Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine March 2021

S tate, National, Chapter News State national Chapter News

Return to Work Program

By Nick Hall Cross Pointe Insurance Advisors In Partnership with Arkansas HVACR Association

For those of you that read our January edition, thank you and welcome back! For those of you that didn’t, in each issue of the NewsMagazine we are going to be teaching you a Risk Management Tool you can use to become a safer company and save money on your Insurance Program. In January, we highlighted the 5% Drug Free Credit you can receive on your Workers Compensation Policy if you are designated as a Drug Free Workplace by the Arkansas Workers Compensation Commission. This month we are highlighting Return to Work Programs . A Return to Work Program is a formalized plan to get employees back to work as soon as possible post injury. The longer an injured employee is away from work, the more costly that injury is to the employer. By offering modified work or “ light duty, ” companies can reduce claim costs, improve employee retention, and minimize lost productivity - all saving you money . Let’s look at each of those key benefits a little closer: Reducing Claim Costs – After an injury that causes an employee to miss time

from work, Workers Compensation carriers are on the hook for the injured employee ’ s lost wages, subject to the state’s benefit statutes. When an employee goes on “l ight duty, ” you will pay them either: A) their regular wages – eliminating all indemnity payments from the carrier, or B) modified wages for their new modified duties – leaving the Workers Compensation carrier to pay up to 2/3rds of the difference between the new modified wages and their regular wages, up to the state maximum. This can significantly reduce the indemnity portion of the claim, directly benefiting your loss history and experience modification rate. Improve Employee Retention – On average, employees involved in a Return to Work Program return 1.4 times sooner compared to employees working for employers that do not participate. In addition, the longer an injured employee is away from work, the less likely it is they ever return. According to the US Department of Labor- Bureau’s Labor Statistics: • Employees away from work for 3 Weeks have a 75% Chance to return;