Why Every Construction Company Needs a Return-to-Work Program

As an employer within the construction industry, you play an essential role in the recovery of injured workers. A properly defined Return-to-Work program is a proven way to decrease an injured worker’s recovery time and assist them in returning to work quickly and safely with temporary and appropriate work restrictions.

Regardless of your trade or specialization, workers’ compensation claims can be severe and costly and how you manage an injury can directly impact your experience modification factor and future insurance premiums. According to industry data, after 12 weeks off the job following an injury, roughly 50% of workers do not return to work. That percentage reduces to less than 2% after more than one year off the job. The longer an employee remains off work, the greater the operational and financial impact.

Below, we will highlight the what, how, and why of a Return-to-Work program to help you understand its importance and the steps you can take to implement it in your workplace.

The Why: Protecting Your Crew and Your Mod Rate

For construction companies, lost-time claims can significantly impact your experience modification factor. A higher mod rate can increase your premiums and affect your competitiveness when bidding on projects.

A Return-to-Work program helps:

• Shorten the duration of disability
• Prevent medical-only claims from becoming lost-time claims
• Reduce overall claim reserves and long-term premium impact
• Maintain project continuity and crew productivity
• Keep experienced workers engaged and motivated

Keeping an injured employee connected to the workplace supports morale and reinforces a culture of accountability and care.

The What

A successful Return-to-Work program should first establish job descriptions of usual and customary duties. Employers can then define ways that the duties for each job may be modified to accommodate an injured worker’s medical restrictions.

It is recommended to provide the existing job descriptions to the medical clinics so that they are readily available for physician review when an injury occurs.

Then, begin to identify and define temporary work assignments:

• Modified work involves any changes to the original job that allows the injured worker to perform in that position, such as changing the workstation or tools, removing tasks that the injured worker cannot perform, or reducing the time spent on a particular task.
• Alternative work involves offering the injured worker a position other than the current job to meet the temporary work restrictions.
• Reduced hours offer less than full-time work to meet the temporary restrictions, and wage loss will be calculated and provided to the injured worker by your insurance company.
• Job sharing is a flexible work option where two or more employees share a single job.

When an injury occurs, employers should report the injury and refer the injured worker for medical treatment and submit the Injured Worker’s Usual and Customary Job Description to the treating physician for review to determine if the worker is able to perform the job duties.

The How:

To gain the most out of a Return-to-Work program, employers can develop a comprehensive written policy.   Include the policy as part of the new hire onboarding and provide copies to existing staff.  Leadership should be trained on the policy and process to ensure restrictions are being followed.  HR and/or management involved in claim handling may also proactively meet with their clinic director to gain support and alignment on procedural expectations.

Oftentimes, how employers manage work-related injuries interplay with Human Resources especially when you are determining safe and acceptable modified work options that are available to an injured worker. In these instances, employers need to keep the interactive process in mind which demonstrates employer good-faith activities and proactive behaviors (e.g., supervisor training on how to handle such issues) that can go a long way to prove your company’s efforts in identifying and promoting an appropriate accommodation such as:

• Analyzing the limitation of the employee against the specific job position involved to determine what essential job functions are available and select the most appropriate modified work option to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the injured worker.
• Proactively exploring the range of potential reasonable accommodations to help minimize or remove identified challenges to maintain employment whenever possible.

Keeping Your Construction Workplace Proactive and Protected

A Return-to-Work program is an essential component of any construction operation. By implementing a structured program, employers can shorten the duration of disability, assist injured workers in returning to work safely, and reduce claim costs.

To implement an effective Return-to-Work program, employers should consider:

• Establishing a bank of job descriptions for each role
• Establishing a clear process for reporting injuries from the jobsite
• Referring injured workers promptly for medical treatment and job duty review

For more information or clarity on any of these points, you may reach out to our office anytime to discuss a Keep at Work or Return-to-Work program and how it can work for your construction business.