|
CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT DD |
Date: |
August 24, 2004 | |
Author: |
Catherine Deslauriers | |
Phone No.: |
7580 | |
RTS No.: |
04424 | |
CC File No.: |
1379 | |
Meeting Date: |
September 14, 2004 |
TO: |
Vancouver City Council |
FROM: |
General Manager, Human Resource Services |
SUBJECT: |
Creation of a Disability Management Division within |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Vancouver City Council approve the creation of a Disability Management Division within Human Resource Services and approve the creation of the following regular full-time positions: Team Lead, Return to Work Coordinator, and two support staff positions in 2004, subject to classification by the General Manager of Human Resource Services at a prorated cost of $57,597 ($230,390 annually) to expand the current disability management program at the City. There is also a one-time set-up cost for furniture ($28,000), computers ($10,400) and a laser printer ($2,200). Funding for 2004 to be provided from a surplus in the Medium Term Disability (MTD) liability account while annual on-going funds are to be added the department's 2005 operating budget, without offset.
B. THAT program costs for medical assessments to support the disability management program be increased in 2004 by $75,000 to $230,300, funding to be provided from the surplus in the MTD liability account, and in 2005 by $150,000 to $305,300, funding to be added to the 2005 Operating Budget without offset.
C. THAT the $250,000 that is currently spent on an annual basis to fund transitional duty work opportunities and is charged to the Engineering Fringe Benefit account be set-up as a Corporate Program within the General Government Account for 2005, subject to the 2005 operating budget review, to fund transitional duty work.
D. THAT funds collected by the City from subrogation settlements related to motor vehicle accidents for CUPE Local 1004 employees be used to fund transitional duty opportunities for staff following non-occupational injury or illness where the payment is received from ICBC beyond the year of injury.
E. THAT the premiums paid by the City and CUPE Local 1004 employees toward the CUPE Local 1004 sickness and accident insurance plan be used by the City to fund transitional duty opportunities for staff following non-occupational injury or illness where the funds are not fully expended on claims costs.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager supports the recommendation of the General Manager, Human Resource Services.
COUNCIL POLICY
New positions require Vancouver City Council approval.
SUMMARY
Disability management is an important component of good human resource management program and accommodation of disabled employees is a legal requirement of every organization. The City currently has a disability program but it is under resourced due to lack of staff and funds to create transitional (light) duty work for the outside workforce.
During the 2003 negotiations, CUPE Local 1004 and the employer agreed to establish a joint committee to address a number of issues and improvements with respect to disability management. These include: a review of the sickness and accident plan usage and language changes and the availability of light duty work. It was agreed that a business case would be prepared for submission to City Council. The report would include creation of a Disability Management Division and approval for funding to create transitional or light duty work opportunities for Engineering and Park Board employees for rehabilitation and employee accommodation purposes.
In addition, changes to WCB legislation in May 2002 have limited the mandate of the WCB. As a result WCB will only reopen claims for wage loss in exceptional circumstances. If, after a claim is finalized by WCB an employee is unable to work the employer will be required to provide either sick leave or alternate work where appropriate. In addition, WCB will no longer provide the full range of vocational rehabilitation services they have provided in the past. Employers must now participate in and pay directly for accommodation of permanently injured employees hurt at work in addition to those employees disabled for reasons not related to the workplace.
It is anticipated that expanded disability management services across the City will return employees to the workplace sooner, improve productivity, and result in fewer sick and WCB hours paid to employees while providing increased support to disabled employees. The initial focus of the expanded disability management services will be a through a joint sick leave committee with CUPE Local 1004 to address issues raised in bargaining in 2003.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to obtain approval to expand the City's disability management program. Implementation of expanded disability services to the City through the creation of a Disability Management division within Human Resource Services will ensure the City is able to meet its legal obligation to accommodate ill or injured employees and provide transitional (light) duties for employees so they can return more quickly to the workplace following illness or injury thereby reducing WCB and sick leave hours paid to employees and improving services for ill or injured employees.
BACKGROUND
At the present time there are four Return to Work Coordinators (RTWC) responsible for disability management services at the City. Vancouver Police Board and the Vancouver Public Library have their own employees who provide this service. All departments, through their RTWC's, charge the cost of medical assessments required for disability management to the Human Resource Services budget.
