Workplace accidents are costly. Last year, employers lost more than 2.7 million production days due to injuries, sacrificed $220 million in lost productivity, and spent $1.7 billion in direct workers’ compensation costs.

These huge losses led to the development of a transitional work program called Transitional WorkGRANT$, a new strategy in the war on injuries by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. The program lets employers keep injured workers on the job and lowers workers’ compensation costs by implementing a transitional work program with the help of government funding.

The Transitional WorkGRANT$ program is funded through the state insurance fund, and the grant money is paid directly to employers. If you are eligible, the program will provide up to 80 percent of your program development costs, up to a set limit. The other 20 percent, which is paid by employers, could save companies thousands of dollars in disability costs. In one year, a major hospital in the area reduced lost days by 31 percent and posted a cost savings of $226,000 by implementing a program similar to the transitional work program.

A transitional work program uses real job duties to accommodate injured workers’ medical restrictions for a specified period of time. This period generally does not exceed two to three months, and can involve on-site therapy tailored to the individual worker’s needs. The employee is gradually returned to his or her original job at the conclusion of this period. The program includes analyses of the employees’ job tasks, labor-management collaboration, program-policy development, and program evaluation for effectiveness.

Transitional WorkGRANT$ can help companies lower direct and indirect resource costs. National statistics show that indirect costs for a workplace injury that becomes a lost-time claim are four times greater than any direct claim expense. These costs are based on decreased productivity, hiring and training replacement expenses, overtime costs, and legal bills, as well as loss of morale, business, and customer goodwill.

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