National Return to Work Week - Part 5

A few things I took away from Thursday's virtual conferences:

Doctors: Employers should carefully chose the physician to initially send injured employees. A physician must understand the employer willingness to provide light light duty. Have the physician visit the facility. Also visit the physician's office to determine the accessibility of employers to the doctors.

Employers need to be able to respectfully talk to the treating physician, so that they can ask questions, and discuss concerns. However, an employer must learn how and when it is best to communicate with the doctor. Your employee is not the only person the doctor is treating. As such, the doctor may be overloaded, and your phone call may not be a priority at the time.

From the defense lawyer side: A proactive, effective return to work program will reduce the settlement amount. An effective return to work program does allow an insure insurance carrier to minimize the time spent on a claim, which is a substantial benefit for everyone.

An employer needs to make an attempt to resolve issues before firing an injured employee. A disgruntled, now fired, employee who feels they may be wronged can cause yet more problems than merely a workers compensation claim, and larger settlement. Retaliation claims may be filed with both the workers compensation system and OSHA, ADA, or Wage and Hour claims may be filed. If the company has less than stellar hiring practices and policies there may be other claims an employee can make. Defending these claims, valid or not, is expensive.

Documentation is imperative. Improper or sloppy documentation can demonstrate to a workers comp or liability judge that the employer doesn't have the proper systems in place, doesn't care, and obviously the employer has some culpability and should be held responsible. The employer must be able to defend by documentation claims filed against them, or the judge will side with the employee. Once a claim against an employer is successful, additional claims may be filed by other employees.

Best Practices:

• Plan in place for procedures needed for incidents – everything from who investigates the incident, to making sure the WC carrier and HR are properly notified.
  

• Have employees sign off each week that they were not injured, and did not witness an injury, or if they were or knew of someone who was - how it occurred. That way, in this time of lay-offs, an employer has the documentation necessary to defend a workers compensation claim filed after the lay-off occurred.
  

Best Practices for Return to Work:

• Return to Work must start at the top of the organization to be successful.

• Return to Work benefits the employee, the employer, the insurer, the adjuster – the entire system!

• Policies need to be in place to facilitate the return injured employees to return as soon as possible to productive meaningful work within their restrictions.

• Stop seeing injured employees as damaged good that need to be discarded.

• Anticipate what the injured work is likely to do, and prepare for it in your policies.

• If you explain your expectations to your employees through-out, they are far more likely to follow those expectations.

• Also train your supervisors on the expectations of the return to work policy.

• If at all possible have the injured worker stay in their pre-injury production area during light duty. Many tasks can be carved out of the normal work day that meet the restrictions of the injured worker. Similar tasks can be carved out of others stations to keep the employee active.

• Burying your head in the sand as far as workplace injuries and return to work does nothing but open yourself to future litigation!

See more here: http://nationalreturntoworkweek.org/events/

National Return to Work Week Part 4 – The Injured Worker

Yesterday's series of webcasts dealt with return to work from the injured worker's perspective. When a worker becomes injured they may be pulled in multiple directions:

• The employer wants them back at work as soon as possible, and may have a different idea of asap than the injured worker's doctor.

• Family members wonder what will happen now that a bread winner is injured. They may be the one who pushes for a lawyer.

• Supervisors can make or break a safety/WC comp program. If the injured employee doesn't like working for a specific supervisor, they will be far more reluctant to return to that department.

• Coworkers can become irritated with an employee because they are now doing extra work.

• The employer can also bring in their 'experience' with similar injuries. Employers tend to be motivated to recover due to the fact they own the business and can't afford to take off. Employees do not have the same motivation.
  

If we as WC professionals have trouble understanding the laws, how much tougher would it be for the injured worker?

This general lack of understanding the process breeds suspicion. When an employer has no, or very limited light duty, and mandates the employee must be 100% recovered to return, the suspicion on the workers part becomes greater as they feel the employer is trying to get rid of them. If the worker doesn't recover as quickly as the employer expects it also breeds the suspicion the employee is malingering. The result is there is now suspicion on both sides that the other party isn't doing their part.

