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The RRTW Unit is a program established to make it easier for the business community to bring their injured workers back to work after a work place injury. The program is designed to help employers make the transition from having sick or injured workers out of the job and bringing them back to work as quickly as possible. RRTW consultants use their expertise to conduct training for employees, employers and healthcare providers on how to accommodate bringing injured workers back into the work force. They address the need for injury and re-injury prevention as well as other related health and safety issues. The RRTW Unit also makes determinations regarding the supplemental job displacement benefit (SJDB) and appropriateness of return-to-work offers. The RRTW Unit appoints and maintains a list of vocational return to work counselors who help injured workers train or improve their skills so they can return to work.

California employers are required to make every effort to retain and rehire workers injured on or after Jan. 1, 2004, whenever possible. When an employer, employing 50 or more, offers an injured worker regular work, modified work or alternative work within 60 days of the employee’s condition becoming permanent and stationary, each remaining payment of permanent disability may be decreased by 15 percent. This is true whether or not the employee accepts or rejects the offer of work; provided the offer of work lasts 12 months, offers wages and compensation within 85 percent of those paid at the time of injury, is within a reasonable commuting distance of the employee’s time of injury residence and has duties within the employee’s ability to perform. The Retraining and Return to Work Unit encourages this early and sustained return to work. To that end, the unit staff provides training and develops educational materials and guides for employers, health care providers, employees, attorneys and labor unions. These training materials include early return to work, assessment of functional abilities and limitations, development of appropriate work restrictions, worksite modifications and use of assistive equipment; and are designed to assist employers in the prevention and accommodation of injuries.

• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about return to work
• Step by step demonstration of return to modified or alternative work
• Step by step demonstration of return to regular work

Employees injured on or after Jan. 1, 2004, who are permanently unable to do their usual job, and whose employer does not offer other work, may qualify for the supplemental job displacement benefit (SJDB). The benefit comes in the form of a non-transferable voucher that can be used to pay for educational retraining or skill enhancement, or both, at state-approved or state-accredited schools. The voucher covers school tuition, fees, books and expenses required by the school for training. No more than 10 percent of the value of the voucher can be used for vocational & return to work counseling. Any disputes which arise regarding entitlement, issuance and usage of the voucher are handled by the administrative director’s designees at the Retraining and Return to Work Unit.

• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the supplemental job displacement benefit
• Step by step demonstration of dispute resolution process
• Step by step demonstration of supplemental job displacement benefit voucher
• Vocational return to work counselors (VRTWC) list
  • Procedure for application for appointment as a vocational return to work counselor

State regulations (administrative rules 10228 and 10229) require that all forms filed with the division be scanned into the Electronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS), except as specified. To that end, only optical character recognition forms can be accepted.

• Document cover sheet - DWC-CA form 10232.1
• Document separator sheet - DWC-CA form 10232.2
• Notice of offer of modified or alternative work - DWC-AD 10133.53
• Notice of offer of regular work - DWC-AD 10118
• Request for dispute resolution before the administrative director - DWC-AD 10133.55
• Supplemental job displacement nontransferable training voucher - DWC-AD 010133.57

• California Labor Code 139.47 - 4658 - 4658.6
• Retraining and return to work- definitions and general provisions sections 10116 - 10116.9
• Return to work regulations - sections 10117 - 10120
• Supplemental job displacement benefit regulations - sections 10133.51 - 10133.60
• Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) Best Practices in Returning an Injured Employee to Work: Factsheet for Employers, February 2010 version

• ADA – Job Accommodation Network hotline (JAN)
• Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE)
• Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC)
• Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)
• Department of Rehabilitation (DOR)
• Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)
• Employment Development Department (EDD)
• State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF)
• UCLA Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH)
• More

Questions regarding return to work or the SJDB voucher?

• E-mail the RRTW Unit
• Retraining and Return to Work Unit offices

• WOSHTEP training - 4/28/10

October 2011