Workers' Compensation Placement Services

The Workers' Compensation Placement Coordinator administers a statewide workers' compensation job development and job placement return-to-work program for injured state employees. Once an employee is identified as in need of job placement, the Placement Coordinator is responsible for functions that include:

Administering the priority referral placement procedure for qualified injured employees
Identifying, developing and monitoring placement opportunities within and between agencies, including the determination of eligibility for other positions within the state system
Developing mobility assignments: A mobility assignment is a limited assignment for an injured employee to learn alternative duties in another state agency (mobility assignments give injured state employees the opportunity to develop new skills and broaden their career perspectives)
Monitoring placement activities of injured employees who are receiving assistance from a vendor placement specialist
Working with state agencies and other rehabilitation professionals in identifying work reassignments within the agency that meet the employee's current physical restrictions
Providing consultation, education and training to state agency workers' compensation coordinators, supervisors and managers regarding all aspects of the State's return to work process

Placement Goals and Services
- Coordinate the return to employment for state employees who have been injured as a result of their work
- Develop and coordinate appropriate return-to-work plans for injured workers
- Provide, in cases where work-related disability makes return to the pre-injury job impossible, vocational assessments and development of plans designed to place injured employees into different jobs
- Manage all aspects in helping injured state employees return to work in a manner that is both cost-effective and respectful
- Meet with the injured employee
- Provide assistance with return-to-work communication issues
- Provide or arrange for vocational testing
- Provide and arrange for job placement assistance
Placement Personnel
Workers' Compensation Placement Coordinator
- Carmen Swanger
  Phone: 651-201-3033
  Email: Carmen.Swanger@state.mn.us
Tips for Helping Injured Employees Return to Work
The following tips can be useful to managers and supervisors to help employees return to work promptly following disability due to illness or injury sustained on the job:
- Take a proactive role in the injured employee's return-to-work process.
- Communicate with the employee about their job and their injuries.
- Be positive, fair, and flexible when dealing with an injured employee. Place emphasis on the work and activities that the employee is capable of accomplishing.
- Call your employees when they are not working and be positive about their return and recovery. How are they doing? Do they have any questions? Tell your employees that they are missed at work and that you will work with them to accommodate any restrictions that will assist them in getting back on the job.
- Ask the injured employee to identify tasks that they are capable of performing and about job and task modifications that would allow them to perform work.
- Consider job modifications for the injured worker and have some possible modified job tasks and jobs in mind for the employee before they return to work.
- Let the injured employee ease into a full-time work routine if medically necessary.
- Give support and recognition to employees who must fill in to perform the duties of an injured or disabled co-worker. Even in cases where temporary staff members are engaged to help fill in for the inured employee, your other permanent workers are likely to be making a greater effort during the injured person's return-to-work process.
Contact Admin Risk Management at 651-201-3010 for assistance in implementing any of the tips suggested above, or for specific advice in helping an injured/disabled employee recover and return to work promptly.
Responding to Employee Disability Cases
- Treat all employees the same. Be fair and consistent.
- Stay in contact with an employee who is losing work time. This contact establishes a sentinel effect, which shows the employee that his or her disability will be monitored.
- Show concern for injured employees and inform them that you are eager for them to return to work.
- Do not use the occasion of a work injury or disability as an excuse to implement personnel policies or reprimands.
Supervisor's Initial Screening of an Injured Employee

The supervisor of an injured employee plays a major role in the worker's disability management and subsequent return-to-work process. The supervisor's responsibilities in these areas begin when they receive initial notification from the employee stating that the employee will miss work or will need light-duty work because of job-related injury or disability. The following guidelines are helpful in formulating a response.
- When employees call in or advise that they will not be reporting to work or are going home early because of a job-related injury or disability, the supervisor's first question should be, What is wrong?
- If an employee states that they have been injured, the supervisor should ask, How did it happen or begin? The supervisor should not ask, Do you think this happened at work? or Is this work-related? The power of suggestion is often strong.
If the employee states that they were or may have been injured at work, an Agency Claims Investigation Form (Word Doc) and an Injured/Illness Incident Data Form (Word Doc or PDF) regarding the matter must be completed (this is not the employee's responsibility). These documents must be completed promptly and submitted to your agency Workers' Compensation Coordinator within 24 hours (Minnesota statutes provide significant penalties to agencies that delay the processing or filing of Agency Claims Investigation Forms and First Reports of Injury). The State Workers' Compensation Program will then file these items with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and other authorities for disposition. Instructions for completing and forwarding information appear in the Supervisor's Injury, Illness, and Incident reporting and Workers' Compensation Checklist (PDF).

Referring Employees for Medical Care for Work-Related Injuries

Refer employees for medical care for work-related injuries in these situations:
- In any emergency
- Whenever an employee's injury results in lost work time
- Whenever the injury involves back or neck strains or other moderately painful muscle strains
- If you are unsure about any aspect of the employee's medical problem
Except under certain circumstances, state employees should obtain medical care for work-related injuries through CorVel, which is under contract with the State of Minnesota to provide workers' compensation managed care health services to state agency personnel. See your agency's Workers' Compensation Coordinator for complete information about referring injured workers to medical care through CorVel.

The Work Ability Report

The Work Ability Report (PDF) is prepared by the injured employee's treating physician and documents the employee's physical and work capabilities. A current version of the work ability report should be given to the injured employee by the physician following each physician visit for treatment related to their job-related injury or disability. The employee should then provide their employer with a copy of each completed work ability report.

The employer should refer to the employee's work ability report in order to ensure that the employee is returned to work that is appropriate for the employee's physical capabilities.

For assistance in understanding injured employee's work ability reports and recommendations for finding jobs and tasks compatible with capabilities specified on a work ability report, call 651-201-3010.
Links
The following web pages offer additional information about disability management, workers' compensation, and worksite and employee safety issues.