HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7494 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No.- 7494 p. 1
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 9, 1990
Subject:
Worker's Compensation Control Group
Under current policy, employees who are on extended leave due to occupa-
tional injury remain assigned to a budgeted position within their depart-
ment. Their pay, however, comes from benefits as defined by the Worker's
Compensation law through the City's self-insured Worker's Compensation Fund
(Fund 73) . The only monetary effect on the employee's department is in
the case where the employee is eligible for salary supplement under the
City's policy. When this is in effect, the salary supplement portion of
their compensation is paid from the department's budgeted salary for the
employee. The practical effects of this policy are that salary savings
accrue to the department (since the bulk of the payment to the employee
comes from the Worker's Compensation Fund) and productivity in the depart-
ment is hampered by the department's inability to fill the budgeted posi-
tion since the position is not considered to be vacant .
Effective October 1, 1990, a worker's compensation control group (WCCG)
will be established. The purpose of this group is to provide an adminis-
trative "holding area" for non-civil service employees who are on long-term
leave of absence due to occupational injury at a department's discretion
(and with the concurrence of the Loss Control Administrator of the Risk
Management Department) . Such transfer would allow departments to recruit
and hire replacement personnel for the period of time that the injured em-
ployee is away from his/her workplace.
The objectives of this program are to:
a. allow departments to meet their management objectives more effectively;
and
b. identify non-civil service employees City-wide who are on extended leave
due to occupational injury to facilitate case management.
The key features of the policy are as follows:
o Allows departments to review employee work status after 30 days to deter-
mine if transfer is warranted.
o Department heads may request transfer to the WCCG if the employee is ex-
pected to be on leave of absence for an additional 30 days. (This waiting
period can be waived if the doctor's initial assessment is that the em-
ployee will likely be out at least 30 days. )
o Positions vacated by an employee's transfer to the WCCG are to be filled
with temporary help employees (Sot's) or persons from the Temporary Labor
Pool if at all possible. If the department is unable to obtain temporary
personnel , it may hire permanent employees who will be advised at the
time of selection that they are being hired to replace an individual on
extended leave who has re-employability rights into that position. The
permanent employee thus displaced will be eligible for layoff privileges
under the City's layoff policy.
L ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 74-q4
look, f01? To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 9, 1990
'813 Subject: Worker's Compensation Control Group
o Employees released to return to work must be re-hired into the originat-
ing department in a position for which the employee is medically fit to
perform. If the employee is not medically able to perform the duties of
his/her original position, the originating department must place the em-
ployee in a vacant position which the employee can medically perform.
If no such position exists within the originating department, the depart-
ment must re-hire the returning employee into his/her original position
and may, with the concurrence of the Loss control Administrator, peti-
tion the Personnel Director to place the employee into a position else-
where in the City workforce wherein the employee may perform at a full
duty status. Any minimum qualification shortfalls which might impede a
transfer or demotion may be waived with the Personnel Director's ap-
proval .
o Employees who are required to transfer into a position wherein they can
perform in a Full Duty Status must accept the transfer or resign. Fail-
ure to comply may result in termination. The employee's rate of pay will
either remain unchanged or be set at the top of the salary range of the
position into which the employee is being transferred, whichever is less.
Employees transferred under this provision will serve a six month proba-
tionary period as required by existing Personnel Rules and Regulations.
o Except for provisions to transfer injured employees into and out of the
Worker's Compensation Control Group, all other provisions of the Person-
nel Rules and Regulations continue to apply. Every effort will be made
to maintain the current supervisory and administrative responsibility
for the injured employee in the employee's "home" department.
If additional information is required, it will be supplied upon request.
David I
City Manager
L ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS