Workers' Compensation, Policy No. 457

Printable PDF Board Policy 457

The technology center provides benefits established under the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Act (Act) to all technology center employees who are injured in on-the-job accidents. All accidents involving injury to the employee shall be reported to human resources no later than the morning of the workday following the event. Any employee requiring medical attention must seek services at Norman Regional Occupational unless care is being sought after hours or the services of a hospital emergency room are required.

All regular employees who are injured in on-the-job accidents shall receive statutory benefits including medical expenses, temporary compensation and benefits for permanent disability or death as required by the Act. The technology center has a legal obligation to provide the employee with reasonable and necessary medical treatment and to initiate the temporary compensation in the event that the employee is disabled and unable to return to work for more than three (3) calendar days. No compensation shall be allowed for the first three (3) calendar days of disability. The weekly amount of worker’s compensation benefits paid to an injured or ill employee for temporary total disability is set by law. Temporary total disability checks are issued by the carrier of the technology center’s workers’ compensation insurance and mailed directly to the home address of the injured or ill employee.

Filing a fraudulent worker’s compensation claim is a crime and the technology center will report to the proper authorities any suspected fraudulent claim of workplace injury.

Accrued and unused personal leave and sick leave benefits shall be paid as allowed by law to the injured employee in addition to workers' compensation benefits for temporary disability if the injured employee should so elect. An appropriate election form will be given to every employee as soon as possible after an on-the-job injury. No supplemental payment shall be made until such time as the employee returns the election form to the technology center. If the election for supplemental pay is made sick leave shall be used and exhausted before personal leave unless different instructions are directed by the employee, in writing, to the technology center. Employees may not request time from the sick leave bank while out for workers’ compensation.

An employee who has accrued sufficient sick leave days may elect to receive sick leave pay for some or all of the days he/she is disabled due to a work-related injury or illness. However, to receive sick leave pay, the employee must request leave from his/her supervisor indicating the number of eligible sick leave days that he/she wishes to receive. An employee can receive temporary total worker's compensation benefits and sick leave pay simultaneously. Any technology center-provided leave benefits requested to be paid simultaneously with worker’s compensation benefits will be coordinated with the worker’s compensation benefits. Coordination means that the total of all benefit payments received Section 4 – Page 74 by the employee during any pay period will not be greater that 100% of the employees normal wages.