What companies policies do you have for work comp?

[livingonadream]

I recently started at a company and I am perplexed by the stuff employees get away with. I'm sure there is similar stuff everywhere but it's out of control where I work. There are little to no policies in place.

People report injuries whenever they like. We have on site clinic and therapy. People show up when they want, follow restrictions when they want, and only give me return to work info when they want. The injury has turned into an excuse. They have no responsibility.

Since I have started, I see it has been an issue. I replaced a CNA that sent everyone to the hospital and did whatever an employee told her.

I have been given permission to develop a policy related to work comp. I have some ideas but don't want to miss any loop holes. What works for your company to get back the control.

[1wellnessnurse]

I would make it policy that ALL incidents and injuries get reported. This way you can identify near-misses and prevent identical injuries from reoccurring.

Check out Duke's website, I think this is what you are looking for.

http://www.hr.duke.edu/benefits/medical/workcomp/

[Jolie, BSN]

I admire you for wanting to protect yourself, your honest co-workers, your employer and your clients from those who abuse Worker's Comp.

Workers Compensation is a federally mandated program that is administered differently in every state, so there is little that we can help you with, unless we know where you are located. Any policy/procedure that you develop must be in compliance with state and federal law, so the first step for is to familiarize yourself with both by doing an on-line search.

Secondly, unless you work for a large corporation which self-insures, your company pays premiums to an insurance company for Workers Comp coverage. I would suggest getting the contact information for that insurer and asking for their guidance. If your company self-insures then you will have a legal department that can assist you.

Lastly, contact Human Resources to learn what policies and procedures may already exist. No need to re-invent the wheel if you have access to a starting point.

Best of luck to you!

[Nurselizy]

I agree with Jolie. Most companies are self insured and HR will have all the contact info. Look up Work Comp in the state you live in, there you will find what you are looking for in regards to First reports of injuries, statue of limitations, and such. The most important thing to start is a log book of employees who come in and what their complaint is. If you dispense ANY OTC meds or even keep any in your office, you need to document, document, document.

Good Luck

[livingonadream]

For clarification:

It's not necessarily related to work compensation insurance itself not state/federal laws, nor OSHS. I am looking for company policy examples. For example, right now we have a policy in place that says Employees must report injuries before they leave work if it happened on that day. I have a friend that says her company says it must be reported within 24 hours. Is that state/federal/OSHA/etc law? No. But it is something the company can enforce. Employees report it 5 days later or never and just show up with restrictions. I am looking for rules and policies made by the company that make the employee responsible. I do work for a large company and I am actually the one that deals with all the work comp injuries in my region.

My questions are along the lines of:

Do your employees get penalized if they miss their appointments?

What if they don't give you return to work information?

What if they fail to comply with their restrictions?

What if they don't show up to physical therapy?

Do employees get paid to go to appointments?

How are employees getting to their appointments if while during their work hours?

What if they don't show up to their follow up appointment, are their restrictions then void?

[42pines]

It sounds like things really are out of control.

You have a strange safety culture--and it will be an uphill battle to change things and will take time--as in years, and then only with the buy-in of the management.

I'd suggest starting with your state Workers' Comp and pore though the rules/regulations. It's great to say: "All accidents must be reported immediately/within 24 hours or perhaps this century--but in fact in most states it's the last one: "this century" that is the only thing that will hold up. For instance, a worker hurts her back on a Wednesday--and is scheduled for a two week vacation. It's quite common in such cases where the employee thinks "it'll get better." Then over the weekend, voila--it does. Then two weeks with an easy life and then uh oh...back to work and by Wednesday her back is hurting. You can say/demand what you want but if she can prove the injury is work related--you own it.

Livingonadream asks: "What if they don't give you return to work clearance?" You can fume, rant and rage--but it's only when the ee's supervisor says: "Get out of here...go get clearance from the nurse," that you actually regain some control. If the supervisor/boss/management allows a person back to work without clearance there is nothing that you can do. Again mgt must buy-in until it becomes the culture.

If they fail to comply with restrictions, once again--it's the supervisor who should be letting you know and taking action sending the ee back to you. If they refuse to show up repeatedly to PT that's a different story--deal with the WC insurance and they'll close the case. Really. EE's have obligations.

Do they get paid...see state rules.

If they don't show up to a follow up appointment and restrictions are written to be effective till that date (without a damn good excuse) they no longer have restrictions or rather...they no longer can perform, for instance, light duty--they should be booted out till they return with valid new restrictions. Again the WC insurance company rep will slam ee's that play that game--virtually every state requires ee's to comply with their return to work program.

But it's all about culture, in safety and through safety--to the Occ Health RN/clinic. I think you have a hard road ahead.