Good news has come for many injured workers in Washington State.
For most workers* injured before July 1, 2013, time-loss and pension benefit payments will increase 2 percent based on the change in Washington’s average wage,as reported by the Department of Employment Security on June 26.
State law requires that benefits be recalculated each year to reflect the change in the state’s average wage from the previous calendar year.
The increase also applies to pension benefits paid to family members of those who died because of a work-related accident or disease.
As a result of the increase, the new maximum monthly benefit will be $5,263.50, or 120 percent of the state’s average monthly wage. Less than 4 percent of L&I claimants receiving wage-replacement benefits collect the maximum.
The increase became effective July 1, 2014.
*Certain injured workers who also receive federal Social Security benefits may not be entitled to this annual cost-of-living increase.
More Workers Getting Back to Work Sooner
Meantime, a state effort to help bring injured workers back to work as quickly as medically possible is making a real difference.
In June, the program known as “Stay at Work” marked a milestone. More than 10,000 injured workers and their employers have been helped since the program, managed by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), started.
Legislation passed in 2011 created the program. Since then, L&I has paid nearly 2,750 employers close to $24 million in reimbursement money to help keep injured workers on the job with light-duty work while they recover. The light-duty work must be approved by the employee’s medical provider.
Employers tapping into the program can be reimbursed for half the wages and can also receive additional funds for equipment, training and clothing to help the injured worker transition to a light-duty job.
“Avoiding an injury in the first place should be a primary focus for all of us. But when a worker gets hurt, getting them back to a job as quickly as medically possible helps the worker and the employer,” stated Ryan Guppy, L&I’s chief of Return to Work Partnerships. Guppy added that the rewards of the incentive program go far beyond the financial reimbursement for employers. It can also help with general workplace morale and result in other cost savings.
“Separation from the workplace does have financial, psychological and social impacts to the worker that can delay recovery and make it harder for an injured worker to return to a job,” continued Guppy. L&I data shows that if a worker is still off the job six to nine months after an injury, the likelihood of returning to work drops to just 36 percent.
By encouraging employers to keep workers employed while they heal, Stay at Work helps reduce long-term disability. This ultimately impacts workers comp insurance premiums and overall costs for employers and workers statewide. Employers have one year from the day an injured worker begins a light-duty job to apply for reimbursements.
L&I processes nearly 100,000 workers comp claims annually for about 170,000 employers statewide.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
©2014 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.
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