Everyone thinks the advantage of a light duty work program is that you have your injured worker back to work. This lowers wage costs, and lowers the overall cost of the claim. This we all know.
But what about the other costs you are saving? There are many tangible and non-tangible costs that are benefited by having a good, thorough, and competent return to work program.
Below are 5 examples:
1) The Employee has to attend and also be compliant—Failure to report for a light duty work position within their work restrictions results in a termination of wage loss benefits. Being non-compliant with the work hours or work tasks also can be grounds for indemnity benefit termination. The bottom line at the end of the day is that you have a job for them, and they have to perform that job just as seriously as every other employee you have working there at your plant that is not hurt. A light duty job is no less serious than a full duty job.
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“13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”
2) Light duty work for a sustained period of time could establish a new wage earning capacity—this will depend on your jurisdiction. For those workers who thought they were impossible to employ and had dreams of never working again—think again! If you can show that the injured party is capable of work, you are helping them to establish a post-injury wage earning capacity (PIWEC). This means that you can take this wage, and also enroll them in a vocational program and find them a new full time position should your light duty position become no longer available. However, all of these items will vary depending on your jurisdiction, so be sure to consult local legal Counsel.
3) Enhances employee morale by demonstrating employer’s commitment to keep workers working—Going back to the mental aspect of claims, a worker that sits home usually stays there, for as long as possible. Studies show that the longer they are away from work the longer it takes to get them back to work. So avoid all of this and keep them working. Plus if you allow for them to make their regular wage, their morale can stay high since they do not have the fear of financial burden hanging over them.
4) Discourages fraudulent claims because employees know they will not be sitting at home collecting money—It works, and it has been proven time and time again. The presence of a formal return to work program will decrease the amount of subjective/suspicious claims you will have. These suspicious/subjective claims are the ones that can cost the most due to lengthy investigations, IME costs, surveillance costs, etc all for claims that are probably not your responsibility to begin with.
FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”
5) Postures claims for settlement and redemption—Light duty work allows for less wage loss exposure on claims, and this can push the claim towards redemption or settlement. This is especially true if the worker has no intention of returning to work—especially for this same employer. If you are paying full work comp, then there is little incentive from the claimant’s perspective to move the case to settle. The longer they take, the more their case will be worth. But, if you offer them work and they decline, now time is their enemy. You can now move this case as fast as you can get a court date.
As you can see, here are 5 more examples of why formal light duty return to work programs work. If you think it will not work for you, you are wrong. Even if you only have a few positions open for light duty, that is a few more than having none available.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Principal, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: [email protected].
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Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker, attorney, or qualified professional.
