Executive Policy 9.221 Executive Policy 9.221

Return to Work Priority Placement Program

Executive Policy Chapter 9, 9.221, Return to Work Priority Placement Program
Executive Policy 9.221, Return to Work Priority Placement Program
Effective Date:  February, 2024
Prior Dates Amended:  N/A
Responsible Office: Vice President for Administration
Governing Board of Regents Policy: N/A
Review Date:  February, 2027

I.  Purpose

To provide eligible University of Hawai‘i (University) Civil Service employees, who are unable to return to their usual and customary duties due to work-related injury or illness, an opportunity for temporary duty, or placement via alternate work to another suitable position. This provision is consistent with the Governor’s Administrative Directive No. 94-02, “On Returning Injured and Disabled Employees to Work.”

II.  Definitions

Alternate work: Work in a position other than the employee’s current position to which the employee with a disability is assigned when the employee can no longer perform the usual and customary duties and responsibilities of his or her pre-injury/illness work.

Civil Service employees (employees): Includes employees that have met requirements for membership in the Civil Service as defined in the State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Resources Development Policies and Procedures Policy No. 300.001 (“Types of Appointments”), and have passed an initial probation period. Non-Civil Service emergency or exempt hires are not eligible under this policy.

Claims Manager: Office responsible for reviewing compensable Workers’ Compensation (WC) claims and validating workers’ compensation applicability.

Eligibility period: A period not to exceed six months. The eligibility period begins with the initial employee informational meeting and runs concurrently with the initial 30 calendar days to review options. It ends with a placement or the completion of one University-wide job search within the six-month period.

Human Resources Representative (HR Rep): Human Resources Representative assigned to the employee’s hiring unit.

Light work: Temporary work that is different from the employee’s usual and customary duties and responsibilities to which the employee may be temporarily assigned if such work is available and the work is planned or assigned to adhere to the physical and/or psychological restrictions set by the employee’s or employer’s physician. The employee remains appointed to his or her current position throughout the light work assignment.

Modified work: Work with changes in the non-essential or marginal usual and customary duties and/or responsibilities of the employee’s current work.

Physician: A doctor of medicine, a dentist, a chiropractor, an osteopath, a naturopath, a psychologist, an optometrist, a podiatrist, or an advanced practice registered nurse, as defined by Chapter 386, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS).

Priority placement: A job placement made to a position for employees who are permanently unable to return to their usual and customary work because of a compensable WC injury or illness. Placement shall not result in a promotion or a higher compensation. Placement through this program takes precedence over filling a vacancy through normal recruitment processes.

Regular work: The usual and customary duties and responsibilities of the employee prior to the work injury.

Unit: Office, Department, School.

Work injury: A work-related injury or illness suffered under the conditions specified in Chapter 386-3, HRS.

III.  Executive Policy

Employees who have permanent restriction(s) and who are permanently unable to return to their current position because of a work injury may be provided with possible placement in a suitable alternate position within the University for which the employee is qualified. The Office of Human Resources (OHR) shall work with the affected employee’s designated Human Resources Representative (HR Rep) throughout the placement process.

  1. General Provisions

    1. Job search and placement shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Return to Work Priority Placement Program (RTWPPP). Disputes arising from the RTWPPP are not subject to the grievance procedure of collective bargaining agreements.

    2. The job search shall be conducted in the following order and movement to the next level shall occur only if no suitable position is found within the level being considered:

      1. In the employee’s designated campus.

      2. University-wide.

    3.  Work-injured employees who have permanent restrictions related to his or her compensable WC claim shall be referred to the OHR RTWPPP by the Office of Risk Management (ORM). This policy addresses a component of §12-14-5 criteria for an approved vocational rehabilitation plan, of Hawai‘i Administrative Rules Title 12 Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Subtitle 3 Disability Compensation Division, Chapter 14 Rehabilitation, Subchapter 2 Review and Approval of Vocational Rehabilitation Plans.

  2. Responsibilities

    1. Return to Work Assessment

      1. The WC Claims Manager will continuously assess the medical information received on a compensable WC claim and may determine, in consultation with ORM, that an employee on Temporary Total Disability (TTD) may be able to return to some type of employment.

      2. When the assessment indicates that the employee could possibly return to regular work or light work, the WC Claims Manager will obtain a completed Estimated Functional Capacity Evaluation (EFC) and/or Mental Residual Functional Capacity Assessment (MFCA) form from a physician.