The responsibility of the RTWC is to assist supervisors and managers return ill or injured employees to the workplace and where necessary facilitate interventions and work with insurance carriers, Workers' Compensation Board (WCB), medical personnel, union representatives and ill or injured employees to ensure safe and supportive return to work plans are developed and implemented and handled in a professional and sensitive manner.
While many employees who are absent from work due to illness or injury recover quickly and are able to return to their own positions, other employees experience temporary partial disabilities that affect their functional capacity. In these cases the RTWC will work with the Supervisor and medical practitioners to develop return to work plans with modified hours or duties to allow these employees to return to work. If the employee's own work cannot be modified in this manner the RTWC will work to find transitional (light) duty work opportunities.
For employees with permanent disabilities the RTWC will work to find alternate positions within the organization in accordance with our legal responsibility to accommodate disabled employees to the point of undue hardship. Currently we have approximately thirty employees from the outside workforce who are waiting for a permanent accommodation. Most of these employees are in receipt of WCB or long term disability benefits (LTD).
In the outside workforce where the work is more physically demanding it is more difficult to modify job hours or duties to accommodate ill or injured workers due to the nature of the work. Finding suitable accommodation positions is also an ongoing challenge given the physical nature of the work. As a result CUPE Local 1004 employees tend to use more WCB, sick and long term disability benefits. With the aging workforce it is likely usage rates will increase if we do not work with the union to put an expanded disability management plan in place, and create more opportunities for employees to return to the workplace following injury or illness.
The City has been tracking the number of days lost to injury and illness by bargaining unit and by department usage. From November 1, 2002 to October 31, 2003 the City average was 16.7 days lost due to illness and injury. The average total days lost for illness and injury for CUPE Local 1004 Parks employees was 36.9 days and for CUPE Local 1004 City employees 25.6 days respectively.
While the City will continue to work with all departments on disability management issues, dealing with CUPE Local 1004 employees will be the immediate priority and focus. It is apparent to both the union and the employer that it makes sense to have employees who are medically able, return to work and receive full wages rather than be absent, and in receipt of sick leave benefits which for CUPE Local 1004 employees is less than full wages.
During 2003 negotiations, CUPE Local 1004 and the Employer agreed to continue the work of the Joint Committee with respect to disability management, plan usage and language and the availability of transitional (light duty) work and mandatory rehabilitation. In the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement it was agreed this report would go forward to Council and that we would work collaboratively on disability management issues.
In 2003, $520,008 was spent on disability management program costs for all City employees as follows:
· $244,615 was charged to the Engineering fringe benefit account to create transitional duty work for Engineering employees who were disabled due to workplace accidents. Injured workers were able to return to work sooner as a result and the length of WCB claims was reduced by 19, 276 hours and this saved the organization $226,079 in direct WCB claims costs. Since 2000 the employer has seen a 9.2% reduction in the surcharge on our WCB assessments. This led to a savings of $400,000 in 2003 on our WCB assessment due to reduced claims costs over the 2000 to 2002 period.
· $79,000 from the Engineering Department budget was spent on a pole scrapping program that provides transitional work for injured employees returning to the workplace following a WCB claim. This program is funded through the Engineering operating budget.
· $205,393 was spent for Occupational health services related to disability management for the organization. These costs are necessary to ensure medical approval for all return to work activities to ensure the safety of employees returning to transitional duties. To ensure confidentiality of medical information, the City has a contract with Medisys to provide occupational physician/nurse services to assist with communication with family physicians and other health care professionals.
DISCUSSION
In the last round of bargaining with CUPE Local 1004 the union and the employer agreed to continue the work of the Joint Committee with respect to disability management. It was agreed this report would go forward to Council and that we would work collaboratively on disability management issues.
Discussions with CUPE Local 1004 during negotiations include:
· Establishing a disability management section within Human Resource Services to facilitate the processing of bona fide non-occupational illness and injury claims.
· Seeking funding to create transitional (light) duty positions to improve availability of work for employee rehabilitation, temporary light duty assignments and employee accommodation.
· Creating a new section with the Sanitation Branch of Engineering which will be dedicated to coordinating the placement of employees in light duty assignments not available with in the employee's own Branch and looking at a similar undertaking with Park's operation.
· Examining methods to try to ensure income continuity during the adjudication period associated with disability claims providing there is an agreed upon method to recover overpayments is a claim is denied.
