The 2019 Municipal Clerks Honor Roll was comprised of 228 nominations across the United States. These clerks or staff members were nominated for the efforts of serving their community by going above and beyond each day and were acknowledged for…

Public Employer Risk Management Association, Inc. (PERMA), in partnership with the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC), is pleased to announce funding opportunities for members through the Firefighter Risk Reduction MiniGrant Program. A request for applications (RFAs) was issued…

PERMA is sponsoring all 12 sessions of the NYS Association of Fire Chiefs’ (NYSAFC) 2018-19 Firefighter Best Practices Training. These regional trainings, in their second year, ensure that fire departments follow the Recommended Best Practices for Fire Department Training Programs guidance…

The signing of GML 205-cc allowed the creation of the NYS Volunteer Cancer Benefit Program, providing piece of mind to eligible NYS volunteer firefighters as well as their families. The Cancer Benefit Program, designed by FASNY, AFDSNY, and NYSAFC, sponsored by…

On Monday, October 1, NYS released the final guidance and materials to help all employers comply with the sexual harassment legislation passed in April 2018. PERMA has compiled and condensed the guidance offered by the NYS Department of Labor…

by Ed Starowicz, public safety risk management specialist

Fall is a key time for DPW to receive calls for pickup of dead animals on the road, particularly deer, whose population now number over one million in New York. NYS Department…

PERMA is sponsoring all 12 sessions of the NYS Association of Fire Chiefs’ (NYSAFC) 2018-19 Firefighter Best Practices Training. These regional trainings, in their second year, ensure that fire departments follow the Recommended Best Practices for Fire Department Training Programs guidance…

Effective immediately, PERMA has become a host training organization for the Rochester Institute of Technology OSHA Training Institute Education Center (RIT OTIEC). Beginning in October, the PERMA office in Latham will host a variety of OSHA courses. Below is the…

Today PERMA issued an RFP for a workers’ compensation claim audit firm. The selected firm will conduct a thorough audit of PERMA’s claims processing and procedures in late 2018, with results to be provided in early 2019.

Proposals are due…

John Hanson of Willis Towers Watson has created an expanded FAQ in advance of launching the New York Volunteer Firefighter Cancer Benefit Program website. The FAQ describes in detail:

Background of the Cancer Benefit Program; Purpose of the law…

The PERMA Safety Council was formed to assist PERMA staff in analyzing safety programming and initiatives to better serve the entire membership. Now is the time to nominate those who are pioneering these actions. For the second year, our Safety Council…

by Ed Starowicz, public safety risk management specialist

As the DPW Specialist, I have been reviewing PERMA member injuries that were caused by lifting manhole covers. In a 10-year observation period, there was $2.3 million in incurred liability for those…

On Monday, June 4, PERMA’s public works risk management specialist Ed Starowicz presented “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Personal Protective Equipment” to the Cornell Local Roads Highway School.

Approximately 60 attendees learned about:

Different types of…

The PERMA Summer 2018 Newsletter has arrived, and with it information on:

All the goings-on at the Annual Member Conference in May; the PERMA member winners of the Awards in Excellence; the VFF cancer benefit program; and upcoming Safety…

As the PERMA DPW specialist, I use many tools when reviewing the safety of a member location, including several smartphone applications. These apps assist me in estimating decibel levels, heat stress, and ladder angles. You might find them useful as…

PERMA’s comprehensive annual financial report for fiscal year 2017 once again qualified for the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. According to the GFOA, the Certificate of Achievement is the highest form…

Yesterday, John Hanson of Willis Towers Watson presented information on the NYS VFF Enhanced Cancer Benefit Act, which goes into effect January 1, 2019. John is one of the foremost national experts on cancer presumption legislation, and he will be…

March 14, 2018  11:00 am-12:00 pm

Beneficial for any municipality with volunteer firefighters, this webinar will address New York State’s recently passed Volunteer Firefighter Enhanced Cancer Disability Benefits Act. Going into effect on January 1, 2019, the act requires all…

2018 Annual Report

February 14, 1-2pm

In October 2017, the PERMA Board of Directors approved a revised Program Agreement to unify all PERMA members under the same language, and all members have been asked to execute new agreements. To help clarify many of…

The Hearing Compliance Webinar from December 12, 2017 is now posted to YouTube for viewing.

