Posted by Katrina Paglierani on Thu, Dec 17, 2009 @ 09:21 AM
Sometimes an employer has no return to work program and cannot or will not provide light or modified duty positions for injured workers, or those out on workers compensation.
You have a few options, it is up to the case manager to determine which is appropriate or effective in each case.
Volunteer or charity jobs- insurer still pays wage-loss benefits
Training programs- insurer still pays wage-loss benefits
Work at home -in many cases not accepted as true "employment".
Employment positions with new employer
Light duty or transitional duty: Many companies do not have light duty positions available. Especially companies in Construction, transportation, manufacturing and the like. Many of these companies do not have office staff employed or an office at all for that matter.
Lets look at each option:
Volunteer or charity work.
In most cases, it is best for the injured worker and the employer to get them back to work as soon as possible. It helps the injured worker mentally and physically and helps to keep cases from being strung out longer than necessary. Oftentimes, volunteer or charity work is useful in keeping a worker in the workforce, though oftentimes the employer is still required to pay all or some of the wages for the injured employee.
Training Programs.
Training programs are another viable option for some cases. If the employee is unable to attain equivalent income in another field with the skills they have, this may be necessary to get them into a position where they can earn at the level they were pre-injury. For example, a trucker with incomplete high school education that has been doing that one job for 35 years and is now unable to, may be a good candidate for some sort of training. As, his current skills and education preclude him from many positions. This is a good option, and voc rehab is mandatory in some states. It is a good way to increase the employability of an injured worker. But, it does cost, and does not guarantee that the person will be better able to find a job. It also does not mean they will use the training to their benefit. They will still need to aggressively and consistently look for work.
Work at home.
Recently, I have seen the emergence of companies offering a combination of training to work at home and guaranteed position after training. This is especially useful if someone has a severe permanent restriction that precludes them from commuting or driving to an office, or place of work. On the other hand, many work at home positions are not considered true employment. You have to look at these prospects very carefully and make sure that such employment will be viewed as a true position if you go this route. Again, the training for this type of position can obligate the employer to pay for hundreds of hours of training, sometimes almost a year with no relief from indemnity payments (wage loss benefits) and , sometimes the added cost of the training for that same period. Yet, if this person is generally unemployable, this may be your only available course of action, and could save you substantially in the end.
Job Finding (National Job Finders Services)
Re-employment with a new employer ends (or at least immediately reduces) wage-loss or indemnity payments. Workers Comp claimaints, in most states, are required to look for and accept employment that is within their restrictions. This is the quickest and most effective way to end wage-loss benefits. If you can find open positions that are appropriate geographically, financially and physically for injured workers, you can place the claimant or prove non-compliance if they do not participate in the search for new employment. Usually, 4-5 interviews is enough to prove non-compliance.
Posted by Katrina Paglierani on Mon, Sep 28, 2009 @ 07:02 AM
Why Use a Job Finding Service for your Workers compensation and auto wage-loss benefits cases?
Job Finding will allow you to quickly and efficiently reduce your workers' comp costs by reducing your indemnity expenses.
Job Finding is specifically designed to locate positions for the Permanent Partially Disabled case file.
Case managers are generally working on a caseload of 100-150 files at any time.
Because most of us only have 40 hours a week to work, it is natural , even appropriate for those case managers to devote their time to files where they can make some headway.
Job Finding is not necessarily appropriate for all workers' comp Permanent Partial Disability cases.
Job Finding is appropriate when the case has challenges whether they are geographical, physical or financial.
For example, cases submitted for job finding service are generally dealing with Carpal Tunnel, lower back soft tissue damage, or rotator cuff injuries.
Furthermore, Job finding services are very often used to find appropriate positions for construction, transportation, shipping and other physical, relatively high-paying positions.
Also, Job Finding services are most often used in states that have Wage Loss exposure after a case has reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)
Going back to the case load of your average case manager.
If a case manager has 100-150 active files, they often have up to 30% of cases that are very difficult to advance to the next level or make any headway on. For this reason, these files can go on far longer than they need to.
Because the Job finding cases require an average of over 20 dedicated hours per successfully scheduled interview and it takes an average of 4.5 interviews per case to successfully close the case, it is certainly challenging for a case manager to include this in their daily or weekly routine.
Obviously, dedicating all their time to that 30% is an ineffective use of a case manager's time.
Job Finders are specialists. They have an established network of contacts and employers. Also, they are rigorous and will cold-call employers in appropriate geograhical and industry specific areas until they find the unlisted, hidden positions suitable to each case.
Job Finders take excessive notes and keep a record of everything from the initial pre-interview session with HR personnel, to the interview results and follow-up.
Job Finding is appropriate for those 30% of cases, in any state where the insurer has wage loss exposure after MMI . In other words, it is most appropriate for Permanent Partial Disability cases.
CONSIDER: A Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) case in Michigan costs an average of 72,000.00 PER CASE between months 13-36. These are cases that have ALREADY been active for 12 months. If case managers waited 12 months before sending a case to a Job Finder they would still save an average of 65,000.00 per case.
Certainly, it is better to put your PPD cases into the hands of a Job Finding service as soon after they have reached MMI as possible. The sooner the better.