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The Return-to-Work Process

Work Injury. The first thing to consider when an employee is injured is whether or not medical treatment is needed.Employees should seek immediate medical treatment ifThe injury is secondary to a motor vehicle accident or high speed activityA snap was heard at the time of injuryBlueness, coldne

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The Return-to-Work Process

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    1. The Return-to-Work Process

    2. Work Injury The first thing to consider when an employee is injured is whether or not medical treatment is needed. Employees should seek immediate medical treatment if The injury is secondary to a motor vehicle accident or high speed activity A snap was heard at the time of injury Blueness, coldness, or numbness occurs around the injured area There is an inability to move the injured area There is instability at a joint There is marked swelling The worker is unable to bear weight on injured area A cut occurs over a joint, requires stitches, or bleeds persistently

    3. Medical Treatment or First Aid According to the guidelines from the previous slide, does the injury require immediate medical treatment?

    4. First Aid When first aid is appropriate, supervisors should ensure that first aid is provided. After first aid is administered, supervisors should complete the City’s Employee Injury Report and Accident Investigation Worksheet with the injured worker.

    5. Medical Treatment When immediate medical treatment is required, supervisors should provide the injured worker with the appropriate Physician Packet to take to the doctor. Supervisors are also responsible for ensuring that the injured worker is transported to an emergency room or urgent care center.

    6. Physician Packet Physician packets contain Essential Job Function Analyses Physician Disability Statements

    7. Essential Job Function Analysis Provides physicians with a detailed description of the physical requirements of the injured worker’s regular job Available only for those jobs with high injury rates

    8. Physician Disability Statement Used by physicians to document and communicate specific work restrictions. Used by supervisors to determine appropriate placement in Temporary Work Assignment (TWA’s).

    9. Doctor Visit At the doctor visit, the injured worker gives the doctor the Physician Packet. The doctor reviews Essential Job Function Analysis when it is available. The doctor completes the Physician Disability Statement (PDS) and documents any work restrictions. The injured worker returns the completed PDS to supervisor as soon as restrictions are made.

    10. The Completed Physician Disability Statement The completed Physician Disability Statement (PDS) will either Release the worker to full duty, Release the worker to modified duty, or Certify the worker temporary disabled and unable to work

    11. The Completed Physician Disability Statement Supervisors must read the Physician Disability Statement (PDS) to determine if the injured worker has restrictions, is released to full duty, or is certified “unable to work.” Choose One.

    12. Full Duty Release When an employee is released to full duty, the return-to-work process ends. Upon receiving a PDS that releases an injured worker to full duty, the supervisor only needs to keep a copy of the PDS for their department’s records and forward a copy to Risk Management for the employee’s claim file.

    13. Reading Restrictions from the Physician Disability Statement (PDS) When an injured worker returns a Physician Disability Statement (PDS) with restrictions, the supervisor must carefully review the restrictions and identify Temporary Work Assignments (TWA’s) that meet those restrictions. Temporary Work Assignments (TWA’s) are pre-identified tasks that are light in nature. When an injured worker has restrictions, the supervisor will review all available TWA’s in their department to see if work is available that meets the doctor’s restrictions.

    14. Temporarily Disabled or Unable to Work When a Physician Disability Statement says “Employee is Temporary Totally Disabled,” then the injured worker is temporarily unable to participate in the Return-to-Work Program. The supervisor’s responsibility in returning the employee to work ends until the worker is released to full or modified duty. When a doctor has certified that an injured worker is “unable to work,” the injured worker must bring a Physician Disability Statement (PDS) to each and every medical appointment.

    15. Temporary Work Assignment (TWA) Temporary Work Assignments (TWA’s) are pre-identified tasks that are light in nature. They are usually specific to a particular department. The availability of some TWA’s will vary by workload and season. These tasks are not permanent jobs.

    16. Reading Restrictions and Placing Injured Workers in TWA’s When matching TWA’s with Work Restrictions, keep in mind weight limitations, restrictions from repetitive movements, etc. If you have any questions about whether or not a particular TWA meets a doctor’s restrictions, contact the City’s Return-to-Work Coordination, Ben Gagne at x6362.

    17. Reading Restrictions and Placing Injured Workers in TWA’s When you have identified a Temporary Work Assignment (TWA) that meets the doctor’s restrictions, meet with the injured worker to review the restrictions, explain the TWA, and sign the job offer agreement.

    18. Transitional Job Offer The Transitional Job Offer documents an understanding between the supervisor and injured worker that restrictions are not to be exceeded and the employee will notify the supervisor if the TWA is causing pain or aggravating the condition. This agreement also ensures that an injured worker can’t claim the TWA is a permanent job.

    19. Monitoring TWA’s Supervisors should regularly monitor injured workers who are placed in TWA’s to ensure that they are not exceeding the doctor’s restrictions. The best way to do this is to take a copy of the most recent Physician Disability Statement (PDS) to the employee’s temporary worksite. Then, observe the employee’s work to make sure they are working within their restrictions.

    20. Release to Work The goal of Temporary Work Assignments (TWA’s) is to allow injured workers a transition to full duty as they heal. As injured workers heal, the doctor may lift some restrictions. This may allow some injured workers to perform more TWA’s. So, supervisors should review Physician Disability Statements (PDS’s) regularly for changes.

    21. Release to Work Risk Management will also be reviewing injured workers’ progress in Temporary Work Assignments (TWA’s). Each TWA will be reviewed at 30, 60, and 90 days. If there doesn’t appear to be any progress in returning an injured worker to full duty, Risk Management will work with the doctors to determine if there are permanent restrictions.

    22. Release to Work The Structured Return-to-Work process will return injured workers to full duty quicker for the following reasons. Doctors will have detailed and accurate information about the physical requirements of an injured worker’s regular job. Therefore, they will feel more confident in returning injured workers to full duty. There will be more communication between Risk Management, the doctor, and the injured worker. Injured workers will remain active, will heal quicker, and will have a smoother transition to full duty.

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