· Making a series of improvements to the sickness and accident plan document in order to create a number of incentives for employees to participate in rehabilitation programs.
· Including participation in rehabilitation as a required feature of the MTD and LTD documents in accordance with Employment Insurance guidelines in order to protect the existing EI reductions used to offset the cost of the plans.
· Having the City absorb more of the costs of the medical documentation following acceptance of a claims that may be required as part of the disability claims management process, and
· Incorporating much of the language and features previously agreed to between the parties as part of the sick leave trial letter of understanding, and amending the plan documents and the collective agreement as required in order to support and implement the business plan as approved by Council.
In order to achieve these commitments, raise the profile and stress the importance of disability management in the organization a new division within Human Resource Services needs to be created. Staff in this newly created division will report to the Manager of Employee Health and Safety.
· A team lead position is required to develop and implement a formalized disability management program and create a disability management program manual for the organization. It is important the organization understand the legal requirements the City has to accommodate disabled employees. The team lead will consult with managers and supervisors and RTWC's on complex disability management issues and develop a comprehensive manual to document the City's accommodation process. The team lead will examine issues raised by the CUPE Local 1004 joint sick leave committee and provide recommendations on improved service delivery to employees with bona fide illness and injury claims. A major review and rewrite of the CUPE Local 1004 sick leave plan is underway. This is a major undertaking requiring expertise from a benefit consultant to ensure all changes are legally sound and consistent with sick plan document language. The team lead will have responsibility to ensure the changes to the sick leave plan are communicated and implemented in the organization.
· A RTWC is required to service the Park Board. Currently a RTWC is shared between the Park Board and Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services. One RTWC is not sufficient to adequately address the disability issues of both departments in a timely and effective manner. The Park Board RTWC will assume responsibility for disability management issues related to occupational (WCB) and non-occupational illness (sick leave).
· Two (2) clerical support staff are required to assist with the administrative support required by the RTWC's. Initially, there is considerable work required to support the changes to the sick leave plan, and improve administrative processes that will flow from the work of the joint sick leave committee. The support staff will work with the RTWC's to generate quarterly reports and create statistics that will monitor the effect of the expanded disability management program on the organization. Absences due to illness and injury will be measured on a quarterly basis and statistics on WCB and sick leave usage will be communicated to the organization so that productivity gains can be measured.
· An additional $150,000 a year is required in order for the City to increase the involvement of the Occupational Health Physician/Nurse on issues of disability management. As we work to return more ill and injured employees to the workplace in a timelier manner it is important that the City ensures these employees are deemed medically capable of participating in transitional duties and that their functional capacity is well understood and matched to transitional work available in a safe and sensitive manner. As additional work has already begun in this area, $75,000 will be required in 2004.
· An approval of $250,000 per annum on an ongoing basis is required to formalize the WCB transitional duty program. In 2003, $244,615 was charged to the Engineering fringe benefit account to create transitional duty work for engineering employees disabled due to workplace accidents. For better management of these funds a funded program should be established as a Corporate Program in General Government so that these funds can be tracked and allocated according to documented need. In 2003, this program reduced the duration of WCB claims and assisted in the return of injured employees to the workplace in a timely manner. The program assisted in the reduction of over 19,000 WCB hours and saved $226,079 in WCB claims costs. In May 2002 a change in WCB legislation resulted in a change to vocational rehabilitation benefits and reduced the employee's ability to re-open claims except in exceptional circumstances. As a result the employer has to pay sick leave or fund transitional duties and/or accommodation opportunities rather than have WCB provide for employees. In the long term the effect of the legislation on the organization could be financially significant if we do not have sufficient resources to invest in transitional duties to get employees back into the workplace.
· Currently the Employee Health and Safety division of Human Resource Services collect funds from ICBC for employees hurt in motor vehicle accidents and in receipt of sick leave benefits. Where payment is received for CUPE Local 1004 employees beyond the year of the accident it is recommended that these funds be used to create transitional duty work for employees temporarily disabled. In the past few years the total amount collected from ICBC has been approximately $125,000.
