Discussion Points for a Smoking Wellness Program
1. For most smokers, only five or six cigarettes a day are fully smoked. The rest of the time, they light up and take a few puffs out of habit. Cutting back to the few cigarettes actually smoked at a time most enjoyed is a good starting point.
2. Keep cigarettes in an inconvenient place; one the smoker can get to, but forces the question: “Do I really want/need this cigarette? Can I wait an hour?. At home, keep them in the freezer and go outside to smoke. In the car, keep them in the back seat. Ask this question: “Can you picture yourself pulling over, stopping, getting out of the car to get a cigarette?” (Anyway, smoking while driving is dangerous.)
3. Temporarily consider switching to a pipe or cigars because the smoker does not have to inhale. However, switch back to cigarettes if inhaling starts. A pipe, (workersxzcompxzkit) in particular, gives smokers something to do with their hands – light it, take a few puffs, tamp the tobacco, relight it, clean the bowl. Caution: if you smoke while watching TV, you can wind up chain-smoking.
4. Try this: Light up, take three puffs, put it out. Relight the same cigarette the next time there is an urge to smoke. (Is it possible the same cigarette could last all day?)
5. Once smoking is reduced as far as a person can go, encourage them to pick a date to quit and go for it. It is easier to quit if everyone quits at the same time. However, each smoker picks the date to quit when ready.
6. Using nicotine gum or patches can help. Zyban7 (bupropion) helps cut the craving for nicotine. Zyban7 is the same as Wellbutrin7 SR, but Wellbutrin7 SR is often less expensive. A new prescription drug, Chantix7, seems to work significantly better than bupropion.
Keep a sense of humor
Author: Sandford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at hlm@hlmconsultants.com. His website is: www.HLMConsultants.com
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different so do not implement any cost containment procedures until you have discussed them with your corporate counsel. Your individual doctor must treat medical issues. We are not giving medical advice; this is an overview of wellness topics, not medical advice.�
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Recently, the United States Congress voted to pass and President Obama signed into law the largest stimulus plan in U.S. history: $787 billion. There is little debate action on the part of the U.S. Government was required. But what if Congress and the President had decided NOT to take action? Unfortunately, we are not able to compare the results from an action taken to an action not taken.
We face a similar argument when trying to assess and quantify the recommended actions employers should follow in order to reduce the cost of their workers’ compensation programs, particularly the loss costs. Dozens upon dozens of articles are written and many recommendations are offered from case management to the establishment and use of transitional duty. Arguments are made to reinforce positions that affirmative, proactive effort by employers will reduce costs.
Understandably, most business owners want to know the rate of return on capital they are asked to invest. That is, if the employer follows these recommendations, how much less will his workers’ compensation costs be? The most accurate measurement is to compare the failure to act to action taken.
Thus, we are faced with the dilemma of trying to prove a negative.
Why should employers invest time, effort and money to mitigate workers’ (workersxzcompxzkit) compensations costs? Failure to make such an investment is analogous to finance companies and banks making loans to unqualified borrowers. Eventually, the bubble bursts and the amount of capital to support a workers’ compensation program with runaway loss costs deteriorates profit margins and eradicates earnings.
Employers, encouraged by the risk management community must work together to prevent a crisis from occurring that adversely affects employees, stakeholders and stockholders. Following the preventive steps prescribed by their advisors, employers should take note of the lessons from this financial crisis and judiciously invest the required capital to provide a safe work environment for their employees, prompt medical care for injured employees, fair resolution of claims for benefits and to the extent possible, develop transitional job responsibilities to bring injured workers back into the workforce.
If a cost comparison is necessary, effort should be guided to measure the amount of capital for prevention compared to the capital required to respond post-crisis.
Author: Michael Ferreira is the President of Safegate Risk Consulting, LLC. He has been in the insurance industry for many years and has expertise in brokerage, underwriting and claims. While in the brokerage industry, he was the client account executive for Walmart. He can be reached at: 917-767-9123.
Try some of our cool tools below to help you prove a negative:
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php to prove cost of NOT having accidents.
Use the transitional duty calculator to show cost savings in NOT losing time from work:
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Modern society, with its emphasis of looking well, eating well and being well, is all too aware of the connection between illness and disease and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It's fairly well understood there is a connection between smoking and cancer; obesity and diabetes; eating the wrong foods and cardiac disease, high blood pressure and lack of exercise. Most people make the connection between maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a healthy immune system. Worker-related injuries and illnesses heal faster the healthier the worker is overall.
