How to pay time off due to workers comp accident

joyben

When an injury occurs and the worker is off for a couple of days before being released back to work, do they use accruals if they want to be paid for that time?

atrimble

I think it depends on how your state w/c laws work.

Our policy is to allow injured employees to use accrued paid time off before w/c benefits start. By the way, Missouri doesn't allow paid time off benefits to be used in conjunction with work comp wage replacement benefits. Don't know about any other state's rules.

HRCalico

Our w/c policy has a 7-day waiting period, during which employees may use accrued paid time off if they wish. For exempt employees, deductions from pay are permissible when an exempt employee is absent from work for one or more full days for personal reasons other than sickness or disability, so I'm not sure you can deduct days from an exempt employee if they've worked any time in that week. Has anybody done this in practice - paid an exempt for the full week even though they're on w/c waiting period?

atrimble

We've got sick leave for our exempt employees, too, so your question hasn't been an issue for us. But I'd think that because federal FLSA exemptions might "override" state-based work comp regs, an employer would have to pay an exempt EE for time off during the waiting period due to a work comp disability. If you don't want to jeopardize the exemption, then you'd want to pay. At least this is what I think. And our policy requires exempt employees to use accrued sick leave any time they're absent due to illness or disability.

HRCalico

Abby, if they aren't eligible for sick leave yet (not sure of your policy) OR if they don't have any accrued (used it already), you'd pay the full week then, right?

This is kind of moot for me, I think, because it's rare for us to have an exempt on w/c. But it happens, I know.

atrimble

Even though it's not written in our policy, I'd have to say yes - we'd pay the full week even if sick leave isn't available. Of course, this if for the waiting period only. Once wage replacement benefits kick in, they'd be getting the same payment as everyone else.

We're the same way you guys are: it is very rare for our exempts to have a work comp claim. I mean, really, isn't that the point? If you're doing manual labor-intensive work on a regular basis (which is the "cause" of most w/c claims), then the person shouldn't be classified exempt. Of course, exempts also have a tendency to have the most "off the job" work-related injuries (e.g. auto accident while traveling to a seminar). I do have one employee who is just flat clutzy, walking into walls & whatnot, and she's exempt... AND she's on our Accident Prevention Team!

HRinNH

Like some who have responded already, we have an 8-day waiting period through the w/c provider and they are to use their banked sick time or vacation time.

DB

In IL there is a 3 day waiting period which employees have to use sick time to cover. However the waiting period only applies if they are off for less than 14 days. As of Day 14, the WC wages go back to Day 1. Depending on how the pay period falls, it can be a real pain. Exempts and non-exempts are treated the same.