To help members plan ahead, PERMA would like to issue our upcoming events schedule.

February 14

Webinar-New Program Agreement changes

March 14

Webinar-Volunteer Fire Fighter Cancer Benefit

April

April 10-Regional Meeting-Suffolk County (This meeting is scheduled to be simulcast live…

2017 Annual Report

Beneficial for supervisors, safety coordinators, superintendents, and anyone else whose employees are exposed to noise and noise-producing equipment, this program will include everything you must know to be in compliance with the Hearing Conservation Standard CFR 1910.95 and MSHA’s 30…

LATHAM, N.Y., November 27, 2017 – PERMA, New York’s largest self-insured provider of workers’ compensation for public employers, announced today a new partnership with the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC), a 10,000-member strong organization with a focus…

For those who missed the Current Cybersecurity Threats webinar presented October 23, the recorded stream can be accessed here.

Below are a list of links that were mentioned in the webinar:

https://www.cisecurity.org/ms-isac – Panelist Eugene Kipness’s employer’s…

In conjunction with the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA), PERMA is presenting its first webinar in four years on Monday, October 23.

Participants will hear from three experts from different fields of information technology as they discuss…

Following yesterday’s press conference at the Village of Menands, Spectrum News Capital Region and CBS6 Albany ran segments about PERMA’s body armor pilot program on their evening broadcasts.

Watch the segments here!
Spectrum News
CBS6 Albany

…

PERMA representatives will be holding a press conference at the Village of Menands at 1:00 pm today to announce a body armor pilot program.

Jeff Van Dyk, executive director, and Lew Moskowitz, public safety risk management specialist, will be speaking…

Effective July 24, all medical bills should be sent to:

PERMA
C/o CareWorks
PO Box 183188
Columbus, OH 43218

For inquiries on bill status, please call 1-800-932-5535. If you have questions, please contact Genie Mayo.

Effective Monday, July 24, PERMA members will have new ways to access the claim filing portal and the PERMA Safety Institute (PSI).The changes are occurring in conjunction with PERMA switching claims systems, a switch which will begin starting at noon…

The summer newsletter has arrived, and with it, tons of information including:

A full recap of the 2017 Annual Conference; Profiles of each of our Awards in Excellence winners; Summary of website changes coming July 24; and the…

It’s been a while, but the new PERMA newsletter has finally arrived, and with it, tons of information including:

Updates on the upcoming PERMA 2018 Annual Member Conference; Schedule for the April regional meetings; An analysis of a…

Debbie Stickle, head of the risk management department, and recently promoted to vice president of risk analytics, is now certified in Predictive Analytics by the University of California, Irvine.

Only 92 people in the world have attained this certification, which…

From June 30 through July 16, PERMA will be receiving medical bills in-house. Please send bills to:

PERMA
PO Box 12250
Albany, NY 12212-2250

More information on a new medical bill processing provider will be available within the…

The Madison County Courier posted an article last week regarding Madison County winning the NYSAC Pioneer Award at the PERMA Annual Conference May 25.

NYSAC president William Cherry was quoted in the article, and he lauded PERMA – ““With…

LATHAM, N.Y., June 7, 2017 – PERMA, New York’s largest self-insured provider of workers’ compensation for public employers, announces the winners of the 2016 PERMA Awards in Excellence, honoring the PERMA members with the most dedicated and creative approaches to…

If you missed the PERMA 2017 annual conference last week, you can still view the awards video on PERMA’s YouTube channel.

The 2016 Award winners are:
Madison County – NYSAC…

New York State municipalities operate on many different budget cycles and PERMA offers a policy cycle to fit each one.