In like manner, workplace injuries can be aggravated and recovery from them delayed by poor lifestyle habits. Much in the same way a pre-existing condition such as spinal stenosis, can delay and aggravate a back injury.
Employers constantly search for ways to reduce workers' compensation costs. Instituting a wellness program in the workplace benefits both the employer and employees.
Five Popular Wellness Areas
1. Smoking 2. Weight Control 3. Nasal Allergies 4. Depression Treatment 5. Migraine
Smoking Everyone knows for most people quitting smoking is very difficult. "Cold turkey" works for very few people. Having a formal quit smoking program in the workplace can provide the help and support smokers need to kick the habit. Let's look at some suggestions that may make smoking more aggravating than the pleasure derived from the nicotine.
First establish a smoking/non-smoking policy. Most workplaces ban smoking in the building and provide an outdoor smoking area.
Second, set specific times and length of smoking breaks. Nothing causes more workplace uproar than smokers freely running in and out on smoke breaks (workersxzcompxzkit) while non-smokers are limited to one or two coffer breaks.
Third establish a program aimed at helping smokers to quit, medically supervised and include self-help meetings to measure progress. Participants should have medical permission from their primary care physician before beginning a quit smoking program
. Author: Sandford S. Leffingwell, M.D., MPH is a board certified specialist in occupational medicine, with degrees from Harvard University, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He can be reached at hlm@hlmconsultants.com. www.hlmconsultants.com works with the Amaxx team on file reviews, serving as medical advisors, evaluating clinic services, identifying causation in workers' compensation claims and other services related to workers compensation.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs. ©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED
Lorber, a California-based textile manufacturer, sought and obtained permission to satisfy its workers’ compensation obligations by self-insuring, securing its obligations with a letter of credit. In February 2006, Lorber filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. It subsequently defaulted on its workers’ compensation obligations. The California Self-Insurers Security Fund (Fund) assumed Lorber’s liabilities and took over payments of benefits, drawing down Lorber’s letter of credit until it was exhausted, then making payments directly to injured workers, for which it was entitled to reimbursement under California Labor Code § 3744.
The Fund filed an objection to Lorber’s proposed Chapter 11 Plan, which treated the reimbursement amounts owed to the Fund as a general unsecured claim. The Fund asserted that its reimbursement claim was entitled to priority status under § 507(a)(8)(E)(ii) of the Bankruptcy Code as an excise tax on a transaction that occurred in the three years preceding the bankruptcy petition. The bankruptcy court held that the Fund’s claim qualified as an excise tax, but that the transaction giving rise to the tax was Lorber’s application for self-insurance in 1992. Because the transaction occurred more than three years prior to the bankruptcy petition, the court denied the Fund’s claim priority. (workersxzcompxzkit)
Both Lorber and the Fund appealed the bankruptcy court’s decision to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP). Lorber argued that the reimbursement claim did not qualify as an excise tax; the Fund argued that the bankruptcy court erred in determining the transaction date. The BAP held that the claim was an excise tax and affirmed the denial of priority, but disagreed with the bankruptcy court regarding the date of the transaction giving rise to the tax. The BAP held that the relevant transaction was Lorber’s default on its self-insurance obligations, that since Lorber defaulted post-petition, the transaction did not occur in the three years prior to filing for bankruptcy and, therefore, that the Fund’s claim was not entitled to priority status.
HERE’S HOW THE COURT RULED
In a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [In re Lorber Indus., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 9617 (9th Cir. May 4, 2009)], the court held that the Fund’s reimbursement claim did not qualify as an excise tax and accordingly did not address when the transaction giving rise to the tax occurred. Although its reasoning differed from the BAP, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the holding denying priority to the Fund’s claim. Noting first that the Bankruptcy Code did not define “excise tax,” the court reviewed several decisions from other circuits in which the issue (or similar issues) had been litigated and concluded that in order to be an excise tax, two requirements must be met: (1) the pecuniary obligation must be universally applicable to similarly situated entities; and (2) according priority treatment to a government claim should not disadvantage private creditors with like claims. The court observed that since at least one private creditor could assert a claim against the debtor similar to that of the Fund, the Fund’s claim did not qualify as an excise tax.
