VI. Procedures

A. Report Injury or Illness

Work Related Injury or Illness
1. All work related injuries or illnesses will be handled according to established campus procedures. In brief, these are:
  - Employees shall report all work related injuries or illnesses to their supervisor, or designee, immediately.
  - The supervisor or designee will ensure that appropriate steps are taken to obtain necessary medical services based upon the seriousness of the injury or illness.
  - The supervisor or designee will inform the college/department ASM, who will provide a referral for the medical care and ensure that all required paperwork is issued, completed and submitted in a timely manner. A Workers’ Compensation Claim form (DWC-1) must be provided to the employee within 24 hours or one working day. The employee has the right to file a claim for benefits within 365 days of the date of the injury/illness.
  - The ASM will inform the Workers’ Compensation Coordinator immediately of any injury or illness, and within fewer than eight (8) hours from knowledge of a serious industrial injury or illness. At that point, the proper documents must be delivered or faxed to the Workers’ Compensation Coordinator within 24 hours of the incident.
  - The University Workers’ Compensation Coordinator will manage all filed Workers’ Compensation Claims on behalf of the campus.
2. When the treating physician releases an employee to return to work with temporary or permanent work restrictions, the release form should:
  1. clearly indicate work restrictions;
  2. provide any additional physical capacity information;
  3. be faxed to SRM at 562-985-2411; and
  4. be provided to the employee and a copy given to the employee’s supervisor.
3. Depending upon the lead time, the employee’s supervisor may directly contact the Workers’ Compensation Claims Coordinator regarding the employee’s return to work or complete the Transitional Employment Referral form (Appendix to advance the employee for review by the RTW Committee.
4. If a TE Plan is developed and agreed upon by the department administrator, supervisor, employee, and Workers’ Compensation Claims Coordinator without referral to the RTW Committee, a signed copy of the Plan, and any subsequent revisions, will be faxed to the Risk Manager.
Non-Work Related Injury or Illness
1. Individual employees, or their supervisor, may report any non-work related injury or illness that affects the employee’s ability to perform the requirements of their job in the usual and customary manner.
2. Returning an employee to the workplace after they have sustained a non-work related injury or illness will be done according to any relevant bargaining unit agreement.
3. When the treating physician releases an employee to return to work with temporary or permanent work restrictions, the release form should:
  1. clearly indicate work restrictions;
  2. provide any additional physical capacity information;
  3. be faxed to SRM at 562-985-2411; and
  4. be provided to the employee and a copy given to the employee’s supervisor.
4. Depending upon the lead time, the employee’s supervisor may directly contact the Risk Manager regarding the employee’s return to work or complete the Transitional Employment Referral form to advance the employee for review by the RTW Committee if the employing department is unable to return the employee to the workplace.
5. If a TE Plan is developed and agreed upon by the department administrator, supervisor, employee, and Risk Manager without referral to the RTW Committee, a completed/signed copy of the Plan, and any subsequent revisions, will be faxed to the Risk Manager.

B. Transitional Employment Plan

If the employee is released to modified work, and if modified work is available within the department, the employee and his/her supervisor will discuss the proposal with the Risk Manager to create a TE Plan using the Transitional Employment Plan form (Appendix .

Required Components
The development of a TE Plan should follow a consistent format. The employee must always be a party to its development and the plan will specify the following:

Start and end date of transitional tasks – Four week increments, or less, are recommended, but in all instances will be concurrent with the treating physician’s re-examination of the employee’s status.

Specific tasks to be performed - Duties will consist of tasks that are of value to the university and that are, when possible, therapeutic in nature in order to maintain the employee's fitness while not endangering the employee's safety. The tasks should be as close as possible to the employee's regular job. However, if this is not possible, other alternatives should be considered. The following guidelines may be used for developing such alternative tasks:

Focus on the unique skills and abilities of the employee;

Provide training or other on-the-job learning experiences to help enhance the skills of an injured or ill employee;

Allow injured or ill employee to impart his/her skills through mentoring or training of other employees;

Provide employee with valuable projects that need to be completed;

(5) Provide tasks that add value to the work normally completed; and,

(6) Within the parameters of the applicable collective bargaining agreement, consider temporary duties outside of the employee's regular department or classification. If temporary duties cross between bargaining units, the union will be contacted to discuss the duties and identify any potential issues that may arise.

Signatures of the supervisor, Risk Manager, and injured or ill employee

Timeframes for re-contact with medical care provider.

Monitor the Transitional Employment Plans
TE Plans will be progressive in nature. When medically feasible, plans will provide enhanced and more challenging duties on a regular basis until the employee is ready to return to regular employment. The plan should be reviewed as needed by the RTW Committee. Duties should generally be changed at least every two to three weeks, consistent with changes in the employee's release and physical capabilities as provided by the treating physician.

C. Evaluate Employees Who Cannot Return to Regular Employment

In the event an employee will clearly be unable to return to regular employment as a result of the severity and permanence of the injury or illness, they shall be referred to the appropriate alternative resources.

D. Maintain Contact and Communication with Injured Employee

If the medical provider does not release the injured or ill employee to regular or modified work, the supervisor should:

Arrange for regular contact with the employee to provide support until the employee is able to return to transitional or regular employment. This communication between the supervisor and injured or ill employee shall not be used for investigative purposes or to obtain medically confidential information, such as diagnosis, prognosis, or other medical information.

If the employee does not wish to be contacted by the supervisor or other department administrator, the Workers’ Compensation Claims Coordinator will maintain the contact in those situations involving industrial injury or illness. If the injury or illness is not work-related, normal University personnel procedures will be followed.

E. EXCEPTIONS TO PROCEDURE

The procedures outlined herein may be partially or completely modified on a case-by-case basis depending upon employee medical needs. In such a case, the RTW Committee will convene a special meeting with the employee, his/her supervisor, the responsible MPP (if not the employee’s direct supervisor), his/her designated union representative (as appropriate), his/her legal counsel (as appropriate) and/or his/her PTP (as appropriate).

Disbility Case Management