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Any university employee who is injured or incurs an occupational disease or death, normally without regard to fault, as a result of university employment, is covered by the Kentucky Worker’s Compensation Act, the university's Workers' Compensation Program and the University of Kentucky Worker’s Care Program Managed Care Organization.
 

First 7 (Calendar) Days Off

If an employee is found to be temporarily and totally disabled by the Workers' Care treating physician and is entirely off work as a result of a work-related incident, the department is responsible for changing the earnings code to 7409 or 7413 (depending on FMLA eligibility) and paying the employee as if the employee was at work for the first seven calendar days (generally five working days) of lost time.

8th Day Forward

Beginning with the employee's eighth day of lost time, the department is no longer responsible for benefit pay to the employee. The employee will receive a check for two-thirds of their average weekly wage, at the time of injury, from the university's third-party administrator. Injured employees may elect to use vacation leave (VL) or sick leave (TDL) (available as of the last day of active work) for the remaining one-third. The department must again change the earnings code to reflect the employee's current status (see the list of appropriate codes below). If the employee elects to supplement the remaining one-third of their pay with accrued temporary disability leave or vacation, not only must the corresponding earnings codes be used but the one-third pay must be calculated in terms of hours worked and submitted on a time sheet.

Steps for Reporting an Injury

  1. Contact your supervisor immediately to report the incident.
  2. Your or your supervisor should contact the Workers' Care 24-hour access line immediately (800-440-6285) to report the incident. Workers' Care will direct you to the appropriate facility for medical care if needed.
  3. Proceed to the UK Workers' Care network facility for evaluation and care.

Family Medical Leave (FMLA)

University policy (88.1.7.2.) states Workers' Compensation shall be designated as FMLA (to the extent it qualifies as FMLA) and shall run concurrently with FMLA leave. The department may contact HR Leave Administration with questions in regards to FMLA leave and university policy (88.1.7.2) Workers' Compensation.
 

FMLA Eligibility

Employees who are eligible for FMLA include those who have been employed at the university for at least 12 months and who worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous year. The employee must have a condition that requires multiple treatments, be incapacitated long term, hospitalized, or have a chronic condition.

Employees who are not eligible for FMLA include temporary employees, those who have not been employed at the university for 12 months, those who have been employed at the university for 12 months but who have not worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous year, and those who have exhausted their FMLA leave.
 

Other Benefit Information

The employee will continue to accrue vacation and sick leave but cannot use this time until they return to work for 10 consecutive working days as described in Human Resources Policy and Procedure 96.0. The departmental letter should also inform the employee the university health insurance credit will continue as described in Human Resources Policy and Procedure 96.0; however, the employee will be responsible for any and all additional deductions and premiums. Arrangements for payment may be made with the Benefits office by calling (859) 257-9519, option 3. The department may contact HR Leave Administration at (859) 323-4258 with questions related to a Workers' Compensation claim or Family Medical Leave.
 

Worker's Compensation Time Codes

FMLA Eligible, See section on FMLA, if FMLA eligible, employee must apply
 
7413 FMLA Work Comp W/Pay
7414 FMLA Holiday W/Pay
7415 FMLA TDL Emp W/Pay
7417 FMLA Vacation W/Pay
7418 FMLA Other WO/Pay
 

FMLA Ineligible, See section on FMLA
 
7409 Dept. Worker Comp
7450 Dept W/C Supp Holiday
7452 Dept W/C Supp TDL
7454 Dept W/C Supp Vacation
7457 Dept W/C WO/Pay
3730 STEPS Employees
 

Returning to Work

Lost time is a hardship for any employee and for their department. It should be a priority to return the employee to work as soon as possible. Providing light duty opportunities or temporary alternate work can speed recovery and greatly reduce the overall amount of time the employee will be off. Light duty is not meant to be permanent and normally will not exceed 180 days (per HR policy). The employee should not be allowed to return to regular duty without a full doctor's release. Any restrictions or limitations the employee may have when returning to work should be listed on the written release. It is the joint responsibility of the supervisor and the employee to ensure the employee abides by these restrictions to avoid re-injury.
 

Leave Administration

Contact Leave Administration to learn more about Workers' Compensation.

Contact our office

Call us at (859) 257-8804.