See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law §§ 102.04, 150.01, 150.02.
Author: Thomas A. Robinson, J.D.
Tom Robinson, J.D. is the primary upkeep writer for Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis) and Larson’s Workers’ Compensation, Desk Edition (LexisNexis). He is a contributing writer for California Compensation Cases (LexisNexis) and Benefits Review Board – Longshore Reporter(LexisNexis), and is a contributing author to New York Workers’ Compensation Handbook(LexisNexis). Attorney Robinson is an authority in the area of workers’ compensation and we are happy to have him as a Guest Contributor to Workers’ Comp Kit Blog. Tom can be reached at: compwriter@gmail.com.
http://law.lexisnexis.com/practiceareas/Workers-Compensation
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
On May 4, 2009, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported 279 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu infections in the United States. This article covers some of the issues employers should consider to plan and prepare for a pandemic flu outbreak and the potential impact on workers compensation programs. There are overlapping insurance issues including business continuity and workers’ compensation.
PLAN AND PREPARE
Business continuity plans address risk that can impact an enterprise. A pandemic event is an epidemic and employers need to assess the potential impact to their business.
Planners should consider these issues:
1- Stockpiling of antiviral drugs.
2- Stockpiling of respirators or facemasks.
3-Hygiene and use of disinfectants on surfaces touched by hands (i.e., desks, office equipment, door handles and light switches).
Please refer to the website: www.pandemicflu.gov for additional helpful hints and guidance.
IMPACT ON WORKERS COMPENSATION
Prevention
Every effort should be made to maintain an environmentally-clean workspace as possible. Employees should be reminded to wash their hands frequently and consideration should be given to distributing anti-bacterial hand cleansing lotions. Employees that show signs of having the flu should be encouraged to seek medical assistance and directed not to return to their work location until a diagnosis of the symptoms is made. Management will have to establish a policy to accommodate parents of school children who are not able to attend classes due to school closings by public health officials.
While disruptive to operations, employers must consider the cost of sporadic absences compared to having legions of employees away from work for a prolonged period.
Injury versus Illness
It is possible for employees to file workers compensation claims, alleging that they contracted H1N1 “in and out of the course of their employment”. The regulations in each state will ultimately determine coverage. If you have large concentrations of employees in a particular state (office buildings), an inquiry to the appropriate regulatory body should be made. Organizations with public contact such as retailers, security services, convention halls, etc. should also raise concerns about the appropriate coverage in the event of a pandemic event.
Finally, scenarios should be formulated and discussed with your insurance carrier, claim-handling organization and advisors. In particular, the question should be asked as to how multiple claims from a single event will be treated? That is, one claim or multiple? For clients with deductibles, the impact on your total cost can be substantial.
Michael Ferreira is the President of Safegate Risk Consulting, LLC. He has been in the insurance industry for many years and has expertise in brokerage, underwriting and claims. While in the brokerage industry, he was the client account executive for Walmart. He can be reached at: 917-767-9123.
Try the WC Cost Calculator to show the REAL COST of work comp.
Look at WC 101 for the basics about workers comp.
