Workplace Injuries, Incidents and Workers' Compensation
The University pays the entire cost of workers' compensation insurance covering all employees who sustain work-related accidents or illnesses. If an employee is injured on the job, or if an employee believes they have a work-related illness, regardless of how minor the injury or illness, the employee must report this immediately to their supervisor. The supervisor reports all accident/incidents/"near-misses" via the Safety Incident Report in Workday within 24 hours. If the supervisor fails to report the injury, the employee should report the injury to Michael Jennings, Director of Environmental Health and Safety, 540-458-8175, mjennings@wlu.edu, within 24 hours. If the employee is placed on restricted or limited duty by a doctor, the employee and/or supervisor must inform Michael Jennings, and Andrea Velasquez in Human Resources. Human Resources must also be contacted if an injury results in a loss of work time.
Workers' compensation insurance pays for authorized medical bills and a portion of an employee's salary (up to 66.67% up to a maximum salary cap) when the employee is absent due to an approved work-related injury or illness.
- A benefit-eligible employee who is out of work for an approved work-related injury will receive 100% of their salary. The employee must, in turn, remit to the University any workers' compensation supplement received.
- A non-benefit-eligible employee who is out of work for an approved work-related injury will receive 66.67% of their wages. (For variable hour schedules, the actual amount will be calculated based on an average of the weekly hours worked for the prior 12 months.) The employee must, in turn, remit to the University any workers' compensation supplement received.