NU Online News Service, March 4, 3:33 p.m. EST
A public protest in Wisconsin over a proposal that could cripple public unions is a concern to public risk managers, not because of the political issues involved but because of potential risks to people and property, according to the president of the Public Risk Management Association.
"I speak for PRIMA, and for us the issue isn't so much about the political debate itself, but to any disruption to government functions with any large crowd of people, especially one where emotions run high," said PRIMA President Laura Peterson, director, risk management and insurance, University of Wyoming. "And you can see lots of those examples in public entities. Obviously Wisconsin, with the massive protest and folks not being where they're expected to be within the public entity because of disruption."
She added, "You see it with issues surrounding protests. For us, it's about engaging the public entity and even the protestors, in planning and management of those events, so they provide the most protection for participants."
In a protest, for example, protection of public resources, whether staff, employer or property, is critical.
"If people will engage risk management ahead of time, we can provide advice to those who want to express themselves to do it as safely and with the most protection for everyone involved as possible," Ms. Peterson explained.
Ideally, she said, organizations have business-continuity plans that address any absence of employees and any shutdown of facilities, regardless of the reason. Once something happens, she said, plans can be implemented to make sure the government functions and that people and property are safe.
Regarding the actual issue under protest in Wisconsin, Ms. Peterson said it's vital to look at the possible impacts—whether the bill is passed or not—and what plans can be made ahead of time. Of importance is insuring that operations continue to run and to serve the public.
"Hopefully, part of risk management's role is to go past the political rhetoric and look at laws that are being proposed and budgetary changes, which also usually come in the form of a law, and look at the impact either way—and the kind of planning that needs to take place within our organization," she said.
Ms. Peterson added that risk managers can encourage governments to do some planning about priorities.
From an insurance standpoint, Ms. Peterson said many public entities have a significant level of self-insurance—either a layer or total self-insurance of certain functions of certain liabilities, particularly employment liability. Layoffs, whatever the cause, need to be properly handled to minimize the risk of claims and lawsuits against the entity, she said.
She noted that whatever the entity, the risk manager can help an operational unit plan for safety and protection with the least liability for the organization.
Her experience has shown that once organizations know risk management is there to help them, "they welcome the help. Sometimes it's hard to get that initial foot in the door, but once they find out how helpful risk management can be, it can be the opposite effect—they'll tell you about everything."
Ms. Peterson added, however, that most risk managers would rather be engaged on the front end than be called in after the fact to clean up a mess.
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