Workers’ Comp Kit® is a web-based online Assessment, Benchmarking and Cost Containment system for employers. It provides all the materials needed to reduce your costs significantly in 85% less time than if you designed a program from scratch.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Lifetime payments of workers comp for permanent disability are no longer guaranteed in NY. For accidents prior to 3/13/07 the Board used medical standards which were not linked to realistic estimates of earning capacity and had lifetime duration. For accident after 3/13/07 the Board will attempt to measure true wage loss and earning capacity. A worker whose loss of earning capacity is less that 15% of the wage at time of injury will receive a maximum of 225 weeks of compensation. For loss of greater than 95% of earning capacity a maximum of 525 weeks will be paid. For earning capacities in between there is an ascending scale of weeks of disability. Therefore, a worker earning $800/wk at time of injury will receive 225 weeks of benefits if his/her wage earning capacity is greater than $680/wk after the injury. However, they receive 2/3 of the difference, or $80/wk or less, for a maximum of 225 weeks. At the other end, a worker with $800/wk at time of injury who can earn even $40/wk is limited to 525 weeks of future benefits. A worker with a loss of more than 80% of earning capacity can request additional payments for "hardship". However, our $800/wk worker would not qualify if they can earn more than $160/wk, less than is paid for a minimum wage job. Changes in claim strategy are easily foreseeable. Attorneys will have to argue for permanent total disabilities or their clients will sooner or later be faced with economic disaster. The Board will need any objective information it can get to resolve the coming disputes. Vocational experts will soon replace the medical professionals in most trials. However, it is the employer who has the most valuable information, IF it is provided to the Board and carrier ASAP. The Board will happily incorporate useful information from the employer. Therefore, the employer, on every claim for extended disability, should inform the Board and carrier of offers of work and how much they pay. If the employee cannot be accommodated the employer should compose a letter explaining why work in the industry is not available to this employee given their physical condition. A short letter will go a long way to resolving the new disputes. And it may prevent an economic disaster for many families. Author: Attorney Theodore Roncais a practicing lawyer from Aquebogue, NY. He is a frequent writer and speaker, and has represented employers in the areas of workers' compensation, Social Security disability, employee disability plans and subrogation for over 30 years. Attorney Ronca can be reached at 631-722-2100. Try the WC Cost Calculator at www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php Look at WC 101 for basics www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php Workers' Comp Kit® is a web-based online Assessment, Benchmarking and Cost Containment system for employers. It provides all the materials needed to reduce your costs significantly in 85% less time than if you designed a program from scratch. www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs. ©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
On company I met at RIMS in Orlando, was very interesting. They had a doctor in Antartica!
I spent some time talking to Brian Cullen, Executive Director at Medcor, and found it was the same approach I’ve been recommending for 20 years.
Telephonic triage for workplace injuries seems like the current trend. Workplace injury triage is currently performed mostly by supervisors, sometimes with consultation from a human resource professional. What are their qualifications and core competencies to do this effectively?
Triage Problems Facing Businesses
Claims are generally not being promptly reported to the insurer or TPA. Lag time adds unnecessary cost. Many industry studies indicate the ultimate cost of a workers’ compensation claim escalates quickly if claims are not reported in a timely manner. Most indicate the cost of a workers’ compensation claim increases 40% if not reported within 3 days of the workplace injury.
Injured workers are usually directed by supervisors to seek medical treatment from the nearest treating facility. Too often the only way to know if you need to see a doctor, is to go to the clinic. Overtreatment is a typical outcome. Emergency visits are substantially more (workersxzcompxzkit) expensive than other potential medical providers such as Occupational Health Clinics. The cost of Occupational Health Clinics are much more expensive than the nurse telephonic triage approach. Once in the medical system, a claim begins its own life cycle.
How Can A Nurse Triage Program Assist?
A telephonic nurse triage system takes the decision making process about medical treatment out of the supervisor’s hands alone and adds to it the advice of a medical professional. Immediately after an injury occurs, the injured employee and the supervisor call a toll free number and are connected to an occupational health nurse. The nurse is trained to ask questions using a systematic approach to the questioning developed by emercency room and occupational health doctors and supported by great technology.
The nurse assists in the determination if the employee:
1. needs immediate 911 medical transportation to an emergency room
2. can wait and go to a more appropriate facility on a non-emergency basis
3. is ok to self-treat the injury without visiting a health facility
4. agrees with the medical assessment and recommendation of the nurse.
Benefits of the Nurse Triage Approach to Workplace Injuries
Employees obtain immediate medical attention from a trained occupational health professional. They love the new benefit that helps them deal with their pain. Extensive data shows that costs are much less than a visit to a hospital or clinic. Supervisors no longer need to be solely responsible for making the medical assessments of injured employees with all the awkwardness of the work relationship. Employees are soft-channeled to a designated medical facility, usually an occupation health clinic, identified in advance by the employer location.
The initial triage report from the nurse is faxed to the designated medical facility before the employee arrives – reducing the time an employee waits to be treated while shortening the time away from work. The paperwork is begun and emailed at the conclusion of the call.
All calls are recorded and the nurse is well-trained and personable when asking a series of questions to get at the cause of the injury. This locks an employee to a story at the time of the workplace injury. It may make all the difference in avoiding a runaway case. Employers can identify specific loss control oriented questions for certain types of injuries, use of personal protective equipment for example.
