Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation
Return to Work, Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit, Return-to-Work Supplement Program and Vocational Rehabilitation
Return to work is one of the most important aspects of workers' compensation after medical treatment and indemnity compensation are considered. A work injury can interrupt routines and adversely affect financial and personal well-being.
Employees injured between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2012, 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. For injuries on or after Jan. 1, 2013, the voucher can cover the above expenses plus additional equipment. For additional information on this benefit: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/sjdb.html.
The Return-to-Work Supplement Program is one of the components of Senate Bill 863. Labor Code section 139.48 requires the Director to administer a $120 million fund for the purpose of making supplemental payments to workers whose permanent disability benefits are disproportionately low in comparison to their earnings losses. An applicant must have a date of injury (DOI) on or after Jan. 1, 2013 and have received a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) voucher for said injury. For additional information about this program benefit: http://www.dir.ca.gov/RTWSP/RTWSP.html
According to the RAND Corporation, both employers and injured workers benefit when employees return to work quickly following a workplace injury: Injured workers recover from their injuries faster and suffer less wage loss and employers maintain the value of the investment they've made in their employees by bringing them back to the job as soon as medically possible.
- Issue Brief Title: Evaluation of the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) Program Available to Workers with Permanent Disability in the California Workers’ Compensation System
- October 2018
- Report on Evaluation of the Return-to-Work Fund in California's Workers' Compensation System: Performance to Date and Options for Modification - Michael S. Dworsky, Denise D. Quigley, Stephanie L. Rennane, Madeline B. Doyle, RAND, 2018
- Response Letter to Senator Bradford about RTW Fund Inquiry, January 2017 (see 2016 Report and 2016 Senator Mendoza letter)
- Identifying Permanently Disabled Workers with Disproportionate Earnings Losses for Supplemental Payments - RAND, February 2014
- Workers' Compensation Reform and Return to Work: The California Experience - RAND, 2011
- The Frequency, Severity, and Economic Consequences of Musculoskeletal Injuries to Firefighters in California - RAND, 2010
- How Effective are Employer Return to Work Programs? - RAND, February 2010
- Report on the Return-To-Work Program Established in Labor Code Section 139.48
- Helping Injured Employees Return to Work: Practical Guidance Under Workers’ Compensation and Disability Rights Laws in California, February 2010
(Note: This is a 2010 publication prior to SB 863 changes and superseded by the Guidebook for Injured Workers.) - AB 1987 and return-to-work incentives and alternatives, April 2006
- California Research Colloquium on Workers’ Compensation Medical Benefit Delivery and Return to Work - RAND, 2006
Review of literature on 'modified work'
Does modified work facilitate return to work for temporarily or permanently disabled workers? - August 1997
Project description
Status: completed
Predictors and measures of return to work
Project description
Status: completed
Task force on alternative or modified work in the construction industry
Carve-outs in workers' compensation: an analysis of experience in the California construction industry - September 1999
Project description
Status: completed
Policies and strategies to help injured workers return to sustained employment
Return-to-Work in California: Listening to Stakeholders' Voice - July 2001
Project description
Status: completed
Primary treating physician effectiveness in RTW after low back injuries
Project description
Status: in process
Best practices encouraging return-to-work
Project description
Status: in process
Vocational rehabilitation study
Vocational rehabilitation benefit: An analysis of costs, characteristics, and the impact of the 1993 reforms, August 1997
Project description
Status: completed
January 2021