No, but you may decide to pay them a base salary during this period in order to qualify for reimbursement. You also may qualify for reimbursement for certain tools, training, or clothing you purchased that was necessary for this particular worker to do the light-duty or transitional work.

Possibly. To be reimbursed for the first three days, the worker must have been certified by the medical provider as unable to perform their regular job duties for at least the first 14 days following the injury.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, it is possible that you could receive reimbursements for an injured worker with more than one claim, providing you were the employer at the time of injury for both claims and the worker has medical restrictions under each claim. However, L&I cannot reimburse you more than once for a day's work or for the same expense.

Possibly, if you were the worker's employer at the time of the original injury and the worker is working light-duty or transitional work pending the release to the job of injury and the reimbursement request falls within reimbursement limits.

Only if your worker is actually working light-duty or transitional work. The program reimburses only for work actually performed.

No. A worker cannot recieve wages for work performed and also be eligible for time-loss benefits. (If you become aware that your worker received time-loss for a date he or she worked, please contact the claim manager.)

The law has always required the employer to give the provider a description of the light duty work and to obtain the provider's approval. Stay at Work legislation did not change the law - the employer must first give the medical provider a description of the light duty work so the provider can release the worker to do that work.

As soon as the provider indicates your injured worker has restrictions, ask the provider to review your light duty job description. In this way, you can ensure the work is medically appropriate for your worker.

No. If your worker was receiving health care benefits on the date of the injury, you must continue them to be eligible for Stay at Work reimbursements, unless - when the worker returns to light-duty - these benefits are inconsistent with the employer's current benefit program for workers.

No. The claim must be allowed by L&I.

You may submit your request for reimbursement. However, we will not make a decision on whether your request may be allowed or denied until the protest is resolved.

You may apply within 1 year of incurring the eligible expenses. However, L&I can't reimburse you for dates worked or for expenses purchased after claim closure.

No. We cannot pay providers for services, including review of forms, after claim closure.

Yes, but in order to qualify for reimbursement, the light-duty or transitional work must be performed within the one, consecutive, 24-month time period.

No, but you might qualify for reimbursement of any training materials, such as books you purchased, that were necessary for this particular worker to do the training for the light-duty or transitional work.

Yes, if you bought the item in good faith after you made the job offer and you kept the receipt.

Yes, but only up to 66 days or up to the $10,000 reimbursement cap — whichever occurs first in the claim.

No. You can apply for any time period you choose. Instructions are on the form.

The base wage is the basic hourly wage or salary amount you pay your employee, excluding tips, commissions, bonuses, board, housing, fuel, health care, dental care, vision care, per diem, reimbursements for work-related expenses or any other payments.

Yes, base wages can include overtime pay.

As long as the amount is part of the worker's light duty hourly wage or salary, it is included in the basic hourly wage or base salary.

Yes:

• The base wage used for reimbursement is the basic hourly wage or salary amount you pay your injured employee while performing light-duty or transitional work without any other additional compensation as outlined above.
• The time-loss wage rate is used to calculate time-loss benefits to an injured worker and is based on the wage and benefits the worker was paid on the date of injury.

We can only reimburse for dates or hours actually worked, and not for holiday pay, vacation pay, sick leave, or other similar benefits.

During the light duty or transitional work you will need to keep a record of the days and hours your employee worked.

We need these records because we cannot reimburse for any days or hours your worker did not actually perform work for you. Also, If the provider limits your injured employee's work schedule while recovering, your records will confirm the employee's work was consistent with the provider's restrictions.

If you are unable to provide documentation of hours worked, we may deny your request.

Here are the basic guidelines:

• A partial day worked counts as one day.
• One uninterrupted shift coutns as one day worked, even if the shift spans a 2-day period, such as a swing or graveyard shift.
• A shift less than 8 hours in the day, it is still counted as one day of work.

Note: The days that you apply for reimbursement for light-duty or transitional work do not have to be consecutive.

• For wages, you have 12 months from the date your employee performed the light-duty or transitional work.
• For expenses, you have 12 months from the date you made a Stay at Work purchase for training, tools or clothing.

Yes, but you must make this purchase on or after the date you offered the light-duty or transitional job to your injured employee. The same rule applies to any other qualifying Stay at Work expense for which you want to be reimbursed.

Your worker may apply to L&I for Loss of Earning Power (LEP) benefits if the light-duty or transitional work pays less than her usual job. You and your injured worker should contact the assigned claims manager to discuss this process.

Also, you may want to ask your account manager about any impact LEP may have on your rates.

We will notify you by mail.

Yes. If you disagree with a decision made by the Stay at Work adjudicator, you have the right to protest and/or appeal the decision in writing. You must send it to L&I within 60 days of the date on the order.

It will be up to worker's attending doctor or health care provider to approve the light-duty or transitional work you want to offer.

To confirm that the job duties are within the worker's medical restrictions, you will need to give the attending health care provider a written job description that he or she can review. (Instructions on back of form.)

No, as long as there haven't been any changes in the worker's restrictions or in the light-duty or transitional work duties.

No. The light-duty or transitional work performed by your employee must be within the attending health care provider's restrictions.

You as the employer are responsible for supervising the worker, and you are not entitled to any reimbursement for any day the worker worked outside his or her restrictions.

Yes, but any changes to the light-duty or transitional work must be approved by the attending health care provider and you must send L&I this documentation. Also give a copy of the light-duty or transitional work description to your injured worker.

Only if the provider has further restricted the worker's permitted activity.

Yes.

Yes. You can contact our Stay at Work outreach staff:

• Phone: 1-866-406-2482 toll-free or 360-902-4411
• Email: StayAtWork@Lni.wa.gov

No, there are no changes to paperwork or billing procedures. The Stay at Work program provides new incentives for employers, but does not change any of our existing policies or requirements.

But, it will be important for you to complete the work restriction section of the Activity Prescription Forms. Because of this new program, you may see more employers seeking medical approval for your patients to be released for light-duty, transitional jobs.

Discuss the benefits of early return to work with your patient and encourage him/her to contact their employer and claims manager. We need you to confirm that the worker is unable to do his usual job and describe his or her physical restrictions.

If the employer asks you to review the light-duty or transitional job description for approval, please respond as quickly as possible; it will benefit your patient, and the service is billable.

• For billing codes, check the latest L&I Fee Schedule (328 KB PDF).

It won't affect the status of your claim. However, your entitlement to time-loss benefits may be affected if your employer offers you light-duty or transitional work. For example, your time-loss benefits won't be continued if your employer offers you a light-duty or transitional job in writing and your attending health care provider agrees the work is within your medical restrictions.

Your employer may not assign you any work that requires you to perform activities that your attending health care provider has not approved. If this happens, you should contact your claim manager.

This is a copy of a letter sent to your employer.

Stay at Work reimburses employers for part of the wages they paid you while you were doing light duty or transitional work for them. When we send your employer a check, we include a letter explaining the payment. We mail you a copy of the letter.

If you didn't do light duty or transitional work for your employer during the dates shown on the order, please contact us in writing within 60 days of the order. We will then review.