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Workers' Compensation: Resources for Supervisors |
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Quick Links:
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 Email:
workerscomp@hrm.msstate.edu |
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What is Workers'
Compensation and who is covered?
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Workers' Compensation is a no-fault insurance plan that is mandated by
state law. It pays medical expenses of employees resulting from approved
work-related injury or illness, including roundtrip mileage to receive
medical treatment from an approved provider.
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All MSU employees, including student workers, are covered by Workers'
Compensation.
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The Workers' Compensation law of Mississippi holds the employer
responsible for reporting work related injuries and illnesses within 10
days. Any
employer who refuses or neglects to make reports is subject to penalties
by the Workers' Compensation Commission.
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What if there is an accident that results in death, serious injury, or
injury that requires surgery within 48 hours, or one that involves a third
party?
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Report the accident/injury by telephone immediately to Human
Resources Management (HRM) at 662 325-3713
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Complete the Employer's First Report of Injury or Illness
immediately, and send as an e-mail attachment to
workerscomp@hrm.msstate.edu
Or, the completed form can be faxed to the Department of Human
Resources Management at 662 325-8395, delivered to 150 McArthur Hall,
sent through campus mail to HRM, Mail stop 9603, or mailed to HRM, Box
9603, MS State, MS 39762
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What must an injured worker do
in the event of injury?
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What does the immediate supervisor do when a work-related injury or
illness first occurs?
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Make sure the employee seeks medical treatment, if required. Advise the
employee to tell the medical provider that he or she is claiming this as
a work-related injury and that the bill for his/her service should be
filed under Workers' Compensation.
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Secure the accident site so that appropriate personnel can
investigate. Do not restore the workplace until the investigation
has concluded.
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Complete the
Employer's
First Report of Injury or Illness. The injured employee should not
complete this form. This is the supervisor's responsibility, even
though they may not be sure whether the injury or illness is
work-related.
The form should be completed for any on-the-job injury or illness
, even when immediate medical service is not
required.
The form should be forwarded to Human Resources no later than 24 hours
following the incident. Penalties can be imposed on MSU if incidents are
not reported in a timely fashion.
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Follow instructions on the back of the
form
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Make sure employee is aware of the clause
on the back of the form, which states:
Any person who willfully makes any
false or misleading statement or representation for the purpose of
obtaining or wrongfully withholding any benefit or payment under this
chapter (Mississippi Workers' Compensation Law) is guilty of a felony
and on conviction thereof may be punished by a fine not to exceed Five
Thousand ($5,000) or double the value of the fraud, whichever is
greater, or by imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years, or by both
fine and imprisonment.
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Begin with the Location Number
Block
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Answer all questions in the
Occurrence/Treatment section
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If you consider the claim to be non-work
related, contact HRM at 662 325-3713.
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Send the completed Employer's First Report of Injury or Illness to
Human Resources Management, mail stop 9603, or Box 9603, MS State,
MS 39762
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Human Resources Management forwards the completed report to FARA,
the claims administrator.
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It
is important for the supervisor to maintain contact with the
employee during the employee's absence. It lets the
supervisor discuss with the employee any concerns about leave,
return to work, etc. |
Notes: If the employee loses time from work due to the
accident or illness, FARA will send the affected employee an Authorization to Release
Medical Information form, which contains a Statement of Claimant. This
is the form on which the employee details the injury or illness.
If a supervisor/department is contacted by a medical provider regarding authorization to treat an employee, refer to Human Resources Management, 662-325-3713
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Can the supervisor communicate directly with the employee's health-care
provider? CAUTION: If an
employee is on FMLA leave, there cannot be any communication between the
employer and the medical provider(s). Also, employers cannot ask for a
Medical Certification more often than every 30 days for an employee on
FMLA.
In order to process
the claim, FARA may require the employee to sign an Authorization to Release
Medical Information and Employment Information, which authorizes the
health care provider to release to the employer and/or its Workers'
Compensation claim handler, medical information regarding the claim.
However, supervisors are cautioned that the
information requested should be the minimum necessary for the intended
purpose (for example, to determine when the employee may be released to
return to work without limitations). Also, to avoid violation of the
HIPAA Privacy Rules, HRM recommends that any questions regarding the claim be
directed to FARA. Typically, a
medical provider will not release medical information by phone because
they have no way of verifying that the person requesting the information
has been given written authorization by the employee.
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Who handles the Workers' Compensation claims, and what are their
responsibilities?
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FARA is the third party administrator that processes the claims for the
IHL self-funded insurance Workers' Compensation Plan, which includes
Mississippi State University.
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Human Resources Management sends the completed Workers' First Report of
Injury or Illness to FARA.
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If the claim involves potential payments for lost time (the employee
misses work due to the injury or illness), FARA contacts the affected
employee and obtains:
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FARA may contact the employee's supervisor or department to verify
circumstances of the injury or illness.
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FARA approves or denies payment based upon information from the
Employer's First Report of Injury or Illness and medical records
provided by the medical provider.
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FARA continues to monitor the treatment and progress of the injured
employee.
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FARA continues to investigate the
circumstances of the claim, if necessary, and may contact the employee's supervisor/department for
information.
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What medical
expenses are paid on an approved claim?
Once FARA has approved the claim, the following are paid:
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Medical Expenses
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Medical expenses are paid regardless of
the number of days missed from work.
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Workers' Compensation pays reasonable and
necessary medical expenses required to treat the injury and achieve
maximum cure, including:
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Mileage expenses for trips to the doctor
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Certain rehabilitation services
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Medical expenses resulting from workplace
illness or injury should not be filed on the State of Mississippi's
State and School Employees' Health Insurance
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How much is the employee paid for wage loss while absent from work due to
work-related injury or illness? When does payment begin?