· Effective January 1, 2004 CUPE Local 1004 members increased their premiums for the sickness and accident plan from $0.84 to $1.10 per $100 of wages. It is recommended that any funds not expended for sick leave payments be used to fund transitional duty work for employees temporarily disabled by illness and injury. If we are able to reduce sick leave usage the cost of sick leave claims will decrease. The money saved can then be reinvested into creating additional transitional duty work. In 2003 approximately $1.2 million dollars were paid to CUPE Local 1004 employees for MTD. This represents 370 claims and 100,520 hours paid for medium term disability. If we provide additional transitional duty positions we will be able to have more employees return to the workplace sooner, provide rehabilitation on the job and reduce the length of sick leave claims and reduce sick leave costs.
The Engineering Services department completed a re-organization and identified $179,000 out of reorganization savings that can be used to create transitional duty work. The reorganization has also provided for a branch within Sanitation that will coordinate the placement of employees in transitional (light) duties.
Engineering and Park Board will work to create new light duty positions and to improve the availability of light duty work that can be used for employee rehabilitation, temporary light duty assignments and employee accommodation with the funding available. Human Resource Services will work with the operation to identify and document appropriate light duty work.
It is projected that it will take a year to create the transitional duties and set-up the processes to create a fully integrated transitional duty work program.
The benefits to the organization will include:
· A continued reduction in the duration of WCB claims and reduced claim costs. Employees will have a well documented and implemented program to assist in their safe return to work following injury. The program will be communicated with WCB and medical practitioners so that employees can return to transitional (light) duty as soon as medically possible. The City will have the direct savings related to reduced WCB claim costs and the indirect savings related to reduced WCB assessments.
· There will be more options for ill or injured employees who need assistance to re-enter the workplace. Rather than have employees absent from the workplace, receiving sick leave benefits, the employer will be able to provide transitional duty work to support employees in their recovery through re-integration to the workplace. Earlier return to work will result in increased productivity, less use of replacement employees in some cases, reduced sick leave usage, and confirm the employer's commitment to our workforce and support our disabled employees.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The salary costs for the expansion of the disability management program are as follows:
Description |
FTE |
Salary |
Total Per Annum |
Pro-Rated for 2004 |
Lead Hand - HRC III |
1.0 |
63,407 |
76,088 |
19,022 |
RTW Coordinator - HRC II |
1.0 |
56,631 |
67,957 |
16,989 |
Clerk III |
2.0 |
71,954 |
86,345 |
21,586 |
Total |
4.0 |
191,992 |
230,390 |
$57,597 |
In addition there would be one time costs of $40,600 for computers, licenses, printers and furniture in 2004. Funding for this will be from the surplus in the 2004 MTD liability account.
· An additional $150,000 is required in order for the City to increase the involvement of the Occupational Health Physician/Nurse on issues of disability management is required for 2005 subject to the 2005 Operating budget review. As some work has commenced in this area, $75,000 will be required from the surplus in the 2004 MTD liability account.
· The $250,000 that is currently spent on an annual basis to fund transitional duty work opportunities for engineering staff following workplace accidents (WCB) and charged to the Fringe Benefit account for Engineering Services, should be funded as a Corporate program within the General Government, commencing in 2005, subject to the 2005 operating budget review, to fund transitional duty opportunities for employees following occupational illness or injury where necessary.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
The Human Resource Services department will be working very closely with Engineering and Park Board staff and the joint sick leave committee with CUPE Local 1004 to set-up the program and fulfil commitments that were made in the 2003 negotiations. Transitional duty work will be identified and documented and will be funded within the budget identified in this report. Plan document changes will be made and implemented. Sick leave and WCB absences will be monitored on a weekly basis and employees who have bona fide claims will be provided with assistance to facilitate those claims and an early return to work where medically appropriate. A disability management manual will be created and employees and managers will be provided with education and training.
The Disability Management division will provide quarterly reports to the organization on sick leave and WCB usage and will monitor savings that result from the program.
CONCLUSION
In order to contain WCB and sick leave costs it is important that the City expand our current Disability Management Program. To support our disabled employees the City needs to have transitional or light duty work that is available to assist our employees re-enter the workforce following illness or injury. One important component of that program for the CUPE Local 1004 workforce is an opportunity for medically approved early return to work opportunities with participation in rehabilitation as a required feature. By monitoring and managing WCB and sick leave claims and by providing transitional or light duties it is anticipated that the CUPE 1004 sick leave and WCB leave can be reduced and that ill and injured employees can be provided with a safe and supportive reintegration into the workplace. Work that is completed to assist with the CUPE Local 1004 project such as the Disability Management Program manual will have direct application to the rest of the organization on an ongoing basis.
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