• Absences as a result of an on-the-job injury will be paid at the employee’s regular pay rate.  The absence is coded as “INJ” on the payroll voucher, and the time is not charged to the employee’s accrued paid-time-off benefits.
  
• INJ absence hours are limited to 40 in a calendar year unless an absence due to injury exceeds 21 days.  In such cases, the 40-hour supplemental benefit will be restored and available for use the remainder of the calendar year.
  
• Department heads may require a physician’s statement before approving payment for absences during the first 40 regularly scheduled work hours of disability.
  
• Campuses must report all lost time to Risk Management in Bloomington.

Staff who meet eligibility requirements receive worker’s compensation beginning on the eighth day of disability. Such compensation pays a portion of the employee's salary. State legislation (which changes from time to time) determines the exact portion paid by worker’s compensation.

For information about payment amounts and claims procedures, contact Risk Management in Bloomington.

Payment options
Staff may choose one of the payment options listed on the following page. In either case, worker’s compensation payments start on the eighth day of disability.

Option 1: Employees receive a portion of their salary as paid by worker’s compensation and do not use paid-time-off benefits. Such employees are recorded as absent without pay and without benefit accrual.

Option 2: Employees receive their full salary by using accrued paid-time-off benefits plus worker’s compensation. As long as staff remain in pay status by using paid-time-off benefits in addition to worker’s compensation, they continue to accrue paid-time-off earnings as usual.

• Staff may charge a maximum of four hours per day to accrued paid-time-off benefits and accrued compensatory time.
  
• Charges to vacation earnings do not count against the amount of vacation time staff can use in a calendar year.
  
• When an employee has depleted all accrued benefits, he or she is recorded as absent without pay and without benefit accrual.

When leave of absence status begins
When all accrued benefits are depleted or if staff choose not to use paid-time-off benefits, and staff do not return to work by the 30th calendar day, they are placed on a leave of absence and will still receive worker’s compensation payments as long as eligible under the provisions of the law.

Return to work with physician’s restrictions
If the university can provide work for an employee within the restrictions of the attending physician, the employee is not entitled to receive temporary total disability benefits.

Procedure 8.1

How to report on-the-job injuries

1. Employees must report all on-the-job injuries to their supervisor immediately.

Failure to report the injury the same day of occurrence may result in denial of a claim by Risk Management.

2. Supervisors must report an injury on the Occupational Injury-Illness Report form and send it to Occupational Health Services within 24 hours, regardless of whether the injury required professional medical attention or resulted in lost time.
   
3. The university chooses the attending physician for treatment of on-the-job injuries. Staff must go to Occupational Health Services, Coleman Hall, for treatment of on-the-job injuries. If the health center is closed or the injury is an emergency, staff should go to the university Hospital Emergency Room. Contact Risk Management for answers to questions concerning this procedure.

If the health center is closed, staff must report to the university Hospital Emergency Room within 24 hours of exposure. If staff can obtain a sample of the source of contamination, they should take the sample to the health center or hospital for testing

Numerical Index