Tip of the Day Try Transitional Return to Work with a Nonprofit Organization

Once an injured employee is released to return to work with temporary restrictions, unequivocally the best thing an employer can do, the vast majority of the time it is to accommodate the restrictions.
 

There are a multitude of very persuasive reasons to limit lost-time from work ranging from indemnity and medical cost-containment (ultimately strengthening your profitability) to supporting your employees by assuring them that they remain valuable and productive members of your workforce.    
 

What do you do when you truly have absolutely no meaningful work for the injured employee anywhere in your company? Consider temporary placement with a nonprofit organization. Nonprofits place your employees in roles consistent with their skill set, interests, and restrictions. The work could be sedentary – perhaps stuffing envelopes, folding clothes to be shelved, serving as a greeter or a variety of other tasks. There are administrative duties involved such as seeking out and developing the relationship with the nonprofit as well as timekeeping for the employee once all the details are sorted out. The work can be managed internally or outsourced to a vendor for a fee. Usually vendor fees are in the neighborhood of $1,000 which, considering the cost savings should prove to be a good investment. If an employee is projected to be restricted for 90 days, that’s 90 days of TTD benefits saved and 90 days of work in the community with the nonprofit.

Talk with your consultant, TPA, broker or insurance agent to see if they have programs in place and to discuss the program costs and projected savings. For maximum claim cost reduction, return the employee to your payroll just as if he or she returned to work with your company and pay the vendor’s fee directly. If that’s too much of a financial burden, talk with your agent/broker or carrier about other options such as what would happen concerning benefit payment in the event of return to work with a nonprofit. If you’re on a loss sensitive program and administered by a TPA, have a conversation with the TPA about return to work with nonprofits. Be sure to monitor the employee’s recovery progress and consider return to work with your company as the restrictions are lifted. (workersxzcompxzkit)

 

Reducing workers’ compensation claims costs is a multi-faceted job. Utilizing a nonprofit or charitable organization is one more way of accomplishing prompt return to work and limiting lost-time to save claim dollars while contributing to the community.