Return to Work Book
From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee – Injured Employee’s Could Can Return to Work!
Employer’s Guide to Implementing a Proactive Return to Work Program by Margaret Spence, CWC
Florida Edition
Dear Injured Employee: We want you to return to work light duty tomorrow…
Injured Employee: You have to be kidding…I’m not ready to come back to work – ever! (And he means it)
As the employer managing this situation, what are your options?
- Allow the employee to stay home until he is ready to return to work?
- Offer the employee a light duty job, knowing that he is going to create management challenges and headaches for your managers and supervisors?
- Terminate the employee, and put your organization and yourself at risk for an expensive lawsuit?
The number one reason why injured employees manipulate the return to work process, we allow them to do it.
When treating physicians issue light duty restrictions you need to be ready to bring injured employees back to work – immediately.
Here’s why: 55% of employees who are off work for more than 16 weeks never return to the workforce.
REALITY* Employers who do not have well defined injury management policies and procedures are never in a win-win situation. The bad news: Savvy attorneys are waiting for you to terminate this employee, so they can drag you into Federal Court with claims of retaliatory discharge and violations of the ADA guidelines.
And to compound matters – these savvy attorneys use loop-holes in the Florida Workers’ Compensation Statutes to legally gather information to build their case.
That is why employers need a roadmap to navigate and implement appropriate return to work procedures in Florida.
This book is a complete, how to do it manual, step-by-step – chapter by chapter, learn how to implement an effective return to work program in Florida. Simply follow the practical instructions and smart tactics in this outstanding resource guide.
You will learn:
- How to establish policies and company wide programs for handling workers’ compensation injuries before, during and after they occur.
- How to reduce lost work days an epidemic that cost US employers $160 Billion each year.
- How to use the diamonds written into the Florida Workers’ Compensation Statutes to insure that treating physicians and insurance carriers become your strategic partner in the return to work process.
From Worker Comp Claimant to Valued Employee is written in an easy to read style that won’t overwhelm you with technical jargon and irrelevant statistics. Full of easy to read instructions and handy checklist – hundreds of tips…
From how to hire employees to how you structure your training programs to how you handle your workers’ compensation paperwork and select the clinics that treat your injured employees…
- techniques you can implement – immediately.
In addition, you will:
- Learn how the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) interacts with workers’ compensation and the legal exposures created when you do not offer light duty positions to injured employees.
Add it all up and you will discover, how bringing one employee back to work light duty can result in up to a 35% saving on your workers’ compensation premiums.
This book will totally change your perception of light duty – D. Brown, Risk Manager
