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Regulation 0403.60-AR-08 Workers' Compensation and Return to Work

Safety is every individual’s responsibility. All personnel shall use safe work practices and report any unsafe conditions that may occur. The District also recognizes its responsibility to maintain safe workplaces.

All work-related injuries shall be reported to the principal or supervisor and to Human Resources.

The District is self-insured for workers compensation. All cases covered by workers compensation will be treated in accordance with statute established by the State of Idaho.

Reporting A Claims

Any personnel injured while at work must immediately report the injury to their building principal or supervisor, who shall in turn promptly report the same to Human Resources, whether or not medical attention appears necessary at the time of the accident or incident. The injured personnel will be provided with the DWC1 form. Personnel filing a workers’ compensation claim shall return the completed DWC1 form to Human Resources within five (5) working days.

Upon knowledge of an injured personnel, the building principal or supervisor will complete a Supervisor’s Report of Injury form within twenty-four (24) hours and submit to Human Resources.

Claims are filed through Human Resources. Human Resources may authorize and/or coordinate medical treatment for the personnel through an occupational health clinic retained within the medical provider network. In the event of an emergency, personnel should be transported to the nearest emergency medical facility.

Leave Option

If personnel are determined to have a work-related temporary disability and is placed off work by the treating workers’ compensation physician, the personnel will receive workers’ compensation salary continuation benefits at approximately 67% the average weekly wage up to the state Total Temporary Disability (TTD) weekly maximum.

Personnel may elect to apply pro-rated accrued leave credits to such absence to receive compensation equal to the difference between the compensation to which the personnel is entitled under workers’ compensation law and their regular District salary. The District will continue to pay single coverage insurance for full-time personnel. For any personnel working less than full time, the District will continue to pay single coverage insurance that the personnel has previously been receiving (without payroll deductions). Personnel will be responsible to make all necessary arrangements with Human Resources to continue any other payroll deductions. Failure to do so will result in automatic cancellation. Once all Sick Leave has been used, personnel will automatically be placed on Leave Without Pay.

Medical Appointments

The personnel’s treating workers’ compensation physician must complete a Work Status Report for each visit to evaluate the impairment. It is the personnel’s responsibility to inform the Human Resources Department of their medical status after each doctor’s visit.

Accounting Procedure

Sick leave pay is taxable, whereas workers' compensation pay is not. These procedures will serve to adjust for the non-taxable portion of the employee’s pay and reimburse the personnel’s sick days. In the case of injuries that result in workers compensation claims, there is often a considerable time lag between date of injury and settlement due to processing, investigation, doctor’s examinations, etc. Because of this delay, and not knowing whether the claim is compensable, the District normally continues to pay the personnel’s salary and benefits, from the personnel’s available Sick Leave account until it has been exhausted.

Once Sick Leave has been exhausted, the personnel’s only salary compensation will come from the Self-Insured Fund. The District will continue to pay single health, dental and life coverage benefits for the balance of the employment year. Personnel will need to make arrangements for coverage for family benefits and other deductions.

If and when personnel receive a worker's compensation check, the payroll department will receive a copy of that check from the Self Insured Fund. Rather than have personnel return the workers compensation check to the District, the personnel’s subsequent District payroll check(s) will be adjusted based on the copy of the worker's compensation check the District receives. This money shall be used by the District to credit (or buy back) the personnel’s Sick Leave days, equivalent to the nearest half day that this money would buy, computed at the personnel’s daily rate of pay.

It is illegal under the law governing worker's compensation for the combined worker's compensation payment and District payment to the personnel for the work time loss to exceed the amount the personnel would have been paid had they not been injured. Should the total compensation received exceed the personnel’s normal earnings, it will be necessary to adjust the payroll account accordingly or to implement the necessary collection procedures.

The goal is to support District personnel to return to productive, regular work as quickly as possible. By providing temporary transitional or modified work activity, injured personnel remain an active and vital part of the District.

When personnel are being treated for a work-related injury or illness and is determined to be able to return to work on a temporary basis with modified duties or tasks, the District will make every attempt to return personnel to work in a modified duty status, consistent with the District’s operational needs. All modified duty work assignments are to be within the limitations as described by the treating workers’ compensation physician. Modified duty assignments are intended to be temporary and short-term. Failure to comply with modified duty assignments may result in loss of workers’ compensation wage benefits and disciplinary action.

The District will do everything in its power to tailor modified work accommodations to the injured personnel’s normal, pre-condition work schedule. However, depending on the work restrictions and/or job limitations, it may be necessary for personnel to take on a specifically designed, temporary schedule or duties in order to accommodate the work restrictions.