WC - Returning to Work

Returning to Work after an Injury or Illness

Early return to work results in many benefits for the injured or ill employee, including the prevention of de-conditioning and the psychological sequels of prolonged time off work. Employers also realized benefits through substantial reductions in disability payments, medical treatment costs, absence from work, insurance premiums, and overall workers’ compensation costs.

Benefits to employees who return to work early

Prevention of wage loss: Workers' Compensation benefits replace only part of the employee's wages. Further, there is usually a 3-day waiting period before industrial disability or temporary disability payments begin. The sooner an employee returns to work, the sooner their income will return to its pre-injury level.

Faster recuperation: Soft tissue injuries are one of the major sources of workers' compensation claims. Current medical counsel dictates that only a limited amount of rest is necessary and that anything more can be debilitating because muscles will begin to atrophy.

Positive social reintegration: Being away from work for too long may cause the employee to feel alienated from their work environment.

Benefits to departments when employees return to work early

Increased efficiency as staff resume pre-injury or illness work assignments.
Increased moral as staffing levels return to pre-injury/illness levels.
Increased effectiveness as staff resumes assignments for which they have developed expertise.

Released to work with no restrictions

When the employee is released to return to work without restrictions, the employee must obtain medical certification from their medical provider to return to work full duty. The employee must provide the medical certification to their manager and Human Resources Management upon returning to work.

Please submit a copy of the medical certification to our Workers' Compensation Secure Dropbox, deliver to Welch Hall 340 or fax a copy to Human Resources Management at (310) 928-7256.

Released to modified or light duty

When the medical provider releases the employee to "modified" or "light" duty work, the employee's manager will review the work limitations and determine if their department has temporary or modified work available to assist in transitioning the employee back to their full job duties.

If a temporary transitional assignment is feasible, the employee's manager and/or the Workers' Compensation Program Coordinator will meet with the employee to review the transitional assignment, and the work limitations prescribed by the physician. The temporary assignment will be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure that the employee continues to improve. Changes to the transitional assignment will be made based on the changes to the work limitations. Transitional assignments are temporary and not designed to become permanent.

If a temporary transitional assignment is not available, the Workers' Compensation Program Coordinator will contact the employee to discuss the available benefit options. The employee's manager should not allow the employee to return to work without a written release.

Work Status

Written work status reports should be submitted to Human Resources Management as soon as possible after each medical evaluation and follow-up appointment. Reports can be submitted to our Workers' Compensation Secure Dropbox, delivered to Welch Hall 340, or submitted by fax at (310) 928-7256.

For more information, please contact Human Resources Management at (310) 243-3771.