Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 24, June 14, 2024
Rule 7-142 - MODIFIED DUTY AND RETURN TO WORK142.1 An employee with partial disabilities shall participate in modified work programs at the direction of the Program.
142.2 An employee who is medically released to work in full or modified duty shall notify the Program immediately within one (1) business day after receiving the medical release.
142.3 The Program shall attempt to place a medically released employee in a position with the employing agency or, when modified work assignments are not available with the employing agency, with another agency. Once assigned to a modified duty assignment, the employing agency shall be responsible for the salary of the employee.
142.4 While on modified duty assignment, the employee's rate of pay shall be adjusted as follows:
(a) An employee with medical restrictions, who is able to perform the full scope of duties of his or her pre- injury position during the modified duty assignment period shall be entitled to receive the same rate of pay as received prior to the injury and wage- loss compensation shall cease.(b) An employee who is not able to perform the full scope of duties of his or her pre- injury position shall receive a modified rate of pay closest to the rate of pay prior to the injury, without exceeding it. A modified duty compensation benefit shall be applied at the rate of sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) or, if the employee is eligible for augmented pay pursuant to Section 2310 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 1-623.10 ), seventy- five percent (75%), of the difference between the pre-disability rate and the modified duty rate. Cost-of- living adjustments pursuant to Section 2341 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 1-623.41 ) and § 139 of this chapter shall not apply to the modified duty rate of compensation.(c) The pre-injury rate of pay shall not be exceeded during the modified duty assignment.142.5 The modified duty assignment shall be temporary. The modified duty assignment may have a minimum duration of two (2) basic non-overtime workdays, as that term is defined in Section 1201 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.01 ), and a maximum duration of one hundred eighty (180) days (assigned in ninety (90)-day increments) in any twelve (12)- month period. For those employees whose basic non-overtime workday may exceed eight (8) hours, the basic non-overtime workday shall be the shift, or tour of duty, worked on a regularly recurring basis for the three (3) months immediately preceding the injury.
142.6 An employee with a medical work restriction who is offered a modified duty assignment and does not accept the modified duty assignment within three (3) days after the employee receives written notice of the assignment pursuant to §§ 142.7 and 142.8 of this chapter shall forfeit any further disability compensation benefits and such benefits shall be terminated by the Program. If compensation benefits were paid during the period of forfeiture, the Program shall recover the payments through a deduction from future compensation benefits owed to the employee or otherwise recovered under Section 2329 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 1-623.29 ).
142.7 The Program shall provide the employee notice of an available modified duty assignment orally and in writing.
142.8 Notice of an available modified duty assignment shall include:
(a) The return to work date and time;(b) The shift and schedule of the assignment; provided, that if the shift or schedule varies, the notice shall inform the employee of the shift and schedule for the remainder of the pay period;(c) Location to which the employee shall report and to whom the employee shall report;(d) Notification that if the employee fails to report to work on the scheduled date and time without an excused absence, his or her failure to report may be designated as an absence without leave (AWOL), which may result in disciplinary action;(e) Duties and responsibilities of the position, if the employee is directed to a position other than his or her pre- injury position;(g) The medical restrictio ns and accommodations provided, if the employee is returning to a position with accommodations;(h) Duration of the assignment, and(i) Notification that the employee must elect to accept the position within three (3) days of issuance of the notice or his or her disability compensation benefits will be forfeited.142.9 An employee must report to the modified duty assignment on the assigned date. Failure to report to the modified duty assignment shall be deemed a rejection of the modified duty assignment, which shall result in the forfeiture of all disability compensation benefits and such benefits shall be terminated by the Program.
142.10 The employing agency or assigned agency shall notify the Program if, after the employee returns to work, the same injury causes the employee to stop work again.
Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 8766, 8811 (July 27, 2012); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 6325 (7/7/2017); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 4246 (4/5/2019)Authority: Chief Risk Officer of the Office of Risk Management (ORM), Executive Office of the Mayor, pursuant to the authority set forth in section 2344 of the District of Columbia Government Merit Personnel Act of 1978 (CMPA), effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139; D.C. Official Code § 1-623.44 (2012 Supp.)); section 7 of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 2003 for the Office of Risk Management, effective December 15, 2003; and Mayor's Order 2004-198, effective December 14, 2004