The benefits of effective early return-to-work programs accrue to both a charter school and its injured employees. For the charter school, significant cost savings are realized by minimizing lost productivity, resource replacement costs, workers’ compensation indemnity benefits, and medical treatment costs. The employee benefits from reduced stress and a feeling that their employer cares for their physical health and values what they bring to the workplace.
Chief components of effective early return-to-work programs
The most effective return-to-work programs contain the following components or employ the following best practices:
- Executive mandates are issued to departments, requiring that they temporarily accommodate injured workers by physical restrictions determined by a physician.
- Dedicated return-to-work providers are responsible for coordinating early return-to-work among treating medical providers, injured workers, department managers, and the third-party claims administrator.
- Medical providers and third-party claims administrators must also be held accountable for their efforts to ensure the program’s success.
- The workers’ compensation manager, perhaps with the assistance of the third-party claims administrator, conducts education sessions and meetings to train department managers on the importance of early return to work.
- Medical providers are required to convey physical work restrictions to the return-to-work coordinator (sometimes via the third-party administrator) upon the completion of the first office visit and each subsequent office visit for accommodation or modification of a prior accommodation.
- Modified duty is accommodated for a limit of 60 or 90 days, subject to possible extension if the medical provider and charter believe that the employee continues to improve physically.
- As modified positions are identified, a bank of modified job descriptions is maintained for possible use in cases of other injuries.
- Lost work days are tracked monthly and provided to department heads.
