Recent legal cases like the pending class action lawsuit against United Parcel Service highlight the need for employers to understand how state workers’ compensation laws interact with federal statutes. The EEOC has been vigilant in prosecuting employers who violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), when they fail to evenhandedly administer return to work policies.

Current statistics show that 50% of injured workers who are off work for more than 5 months never return to the workforce. The National Safety Council estimates that there were 80 Billion lost work days in 2005 due to work related injury or illness. They further estimate that injures cost US employers over $160.4 Billion in workers compensation cost, lost wages and lost productivity.Lost work days a Billion dollar crisis hidden in the American workforce. Is there a solution?

Most companies focus their efforts on implementing safety procedures and they hope their employees will follow directions and not have any injuries. In reality, employees are injured every day, so the key issue is how to eliminate or lower workplace injuries while simultaneously reducing the number of lost work days.

In 2003, Florida was one of the first states to enact statutes that promote injured employees returning to gainful employment. Four years later, most employers still do not benefit from the caveats written into the new law. They are still asking: How do I bring the employee back to work? How do we avoid owing indemnity benefits if the employee refuses to show up for light duty? How do I communicate our light duty policy to the treating physicians, our supervisors, employees and adjusters? How do I garner support to implement a return to work program, when everyone in our organization is resisting bringing injured employees back to work?

From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee – is the most comprehensive step-by-step guide for creating a proactive, team approach to injury management and return to work implementation. This book provides Florida employers with the know how to develop consistency between written policies and internal procedures. As recent litigation highlight, it’s not enough to say “we offer light duty positions to injured workers”, you have to have a written policy and authority to implement it consistently.

About Margaret Spence:

Margaret is a Board Certified Workers’ Compensation consultant, author, speaker, trainer and expert at showing companies how to slash their workers’ compensation cost by implementing strategies that drastically reduce injury rates, increase productivity and energize employees to work safely.

Margaret is the Founder and CEO of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc. and WorkCompSeminars.com. For more than two decades, Margaret has managed workers’ compensation claims for Fortune 500 Corporations, Public Entities and small businesses throughout the United States. Her company is founded on one principle – Safety has to be implemented from the Board Room to the Stock Room – Employers can not longer accept injuries as the inevitable cost of doing business. Read Margaret’s Complete bio…

About DCRC Training Group, Inc:

DCRC Training Group Press is devoted to helping employers navigate the workers compensation system through a variety of books, training manuals, workbooks and e-learning solutions. Founded in 2007, out of a need to expand the publishing spectrum, to include: State specific books on Workers’ Compensation, as well as books on injury management and injury prevention. It is our mission to educate employers so they can create a safe work environment.