LOOKING FORWARD TO ENHANCED RETURN-TO-WORK SERVICES...
According to John Shilts, there is a lot of support in Oregon
for programs that help injured Oregonians to get back to work.
John should know. He is the Administrator of Oregon’s Workers’
Compensation Division.
One of the Division’s key return-to-work programs is the
Preferred Worker Program (PWP). The PWP is directed at workers
who have permanent disabilities that have resulted from
on-the-job injuries. The PWP delivers services and resources
intended to keep these workers in productive roles in the
Oregon’s workforce. “We’ve been fortunate here in Oregon to get
a lot of support for our return-to-work programs. A big part of
getting that support is our ability to follow up later and to
look at what happens to injured workers.” The Division does a
follow up study on workers approximately four years after their
injuries, looking at such things as their employment status and
earnings. The results, John reports, have been really
encouraging.
The Workers’ Compensation Division is conscientious about
garnering feedback from both workers and employers. Based on
that feedback, it has recently proposed changes to the Preferred
Worker Program that will make it even more effective. These
changes, contained in SB 119, are currently before the Oregon
legislature. John and the Division’s Reemployment Assistant Unit
Manager, Jerry Rutherford, took some time recently to explain to
the OBLN exactly what these proposed changes are.
OBLN: What is SB 119 and how will it change the Preferred
Worker Program?
JOHN SHILTS: There are two main parts to the proposed
changes. First, SB 119 will give us the authority to provide
direct services to workers in regards to their re-employment
under the Preferred Worker Program. The preferred worker program
is a program that allows an eligible worker to bring to an
employer some benefits that help offset the costs that may be
incurred when employing a disabled worker.
Those benefits include a wage subsidy program that allows us
to subsidize the worker’s wages for a period of time. Probably
the biggest benefit is worksite modification – where we provide
funding to modify the worksite for an injured worker so that
they can effectively do the job. The statute was clear about our
ability to provide these benefits to employers but it was silent
about whether we could bring these benefits directly to workers.
An example of this would be if someone was a mechanic all
their lives and had all the appropriate clothing for that; but
now, after their injury, the employer has offered them a
permanent job in the front office. The worker may not have
office-type clothing to wear and they may not have the resources
to buy that clothing for a while. This legislation would allow
us to provide benefits directly to the worker to buy the attire
they need to move into front office job. Similarly, it will also
allow us to provide such services as job seeking skills, resume
preparation and that sort of thing. (We have received feedback
from workers who have said that they just don’t know how to go
about looking for a job – so we want to provide that service to
them).
Secondly, SB 119 will eliminate a statutory “stay” on
retraining services to injured workers. Workers in Oregon who
are permanently disabled from the job that they were doing at
the time of injury and also have a “substantial handicap to
employment”, can be eligible for retraining. If the worker is
found ineligible for such services by their insurer, the worker
can appeal those findings through us. We might find that the
worker is eligible for those services. The employer may then
also appeal our decision. The way it works now is that the
worker cannot be funded for retraining until a final decision is
reached. The case may go on for a long time - while the worker
waits in limbo for several months and doesn’t get the retraining
they need.
Our data shows that in the last three years only four cases,
where we had determined the worker as eligible for retraining,
were overturned. This new bill will remove the “stay”… it will
take the brakes off the worker getting their benefits. The
worker can get their benefits right away. If, later on, our
eligibility determination is overturned, we will reimburse the
insurer or employer for the training expenditures.
OBLN: So the focus of the SB 119 is on preferred workers?
JOHN SHILTS: Yes, with our Management-Labor Advisory
Committee we held mini “town hall” type meetings around the
State and invited both workers and employers to come and talk to
us about issues. Employers and workers wanted us to change the
rules around the program to allow more use of the program –
increasing access to Preferred Worker Program benefits. We have
done a lot of that already in our rules development. The PWP has
always been a program that was activated by the worker. We are
now going to allow the employer to activate the program benefits
as well. Let’s give you an example…
JERRY RUTHERFORD: What we’ve always tried to accomplish is to
keep the worker with the employer where they were working at the
time of injury if at all possible; because they would have less
disruption to their lives, income and field of employment. This
could be either modified regular work or something closely
attuned to it. Employers have told us that they want to be able
to activate our program on their own to support the worker
either in different job or at their regular work with
modifications to make it fit within the worker’s restrictions.
The new rules would allow an employer, at the time of injury, to
contact my unit and we will be able to work with them to try to
work out suitable employment for the injured worker. This won’t
restrict the worker’s ability to activate our program on their
own, should they later decide that they need support to move on
to different employment.
OBLN: What are the benefits that employers might want to
initiate?
JOHN SHILTS: Benefits to employers might include wage
subsidies, worksite modifications premium exemptions on injured
workers for up to three years. If the worker suffers an injury
within that time period, the costs associated with that new
injury are reimbursed to the insurer or employer through our
fund. We make the injured worker a less risky proposition to the
employer.
OBLN: What kinds of worksite modifications would be included
in the benefits of your program?
JERRY RUTHERFORD: We look at whatever permanent restrictions
the worker has incurred due to the injury and we analyze all of
the job duties that are required of the worker. We compare those
duties to their restrictions and we work with the employer to
explore new technology, retrofitting, alternate positions,
change job duties or anything else that we can do (normally up
to a maximum of $25,000) to make the job suitable to the worker.
OBLN: Have you run into much opposition with the proposals in
the bill?
JOHN SHILTS: No, none that we have encountered yet. We have
the endorsement of the Management-Labor Advisory Committee. They
represent both management, including associations (like the NIFB
and AOI) and the large labor unions. There is a lot of support
on both sides of the aisle for these return-to-work programs.
Everybody wins. The employer wins because they aren’t having to
pay out so much money – getting somebody back more quickly. It’s
a big win for the worker, particularly if we can keep them with
the employer of injury.
OBLN: How do you see the passage of the bill progressing?
JOHN SHILTS: We’ve got the bill get through the Senate. It is
over on the House side now. We guess that it will probably be
one of the earliest Senate bills considered and that it will
pass without problem. We're hoping the bill will be signed by
the Governor by early summer.
John and Jerry are justifiably excited about the impending
passage of this bill. They are anxious to gear up their program
for these changes – and to be able to provide both workers and
employers with enhanced options for developing effective
return-to-work plans.
READ MORE about the Preferred Worker Program...
