Time- Limited Restricted Work Program

Richard

What are your comments on having a policy that our company only allows eighteen months of disability and/or performing restricted work combined? We would apply this to occupational and non-occupational injuries and illnesses. They would then be laid off from the company that we no longer will provide alternate duty work because we have a temporary restricted work program. I believe this supports ADA because we have a consistent program. (This goes beyond the ADA, of course we will reasonably accommodate if they can perform the essential functions of the job.) It also informs the employee upfont on their future employment with the company. Our experience is that many employees recover and no longer need restricted work when they know there is no advantage to continue on restricted work.

WT

When employees are on restricted duty, what are they paid? Our program puts employees who cannot perform their essential job duties in a pool of labor which is at the bottom of the work force and the rate of pay is less. They have an incentive to recover to return to a higher rate of pay. This is another way of doing what you do. Remember that most places will find an employee eligible for unemployment if you lay them off and the doctor says they can do light duty or restricted duty. Further, FMLA may well require 12 weeks (with health insurance) for them to recover and come back. ADA does not require that the essential duties of the job be set aside or specific light duty jobs be created. Some employers have employees essentially sit in a corner somewhere for light duty and do not get 8 hours a day production out of them. In my opinion, that is a poor policy and a poor example to productive workers.

Don D

If at the end of your maximum period of disability, you send people home, you're not 'laying them off', you're firing them. I don't think I'll come around to a belief that a company should have a non-comp restricted return to work program. We have a pretty solid program but it only relates to comp situations. For non-comp issues, either they can perform the essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation, or they can't. We don't mix ADA reasonable accommodation with return to work restricted duty situations, or at least that's a goal we have. I'm sure at times the two could mesh. Our policy states an 'intended' limitation on the return program of 6-weeks, with management's ability to deviate if thought advisable. We will not create 'broom leaning' positions even in comp situations. The message it sends is far more costly than the comp lost days cost. And we always make sure the treating physician has a full and accurate copy of the physical demands summary of the particular job.