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Recent workers' compensation reforms in California include financial incentives for returning an employee to work after an on-the-job injury.
Once an injured employee is determined to be "permanent and stationary," the employer has a 60-day window to offer modified or alternative work. With a return-to-work offer, permanent disability payments are reduced by 15 percent. Without the return-to-work offer, the employer's permanent disability payments are increased by 15 percent—ultimately a 30 percent swing in payments.
By incorporating physical capacity testing into return-to-work programs, employers can objectively measure employee capabilities against the physical requirements of each job, identify several placement options, and choose the "best fit" work assignment.
Employers should not only encourage early return to work, but also should offer alternative jobs for employees with permanent restrictions.
What will you say when they ask what happened?
Executives and risk managers who want to take advantage of the savings opportunities in SB 899's return-to-work clauses should ask themselves the following questions:
- Do we understand how recent reforms in California affect our existing return-to-work program?
- Does our current return-to-work program function so that all injured employees are offered transitional assignments or permanent placements?
- Can we accurately measure the physical requirements for each job and task? How do we store and reference job requirements?
- Do we have a means to match injured employees deemed permanent and stationary with appropriate jobs within California's 60-day window?
- Do we have a fair, impartial way to determine an employee's fitness for duty after a workers' compensation injury?
- How do we measure outcomes?
Who’s looking out for you?
In response to the California workers' compensation reforms, Marsh has created a complementary suite of services designed to help employers reinvigorate the return-to-work process and integrate physical capacity testing.
Employee Management Program: A rigorous return-to-work program can play a significant role in controlling costs. Marsh's Employee Management Program (EMP) provides employers with a structured process that holds operational management accountable for transitioning employees who have suffered on-the-job injuries back to their regular, full-time jobs.
A positive relationship between an injured employee and his/her supervisor can shorten the amount of time that it takes the employee to return to work and reduce the severity of lost-time claims. The EMP program should accelerate an employee's release to full duty.
Marsh's EMP helps employers:
- Teach managers and supervisors how to efficiently deal with employees at the time of injury and throughout the recovery process
- Hold operational management responsible for employees who are not in their regular jobs
Ensure commitment by all levels of management to return injured employees to work
Marsh will implement the EMP program through operational management training. Consultants will continue to coach front-line supervisors in the return-to-work process through monthly disability strategy conference calls.
Physical Capacity Testing: Working with BTE Technologies—a provider of human performance evaluation and rehabilitation technology, Marsh can incorporate physical capacity testing into the return-to-work process. The ability to accurately measure functional job requirements and to objectively assess an employee's physical capabilities can make a critical difference in finding the right post-injury job—either transitional or permanent.
The Physical Demands Analysis (PDA) measures and documents the functional requirements for each job. After the initial analysis of identified jobs, the resulting PDAs are stored in an electronic job bank, which can be accessed by employers, claims administrators, case managers, and medical providers through a secure Internet portal.
Following a workplace injury, an employee's physical restrictions can be compared to documented PDAs and used to identify an appropriate transitional duty assignment or a full-time job once an employee reaches permanent and stationary status—an important requirement in light of SB 899's return-to-work guidelines.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact us.
If you are seeking information about insurance and related services, please visit marsh.com.
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