It is with great pleasure that the Comp Alliance recently presented the Town of Owasco with the annual G. Jeffery Haber Leadership Award.  The Town of Owasco received the award at the Association of Towns (AOT) breakfast at the Virtual Annual Conference on Tuesday February 16, 2021. 

The Town of Owasco did an exceptional job this year coordinating with the Comp Alliance loss control department during the pandemic and participating in all of our webinars and training modules to help maintain the safest possible workplace and compliance during the COVID pandemic.  The leadership that the town has shown is an example for all program members.

This award is presented in honor of G. Jeffrey (Jeff) Haber.  Jeff served as the Executive Director for the Association of Towns of the State of New York from 1985-2012, and is the founder and first chairman of the Comp Alliance. His vision to create a workers’ compensation program tailored to the unique needs of New York State’s local governments became a reality through his leadership.  What started in 1994 with just eight members and less than $500,000 has grown to a program with more than 300 members and $47 million in funding contributions. Congratulations again to the Town of Owasco on this accomplishment.

On February 16, 2021 at the virtual Association of Towns (AOT) Annual Meeting the Comp Alliance provided two presentations which are available for program members to view under the Webinars Section of the Comp Alliance Academy.

The session topics included:

First Responder Injuries, Cause and Corrections - With the potential for employees to sustain serious injury while responding to an emergency response call, police and fire departments represent a large risk for municipalities. Administrators should understand how these first responder injuries are likely to occur in order to recommend improvements to prevent them in the future. This program reviews the frequency of police officer and fire fighter injuries, identifies the cause of injuries and what body parts are most effected, including those losses with the most severe impact on departments, and recommend some remedies to reduce these types of injuries.

Workers’ Compensation in a Pandemic - An open-panel discussion on workplace exposures during the on-going pandemic, how municipal operations can succeed when proper precautionary procedures are followed, and how does the aspect of working from home effects workplace injuries, and how can departments maintain safe operations when workers are out sick or quarantined in these times. Our approach to investigating and responding to COVID 19 claims received to date, the legislative response in New York as well as other states, and thoughts regarding the future of COVID in the claims arena.

The recorded version of this webinar has been posted to the Comp Alliance Academy Webinars section for program members to view.

A webinar for Comp Alliance members on March 11^th from 11:00 AM -Noon. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register

Topics to be covered

COVID-19 – Operations and Controls

• Return to work safety guidelines – how they should be implemented for the safety of your entire staff
• Safe work guidelines post-pandemic – maintaining OSHA’s General Duty Clause
• Latest on NYS, CDC and other recommendations
• Virtual training updates – the latest on Comp Alliance Risk Management programs

Working at Home Claim Discussion

• Challenges to accident investigation
• How to maintain control
• Workplace exposures

Vaccination Programs

• Vaccine mandates and implications