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Wage Loss payment
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Disability of fewer than 14 days:
No wage loss payment is made for the first 5 work days ("waiting
period") the employee is
absent from work. Benefits start to accrue on the 6th work day.
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14 or more days of disability: Wage
loss payments are made for the entire period of disability,
including the first 5 work days.
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The maximum weekly wage loss payment is a
maximum of 66 2/3 percent of the worker's average weekly wage,
up to a maximum weekly established by the Mississippi Workers'
Compensation Commission.
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Payments are made on a bi-weekly basis until the
employee is released to return to work.
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While the worker is under the care of a
doctor and is unable to work, this benefit is known as a "temporary
disability" payment.
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Compensation is paid for a maximum of
450 weeks.
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What is the employee required to do while absent due to a work-related
injury or illness?
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FARA will send the employee an Authorization to Release Medical
Information and Employment Information and a Statement of
Claimant. The employee is required to return the completed forms to
FARA.
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The employee must submit appropriate leave forms (including Leave of
Absence Without Pay) and Medical Certifications for time
absent from work.
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What are the leave options for an employee who is absent from work? What
about FMLA and Workers' Compensation?
Note: Employees are allowed to use only enough leave as necessary (which may be less than eight
hours of accrued personal and/or major medical leave in a day) to make up the difference in the
Workers' Compensation temporary disability benefits payment and 100% of their wages earned in state
service at the time of the injury.
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The employee must account for every hour
absent from work. Options are to use:
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When an employee is absent from work and receiving payment
from Workers' Compensation, the entire period of absence (paid or unpaid) is considered
Family and Medical Leave as certified on the medical certification form. |
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Leave options
absence is due to an on-the-job injury or illness:
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9-month faculty
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Use Major Medical Leave/FMLA in amounts determined by the
Department of Human Resources Management.
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If there is no Major Medical Leave balance, employee must use
Leave Without Pay/FMLA (see instructions below).
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Exempt regular full-time employee
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Use either Personal Leave/FMLA or Major Medical Leave/FMLA in
amounts determined by the Department of Human Resources Management.
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If there is no Personal or Major Medical Leave balance, the
employee must use Leave Without Pay/FMLA (see instructions below).
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Non-exempt employee
(regularly scheduled to work one half time or more)
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Use either compensatory time, Personal Leave/FMLA or Major
Medical/FMLA leave in amounts determined by the Department of Human Resources Management.
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If there is no compensatory time, Personal or Major Medical Leave
the employee must use Leave Without Pay/FMLA.
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Non-benefits eligible employees (intermittent and temporary
employees, rehired retirees, students, and graduate assistants) do not earn
leave and would be in unpaid status.
To process Leave Without Pay:
For a non-exempt employee, the
employee completes an Application for Leave of Absence Without Pay form
for the hours covered by the Workers' Compensation check. Once approved by the department, the form
is sent to Human Resources Management. The department will use the earn code DOC to reduce the
employee's pay by the number of leave without pay hours.
For an exempt employee, the
employee completes an
Application for Leave of Absence Without Pay for the hours
covered by the Workers' Compensation check. Once approved, it is sent with a completed
Employment
Action Form to reduce the employee's pay by the number of leave without pay hours.
Under Section G, check Short Term Leave of Absence (w/o
pay) and the number of hours used.
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Is a department required to grant the employee Leave of Absence Without
Pay when all leave options (including FMLA) have been exhausted?
HRM policy #60-210,
General Leave of Absence, states, "A leave of absence without pay may be
granted to regular employees, after applicable accrued personal, major medical, and compensatory leave
are exhausted, for a period of up to one (1) calendar year
at the discretion of the employees' responsible administrator."
Supervisors should contact the employee's Human Resources Generalist at 662 325-3713
to discuss options before the employee runs out of FMLA leave.
If the employee is a faculty member, contact Human Resources Management at
662 325-3713 and the Office of the Provost at 662 325-3742.
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When can the department allow
the employee return to work? What about "light-duty work?"
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The employee's supervisor must contact their Human Resources Generalist
within 24 hours of an employee's return to work. Call 662 325-3713.
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Before returning to work, the employee is required to submit a
Medical Certification for Major Medical Leave or
Family and Medical Leave, Medical Leave of Absence, Excuse/Release to
Work.
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The department reviews the Medical Certification and determines whether
the employee can perform the essential functions of their job.
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The department does not have to allow the employee to return to work
if the listed limitations would keep them from performing the duties of
their job.
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Departments may return employees to a vacant position for which they qualify
and are capable of performing (may be called "light duty" or "restricted
duty") on a temporary or regular basis, provided they:
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What does Workers' Compensation pay after the employee returns to work?
- Wage loss payments end.
- Workers' Compensation continues to pay
medical expenses associated with the claim as long as the claim is
active.
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Can MSU terminate an employee
while they are on Workers' Compensation?
Yes, but with caution. If an employee has exhausted all leave
options (including FMLA), the department is not obligated to grant a Leave
of Absence Without Pay and should contact the employee's Human Resources
Generalist at 662 325-3713 to discuss options before the employee's leave
is exhausted.
Also, taking disciplinary action against an employee who has filed
a Workers' Compensation claim could be considered retaliation if
the supervisor has not previously documented similar performance or
behavior problems.
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What should a supervisor do if they find out that the employee has hired
an attorney, or an attorney contacts the supervisor or department for
information?
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Last modified July 10, 2007
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