| Employers with an approved transitional work plan may receive a back-end bonus for using the plan to return injured workers back to work. Potential incentive: 10-percent bonus for using an established transitional work program; applicable to claims with dates of injury within that policy year. Who's eligible (grants)
Employers must have 11 or more employees. These employer types are NOT eligible for a BWC Transitional Work Grant: - Employers that pay the minimum administrative charge or only payroll for elective coverage;
- Sole proprietors;
- Employers who've previously received a BWC Transitional Work Grant (2001 to 2006);
- Self-insuring employers, state agencies, state colleges and universities;
- Companies that offer transitional work development as a service.
Employers not eligible for a transitional work grant may contact the transitional work department to receive BWC resources to develop your own transitional work plan. Fund details (grants)
Transitional Work Grants are 3-to-1 matching grants for companies ranging from 11 to 200+ employees. We also can help employers with fewer than 11 employees set up a program. The maximum grant amounts are: - 11-49 employees up to $2,900;
- 50-199 employees up to $5,200;
- 200+ employees up to $6,300.
Note: The grant will only cover services rendered after July 1, 2012. Working with a BWC-accredited developer (grants)
Once BWC approves your application, your next step is to hire a BWC-accredited transitional work developer to design your customized program. Working with your developer, you'll establish a closer relationship with health-care providers who will respond to your injured workers' medical and rehabilitation needs and understand your business operations. You'll have individualized training on how to identify and develop transitional work tasks. Your developer will design a specialized training plan for your employees. For more information about the accredited developers and the areas they serve, visit the Transitional Work Grants developers page. Interview several developers, and select one that best meets your company's needs. Program development (grant)
In addition, we've created a tool to help employers and transitional work developers better organize a company's demographic information for the transitional work plan. We encourage you to use this corporate analysis worksheet and submit it with the employer's grant plan in lieu of a written corporate analysis narrative. Having an overall, comprehensive depiction of a company's structure will expedite our review of our grant plan. Also, employers who are not eligible or do not receive a transitional work grant can use the form to prepare to develop their own transitional work program. If you're an employer creating your own transitional work plan or updating your own company's plan for the Transitional Work Bonus Program, this worksheet will help you not only describe your company but also identify when and what resources you'll need from BWC. Grant reimbursement (grants)
A transitional work plan must be submitted to, and approved by, BWC prior to the employer receiving grant reimbursement. BWC disability management coordinators (DMCs) will review the employer's transitional work plan to determine if it meets our guidelines for approval. Then, we'll notify the employer of the approval. We'll only provide grant monies for plans and services provided by a BWC-accredited developer. The program is a 3-to-1 matching grant. BWC will reimburse the employer 75 percent of the total cost the employer paid to the transitional work developer for covered services. Note: The maximum rate per service is: - $200 per hour for transitional work developer labor
- $200 per job analysis
There's no maximum number of transitional work developer hours or number of job analyses per employer. However, BWC's reimbursement to the employer will not exceed the maximum amount of the employer's grant. Once we approve the employer's transitional work plan, we'll issue a check to the employer AFTER the employer submits the following documentation: Implementation funds
If the employer does not use all of the BWC-approved funding after the initial grant reimbursement is made, the money will go into the employer's implementation fund which can be used at any time as long as BWC's Transitional Work Grant Program is active and grant funds are available. We'll only reimburse for the four services pre-identified to facilitate use of the program. They are: - Assistance with an employer's claim participating in their transitional work plan;
- Updating or additional job analyses;
- Training for employer's new transitional work coordinator, management, union, employees;
- Program improvement.
We reimburse the implementation fund at a rate of 75 percent with the employer contribution of 25 percent until the balance reaches $200. At $200, the amount is paid at 100 percent. We will NOT reimburse an employer for costs associated with a transitional work developer's preparing and submitting a proposal to an employer; or costs that we determine are ineligible or unnecessary. Corporate programs (grants)
The employer with multiple policy numbers must disclose all policy numbers associated with the business to BWC on the transitional work grant application. A corporate plan is developed for a primary company and their associated companies which share the same policy number or have multiple policy numbers. The policy number which meets the grant criteria and has the largest number of employees associated with it should be used as the corporate policy for the plan development. The associated policy numbers may or may not be eligible for Transitional Work Grants to be included in the corporate program. Additional policies that meet eligibility may be used for additional funds to complete the corporate program. Our Transitional Work Grants unit determines this after reviewing a corporate analysis. All the associated policy numbers may be eligible for the Transitional Work Bonus Program if they meet eligibility criteria. Who's eligible (bonus)
This program is available to any eligible state-fund private employers and public employer taxing districts. Eligibility requirements (bonus)
- Be current with respect to all payments due BWC, as defined in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 4123-17-14, paragraph (A)(3)
- No cumulative lapses in workers' compensation coverage in excess of 40 days within the 12 months preceding the application deadline
- Be in an active, policy status; active policy status does not include an employer with a coverage status of no coverage or lapsed
- As of the application deadline, the employer must have reported actual payroll for the proceeding policy year and paid any premium due upon reconciliation of estimated premium with actual premium no later than the due date.
- Continue to meet all eligibility requirements during participation in the program
How to apply (bonus)
Use the Application for Transitional Work Bonus Program (TWB-1) You can submit your application via fax to 614-621-5758 or email transitional work support. The deadline for receipt of the bonus application is: - Private employers - The last business day in May for the July 1 - June 30 program period;
- Public employers - The last business day in November for the Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 program period.
Note: We will not automatically enter your company in the next program period. Employers must reapply for the bonus program annually. When applying to participate in the bonus program, employers should verify other BWC programs they're participating in that are compatible with the transitional work bonus program. Plan requirements (bonus)
Your next step is to submit evidence that your company has a transitional work plan. Several acceptable forms of documentation to show evidence your company has a transitional work plan: - A BWC transitional work grant plan developed between 2001 and 2006;
- A company-created transitional work plan reviewed by BWC;
- An approved BWC transitional work grant plan developed after July 1, 2012;
- Copy of your company's transitional work policy from your human resources manual or employee handbook;
- Signed letter from a company officer stating your company has a transitional work plan or your company is in the process of developing a BWC transitional work grant plan.
BWC must receive your plan verification within 30 days of the application deadline. You can submit your transitional work plan via fax to 614-621-5758 or email transitional work support. Remember to include all of your company policy numbers in the email or on your fax cover sheet. Participation requirements (bonus)
BWC will evaluate all claims with injury dates that occur during the program period in which the employer elects to participate. Employers must be willing to accommodate the injured workers' restrictions with appropriate transitional work tasks when released to return to work by their physicians before they return to work full duty. Employers must complete a Transitional Work Offer and Acceptance Form (TWB-2) or submit equivalent documentation for every eligible injured worker to demonstrate successful use of their program. - Eligible claim - One in which there's an actual return to work with restrictions for the job of injury
- Successful use claim - The injured worker returns to work using a transitional work plan verified by the signed TWB-2 or equivalent documentation submitted to BWC by the snapshot date.
Note: The snapshot for the bonus calculation will be six months after the close of the program period. This allows injured workers with claims with a date of injury late in the program period to return to work using transitional work. Program benefits (bonus)
BWC will calculate an employer's performance bonus based upon the percentage of claims eligible and successful participation in transitional work. The percentage will be multiplied by a percentage of the employer's pure premium. The employer may receive up to a 10-percent bonus for using their transitional work program. Related links
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