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Managers, Supervisors and HR Professionals

Guide to Managing Human Resources

Chapter 18: Disability Management

Contents
Summary

Disabilities can be work-related, or they may occur away from work or be congenital. Disability management refers to the steps you take to assure that an employee can return to work as soon as possible. An important piece of case management is preventing work-related injuries by identifying and correcting potential hazards, from chemicals to poorly designed workstations. (See also Chapter 17, Health and Safety.)

If a work-related injury does occur, handling the case appropriately can encourage a prompt recovery, save money, decrease the chance of delayed benefits, and allow the unit to continue to get the work done. For non-work-related disabilities, it's also important to complete the forms sent to the department by the Benefits Unit on time and to pay the employee's sick leave correctly.

Issues for managers include:

  • Taking steps to prevent injuries from occurring at work
  • Assuring that an employee receives medical treatment if an injury occurs
  • Knowing how the injured employee is doing and whether the department can help with any problems or concerns
  • Facilitating the payment of benefits and salary
  • Planning ahead to allow for a longer-than-expected period of disability
  • Providing modified work when available
Guiding Principles

For effective disability management:

  • Ensure that the work environment is safe, both physically and psychologically
  • Make sure that employees get medical attention if injuries do occur
  • Manage disability cases effectively to make sure that the work is done in an employee's absence
  • Determine and document eligibility for federal or state family and medical leave in accordance with policy or contract
  • Separate disability issues from performance issues
  • Stay in touch with the employee to keep her informed of events in the office, assure that her salary and benefits are being correctly handled, and stay up to date on her recovery and expected return-to-work date
  • Help the employee make a successful return to work through accommodation as needed and reorientation into the office
Workers' Compensation

Workers' Compensation is a state-mandated benefit that requires all employers to pay for approved expenses resulting from a work-related injury or illness. This includes, for example, the employee who slips and falls on the job resulting in a broken ankle; the employee who, over the course of years, injures her back from repeated lifting; and the employee who develops a rash from exposure to chemicals. This benefit is designed to be no-fault (blame is not assigned).

The University is self-insured for Workers' Compensation. Each campus contributes to a trust fund from which claims costs are paid. The University's third party administrator, Octagon Risk Services (ORS), determines whether a claim is compensable and, if so, pays appropriate costs, including medical care, temporary and permanent disability, and vocational rehabilitation. The University also provides benefits to supplement the state-mandated temporary disability payments.

Your Role

  • Take steps to prevent injuries from occurring. At the end of this chapter are two checklists to help you provide a safe workplace for employees. These checklists identify areas where you can have an impact on the safety of the work environment. (For campus health and safety resources, see Health and Safety, Chapter 17.)
  • Assure employee receives medical treatment. In an emergency, call the campus police department at 642-3333 or 9-911. Injured employees should be sent to the Tang Center (2222 Bancroft Way) for urgent care. For less acute problems, call the Occupational Health Clinic for an appointment. Employees may see their personal physicians for treatment of on-the-job injuries if they designated one before the injury.
  • Complete two state-mandated forms: the Employee Claim form and the Employers' Report of Occupational Injury or Illness. This does not mean that you are admitting liability for the injury; compensability is determined by ORS. You are required to complete this process within one working day after you are advised that an employee has been injured.
  • Keep in touch. When the employee is off work, maintain regular contact. This will help the employee keep up with any departmental changes and let her know that she is a valued member of the unit, and will help you to know how the employee is doing and effectively cover her workload.
  • Review and comment on a job description form. If the employee loses 90 or more calendar days of work following the injury, you will be asked to review a specialized job description form. This two-page form is completed by the employee and counselor and involves a description of the physical demands of the job for orthopedic injuries and mental demands for emotional injury or stress claims. Your comments will be added to the form.
  • Review medical and vocational information for possible accommodation to a modified or alternative position for employees with permanent work restrictions. You will be provided with a description of these restrictions and relevant vocational information by the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors. You will be asked to determine whether accommodation can be made and to notify the Vocational Rehabilitation Unit of your decision in writing. (The section applies to employees injured after 1/1/94.)
Payments to the Employee

When the employee is off work for a compensable injury, she will be receiving temporary disability payments directly from ORS; these payments can be used in conjunction with her sick and, if chosen, vacation leave. Thus an employee who has an injury and has a great amount of sick leave might stay on full pay status for an extended period. Once the employee's sick and/or vacation leave is exhausted, the employee is entitled to Extended Sick Leave (ESL) for up to six months, as long as she remains disabled. The difference between the Workers' Compensation benefit and 80% salary paid during ESL is made up from departmental funds.

