Transitional Work Assignment Process

Process

The Office of Risk Services coordinates with the employee and their supervisor to determine availability and evaluate progress while an employee participates in the Transitional Stay at Work/Return to Work Program.  Risk Services will communicate with both the employee and their supervisor throughout the transitional work assignment period to ensure the temporary assignment is proceeding well and to update the transitional work assignment as necessary to ensure success.

The Transitional Work Assignment may be updated, modified or concluded depending on updates to the work status, changes in the work restrictions outlined by the workers' compensation medical provider, or departmental changes.

The work tasks and modifications made while an employee is participating in a Transitional Work Assignment will be documented on the Transitional Work Assignment Agreement.

Supervisor Duties

Supervisors are encouraged to identify applicable transitional work modifications that are within the work restrictions stated in the work status note outlined by the employee’s workers' compensation medical treatment provider.

Every effort must be made to ensure that the employee is not asked to perform work tasks beyond the work restrictions outlined on the current work status note. 

An employee participating in a Transitional Work Assignment or with work restrictions, will provide their supervisor with updated work status notes.  Please contact the Office of Risk Services if a current work status is not provided.  Supervisors are also asked to contact Risk Services if there are concerns that arise from the Transitional Work Assignment or if there are changes made to the previously agreed Transitional Work Assignment.

Supervisors must review each work status note provided by the employee to ensure that the employee is not asked to perform work beyond their work restrictions.

Employee Duties

It is the employee's responsibility to provide the work status note to their supervisor after every follow up medical appointment with their workers’ compensation medical provider.  This will ensure that work provided is within the temporary work restrictions.

Participation in the transitional work program is dependent on attending regularly scheduled medical follow up appointments and providing their supervisor with updated work status notes from the workers' compensation medical provider. Failure to attend medical appointments and not provide work status notes may adversely impact the employee’s continued participation in the campus' transitional work assignment program.

Work restrictions outlined by the medical provider must be followed in order to ensure successful recovery.  If the employee participating in transitional work is observed working beyond their work restrictions and agreed upon work modifications, the employee may be subject to corrective action.  Employees are asked to contact their supervisor or the Office of Risk Services if there are concerns that arise from the Transitional Work Assignment.

For Questions

Contact Cindy Delgado at cadelgad@ucsc.edu or 831-459-1787.