About the Authors

National Return to Work Week is an opportunity for everyone involved in the workers compensation and disability management process to demonstrate their commitment to helping injured, disabled or ill employees stay-at-work or return-to-work. During the week, we will highlight the importance of employee retention and employee ability - what can the employee do verses how fast can we get them out of here.

It Is Our Principle View that:

• Employers and the insurance industry can no longer offer injured employees, who are totally capable of working, monetary settlements that reward and encourages them to leave the workforce.
• The insurance industry must allocate resources to educate employers, so they can effectively navigate the return to work process.
• Physicians have to be more willing to work with employers to define what injured employees can do, rather than encouraging them to dwell on what they can not do.
• Employees must be reminded that despite their injury they are capable of being productive employees – and that injury is not an automatic cash cow.
• Attorneys both Defense and Plaintiff, in instance where injured employees can return to work as a productive member of their employer’s team, must advocate remaining in the workforce rather than encouraging the injured worker to take a short term financial solution that does not benefit them when the money runs out.
• Regulators must recognize that the industry need more specific guidance and incentives that promote injured employee retention, rather than financially rewarding employees who manipulate the well intended workers’ compensation system.
• When employers recognize the volume of unnecessary lost work days due to occupational injuries, they will realize that they have to create a work environment that maximizes safety, evaluates injured employees potential and encourages retention.

For more information, go to http://nationalreturntoworkweek.org/.