To be eligible for the 80% ESL benefit, an employee must first exhaust her own sick leave. Vacation leave may also be used, but this is not required to be eligible for ESL. If the employee chooses to keep the Workers' Compensation checks and not use sick leave, she will not be on pay status and will be responsible for paying for all of her own health benefits.

Because the employee is on pay status and receiving salary checks, any checks from ORS that the employee cashes will be deducted from a future paycheck. This sometimes occurs after the employee has returned to work. It is strongly recommended that you have the employee call the Workers' Compensation Benefits Assistant to arrange to endorse these checks to the University to avoid an overpayment and thus a future deduction from her salary.

Employee Benefits

While on pay status, the employee's benefits continue as normal. Sick/vacation leave is also accrued at the normal rate and service credit is accrued according to the percentage of salary received (i.e., on 80% pay, 80% service credit is accrued). When the employee goes onto leave without pay status, she continues to accrue sick/vacation leave (to be credited only if she returns to work) and has her medical insurance premiums paid as long as she is receiving temporary disability payments.

Non-Work-Related Injuries

The steps for non-work-related injuries are not as detailed as those for work-related injuries, but they are just as important. If you have an employee who gets injured off the job follow these guidelines:

  • Get written verification from the doctor stating the length of time the employee will be out of work.
  • Refer the employee to the Benefits Unit to apply for disability if the employee's disability extends longer than the available sick and vacation leaves.
  • After exhausting up to thirty calendar days of accrued sick leave (about 22 working days), if your employee wants to, you can authorize the use of vacation time, particularly if the waiting period for the disability benefit is longer than the number of sick days available. The employee must be on leave without pay to get disability benefits.
  • Fill out the Department Time Verification form, which will be sent to the department by the Benefits Unit once the employee applies for disability under group insurance. This form details the last day worked, sick leave and vacation leave used, and when the employee went on leave without pay. This information is reported to the disability insurance carrier and is needed before a claim can be opened. Disability benefits begin when the claim is approved and the employee is on leave without pay.
  • Change the employee's record in HRMS to indicate leave without pay when the employee has exhausted sick leave and/or any vacation days.
  • Keep in touch with the employee during her absence.

Vocational Rehabilitation

The University Vocational Rehabilitation Program is designed to help disabled faculty and staff members (for work-related and non-work-related injuries) stay on the job through accommodation or find other work consistent with their medical limitations.

Services for employees can include:

  • Vocational assessment
  • Job-seeking skills
  • Interview and resume preparation
  • Job search

For supervisors, the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors:

  • Help get medical clarification of an employee's restrictions
  • Perform medical separation reviews
  • Provide resource information about adaptive equipment and services and accommodation
Your Role

You may supervise an employee with a disability or you may be contacted by a counselor to consider interviewing/hiring an employee with a disability from another department. Specific areas where you would have a role include:

Reasonable accommodation. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, one of the University's obligations is to provide reasonable accommodation. If an employee has restrictions due to either a work-related or non-work-related disability, you are responsible for determining whether a reasonable accommodation can be made.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors can explore possible accommodations with you, including using the Job Accommodation Network, a national database to share information about accommodations and adaptive equipment. Accommodations might involve the use of adaptive equipment, a shift of job duties, a reduced schedule, or a device which helps an employee in firm grasping. Studies have shown that 31% of accommodations provided do not cost anything. This could include those situations where an employee uses an available cart to move boxes instead of carrying them. For employees with Workers' Compensation claims, see Modified Work in this chapter.

Search for alternative work. If an employee is medically unable to return to her previously held position, you will be asked by a counselor to review the possibility of transferring her to an open position in the unit for which she is qualified and which she is medically able to perform. If there are restrictions, you are responsible for determining whether reasonable accommodation is possible. If accommodation is not possible you would work with your Employee Relations Specialist to determine whether it is appropriate to request a medical separation. For more information on medical separation, see Chapter 1, Employment, and Chapter 23, Separations.

Job analysis. A counselor would meet with you at the employee's work site to discuss the demands of the position. The analysis is then reviewed by the employee. Comments are discussed again with you so that any disagreements can be clarified.

Return to Work

In preparing for an employee's return to work following a period of disability, you should:

Request in writing, about two weeks prior to the expected return date, that the employee provide either:

  • a full release slip from the doctor OR
  • a slip from the doctor indicating that the disability is being extended to a specific date OR
  • a slip from the doctor stating that the employee will have restrictions on her return to work (this note should indicate the nature and duration of the restrictions)

If the employee returns to work part-time for medical reasons related to the medical leave or if the employee may lose time for doctor's appointments or therapy, she may be eligible for supplemental benefits from either ORS for work-related injuries or Liberty Mutual (UC's disability carrier) for non-work-related injuries. The following steps will ensure that the employee is properly compensated:

For work-related injuries, report the return to work to a Workers' Compensation Benefits Assistant and indicate whether the return is to less than full time. If the schedule is to be consistent (i.e., four hours per day for three weeks), ORS will calculate benefits on a wage loss basis.