The results of the triage process can be measured and the ROI is compelling. It reduces the actual number of claims handled because as many as 50% of the calls result in a non-referral to an outside metical provider. Good triage has been shown to lower the ultimate cost of a claim by driving more accountability. It cuts the number of instances where the ‘story’ or nature of the injury or body part changes. Soft-channeling by the nurse increases utilization of discounted network providers typically saving 25% per bill. The return on investment is often $3 – $5 for every dollar invested.
For more information contact Brian Cullen at Medcor 630-240-6741 www.Medcor.com.
Author: Brian Cullen, ARM, CLIC, Executive Director with Medcor has joined our list of guest bloggers. Thank you Brian. He can be contacted at 630-240-6741 or bcullen@medcor.com
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
The Workers’ Comp Quick Checkâ„¢ is available (at no charge) to give your company a snapshot of how well you are doing and find out where you can improve. To learn more about this 10-question assessment go to www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Brokers and agents can have their clients take the QuickCheckâ„¢ assessment to get a feel for the National Workers’ Compensation Management Score best practice assessment. The WC Quick Check can be private labeled for organization and associations.
The National Workers’ Compensation Management Scoreâ„¢ provides a corporate-wide needs assessment to determine what key cost drivers your company needs to improve and where they are doing well. Your company receives a numeric score as well as an index of where they rank within the total group. It takes companies from good to best-in-class!
The Recommendations for Improvement are an “Action Plan” to help you start making changes right away. In the past, it took months to do this type of assessment and recommendations, now it takes less than ONE hour.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Proper Documentation Proper documentation is very important to maintain an organized program of injury management. The program requires constant communication with the employees, the doctors and the insurance division. To facilitate implementation and to avoid duplication of effort, MaxCo provides its divisions with many sample form letters suitable for various situations. These forms are standardized within divisions and customized according to state law. Each contact with the employee or doctor is recorded on an Employee Contact Log so actions can be substantiated in court or at a hearing if necessary.
Coordination of Medical Care
Proper and timely medical care is crucial to ensure the length of disability matches the length of absence. The original injury claim may be entirely legitimate, but the employee's absence is unnecessarily extended. To coordinate care, MaxCo encourages constant correspondence and telephone communication with the doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors to ensure treatment is appropriate and provided according to a ‘treatment plan." MaxCo encourages its (workersxzcompxzkit) divisions to schedule the employees' medical appointments during normal working hours; to transport the worker to and from the doctor, back to the facility. Employees know when they are out on workers' compensation, they must be available for and keep all medical appointments. Medical Case Management, Work-Hardening, and Vocational Rehabilitation Services, provided by certified medical consultants and other vendors are an integral part of the program. These services are triggered automatically via the Account Handling Instructions with the division's third-party administrator. Medical Provider Cost Containment Medical cost containment for all workers' compensation medical costs is aggressively managed at MaxCo to ensure the cost of care is appropriate and the duration and number of treatments are necessary. The following is required:
- Corporate medical doctor who reviews file.
- Mandating fee schedule compliance.
- Auditing medical bills/hospital bills.
- Use of preselected division doctors.
- Negotiating provider fees.
- Utilization review of all hospital admissions.
By monitoring medical costs, MaxCo is able to determine the quality of care being provided to its employees. If it is not adequate MaxCo may authorize specialized treatment if appropriate. MaxCo divisions receive guidelines on "How to Select a Doctor." Author: Robert Elliott, J.D. Click on these links to try it for yourself. WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs. ©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Focus on the fact that throughout the history of workers' compensation the bottom line is the company needs its employees to get its work done. Therefore, the top goal of any injury management policy must be getting your employees back to work – ideally in their original state of health. Coordinating organized systems to reach that goal will save your company money – but the focus should always be on preventing and carefully managing injuries – not on saving a buck. This focus will, however, save a buck! First, adopt a corporate-wide injury management transitional duty policy describing how transitional duty will be implemented at your workplace. This policy should include: 1. The length of transitional duty assignments. 2. The circumstances under which employees will perform transitional duty. 3. The types of transitional duty offered. 4. The circumstances under which employees will be returned to regular work. Next, develop a job or task bank by identifying jobs or tasks for use in your injury management transitional duty program. Tasks or jobs will (workersxzcompxzkit) accommodate the injuries of employees out of work due to a work-related injury. Author: Robert Elliott, J.D. Sign up for the online newsletter at www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com to become familiar with workers' compensation issues. Click on these links to try it for yourself. WC Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php TD Calculator www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php WC 101 www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs. ©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
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