Injured Workers asking to RTW likely as a Blue Moon?

When an injured worker is out of work for a period of time, more often than not the reason is inaccurately attributed to the injured worker's motives.  They don't want to work.  It's easier to sit at home and "collect a check."  They could work, but they're not.  Please realize this is not always the case.  I've seen injured workers' calls to discuss return to work go unanswered by their employers.  The injured worker may call to update them on the work abilities, or just touch base with them regarding their recovery.

So, what happens when an injured worker doesn't get a call back?

It's no mystery...think about how you would feel.  You'd probably ask yourself some or all of these questions:  Do I have a job to return to?  Did I do something wrong?  Don't they believe that my injury is real?  What happens if I lose my job?  How am I going to pay my bills?  Why won't they even talk to me?

Do these questions sound familiar?

They should, thanks to the ubiquitous attorney commercials.  They promise to answer these questions (along with getting the injured worker the money THEY deserve, which may or may not include atypical financial results). 

This post isn't about how to prevent injured workers from getting attorneys...it's about helping employers understand that returning an injured worker's call (particularly one who is asking to return to work) is extremely important.  Do it not to avoid attorney involvement, but because it's the right thing to do.  Even if you don't have work available, having a discussion with the injured worker about their restrictions and what they think they can do could result in you identifying some options. 

Employers have reputations to maintain that directly impacts the quality and quantity of people who want to work for them.  I'm sure you could name a few places in town that don't treat their employees the greatest and you may have even silently sworn to never work there. 

When someone wants to return to work, the very least you can do is return the call.  You never know how much it may pay off in the end.

I'd be remiss if somehow I didn't tie this post to the New Year.  Make 2015 a year to implement the Golden Rule -- at the very least, when you have an injured worker who wants to return -- after all, lore has it that this only happens once in a blue moon.  (If you read this, you'll learn that blue moons, too, aren't all that rare).