WHAT TO DO WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS INJURED When an employee is injured, it is the employer‘s responsibility – not the employee’s – to complete a First Report of Injury form. The employer must give the employee the “Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System Employee Information Sheet” at the time the employee is given a copy of the First Report of Injury Form. This form must be sent to the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company so that it is received no later than 10 days after knowledge of the injury. The insurance company in turn must send the report to the Department of Labor and Industry so that it is received no later than 14 days after the injury if the injured worker is disabled more than three days. If the report is not filed within these deadlines, the employer or insurance company can be fined by the department. Self-insured employers have 14 days in which to file the report with the department. It is important that the report is filed promptly so the insurance company will have adequate time to investigate the claim. If the work-related injury is serious or results in a fatality, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry must be notified by telephone within 48 hours. The First Report of Injury form also must be filed. Completing a First Report of Injury form does not mean that the employer accepts liability for the injury. The insurance company will pay on the claim only after it has been investigated and determined that it is most likely compensable. RETURNING AN EMPLOYEE TO WORK Employers are strongly encouraged to bring their injured workers back to work as soon as they can. In cases of serious injuries, this might mean reasonably accommodating employees as they improve or modifying jobs they had before they were injured. Employers are encouraged to establish disability management programs to plan for these cases. The employer’s workers’ compensation insurer can assist in establishing such a program. If the employee requests it or if the employee remains (or is expected to remain) off work more than 90 days and a valid request for waiver of rehabilitation services is not filed by the employer/ insurer, the employee is entitled to receive a vocational rehabilitation consultation to determine whether the employee is qualified to receive vocational services. A rehabilitation consultation is provided at the request of the employer, the insurer, the employee, or the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and must be conducted by a qualified rehabilitation consultant registered with the Department. It is important to coordinate these return-to-work programs with the employee’s union, if there is one, to see that a return-to-work program does not conflict with seniority provisions in union contracts. For employers of more than fifteen full-time employees, Minnesota law provides a civil penalty for an employer’s refusal without reasonable cause to offer continued employment to an employee when continued employment is available within the employee’s physical limitations. That penalty is one year’s wages for the employee, up to $15,000.
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