While most PERMA members have common renewal dates (January 1, June 1, and July 1), PERMA has no restrictions on…

Fast360 is a national diagnostic provider with an experienced staff and a workers’ compensation focus. They maintain a New York state network of 326 providers of radiological services, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scans, and x-rays.

…

ALBANY, NY—April 4, 2017—The Public Employer Risk Management Association (PERMA) has announced that workers’ comp experts Mary Beth Woods and Gordon Graham will be presenters at its 2017 annual member conference. This year’s conference, “The PERMA Zone: Unlocking the Membership…

York Risk Services Group, a premier national provider of claims management and pool administration, announced on March 13 its acquisition of PERMA’s administrator, Northeast Association Management, Inc. (NEAMI).

PERMA members and brokers were notified of this change on February 28,…

The Association of Governmental Risk Pools (AGRiP), an organization dedicated to energizing the power of pooling, recognized PERMA for its pooling best practices on March 6 at the AGRiP Governance and Leadership Conference in Orlando, FL.

AGRiP’s recognition program consists…

PERMA Newsletter Winter 2017

For New York State volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers, the permanent total disability rate will increase to $600 maximum per week, effective January 1. This State-issued rate increase only affects those injured volunteers who have lost 100% of their earning…

PERMA 2016 Annual Report

Nick Gorgievski, chief financial officer for the Public Employer Risk Management Association (PERMA), has received the John G. Stutz Award from the National League of Cities Risk Information Sharing Consortium (NLC-RISC).

The John G. Stutz Award is given to state…

PERMA Newsletter Fall 2016

PERMA’s comprehensive annual financial report for fiscal year 2016 once again qualified for the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. According to the GFOA, the Certificate of Achievement is the highest form…

If you weren’t able to join us here is a PDF of the presentation by Ronni Travers, SPHR – Drug Testing and Harassment in the Workplace – which was shown in both Fishkill and Rochester at the September 2016 Regional Meetings.

Click to view the PERMA 2016 Summer Newsletter

School crossing guards employed by members of the Public Employer Risk Management Association (PERMA) will gather around New York State throughout the month of August to learn how to avoid the vehicular dangers of their profession.

Training sessions have already…

PERMA members and others are invited to gather in New Windsor, NY July 25 for an intensive seminar on the causes, symptoms, and management of PTSD in police and firefighters.

The session will be led by Dr. William McIntyre and…

PERMA training featured in Chief’s Chronicle

The March PTSD workshop presented by Public Safety Psychologists is featured in June’s Chief’ Chronicle, the quarterly magazine of the New York State Association of Chiefs.

View the full article here

Links to presentation PowerPoints:
Loss Control Roundtable
Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace
PERMA Safety Committee Presentation – Petrone
NYS Grants and how to get them
Cyber Security for…

The 207 (a) and (c) Update as presented by Paul Sweeney of Coughlin & Gerhart at PERMA’s Fall Educational Conference 2015 is available to PERMA members only on PERMA’s YouTube channel here.

Please note: As the audio of this video is…

Police and fire departments can significantly reduce the risks and costs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in police officers and firefighters by cultivating and maintaining socially supportive work environment for these municipal workers, two experts have advised representatives from nearly…

The Public Employer Risk Management Association (PERMA), New York’s largest self-insured provider of workers’ compensation for public employers, has announced the winners of the 2015 PERMA Risk Management Awards, which honor the PERMA members with the most dedicated and creative…

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) officially notified PERMA that our comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2014, qualified for a Certficiate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. According to the GFOA, the Certificate…

PERMA’s comprehensive annual financial report for fiscal year 2015 once again qualified for the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. According to the GFOA, the Certificate of Achievement is the highest form…

As of January 1, 2014, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) put in place new filing requirements in response to the change in method of WCB assessment calculation:

All municipal self-insurers, including all members of PERMA, are required…