Seventy - five percent (75%) of the funds for the Program shall be remitted to the business entity after the contract is fully executed and the necessary paperwork has been processed through the state fiscal system.
- (ii) Twenty - five percent (25%) of the funds for the Program shall be retained by the Department until verification of expended funds is concluded according to Section 4(m)(i)(D) and (E) below.
- (iii) Where the actual equipment or training expenses are greater than the amount allowed by the Program, the difference shall be the sole responsibility of the business entity.
- (iv) Funds shall be paid directly to the applicant.
(l) Remittance of Unused Program Funds and Disqualification from Program. - (i) The applicant shall repay the Department any portion of funding not used for training or equipment purchases, as delineated by the Program contract.
- (A) When the applicant is required to repay the Department in accordance with Section 4(l)(i) above, the repayment shall be made no later than thirty (30) days after notification by the Department that repayment is due.
- (ii) Any applicant found to be non-compliant to any required provisions of the Program shall be disqualified from application to the Program for a period of one (1) year from the date non-compliance was determined by the Department.
(m) Applicant Reports. The applicant that receives funds from the Program shall submit reports, in a format provided by the Department, pertaining to the results of the implementation of equipment purchase(s) or training to correct existing occupational hazards or training deficiencies to the Department. - (i) An initial report is due one hundred eighty (180) days after the date the Program contract was executed, and shall be submitted no later than two hundred ten (210) days after Program contract was executed, and shall contain:
- (A) The number of employees working for the applicant on the date the Program contract was executed, and the number of employees at the business entity one hundred eighty (180) days after the date the Program contract was executed, including names, and hours worked.
- (B) The number of workers' compensation injury claims and fatalities occurring between the date of the Program contract execution and the date one hundred eighty (180) days after the date the Program contract was executed.
- (C) A summary report of the initial results of progress toward decreasing existing occupational hazards or training deficiencies during the initial one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of the Program contract execution.
- (D) For equipment purchases, the true and correct copy of the receipt for purchase and proof of payment for the purchase.
- (E) For training, the following:
- (I) A copy of the agenda or registration form.
- (II) The true and correct copy of the receipts for allowable expenses, including instructor travel and registration.
- (ii) A final report is due three hundred sixty - five (365) days after the Program contract has been executed, and shall be submitted no later than three hundred ninety - five (395) days after the date of the Program contract was executed, and shall contain:
- (A) The number of employees working at the business entity three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the date the Program contract was executed, including names and hours worked; and
- (B) The number of workers' compensation injury claims and fatalities occurring between the date of Program contract execution and the date three hundred sixty five (365) days after the date of Program contract execution; and
- (C) A summary report of the results of progress toward decreasing existing occupational hazards or training deficiencies at the business entity after three hundred sixty-five (365) days.