Opening General Session:
How to Manage a Federal Workers' Compensation Program During
Tough Economic Times
Sue Wetherington, Owner, President, G.S. & S and Associates, St. Augustine, Fla.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 8:45 – 10 a.m.
The global economic crisis has impacted everyone in various degrees and those involved with workers' compensation of federal employees haven't been left untouched. New challenges are forcing agencies to be more creative in using FECA vocational rehabilitation services and light-duty work to return injured employees to the workforce. And with reduced budgets, it's easy to forego necessary safety precautions, running the risk of increasing the incidence of injuries. Additionally, with reductions in force, employees with little or no workers' comp experience may be called upon to handle these claims, creating a huge need to cross-train. Ms. Wetherington, a former workers' compensation manager with the Army National Guard and now an authoritative voice in federal workers' compensation, will examine these and more of today's challenges to empower you to effectively manage what comes your way during these tough times.
Awards Luncheon
Find out which federal agency gets honors this year!
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
Join us in honoring the winners of Risk & Insurance® Magazine's best workers' compensation and disability management programs of the year. Recognizing excellence and innovation in the workers’ comp and disability communities, these awards honor President Theodore Roosevelt, who pioneered the first federal workers' compensation legislation in the United States.
Luncheon Entertainment:
The Second City — Chicago’s Famous Improvisational Comedy Troupe
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1:15 – 2 p.m.
Get ready to laugh as Chicago's famed comedy troupe applies it's unique brand of humor to the workers' compensation and disability management industries.
Closing General Session: 60 Tips in 60 Minutes
Marianne Cloeren, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director, Managed Care Advisors Inc.,
Bethesda, Md.
Gary Myers, Workers' Compensation Program Manager, Office of the Chief
Human Capital Officer, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.
Cindy Roth, CEO, Ergonomic Technologies Corp., Syosset, N.Y.
Alan J. Shapiro, Attorney, Shapiro, Shapiro & Shapiro, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Katherine Smith, Representative, Mail Handlers Union,
American Postal Workers Union, Holyoke, Mass.
Friday, Nov. 20, 10:15 - 11:30 a.m.
This fun and engaging general session features experts from various backgrounds who will provide you with 60 valuable and practical workers' comp tips to take home. Yes, you'll leave with 60 tips, many of which will help you guide your workers' comp program through these tough economic times. This fast-paced, round-robin format gives each expert 60 seconds to present one useful tip. If they go longer than 60 seconds, they will be … Well, you’ll see!
-1: Dispelling the Top 10 Myths That Interfere With
Claims Management
Lisa Firestone, President, Managed Care Advisors Inc., Bethesda, Md.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. REPEAT
Many obstacles hinder effective claims management — lack of dedicated resources, ineffective incentives, insufficient training, apathy. Perhaps the most pervasive and common problem, however, is a persistent mythology about what an agency can and can’t do under FECA. But in these difficult economic times, effective claims management is critical for reducing costs. Ms. Firestone will share lessons learned from experience in the federal sector, and dispel the top 10 myths that inhibit an agency's effective management of claims.
-2: Developing the Medical Evidence: A Look From the Other Side
Melvin Mitchell, Office of Human Capital/Injury Compensation Management, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Arlington, Va.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2:45 – 4 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 20, 8:45 – 10 a.m. REPEAT
What steps can an agency take to get some movement or resolution on a case without feeling powerless? When is an agency being proactive or reactive? Get the answers to these questions and more during this informative session. Mr. Mitchell will discuss how the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) evaluates medical evidence submitted by an injured worker and the roles and responsibilities of OWCP medical staff regarding that evidence. You’ll learn when second opinions, referee physicians and reviews from the district medical director are warranted, plus Mr. Mitchell will explain the criteria the OWCP uses to select a particular specialist.
-3: Clearing Up Confusion Over Continuation of Pay
Sue Wetherington, Owner, President, G.S. & S and Associates, St. Augustine, Fla.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 8:45 – 10 a.m.
Lately, there has been a lot of confusion over continuation of pay (COP), which helps employees avoid interruption of income while their cases are being adjudicated by the OWCP. And, with the deepening financial crisis, it's more critical than ever to understand this benefit. Ms. Wetherington will provide comprehensive and authoritative guidance to help you manage COP, including how to count COP periods and controvert COP.
-4: The Successful Return-to-Work Process: A Step-by-Step Approach
Gary Myers, Workers' Compensation Program Manager, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Full recovery from a traumatic injury may take months or even years, if it happens at all. The employing agency's ability to offer light or alternate duty enables a partially disabled employee to return to productive employment, which often speeds the healing process while helping the agency keep its costs down. Step-by-step, Mr. Myers will explain the return-to-work process, covering critical issues such as: maintaining open lines of communication with the recovering employee; ensuring that an offered position complies with medically imposed restrictions; and the consequences of an employee's failure or refusal to accept a suitable job offer.
