Work-Related Injuries in Janitorial Services Workers in Washington State, 2003-2012 *

BACKGROUND:  Services is a large and diverse sector of the economy that faces a substantial burden of occupational injury in Washington State (WA). Previous work in WA has identified Services to Buildings and Dwellings (which includes extermination and pest control, janitorial services, landscaping services, carpet and upholstery cleaning services, and other services to buildings and dwellings) as an industry group that remains at high risk for several common, high-cost, occupational injuries.  In WA state, Janitorial Services workers have more than twice the rate of lost work-time injuries than all other occupations in the Services Sector.  In this study we focus on Janitorial workers for detailed analysis. 

METHODS:  Janitorial Services includes workers in two WA risk classifications (insurance groupings designed to aggregate similar work activities): 6602-03 and 6602-05.  We extracted compensable Washington State workers’ compensation State Fund (SF) claims in these risk classes for injuries with dates from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2012. Information extracted includes:  claim identification, year, and status information; employer information; claimant demographics; cost data; injury nature and type; industry and occupation codes; and claim text (narrative description of injury from initial Report of Industrial Injury or Occupational Disease (RIIOD), filled out by the worker or their health care provider). Cost, time loss days and other information are taken at 24 months claim maturity. 

RESULTS:  There were 2,450 SF compensable claims for Janitorial Services workers in WA between 2003-2012. The average age in years was 40, and 53.7% were female. Nearly a third (31.7%) of workers indicated a language other than English in which to communicate with the workers’ compensation agency (primarily Spanish). The most common injury types in compensable claims for Janitorial Services workers were: work-related neck, back and upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) - 31%, falls from same level - 15%, and struck by/against an object - 12%. Compared to other risk classes, Janitorial Services had a higher proportion of falls from same level. Half (54.9%) were injured within less than 1 year of tenure at their employer. Claim costs averaged over $10 million dollars a year. Janitorial Services had 2.5 times higher compensable claims rate than the NORA Services sector as a whole.

CONCLUSIONS: Janitorial Services workers have a high burden of occupational injury, have different demographics than other State Fund claimants, and would benefit from increased research and prevention efforts that are targeted to their needs and to the hazards they face.