OTA Dispatch Issue 2, 2021

14 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch Things to Consider By Karen Powell, Regional Return-to-work Supervisor, SAIF Return to Work SAIF RETURN-TO-WORK CONSULTANTS Margaret Burtness and Donna Johnson met with OTA “lunch and learn” participants, in January 2021, to talk shop—that is, strategies about using early return-to-work (RTW) and the Employer- at-Injury Program (EAIP) alongside the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s continue those discussions. Bringing workers back to modified work after an injury has a multitude of benefits for both worker and employer. Workers stay connected to their industry through conducting meaningful work, claim costs for time-loss benefits are reduced or eliminated, and it opens opportunities to use EAIP benefits at zero cost to your policy. When you purchase a policy with SAIF, you are automatically assigned to an RTW consultant and EAIP specialist. SAIF administers the EAIP program internally, taking an active role in helping policyholders access these incentives. Your dedicated RTW consultant will: ` Help you create a return-to-work program that fits your business. ` Partner with you to identify transitional work, and interact directly with the doctors involved with each claim to obtain work releases and job description approvals. ` Train and educate you and your employees about return-to-work programs and how the benefits of the Employer-at-Injury and Preferred Worker programs can help overcome many of the obstacles faced during the return-to-work process. ` Provide ongoing assistance to ensure all formal RTW steps are handled, so that the injured worker remains working and engaged in the plan you have established. ` Work with the EAIP specialist to ensure you are educated and engaged in wage subsidy and purchases. During the pandemic, businesses have improvised in order to maintain compliance and safety, and trucking was certainly no exception. Some employers offer telecommuting options, sending laptops for workers to conduct training, certification, or safety classes. Others create work in the yards, make safety check points, and even combine EAIP incentive money to purchase equipment for workers to use in order to have a light-duty job while staying within the pandemic protocols. A modified job can be as creative as your wish list.