Human Resource Blog

Workers Compensation

We own a small buisness and had an employee fall and get hurt. The employee has been off for two weeks and we have been notified that they are going to be attending therapy but can return to work in a supervisory role, I am assuming that would mean limited duty. The restrictions she has on the limited duty do not allow her to perform any duties needed at the facility, yet the insurance company is telling us to let her back in a modified posistion. We would have to have another employee there with her to help her fulfil her job so really they would be being paid to come and sit in a chair, and that is not financially feasable. Do we have to offer a posistion, and if we do are we able to do anything with the wages or hours to make it easier for us to deal with financialy? I am in the state of Pennslyvania if that matters as well. Thanks for any help.

You say that it is not financially feasible to return this employee to work on limited duty, but it may save you thousands of dollars in the long run. When an employee misses work due to a work-related injury, it increases your workers comp premiums for every single employee, for many years. If you figure out what this will cost you over the next 20 years, it is far cheaper to return the employee to work on light duty. It may not seem like it, but the insurance company is trying to minimize the damage to your company.

You can create a position for this employee such as file clerk, that is within her physical limitations. In some cases, you can pay her a wage appropriate to the new position, rather than her usual wage (although that may still increase your premium.) Rather than decide not to return this employee to light duty, contact an attorney who specializes in workers comp cases.