Chapter 7: Workers' Compensation Insurance
7.1 Workers' Compensation Insurance
The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é's Workers' Compensation Insurance (WCI) program is a state regulated insurance plan that covers medical treatment and rehabilitation for work related injuries and illnesses. The WCI also pays a portion of income lost while an employee is away from work recovering from a work related injury or while an employee is receiving reduced pay due to temporary assignment in a different working title having a different rate of pay.
7.1.1 Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) is responsible for all employer functions related to the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é's Workers' Compensation program. These include providing for assistance to employees who experience a work related injury or illness, electronic reporting of claims to the insurance carrier, facilitating prompt return to work into temporary assignments consistent with the abilities of a recovering employee, and finally restoration back into full duty once an employee has recovered to the extent that all essential job duties may be performed with primary consideration to the safety of the employee or as remaining medical restrictions allow.
7.1.2 EH&S is responsible for also ensuring timely compliance by the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é with requirements of the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC) rules and regulations.
7.1.2 EH&S is responsible for managing the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é's Return to Work (RTW) program which provides opportunities for an employee who is injured on the job to return to work into meaningful roles, whether as a temporary assignment or back to full duty release. If the injured worker is not physically capable of returning to full duty, the RTW program provides opportunities to perform regular job duties with modifications or, when available, to perform alternate temporary work assignments that align with the injured worker's physical capabilities. The program is designed to encourage and actively assist injured workers in the successful return to work.