Return to Work Programs: What Are They and How Do They Save You Money?

By Cara Whedbee, Ph.D.

For this article, I interviewed Director, Property & Casualty Claim Services, Roger Campagnola, ARM, with a large company. I wanted to know what he knows about Return to Work programs as an asset to any business’ Workers’ Compensation plan, since he manages the claim services for over 100,000 employees.

 CW: What is a Return to Work program?

 RC: A modified duty Return to Work program is a company policy that modifies an injured employee's job for a temporary period to allow him or her to move progressively toward normal job duties as recovery takes place. 

 CW: What are the advantages to a business of having a Return to Work program?

 RC: With a solid Modified Duty Return to Work Program, companies are able to retain onsite experience of trained, valuable employees and increase employee morale while reducing overall Workers’ Compensation claim costs. Employees preserve a sense of attachment to their employer and their coworkers, their concerns of financial and employment uncertainty are eased and Return to Work programs tend to result in faster recovery from injury.     

For example, according to the Texas Department of Insurance Workers’ Compensation Web Site, a small company with 600 employees located in Texas and New Mexico that transports industrial gas cylinders instituted a Return to Work Program. In the three years from the time this business implemented their program, they saw a reduction in their Workers’ Compensation insurance costs by about $650,000.   

CW: How does a modified duty Return to Work program function for companies? 

 RC: A modified duty program strives to get employees with work restrictions back to modified versions of their usual and customary job duties by outlining the tasks associated with the modified duty version of their job and sharing that information with the treating doctor, their company’s third party Workers’ Compensation claim administrator and the company that provides medical case management on every lost time claim for their employer. 

 CW: How can a business who is interested in implementing such a program get started? 

 RC: There are generally five steps any business can take to implement their own Return to Work program:

1. Build a good foundation—in other words; make sure you first seek to maintain a safe workplace.
2. Develop job descriptions for the key functions in your company. In the description, list all of the regular duties of the job, as well as the types of tasks that would be acceptable for modified duty (e.g. If one of the regular duties of the position is to be able to lift 50-75 lbs, then the modified duty could be lifting 0-25 lbs).
3. Let your Workers’ Compensation carrier and all of the medical providers listed by the carrier in your area know your company has a Return to Work program. Post a list of these medical providers and who to contact in the company common areas.
4. When an employee is injured on the job, get the incident reported immediately to your Workers’ Compensation carrier and remind the medical provider treating the employee of your Return to Work program.
5. The doctor will provide a report to the carrier specifying if the employee can return to a modified or “light duty” version of their position.

By following these steps and involving the appropriate professionals, your company can create a successful Return to Work program that can reduce the loss of productivity after an injury, increase employee morale and save your business money in Workers’ Compensation claim costs year over year.