The Permanent Light Duty List (A Bad Idea) Part 1

Today I thought I'd cover an easy-to-fix workers' compensation program design flaw that will get you moving towards best practice in claims control, reduce indemnity expenses, and improve employee relations. This newest easy fix? Never have permanent light duty assignments. 

Many employers think that Permanent Light Duty is the only way to manage injured workers who don't seem to be getting better. You may be legitimately concerned about your employees, feel guilty about the incident, or just plain out of ideas. And if you are like many organizations, your light duty list has been created and then forgotten. An equally offensive offshoot is the extended stay assignment. In this case the injured/ill worker is on restricted duty indefinitely. There's no end in sight which leads to a high cost of claims and a great deal of frustration. 

Being that workers' comp is a line of business within the organization like any other line of business, let's first take the emotion out of it. An employer should not be writing job descriptions for individual employees, unless of course it is to fill a hole in production or service that requires a particular expertise. Having had an injury/illness does not meet that standard. In addition, other employees, and organized labor if you are a unionized shop, do not look favorably upon specialized treatment which causes a confrontational culture within your ranks.

Also, when you have individuals on no-end-in-sight work restrictions or modified job duties for an extended period of time, those employees may be able to legally fight to make those positions permanent. Your labor law attorney will know more regarding the state laws under which you function. And I don't think I need to go into detail about workers who have issues with their supervisors, or those who don't like their jobs who end up on light duty. In these circumstances you may find both the employee and his/her manager willing to continue the light duty assignment indefinitely.

One of my clients, a large Massachusetts employer, had 13 people on its Light Duty List. The longest employee was on light duty for over two years! All but one were returned to full duty after it was medically determined that they were indeed fit to return to their old jobs. The employer decided to settle with the permanently injured worker which was accepted without contestation.

What does this mean to an employer? Improved productivity, improved employee/management good will, and reduced claims expenses. (If it's not you, then your insurer or TPA is paper managing those cases which they charge back to you.) A point to remember going forward is that most injuries heal within 3 weeks. Your light duty program must have end dates to be efficient and encourage wellness. There are some injuries that may take several months especially if surgery is involved, however the following addresses both circumstances. Let's look at the details.

Best practice programs have two important dates written into policy. The first is that light duty is a maximum of three months. Within three months the employee returns to full duty. By setting this standard your injured/ill worker knows what to expect. Remember, family and friends love to make recommendations about what to do after a work related event so you have to set the standard, and stick to it. If your employees are better in 2, 4, or 6 weeks, that is when they return to full duty.

When this is not possible and an employee is medically unable to return to full duty within three months (surgery is involved, medical evaluations are yet inconclusive), the second written policy date of importance is that light duty may be extended for an additional three months, however in order to receive the three month extension, medical evaluations must indicate that a full recovery is possible.

Next entry I will cover another unique program design element that should never be missed when an extension is required (The Transitional Duty Meeting). I will also share how we got our 13 employees safely off the Light Duty List. Meanwhile you might want to pull the files of those people on permanent (and date unknown) light duty to see what you have that needs managing. 

Hopefully you have already incorporated my first rule of workers' compensation: employees must report an injury or illness prior to the end of their shift, so that you can begin this next policy change - putting end dates to your light duty, restricted work assignments. Workers' Compensation does not have to be difficult, just managed well! Good luck, and I look forward to any comments, suggestions, or experiences you wish to share!