Background

• Our Transitional Duty program started in 1990. It is offered for a limited time to partially disabled employees. Transitional Duty is defined as work that is different from the requirements of an employee's usual duties or represents a modification of his or her regular duties.
• The transitional duty payroll is offered to employees who would otherwise be off work on temporary disability.

Program Specifics

The standards for being placed on the Transitional Duty payroll are as follows:

• An employee must be Temporarily Totally Disabled and not be permanently disabled or permanently precluded from returning to work.
• The injured employee must be released to return to restricted duty by his/her treating physician.
• The employee must have been disabled from performing any work for at least one day.
• The Workers' Compensation Department authorizes and monitors the Transitional Duty payroll.
• The Workers' Compensation department is responsible for the cost of the Transitional Duty Payroll.
• The treating physician is provided with a detailed description of the employee's job duties. The physician is then able to determine which job functions that can or cannot be performed by the employee.
• When an employee is incapable of performing his or her usual and customary job on a temporary basis, we maintain ongoing contact with the treating physician's office, the employee and employee's supervisor.
• We have found that the ongoing contact actions are helpful in reducing the length of time an employee may be on total temporary disability. The transitional duty program helps to return more employees to work. If an employee does not lose any time from work, and is immediately released to restricted duty, their wages are paid by the department providing the transitional duty work and not by the Workers' Compensation department.
• Direct your questions to your Worker's Compensation claims representative or the Worker's Compensation Helpline at 415-973-8700 and select the option 2.

Required Activity

1. Provide employee with appropriate medical treatment.
   • a. For serious injuries, contact 911
   • b. Direct employee to the 24/7 Nurse Care Line for medical advice and or treatment at 1(888) 449-7787. If needed the nurse will refer employee to Medical Provider Network (MPN).
   • c. Provide employee copy of electronic incident report from the Nurse Care Line.
2. If the injury is serious or questionable, call your Workers' Compensation Representative (WCR).
3. If the injury requires medical treatment or there is lost time beyond the date of injury, provide a DWC Form 1 to the employee within one working day.
4. Complete the Incident Investigation Report documents for both industrial injuries and incidents as required, per USP 22. Consult with your Safety Program Consultant as necessary.
5. Notify and consult with your WCR and keep them aware of any changes of employee status.
6. Provide light duty/transitional work if possible and medically indicated.

Dos

• Prevent injuries from happening in the first place ["0" Injuries = "0" lost workdays (LWDs)].
• Return injured employees to work at Light Duty work as soon as the doctor releases them.
• Make sure doctors and injured employees understand that PG&E provides Light Duty whenever possible.
• Create a list of potential Light Duty assignments so that when an injured employee needs Light Duty, you are ready to provide it.
• If you cannot find Light Duty in your department, ask your supervisor or your peers – maybe they need some help.
• Be creative when identifying Light Duty assignments – work must be meaningful and productive.
• Promptly address any concerns or questions you may have about the return to work process with your WCR.
• Provide permanent "modified or alternate" jobs for employees whose injuries prevent them from returning to their regular jobs on a permanent basis.
• Provide light duty during the 90-day decision period on questionable claims. This way, if the injury is determined to be work-related, LWDs will not be charged for the time the employee was on Light Duty. If the injury is not work-related, the employee's ongoing work status can be addressed on a non-industrial basis.

Dont's

• Don't forget, Light Duty is important because it promotes healing and self-esteem, and reduces medical and disability costs.
• Don't return employees to work too soon, i.e., before the doctor has medically released them, or their condition may worsen and result in even more LWDs.
• Don't forget, the Workers' Compensation Light Duty Payroll pays the full salary of employees on Light Duty for up to five months (extensions must be approved by the Workers' Compensation Manager). To qualify, an employee must have experienced at least one LWD.
• Don't provide "make work" assignments – counting paper clips is not meaningful and productive!
• Don't forget, the Job Retention Program provides special payroll and headcount incentives for supervisors who place industrially injured employees into permanent "modified or alternate" jobs.
• Don't forget, there are resources and tools available to assist you in your RTW efforts. The most important resource and tool of all is your WC Representative. Others include: Workers' Compensation Helpline (415-973-8700, Option #2) and Website; WC training programs for clients on how to handle industrial injuries; WC management reports including injury and LWD data; and WC claim reviews.

• Supervisor checklist for industrial injuries
• Tips for controlling industrial lost work days (LWDs)