PROGRAMS - LIGHT DUTY / MODIFIED DUTY / TRANSITIONAL WORK
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation Literature and Forms
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Transitional WorkGRANT$-EZ
Transitional WorkGRANT$ Reimbursement Request
Transitional WorkGRANT$ Program Agreement
One primary tool to minimize your risk experience is to return your employees to work as soon as possible by offering light duty or modified duty assignments if they cannot return to full duty work.
A light duty or modified duty job offer must be provided to the employee in writing, describing the job being offered. It can either be personally offered to the employee or sent certified mail.
The job offer should be approved in writing by the employee’s doctor before the light duty job offer is made.
If this procedure is followed, BMSO may request a hearing to have temporary total compensation terminated if the employee fails to return to work within the restrictions imposed by the attending physician or the independent medical examiner.
BMSO will schedule independent medical exams to determine the current prognosis, diagnosis and medical status of injured workers.
Light duty, modified duty and transitional work are all “somewhat” synonymous in that the goals of each are the same – return the injured employee to work as soon as possible.
Transitional work reduces lost time days, decreases the injured worker disability experience, maintains the employer-employee work experience, and improves employee morale. It represents an opportunity to protect and maintain the employability of the workers with restrictions, while reducing the employer/employee financial liability associated with work restrictions.
What is Light Duty/Transitional Work?
Transitional work is a progressive and individualized program that is part of a joint labor-management venture. It is an interim step in the physical conditioning and recovery of a worker with temporary restrictions with the goal of returning to his/her original job.
Transitional work allows the employee to resume his/her work functions and lifestyle with minimal time off. Temporary work assignments allow workers with temporary work restrictions to return to a work environment that allows them to gradually transition to performing an expanded range of essential job tasks through progressive conditioning and on-site work activities. During the time that the worker is in a temporary work assignment, emphasis should be placed on education for safe work practices, work readjustment and evaluating the original job for possible work site modification.
Who Is A Candidate For A Light Duty/Transitional Work Program?
An employee must be released by his/her doctor in order to enter into a program. Anyone with temporary restrictions that prevent the employee from performing some of the essential job functions of the original work assignment should be considered for participation in a transitional work program. Emphasis should be placed upon returning the employee to a physically compatible work assignment as soon as possible after the injury or illness. Employees who, as a result of injury or illness, do not have the potential for recovery sufficient to return to their original job may not be suitable candidates for participation.
Characteristics Of Light Duty/Transitional Work
A transitional work program should include a mutually agreed upon set of policies and procedures that have been developed as a result of a cooperative effort between management and labor. The policy should include information on who is eligible and the duration and conditions of the temporary work assignments. The procedures should identify method and time frames for reporting injuries or illness, who will be providing facilitation and case management and methods of reporting progress and outcomes.
Programs must be mutually agreed upon and be beneficial to both the employer and employee. Temporary work assignments must be flexible enough to accommodate each participant according to his/her capabilities. Programs should be for specific periods of time and always have the goal of returning the employee to the original work assignment. Programs may include case management services either from internal personnel or from external sources. Creating a heightened awareness of safety through assessment and education is also a vital part of any program.
Light Duty / Transitional Work Programs Questions and Answers
Q: Does Light Duty/Transition Work (TW) really reduce claim cost?
A: Yes. The earlier a person returns to work, the lower the claim cost. The goal of light duty programs is to return the injured worker to employment as soon as possible. A national study demonstrated that the cost of a claim increased by 21% to 33% when return to work does not occur within the first three weeks. The cost of a claim increases by 55% after the first thirty days.
Q: Is it less expensive to leave someone on Workers' Comp or disability than to bring them back into a transitional work program?
A: No. When someone is off on workers' compensation you are paying his/her compensation and paying for someone else to cover the job. Other hidden costs related to the claim are overtime, training, paying both portions of the health coverage and the impact on the customers that your agency serves.
Q: Will co-workers and supervisors resent someone who is being paid their regular salary and only doing a part of their job?
A: No. Employees who are doing even a part of their job place less of a burden upon their co-workers.
Q: Will more people file claims in order to get on light duty?
A: No. National statistics show that claim filings are reduced up to 50% when transitional work programs are implemented.
Q: Who should be eligible to participate in a transitional work program?
A: Anyone who has a short term limitation in the ability to perform their job duties. Transitional work programs are not designed for persons with long term disabilities or for employees who do not have the potential for returning to their regular job.
Q: Won’t everyone who enters into a transitional work assignment want to stay there forever?
A: Transitional work assignments are only for specific periods of time and only when documented need exists.
Q: What does is it cost employers to start up a program?
A: There is no start up cost associated with a transitional work program beyond the time commitments required to establish the guidelines, policies and procedures.
Q: Are all transitional work programs the same?
A: No. Each program must reflect the specific needs of the employer and abilities of the injured worker.
How Light Duty / Transitional Duty Affects Rates
One of the steps in the nine Key Safety Parameters established by The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), requires companies participating in a Workers' Compensation Group Rating Program develop and implement a Light Duty/Transitional Duty Program. Although this may be difficult for some companies, there are some basic reasons why this makes good business sense.
BWC applies a reserving system to all lost time claims. Lost time claims are those in which the injured worker misses more than seven calendar days of work due to their injury. When determining how much to reserve against a particular claim BWC considers the period over which BWC disability payments are made, the type of compensation last paid, the year the claim occurred and the total amount of compensation paid out and many other factors. Very high reserves can be set on claims that may not appear to be serious. This reserving system involves the calculation of a factor that would be used to multiply up to five times what is actually paid during the claims’ existence. For example, an employee off work for 6 weeks and his weekly temporary total disability rate is $450 per week; BWC will pay the employee $2,700 during this period, plus any medical expenses. Even if there is no additional activity on the claim, the reserve in the claim could be $13,500.
These reserves are part of what determines a company’s experience rating. The higher the reserves, the higher the total losses charged to your firms’ experience. If your total losses are higher than the losses expected for an employer of your size, your company will likely be penalty rated. This could cause you to be removed from a group rating program or be denied entry into a group.
One way to avoid these large reserves is to provide an aggressive Light Duty/Transitional Duty Program. The less time an injured employee collects disability compensation payments from BWC, the lower the reserve that is placed on that claim. Some employers claim that they cannot afford to pay an employee who is unable to perform his regular duties. However, if the employee is collecting compensation from BWC you could actually be paying much more in increased workers' compensation premiums. Light Duty/Transitional Duty Programs can save money, and in many cases, speed up the recovery process.
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