The workers compensation process is made yet tougher with the physician process. Depending on the state, workers may have an unfamiliar doctor chosen for them. Depending on the work load, the doctor may not give the worker much time in diagnosing the injury. The doctor says they can go back to work with certain restrictions. However, the doctor may not have been given a list of essential duties of the job, thus may not fully understand how the job tasks can effect the injury. This breeds suspicion that the doctor is on the employers side, and just pushing them back to work.

The employer may offer light duty, without fully understanding the restrictions. The light duty may require the injured worker to do something that is against the restrictions. When the employee refuses, it just reinforces the suspicion that the employee is malingering and playing the system.

The workers compensation provider also adds to the misunderstanding and suspicion. Tests, and procedures may take weeks to get approved. Both sides are now unhappy with the delays and may blame the “other side”.

All sides agree that the workers compensation system is not user friendly. Employers and Insurers may wrongly deny benefits causing yet more delays in treatment. The system encourages both parties to settle thus disposing of the 'problems' as quickly as possible. The system rewards those that play the system by essentially offering them money to settle and go away. For those that truly are injured to the point of not being able to work, the system can just get more confusing when they apply for Social Security Disability Insurance.

How do you cut through all of this misunderstanding, suspicion, and get the employee back to work as soon as reasonably possible? Check out the webcasts (available on demand) to find out more. Here: Nation Return to Work Week - Free Webcasts.

National Return to Work Week – Part 3 -- JAN

The Tuesday webcasts for National Return to Work Week were all very good. It would be a disservice to try to include everything in a quick overview. Instead I'm going to just focus on just one. All previous webcasts are available for immediate viewing here.

The focus of this blog is the webcast - “Creating Positive Return to Work Experiences” with Anne Hirsh and Dr. Beth Loy of the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). The Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy provides the Job Accommodation as a resource for both employers and employees. JAN is a collaborative effort with the U.S. DOL Office of Disability Employment Policy, the International Center for Disability Information at West Virginia University, and private industry throughout North America. JAN can be found at: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/.

JAN's mission is to facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers, people with disabilities, their family members, and other interested parties with information on job accommodations, entrepreneurship, and related subjects. Anyone may call JAN for information about job accommodations and the employability of people with functional limitations.

JAN provides consultation to employers in order to:

• Increase the hiring, retention, and promotion of qualified employees with disabilities;

• Create accommodation solutions to benefit both employer and employee;

• Protect their business by educating employers about their responsibilities under the ADA,

• Rehabilitation Act and other disability related legislation;

• Reduce workers' compensation and other insurance costs; and

• Address issues pertaining to accessibility.

JAN provides consultation to people with disabilities in order to:

• Increase the hiring, retention, and promotion of qualified employees with disabilities;

• Create accommodation solutions to benefit both employee and employer;

• Educate people with disabilities about their rights under the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and other disability related legislation;

• Inform people with disabilities of the local, regional, and national resources that can assist them in pursuing employment opportunities; and

• Address issues pertaining to accessibility.

JAN provides consultation to rehabilitation professionals in order to:

• Facilitate placement of clients through accommodation assistance,

• Brainstorm accommodation options, and

• Find local resources for workplace assessment and discover resources for device fabrication and modification.

JAN provides consultation to people affected by disability in order to:

• Discover local, regional, and national organizations, resources, and support groups; and

• Obtain helpful accommodation and legislative information.
  

JAN provides a multitude of information to help negotiate the issues involved with the new Americans with Disabilities Act from how to write a job description, to helping an employer determine if their employee is disabled, to how to recognize and deal with an accommodation request. JAN provides employers with accommodation ideas so that injured and disabled employees can return to work in an effective manner. According to JAN, for every dollar an employer invests in an accommodation, the employer will receive back $10 in increased productivity.

I personally have had occasion to discuss accommodation issues with JAN. In all cases the information has been invaluable. Of all of the resources provided in the National Return to Work Week webcasts, this is perhaps the most important.

More information on JAN:

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/

http://www.dol.gov/odep/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_Accommodation_Network

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/soar/index.htm

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/janondemand.htm

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/webcast/archive/index.htm

National Return to Work Week - Part 2

The first group of webinar sessions for National Return to Work Week were a great introduction into the why a company should make the effort, perhaps even amid lay-offs, to returning an employee to some sort of productive work.