If the employee is returning from a non-work-related injury or illness, she may be eligible for supplemental benefits from Liberty Mutual. For example, if an employee returns half-time due to a medical restriction, Liberty Mutual may make up the difference to the 70% maximum benefit level. This benefit is called Rehabilitation Status and should be requested in writing to Liberty Mutual. Contact the Benefits Unit for more information.

Modified Work Program

The University began a campus-wide modified work program in January 1991, following a successful pilot program. Providing modified work has several advantages:

  • It is an effective way for employees to return to full duty. It is cost-effective for both the department-which pays for work vs. sick leave and the campus in overall claims cost
  • It is psychologically advantageous to the employee
  • In this program, restrictions on an employee's work may be accommodated for up to 60 days with a possible 60-day extension. The employee may be accommodated in the previously held position (through eliminating tasks outside the restrictions, performing tasks in a different manner, or reducting time) or assigned duties other than her usual responsibilities. The employee will be expected to work a productive schedule for the time she is assigned. The salary remains the same (even if in a lower position) or is increased (if in a higher level position).
Your Role
  • Obtain a medical slip from the employee that outlines the restrictions and their duration. If you can't evaluate for reasonable accommodation with the information provided or if no length of time is given for the restrictions, contact the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor assigned to your control unit. The counselor will contact the doctor directly for further information. If the employee was seen by a physician at Occupational Health Service, you may call directly for information. Determine whether the restrictions can be accommodated in either the previously held or an alternative position.
  • Contact the employee with your assessment and, if you can accommodate, set a return-to-work date. If the restrictions involve a part-time schedule, set a work schedule. Always acknowledge receipt of the restrictions in writing and outline in writing what accommodations you are able to make. For example, if the accommodation involves a change in duties, outline what the employee will be doing. If the duration of the restrictions is two months and you can only accommodate for one month, specify that in the letter and indicate that you will re-evaluate the possibility of an extension at the end of that month.
  • Send a copy of the letter to the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor so that the modified work can be documented and included in annual program evaluations.
  • Request that the employee provide further medical documentation at the end of the modified work period, indicating that she is released to full duty or that the restrictions need to be continued and/or modified.
  • The department can request an independent medical opinion. The need for this should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The department is responsible for paying the cost of the evaluation and report.
Other Resources
  • Workers' Compensation Unit at University Health Services-Tang Center
  • Occupational Health Clinic at University Health Services-Tang Center
  • Benefits Unit in Human Resources
  • Workers' Compensation Handbook for Supervisors
  • "Facts about Workers' Compensation" pamphlet available from Workers' Compensation Unit
  • Americans with Disabilities pamphlet available from Vocational Rehabilitation Unit
  • Employee Development & Training classes and workshops
  • SuperVision newsletter articles on the ADA, dated June, July, September, and October, 1992
Physical Injury Prevention Checklist

___ Train employees regularly on the health and safety aspects of their jobs.
___ Require and enforce the use of personal protective equipment and clothing provided where needed (i.e., goggles, face shields, gloves, aprons, hard hats, respirators, ear plugs).
___ Make sure worksites are clean and orderly, walking surfaces properly repaired, stairways fixed with guardrails, and aisles and exits free of obstructions.
___ Conduct regular inspections of your workplace. Look for poorly designed workstations, electrical cords that someone could trip over, overloaded electrical outlets, top-heavy bookcases, etc.
___ Post emergency telephone numbers where they can be readily located.
___ Have an easily accessible first aid kit. Make sure it contains the items needed for the type of injury likely to happen in your unit.
___ Have a readily available list of medical resources.
___ Identify someone in your department who knows about first aid and CPR.
___ Have regularly maintained fire extinguishers readily available.

Psychological Injury Prevention Checklist

___ Express genuine empathy and concern for the health of your employees.
___ Hold regularly scheduled meetings with each employee.
___ Understand your employees' behaviors well enough to notice changes.
___ Take steps toward discussing these changes with the employee.
___ If you have concerns about an employee, consult with the department and other campus resources before intervening.
___ Communicate to your staff any department and campus when new policies affect the employees and the work of the department.
___ Ask for ideas from your staff and make sure they know their input will be received openly.
___ Keep up with campus information on resources.
___ Encourage employees to talk to you about workplace problems and concerns that may affect their work.
___ Understand the many ways that change in the workplace can affect employees.
___ Take steps to ensure that staff members clearly know what work is expected of them and give regular work evaluations.

 

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