5-403: Vocational Rehabilitation

Purpose

To define the policy and outline the procedures to be followed regarding placement of partially disabled employees. 

Authority

• County Executive approval. 

Scope

This applies to County employees.

Policy

The County may make a reasonable effort to place regular employees who have been determined by the County Employee Health Physician, for purposes of the policy, as partially disabled and unable to perform the duties of the employee’s current class. Only employees who are disabled as the result of a work-incurred injury and are unable to perform the duties of the class in which the employee was working at the time of the injury will be considered. 

Procedure

At such time that the County Employee Health Physician determines that an employee is partially disabled from performing the duties of the employee’s current class, the Department of Personnel Management, after consulting with the affected line department(s), shall determine if the employee is a likely candidate for training and placement into another class. 

In deciding the class into which the employee shall be placed, three criteria must be met: 

The maximum salary rate of the new class must be less than one step higher than the maximum salary rate for the class in which the employee occupied at the time of the work incurred injury. If the maximum salary rate for the new class is one step or more lower than the maximum salary rate of the employee’s former class, the employee must agree to be voluntarily demoted and, in return, the County will “Y” rate the employee at the time of the placement into the new class. A step is defined as approximately 5% rounded to the nearest whole percent. 

The employee must be medically and physically capable of performing the duties of the new class. 

The training period for placement into the new class shall not exceed one year. At the end of the training period the employee must meet the minimum qualifications for the new class. 

Participation on the part of the employee is strictly voluntary. The Department of Personnel Management will offer the employee the opportunity to be trained and placed. If the employee declines to accept the offer, the County shall consider the employee as a candidate for disability retirement. 

The employee shall remain in the class in which the employee occupied at the time of the injury for the duration of the training period. In coordination with the Department of Personnel Management, the gaining department shall develop and administer the training program.

During the training period the employee will continue to be eligible to apply for disability retirement. 

At such time as the training period is completed and the employee is placed, the employee is considered medically qualified to perform the duties of the new class. The employee will continue to be considered medically qualified to perform the duties of the new class unless it is determined otherwise by the County Employee Health Physician.