General Information Bulletin No. 1993-02

Attendance and Leave Manual

General Information Bulletin No. 1993-02

Section 21.8 Workers' Compensation Leave - April 1, 1993

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TO: Personnel Officers
FROM: Peter Elmendorf, Director; Personnel Services Division
SUBJECT: Workers' Compensation Statutory Benefit Program Update

The Employee Relations Section, Department of Civil Service, assists agencies in administering the workers' compensation program. To facilitate communication, bulletins are issued periodically as part of the State Attendance and Leave Manual to provide additional information regarding the various aspects of the benefits under the workers' compensation program for State employees.

Staff from the Employee Relations Section are available to assist agency staff with specific problems. Additionally, detailed accident experience pertaining to individual facilities or agencies is available upon request. Such information is valuable in monitoring an agency's workers' compensation experience and in developing occupational safety programs. For assistance or further information, please call the Employee Relations Section at (518) 457-5167.

This general information bulletin covers the following subjects as they relate to employees whose disabilities are subject to the provisions of the Statutory Benefit Program, which included CSEA-and DC-37-represented employees whose accidents occur on or after July 1, 1992: (1) employees' status after 12 cumulative months of absence, (2) employees' status while a claim is contested and (3) employees returning to work on a part-time basis.

Employees whose absences in connection with an occupational disability are subject to the provisions of the Statutory Benefit Program are eligible for certain benefits for the first 12 cumulative months of compensable absence. Briefly, these include continuation of accrual of biweekly leave credits, continuous service and seniority credit, retirement service credit, Employee Benefit Fund contributions and health insurance. More detailed information is available on pages 4-5 of the Attendance and Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 92-01 and corresponding publications from the Office of the State Comptroller and Employee Benefits Division of the Department of Civil Service.

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At the end of this period, if the employee has not returned to work or been separated, it is necessary to change the employee's payroll status to notify the various agencies providing continuation of benefits that eligibility has ceased. The employee's status needs to be changed from Workers' Compensation Disability Leave Without Pay to regular Leave Without Pay. Refer to the Office of the State Comptroller's Payroll Bulletin for details concerning the processing of this transaction at the end of 12 cumulative months of absence and prior to termination.
As explained on pages 12-13 of Attendance and Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 92-01, eligibility for workers' compensation benefits under the contracts is dependent on the State Insurance Fund/Workers' Compensation Board determining that a disability exists which is the result of an occupational disability or disease. When an employee's claim is contested based on the State Insurance Fund determining that a disability exists, the employing agency is expected to order the employee to return to work. If the employee contests the claim of no disability and does not return to work, he/she is no longer eligible for the benefits resulting from Workers' Compensation Disability Leave Without Pay. The employee's payroll status should be changed to regular leave without pay for the period under dispute until the claim is resolved by the Workers' Compensation Board. Refer to the Office of the State Comptroller's Payroll Bulletin for details concerning the correct payroll transaction.

If the claim is resolved in the employee's favor, he/she should be granted the appropriate benefits retroactively, including correcting the employee's payroll status to workers' compensation disability leave without pay. If the determination is made that no disability existed during the absence, the employee's status for that period should remain a regular leave without pay and there are no additional benefits due.
An employee who is not able to return to duty and work his/her full normal work schedule may be allowed to return to work in a modified capacity until full recovery. This return could be on a full-time or part-time basis. Refer to Attendance & Leave Manual Policy Bulletins 92-01 and 93-01 for more detailed information concerning eligibility criteria procedures for returning employees subject to the Statutory...

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...Benefit Program to work prior to full recovery whether pursuant to the Mandatory Alternate Duty Program or agency discretionary procedures. Refer to the Office of the State Comptroller's Payroll Bulletin for information concerning processing the payroll transaction returning the person to the payroll on a part-time basis.

The purpose of this item is to address the narrow issue of an employee's status when returning to work on less than a full time basis prior to recovery. When an employee returns to work on a part-time basis for some period of time before returning to full duties on a full-time basis, the employee's time records should reflect workers' compensation disability leave for the portion of the individual's schedule he/she is not scheduled to be at work. Since this leave status entitles the person to be treated as though he/she were on leave with pay, the employee continues to receive full leave accruals, seniority and continuous service credit, retirement service credit, Employee Benefit Fund contributions and health insurance for this period.

As with any return to work in less than full capacity, the details of the assignment and the end date should be made clear to the employee at the beginning of the assignment. Also, the State Insurance Fund should be notified because the employee may qualify for continuing wage replacement payments from the SIF during this period based on a reduced earning capacity.

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