Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District
Workers’ Compensation
Stay At Work / Return to Work Program
OVERVIEW
Purpose and Goals
The primary Purpose of the SAW / RTW program is to provide transitional work for employees who are restricted from performing some or all of their regular duties for a temporary period.
The goals of the Program are to:
¨ Create positive workplace morale through communication and support for the injured worker;
¨ Minimize the potential for reinjury or permanent disability;
¨ Reduce medical and disability costs;
¨ And increase productivity by decreasing lost work time.
Early Return to Work qualifying terms
¨ The employee must have a temporary disability.
¨ The employee will receive their regular pay during the Early Return to Work period.
Early Return to Work Procedure
¨ All Return to Work Notices, from an individual’s Workers’ Compensation doctor, are to be forwarded to the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Risk Manager.
¨ The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Risk Manager will review RTW notices for medically valid work restrictions.
¨ The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Risk Manager will then attempt to make a RTW placement based on the following criteria:
1. Employees with a valid medical release with no restrictions will be returned to regular duty status.
2. Employees with a valid medical release which indicates physical limitations may be placed on regular duty status if those limitations do not impede the employee’s ability to perform their regular work.
3. Employees with a valid medical release which indicates physical limitations that would prevent the employee from performing their regular duties may be placed in other work assignments within the school or department where their regular duties are performed if accommodations can be made. If the regular school or department can not accommodate the physical restrictions on the medical release, the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Risk Manager may place the employee in another school or department which can accommodate the physical limitations on the medical release form.
ALL Workers’ Compensation claimants actively working on restricted duty, regardless of the situation, will work under a temporary, modified (A) Job Description and/or a
(B) Bona Fide Offer of Employment letter until he or she can return to regular duties without restrictions.
Prior to a claimant coming in to see the Risk Manager for his or hers Safety Counseling session and to sign Return To Work documents, a conversation will need to take place between Risk Management and the claimant’s immediate supervisor/designee to determine what the temporary, modified duties for the claimant will be. The duties that are decided upon will need to be submitted, via email, to the Risk Manager at: . The information will be listed in the temporary Job Description and/or the Bona Fide Offer of Employment letter to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Duration of Early Return to Work assignment
Return to Work assignments have the potential to expire after the *first three months of a qualifying disability from the treating physician’s first appointment. If after the first 90 days following an injury, it is recommended that modified duty continue (as stated on the Work Status Report from the Treating physician – DWC 73), the case will be carefully reviewed by the EM-S ISD office of Risk Management to determine if the injured worker’s temporary assignment will remain the same or change in some way. If the need arises, a continued process of reviewing the case may involve a panel of three representatives to include (a) the district’s Risk Manager,
(b) the claimant’s regular supervisor, and (c) a Human Resources’ or District Safety Committee representative. (e.g. - effectiveness).
All job accommodations will cease when an employee receives a valid release for regular duties. In no case shall a temporary return to work assignment last longer than the injured employee’s next examination after a six month period of the Return to Work assignment. All Return to Work offers will be made by signed Bona Fide Offers of Employment letters.
*If a position is offered under the condition that an individual is placed in an assignment AWAY from his or her regular scope of employment or campus, the length of that assignment shall NOT exceed 3 months/90 days.
If after the initial 3 months:
1. the claimant has continuing Medical restrictions,
2. has been working at a location other than their regular office/campus, and
3. the case has been reviewed by EM-S ISD office of Risk Management.
The claimant may return to his or her regular office/campus and continue on with a modified duty assignment, if possible, or be placed on FMLA.
*However, if an individual is initially placed in a temporary, modified assignment under his or her REGULAR SCOPE, in most cases, the 3 month/90-day maximum duration will NOT apply unless, through investigation, the injury causes an undue hardship in which Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD can no longer accommodate the restrictions of the injured employee. At that time, the employee could possibly be removed from his/her assignment to be put on FMLA.
PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of being placed or not within your normal scope of employment, depending upon the circumstances involved, some temporary/modified assignments may last longer in duration than the 3 month/90 days.
Employee refusal to accept an Early Return to Work assignment
¨ After an Early Return to Work assignment has be established, the Risk Manager will either call the claimant into their office or send that employee a certified letter indicating a bona fide offer of employment. If after receiving the bona fide offer of employment letter, the employee refuses to accept the Early Return to Work offer, he or she could possibly be subject to personnel action up to and including termination and/or loss of Workers’ Compensation benefits, if applicable.
Employees who are restricted from all work and Employees for whom no Return to Work assignment can be made
¨ Upon providing three-business day’s notice, the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Risk Manager may set-up a meeting with any employee who can not participate in the Return to Work program for medical reasons. This meeting may include the employee’s supervisor and other District personnel who can assist the employee in resolving any problems preventing their return to work. Employees who choose not to attend this meeting, upon receiving proper notice, may be subject to personnel action up to and including termination of employment.
“Highlights”
Failure to comply with any of the following, could lead to a disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
(1) The injured claimant needs to attend all follow-up appointments with the treating physician within
7 days of each scheduled visit.
(2) If a doctor restricts an employee from working, the employee should (a) check in with their supervisor
and (b) participate in face-to-face visits with the Risk Manager once a week to advise the district of
his/her condition. (Some cases will require meeting with the Risk Manager twice per week)
(3) Regardless of how long one has been away from work - From several hours
to many months, if a doctor releases an employee to work, restricted or otherwise, s/he must first
visit with the Risk Manager within 24 hours of that release BEFORE returning to work.