A reminder in addition to the obvious benefit to your organization’s performance in retro, L&I incents employers to bring injured workers back to transitional work, while the worker recovers from his or her injury.   The Stay at Work program offers employers the following benefits for qualifying return-to-work job placements:

Eligible employers can be reimbursed for: 

• 50% of the base wages they pay to the injured worker.

• • For up to 66 days in which work was actually performed
  • Must be within a 24-month consecutive period
  • Up to $10,000 per claim.

• Some of the cost of training, tools or clothing the worker needs to do the light-duty or transitional work.

• • Training fees or materials up to $1000 per claim
  • Tools up to $2500 per claim
  • Clothing up to $400 per claim.

These are obviously some nice incentives to bring your injured workers back to work in temporary transitional jobs.  To qualify for these benefits the following requirements must be met per L&I:

• You must be the employer at the time of injury on the claim OR, if the claim is an occupational disease claim:
  • –  Be an employer whose experience rating is affected by the allowed claim because you once employed the worker, or
  • –  Be the last employer to employ the worker when the allowed claim was filed (even if the claim will not affect your experience rating).
• Before the worker begins work, give the worker’s health care provider a description of the available transitional or light-duty work that clearly indicates the physical requirements for the work —before the worker begins the work. Have written approval of the light-duty or transitional work from the worker’s health care provider.

            Note: These elements are met if you have made a valid transitional/light duty return-to-work offer using the tools noted in the previous article.

• Continue any health care benefits the worker had, unless these benefits are inconsistent with the employer’s current benefit program for workers.
• Apply within one year of incurring the eligible expenses.

To apply for these benefits, go online to www.Lni.wa.gov/StayAtWork.  This will direct you to an application form that can be downloaded.  Currently, there is no online application process and so you will need to make your application on the form and mail or fax it to L&I.

In addition to the form, L&I reminds you that you will need the following supporting information submitted with the application form:

1. For a wage reimbursement

L&I will need:
1. Payroll information. A copy of the payroll records and daily timesheets:

Documenting the hours worked, the type and amount of the base wage paid, each day, for the hours the worker performed the light-duty or transitional work.

Even if you normally don’t keep track because your employee is salaried. Note: To protect the confidentiality of your workers, be sure to remove all other employees’ payroll information from the copies you send us.

2. The provider’s description of the physical restrictions preventing the worker from doing his/her usual work, such as the Activity Prescription Form or copy of a chart note.*
3. A completed, light-duty or transitional job description approved by the health care provider.*

You may use:
The standard Employer’s Job Description form available on our

website: www.Lni.wa.gov/FormPub/Detail.asp?DocID=1684 Or

The return-to-work job description your organization currently uses with L&I as long as the description includes the tasks and physical requirements of the work. Employers must also provide a copy of the description to the worker.

Note from CRM:  Please use the Job Analysis from the Job Analysis Bank.

For an expense reimbursement (training, tools and clothing expenses) L&I will need:

1. Dated, itemized receipts for the goods or services you purchased.
2. Provider’s description of the physical restrictions. (Same as above.)
3. A completed, provider-approved light-duty or transitional job description (Same as above.)