-1: How Recent Case Law Can Help You Succeed
Elizabeth A. Morrow, Special Projects Editor, cyberFEDS®, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Alan J. Shapiro, Attorney, Shapiro, Shapiro & Shapiro, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Staying abreast of the latest Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB) decisions is essential to properly processing a federal workers' comp claim. Mr. Shapiro and Ms. Morrow will review the latest and most significant ECAB decisions and explain how the decisions affect you — from deciding whether to challenge a claim to ensuring you extend an injured worker a suitable job offer.
-2: Conducting a Performance of Duty Analysis
Alan J. Shapiro, Attorney, Shapiro, Shapiro & Shapiro, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Thursday, Nov. 19, 10:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.
One of the five basic requirements every compensable FECA claim must meet is that the injury or condition occurred in the performance of duty. But figuring out whether an injury happened during the course of employment is not always an easy task. Mr. Shapiro will discuss the various factors that are considered in a performance of duty analysis, including whether the injury occurred during regular work hours; if the employee was on or off the agency's premises at the time of injury; and whether horseplay, misconduct or deviation from regular duties was involved.
-3: Identifying the Elements of a Suitable Job Offer
Melvin Mitchell, Office of Human Capital/Injury Compensation Management, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Arlington, Va.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Offering suitable duties can be the most important step to successfully returning an injured employee to work, but it can be a process full of obstacles. Mr. Mitchell will detail the steps agencies can take to ensure that a job offer is deemed suitable, plus describe the penalties for an employee who refuses to accept a suitable offer.
-4: The Role of the ADAAA in Returning Injured Employees to Work
Frank Alvarez, Partner, Jackson Lewis LLP, White Plains, N.Y.
Richard Pimentel, Senior Partner, Milt Wright & Associates, Granada Hills, Calif.
Friday, Nov. 20, 8:45 – 10 a.m.
With the new ADA in effect, more employees who suffer an on-the-job injury and receive workers’ comp benefits will also be entitled to reasonable accommodation as an individual with a disability. But, complying with FECA doesn’t insulate an agency from liability, including compensatory damages and attorney's fees under the ADA. Mr. Pimentel and Mr. Alvarez will examine your requirements for returning employees to work, including the distinction between modified job offers under FECA and reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
-1: Winning Methods to Combat Fraudulent Claims
Yvonne McCree-Johnson, Human Resources Specialist, Department of Defense/Army, Fort Polk, La.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2:45 – 4 p.m.
At Fort Polk, combating workers’ comp fraud begins with organization and effective partnerships and ends with prosecution and/or termination of the fraudulent claims. For example, say an employee files alleged work-related injury claims. The claims look suspicious, so the supervisor is contacted for additional information regarding the claims and rumors that have surfaced. What steps should the workers' comp team take next? Ms. McCree-Johnson will explain how building relationships and using an organizational approach have proven effective in combating fraud — saving money for your agency and taxpayers. Plus, she'll share with you a multi-dimensional approach that has produced desired results..
-2: Impact of Early Intervention on Workers' Comp Outcomes
Marianne Cloeren, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director, Managed Care Advisors Inc.,
Bethesda, Md.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 8:45 – 10 a.m.
When an employee is injured at work, the agency’s early action (or inaction) sets the stage for the case outcome. Dr. Cloeren will describe an innovative approach to workers' compensation case management including: using nurse case managers in the earliest phases of a claim (in some cases, before a claim is even filed) to assist the injured worker; obtaining needed information for claim management; and developing a solid action plan. Plus, you’ll learn strategies that led to one agency’s dramatic reductions in lost work-day claims, lost production days, and total case rates.
-3: A Team Approach to Effective Resolution of Periodic Roll Cases
Barbara DeGray, Director of Nurse Case Management, Managed Care Advisors Inc.,
Bethesda, Md.
Darryl Thornton, Acting Director, Workers' Compensation Programs, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Arlington, Va.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 10:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Ms. DeGray and Mr. Thornton will discuss the strategic team approach that was used to successfully resolve two-thirds of the Transportation Security Administration's periodic roll claims in less than two years. They'll focus on practical steps to assess these types of cases, plus share the tools needed to effectively manage them to successful resolution, thus allowing the injured worker to once again contribute and therefore reducing the employer’s long-term fiscal liability.
-4: How to Keep Consequential Emotional Claims in Check
Martin Kaplan, Attorney, Kaplan Law Office, Raleigh, N.C.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Claimants who have sustained compensable on-the-job injuries sometimes claim that emotional conditions — such as depression or anxiety disorders — are caused or aggravated by physical injuries. Because these consequential conditions can prolong the life of a workers' comp claim and result in additional lost time from work, it's critical that agencies know how to deal with them from the outset. Has the employee provided adequate medical evidence that connects the consequential condition to the original compensable injury? If the emotional condition can be traced to an intervening cause, is the employee still entitled to additional compensation? Mr. Kaplan will answer these questions, plus explain how to effectively handle these claims when dealing with the OWCP and the employee.
2009 Agenda
