Light Duty Return to Work Program
The Light Duty Return to Work program allows an employee to continue working while recovering from an on the job injury.
This is a 24 week program that allows the employer to place the worker in the department and insuring that the workers has reasonable accommodations to recover, and still get a pay check.
How the Program Works
When an employee has missed 3 days, our Light Duty Coordinator (LDC) will be notified.
The LDC will work closely with the supervisor, treating physician, adjuster and employee to see that the employee can continue working with “reasonable accommodations” within their department.
The employee will remain in light duty status for not more than 24 weeks (6 months).
The employee will then either return to their previous regular job, go into vocational rehab to be retrained, or be classified with a permanent total disability (PTD).
Benefits:
Employer:
- Reduced Worker's Compensation costs (including medicals)
- Increased operational productivity.
- Good will is established between the employer and employee.
- Eliminates or reduces hiring and training substitute employees
- Retention of trained & experienced employees
- Co-workers are not assuming the workload of the injured employee, work is shared to allow the injured worker to do what they are able to do, while allowing the non-injured worker to assume the responsibilities that the injured worker cannot do.
Employee:
- Improved self-esteem, morale, and personal security
- Reduced financial hardship
- Reduced stress over continued employment and boredom that typically results in the recuperation phase
- Maintain the pre-injury relationship with fellow employees
- Motivates employees to get back to their regular duties
- Maintain seniority & benefits while they recover
- Keeps the injured worker mentally & physically conditioned to the regular work schedule
Summary:
Benefits to the program are numerous; the overall benefit to the State of Alaska is reduced Workers Compensation costs
Getting Employees Back to Work
CONTACT:
Julia Rodriguez
Return to Work Light Duty Coordinator (LDC)
WHAT:
Light Duty Return to Work Program
WHEN:
Pilot began November 1, 2013
WHY:
Risk Management processes all the Workers Compensation for all State of Alaska employees, and there are dozens of injuries every day that cause our state workers to be out of work for weeks, months and sometimes years.
Research has shown that there is only a 50% chance that an injured employee will return to work after a 6 month absence; this declines to a 25% chance after a year absence and drops to a shocking 1% chance after a two year absence. This needs to change.