Annually, 1.1 million employees lose and average of 7 days due to their work injury. When looking at the significant costs of those injuries, one finds that according to the National Safety Council's Accident Facts ® injuries cost US employers $160.4 billion each year in medical and other direct costs, lost productivity and wages. This expense does not count the additional expenses related to adding to the social security systems.

Now not all injuries are workplace injuries. A return to work program can also be effective to keep short-term and long-term disability claims down. Disabling injuries happen off the job as well as on the job. Every 1.3 seconds someone suffers a disabling injury. That's 63,000 people total people injured daily. Almost half of the 6.8 million people who collect Social Security benefits are under the age of 50.

In the current economic downturn both company employers and the insurance industry are showing huge losses. These staggering statistics make an excellent case for an effective return to work programs for employees injured both on and off the job. The new amendments to the ADA and updates to the FMLA that went into effect this year may also substantially affect companies who do not have a progressive return to work program.

Allowing or forcing an employee to stay at home rather than working a modified duty does nothing more than create an end settlement that does one of two things:

1. Either it rewards those workers who have a tendency to play the system, encouraging them to repeat the actions at their next job.

2. For those workers with a legitimate injury the settlement is rarely enough to survive on, thus creating an additional burden to society though welfare and social security systems.
   

An employer must effectively manage the workers compensation process from the date of injury through return to work or settlement. The insurance adjuster is not the employer. The employer has a far better handle on the issues related to the injury. However, a well managed return to work program doesn't have to be a daunting task, as Dennis Chandler – Director of Return to Work Programs with Company Nurse shows.

Attorney Michael Moebes, who has the unique position to have worked on both the employer and worker sides of the workers compensation issues, discussed the mistakes employers make. Attorney Moebes also talked about the current economy and the success of return to work programs.

To learn more a, please review yesterday's webinars and sign up for others happening this week. The webinars will be stored and the recording available for you to watch on-demand.

http://nationalreturntoworkweek.org/register-for-national-return-to-work-week-sessions/

National Return to Work Week – Part 1

May 10 – 16th is National Return to Work Week. This week is an opportunity for safety professionals and others involved in workers compensation and disability management to demonstrate their commitment to helping injured, disabled or ill employees stay-at-work or return-to-work. By doing so, one of the largest business expenses for a company can also be significantly lowered.

Annually 1.2 million employees loose work days due to workplace injury or illness. Unfortunately once an employee is injured, too many employers feel that person has become a liability. Often the company does not offer light duty, or only for a very short time. When that happens the employee is forced onto workers compensation. Often times the employee is also laid off.

Statistics have shown that 40% of the employees who are off work for over 12 weeks (FMLA time) have serious trouble finding other work. If an employee is out for more than sixteen weeks, there is a good chance that individual will never return to employment. Even if an employee finds a job, it is frequently at a much lower position than held previous to the injury or illness. Employees begin to lose contact with fellow workers and feel shut out.

Unless returned to work as soon as possible, some employees begin to feel that that a workers compensation benefit is better than looking for another job. Workers compensation essentially “rewards” employees for not working. An employee sitting at home is exposed to advertisements from lawyers offering to help them continue to collect workers compensation. This begins to look good as a way to get even with the employer that seemed to discard them as easily as yesterdays trash.

Unfortunately in this system, both employers and injured employees lose. Beyond the initial injury, employees may suffer depression Entire whole families may suffer emotionally and financially if the major bread-winner is injured and off work for any length of time.

The longer an employee is off work, the more expensive a workers compensation (or long-term disability) case becomes. Insurance rates or direct expenses skyrocket. Employers may set themselves up for additional discrimination claims and expensive settlements. Employers lose employee loyalty, and may have under-reporting issues especially if the employee feel their jobs are likely to be lost if they claim a workers compensation injury.

This week's blog will continue the theme of establishing an effective return to work program.

Links:

National Return To Work Week was founded by Margaret Spence, CWC, RMPE - President of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc. author of “From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee - Employer’s Guide to Implementing a Proactive Return to Work Program - Florida Edition”. - http://margaretspence.com/

National Return to Work Week - http://NationalReturnToWorkWeek.org/.

Free webcasts as part of NRTWW - http://nationalreturntoworkweek.org/register-for-national-return-to-work-week-sessions/.

More about Margaret Spence - http://workcompseminars.com/about/about-margaret-spence/