    2. Upon review of the completed information, if the employee has permanent restrictions and is at maximum medical improvement (MMI), the WC Claims Manager, in consultation with ORM, will determine if the employee:

      1. Is able to return to regular work (no further assessment required);

      2. Is able to return to regular work with modification (continuing assessment required);

      3.  Is continuing to recover from the WC injury and is able to perform light work (a temporary light work assignment shall be considered); or

      4. Is unable to return to regular or modified work on a permanent basis but is able to perform alternate work (employee is referred to OHR for job search and efforts are made to place the employee in a position with alternate work).

      5. If a job profile is necessary to determine the physical and/or psychological demands of the position, the unit’s HR Rep, OHR, and the WC Claims Manager, in coordination with ORM, shall coordinate its completion for a compensable work injury or illness.

    3. Light Work

      1. Light Work Assignments

        1. The WC Claims Manager shall work with the employee’s HR Rep to consider temporary modification of the employee’s regular work duties and responsibilities to accommodate the employee’s temporary light work restrictions. OHR shall assist in this effort when needed and requested.

        2. Where temporary modification of the employee’s regular work is not possible, the employee may be assigned to light work tasks within the University..

        3. A physician must approve and provide the parameters for the employee’s light work assignment. The employee’s HR Rep, as appropriate, shall provide the WC Claims Manager with a completed Temporary Light Duty Job Analysis for the physician’s approving signature.

        4.  Employees shall accept offers of light work assignment as determined suitable by the WC Claims Manager and the employee’s supervisor/HR Rep/Dean/Director based on the restrictions set by the physician.

        5.  If light duty assignments are unavailable in the employee’s hiring unit, the employee may be referred to another unit by OHR, but will retain their current position and compensation.

        6. An employee who refuses a light work assignment that has been determined suitable shall have Temporary Total Disability or Temporary Partial Disability benefits suspended. If an employee fails to report to an approved light duty assignment, they shall be placed on unauthorized leave of absence from work for the hours that the employee should be on work status. Appropriate disciplinary action may also be taken by the Appointing Authority.

    4. Light Work Pay
      The employee on a temporary light work assignment remains appointed to his or her current position throughout the assignment. The employee, therefore, receives their normal salary in the position; however, if the light work assignment is for a reduced number of hours than the employee’s normal work hours in the position, appropriate adjustment will be made in accordance with statutory requirements.

    5. Release from Light Work
      The employee’s participation in the light work assignment concludes when the employee:

      1. Is released to regular duty by a physician;

      2. Is placed in modified or alternate work;

      3. Refuses placement in suitable light work assignments; or

      4. Is deemed to have a permanent restriction, and is therefore eligible for RTWPPP.

    6. RTWPPP

      1. Criteria for Participation
        To participate in a priority placement through the RTWPPP, an employee shall be released by a physician to return to alternate work after the physician has determined that the employee is permanently unable to perform any or all of the essential functions of the employee’s regular pre-injury position because of their permanent restrictions due to their compensable WC injury.

        If the employee has permanent WC-related restrictions, the employee’s unit HR Rep along with the employee’s supervisor/Dean/Director, will review and determine if they can reasonably accommodate the WC-related permanent restrictions on a permanent basis.

        Any change in the employee’s medical condition must be reported by the physician to the WC Claims Manager for the change to be considered in the priority placement process. The WC Claims Manager, in coordination with ORM, shall notify OHR of the change.

        Guidelines on the management of the RTWPPP, including Employee Notice, Employee Meeting, Employee Eligibility Period, Employee Job Search, Employee Placement, and Discharge are found in the attached Guidelines.

        Inability to place the employee with a permanent disability in alternate work may result in discharge of employment.


IV.  Delegation of Authority

There is no policy-specific delegation of authority.

V.  Contact Information

The System Office of Human Resources

VI.  references

  1. University of Hawai‘i Administrative Procedure A9.720 – Workers’ Compensation

  2. Governor’s Administrative Directive No. 94-02, On Returning Injured and Disabled Employees to Work, dated April 21, 1994

  3. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

  4. Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, Chapter 386, Workers Compensation Law

  5. Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, Chapter 378, Employment Practices

  6. State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Resources Development Policy No. 902.001, “Return to Work Priority Program”

  7. State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Resources Development Policy No. 300.001, “Types of Appointments”

  8. Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 12 Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Subtitle 3 Disability Compensation Division, Chapter 14 - Rehabilitation, Subchapter 2 Review and Approval of Vocational Rehabilitation Plans


VII.  Exhibits

  1. Guidelines – Return to Work Priority Placement Program

  2. Temporary Light Duty Job Analysis

  3. Estimated Functional Capacity Evaluation Form

  4. Mental Residual Functional Capacity Assessment

  5. Priority Placement Questionnaire


VIII.  Approved:

_______________________                                    ___________
David Lassner                                               
President

Approved

Signed
David Lassner
February 21, 2024
Date
President

Topics

No Topics found.


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