Worker's Compensation Leave- Be Careful!

Problem: When an employee is out on Worker’s Compensation leave, it can be downright puzzling to figure out whether the FMLA or the ADA also applies.

Solution: Learn how to balance the different requirements and leave benefits under all three laws, and closely track the worker’s recovery.

When an employee goes on worker’s compensation leave, your legal antenna should go up right away. That’s because an employee who has suffered an on-the-job injury may also be considered disabled under the ADA and has a serious health condition under the FMLA. The complexity of the ADA/FMLA/worker’s comp “Bermuda Triangle” has created much misunderstanding and myths about how to handle disability leave. Make sure you coordinate any unpaid leave and reasonable accommodations, such as light-duty work or intermittent leave, in handling worker’s comp, ADA and FMLA claims with your insurance carrier.

Start the “FMLA clock” right away
Many employers confuse their obligations under the FMLA and their state’s worker’s comp law. In many cases, worker’s comp absences also qualify as FMLA leave when the injury is deemed a serious health condition (one that usually requires continued treatment by a health provider). When an injury does qualify as an FMLA-covered serious condition, you should promptly notify the employee that the time missed for a worker’s comp injury will run concurrently with his or her FMLA leave. Otherwise, you would enable the employee to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave as long as his or her serious health condition continues. But your worker’s comp insurer can limit or terminate claim payments if the employee refuses to accept a light-duty assignment. Key point: Employers can usually require employees on FMLA leave to exhaust all of their accrued leave before being placed on unpaid leave. However, if an employee is already getting worker’s comp benefits, you can’t make him or her use paid leave.

Double-check the ADA
Once you’ve determined whether a worker qualifies for FMLA leave, there’s another step to take. You must decide whether the employee’s on-the-job injury meets the ADA’s definition of a disability: i.e., any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. If so, an employee returning from leave may also qualify to receive reasonable accommodations under the ADA, such as modifying the employee’s work schedule of work environment, or even permitting additional time off beyond the leave already taken.

As you can see, this is a very complicated issue- and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Make sure and contact a Worker’s Compensation advisor, as well as your insurer when something like this situation occurs.

Bobby Bland PWCA, CIC
Vice President
Commercial Risk Service

Management Goal Setting: From SMART to WISE

As a leader, you’re used to setting goals. But are the goals you’re setting really as powerful as they could be? Goals help us to cut through the clutter of a crowded mind and keep our thoughts on the things that matter most. They help us focus. To be effective, you can’t just set random goals the way many people do- long lists of wishes that pop up at random and eventually fall away.


In the business world, we’ve been trained to set SMART goals: specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-bound. “SMART” goals have helped many people move from vague unattainable goals to clear, specific action.

The problem with SMART thinking is that it has a tendency to limit instead of inspire. SMART goals can work against you if:

• You neglect to write them and keep them fresh.
• They’re isolated from other important parts of your life.
• They conflict or compete.
• They lack spirit and conviction.

To avoid these pitfalls, make sure your goals are both SMART and WISE. WISE goals are written, integrated, synergistic and expansive. Using these criteria to improve your goals will transform them into a more powerful approach.

Written
Writing your goals is a critical step- and one many people miss. Writing forces you to be clear in your thinking. It allows you to look at your plans with objectivity. It instills commitment and puts your thoughts in a durable form you can revisit again and again.

Integrated
Integrating your ideas means bringing them together in the same place so you can look at them all at once. Allow your personal and professional lives to intermingle. It’s okay if right under “increase profit share” you have “get more rest”. They both improve your quality of life. They both contribute to your definition of success.

Synergistic
Whereas integrating your goals means bringing them together, synergizing means making them work together. Synergy happens when one ideas advances another. Keeping a vision of what you want in mind when you think about your goals will help create that synergy.

Expansive

Think big. Your goals should inspire you to stay on the path to your dreams, not lock you into a pattern of ticking off bite-sized action items from here to retirement. This may be the biggest differentiators between
SMART and WISE thinking. Spending too much time and energy boxing your objectives into a hard and fast formula can squeeze the life out of them. Some examples:

SMART Goal- Schedule team-building and strategic planning off site by the end of January.


WISE Goal- Transform my staff into a team of inspired, empowered partners.

SMART Goal- Leave work by 6:00 P.M. three times a week, organize my office and work with my assistant to find new planning system in one month.

WISE Goal- Feel in control of my life.

SMART Goal- Go on a date with my wife at least twice a month and tell her why I appreciate her at least once a day starting September 3rd.

WISE Goal- Fall in love again.

The best goals are both smart and wise. SMART thinking gives your goals specificity. WISE thinking gives them heart.

How do you set your goals for your organization? Let me know what works for you.

Bobby Bland PWCA, CIC
Vice President
Commercial Risk Service