Past Conference Agendas

2013 Governor's Conference

The Governor’s Conference on Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Safety & Health is an annual event presented by Governor Steve Bullock and the Department of Labor and Industry.

Workshops presented are directed toward workers’ compensation and safety & health issues. Participants include employers, adjusters, insurers and attorneys.

The 2013 Governor's Conference will be held in Billings, Montana, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on September 4th, 5th and 6th.  General participants can start making room reservations in May.  Please do not call any sooner.  Online registration will also open in May.  We will send an email with a link for registration at that time.  A tentative agenda will be posted in the near future.  Keep checking back for updates.

Crown Plaza Hotel
27 N 27th St
Billings, Montana 59101
1-877-227-6963

Chair members to contact for additional information are as follows:

Registration

REGISTRATION

Process: All registrations must be completed online. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and mail-in checks for payment. If you are paying by mail-in check, the checks must be received by the last day of the registration period or the fee will increase to the next period’s price. Click the “Register Online” button at the bottom of this page to start your online registration. 

Cost:

Early Registration (ends Aug. 31)            $175

Registration (Sept. 1–Sept. 15)                $200

Late Registration (Sept. 16–21)               $225

No refunds after Aug. 31, 2012

Individual Registration: Choose “Begin an Individual Registration”.  If you plan to attend the entire conference, choose the attendee type, “Conference Attendee”. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Carlson at (406) 247-1036, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Bryan Korth at (406) 444-6528, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Group Registration: If you have more than one person attending from your company and want to have only one charge on your credit card or mail-in check, you can choose “Begin a Group Registration”.  If you choose this option, you will need to enter registration information for all attendees at that time.

Sponsor Registration: If you register as a sponsor, you will receive a certain number of free conference attendee registrations, depending on your sponsorship level.  You should print the last page of the registration.  At the bottom of the page, there will be one or more coupon codes with which you must then use to register your attendees as “Conference Attendee”.  The coupon code(s) will be entered as a payment method.

On any sponsor registration completed online, please be sure to also notify Karla Benson at (406) 444-9728 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Nikki Hartman at (406) 444-7751, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Exhibitor Registration: If you register as an exhibitor, choose the attendee type, “Exhibitor”.

On any exhibitor registration, be sure to notify Teresa Graham at (406) 444-6535 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Receipts: We are unable to provide receipts.  If you need a receipt, print the last page of the registration.

2011 Governor’s Conference Speaker Handouts

Scott Friedman
Using Humor for a Change

Steve Carey
Court Case Review

Kevin Braun
Legislative Update

Previous Governor's Conference Speaker Presentations

Several Powerpoint presentations are available below.

These files are large and may take several minutes to download on a standard modem connection.

Click on the links to view:

2011

2011 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety & Health was held on September 28th – 30th at Helena, MT.

Steve Carey
Case Law Review

Ann Clayton
Montana Moving Forward: Lessons Learned About Workers’ Comp Reforms

Dr. John Schumpert
Applying U & T Guidelines to Unique Diagnoses

Dr. Steve Weisner  
Negotiating Return to Work

• A Paradigm Shift:  Health, Productivity and Ability Management
• Why Stay-at-Work and Return-to-Work is in the Injured Worker’s Best Interest
• Disability Management Terms:  Risk, Limitations and Tolerance
• Negotiating Return to Work

2010

2010 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety & Health was held on September 15th – 17th at Big Sky, MT. 

Chad Hymas
www.chadhymas.com

Dr. David Dietz
Strategies to Prevent and Manage Injuries in an Aging Workforce

Jerry Keck & Christopher Wolfkiel, PhD
Montana Medical Utilization & Treatment Guidelines – Keck and Wolfkiel
Utilization & Treatment Guidelines – Keck

Jason Swant
Stay at Work/Return to Work Best Practices for Montana

Panel: Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, Jerry Keck, Bob Worthington & Jason Miller
EAIC & LMAC Legislative Proposals: What's Next? – Keck
Measuring the Adequacy and Equity of Montana's Wage Loss Benefits- Neuhauser 

Michael Melnick
The Lighter Side of Safety: Injecting Energy into your Safety Program

2009 

2009 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety & Health was held on September 30th - October 2nd at Missoula, MT.

Steve Carey
Court Case Review (pdf)

2007

2007 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety and Health was held on October 3-5 at Big Sky, Montana

Gregory J. Baxter
OSHA 

Dr. Catherine Capps
What's Hot, What's Not in Orthopedics

Dr. Jennifer Christian, MD, MPH
Fresh Thinking: A new paradigm for Workers' Compensation

Cheri Decker
Safety at Simms

Dr E. Scott Geller, Ph.D.
People-Based safety

Scott McCloy
WorkSafeBC

Karen Miller
Marks-Miller Post & Pole OSHA 

John Perdaems
Reducing Back Injuries

Ross Yeager
An Ounce of Prevention OSHA

2006

2006 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety and Health was held on September 6-8 at West Yellowstone, Montana 

Mary Lynn
OSHA/MSHA Roundtable

Ross Yeager
OSHA/MSHA Roundtable 

Michael Melnik
Batteries Not Included
An Energized Approach for Achieving a Safe, Healthy and Productive Workplace

2005

2005 50th Annual Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety and Health was held on June 15-17 at West Yellowstone, Montana 

Marjorie Eskay-Auerbach, MD, JD
Pain Ratings in the Context of the AMA Guides

Jamie Becker
Critical Incident Response as a Risk Management Tool

Dana C. Jefferies
Empowering People for Long Term Success

Brad Kimble, P.E., CSP
Behavioral Observation and Feedback - Developing an Effective Program

Jerry J. Vercella
Gas and Electrical Safety

2004

2004 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety and Health was held on September 8-10 at Big Sky, Montana

Brett Dahl
Save Your Back Workshop

Sandra Mihalik
Accident Investigation Workshop

Wendy Samson
How Managers and the Workplace Culture Affect all Bottom Line Numbres from Safety to Employee Turnover

2003

The 2003 Governor's Conference on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Safety and Health was held on October 1-3 at West Yellowstone, Montana

Mary Lynn
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Michael J. Lotito, Esq.
Incorporating New Legal Standards into Employment Policies & Procedures

Cheri Decker & Matt Bartel
The Road to SHARP