ograc
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mike33,
was this employee returned to limited duty from an oji? Additionally, was this employee out on workers comp. and required surgery? Any specifics would be helpful. Thanks!
ograc
AUG/SEPT 2012 IAM Fleet Service Discussions
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was this employee returned to limited duty from an oji? Additionally, was this employee out on workers comp. and required surgery? Any specifics would be helpful. Thanks!
ograc
ograc
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wings396,
Couldn't be clearer. This issue of not offering limited duty when returning is what I'm struggling with. If I know this company this practice is not being applied consistently throughout the sysyem. Additionally, IMO... the Functional Capacity Examination requirement before returning to full duty work is another inconsistent requirement from station to station. I'm trying to validate my suspicions of inconsistent application of policies and contractual violation. Any input from other stations, regarding this issue, would be helpful.
ograc
The Bagfather
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I don't think this was an oji. The person was hit by a car walking from employee parking lot. He asked me last nite as to whether he was limited to a certain amout of light duty. I dont know. I'll ask him tonight if he was oji. BF
ograc
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Bagfather,
OUCH! I hope the employee is OK. Please keep me posted. I believe the company is responsible for your travel from the employee lot.
ograc
If he gets light duty I believe it's limited to 60 WORKING days. Don't quote, me, but I'm pretty positive. If I'm right, pay special notice to the WORKING days. We have an employee who was on light duty for 60 shifts before they gave him the boot to disability.
ograc
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wings396,
The contract does not specify pre or post surgery limited duty. Hypothetical... while awaiting surgery an employee is offered limited duty with very restrictive limitations. Post surgery his restrictions are far less restrictive than his pre surgery restrictions. At this point the company refuses to offer post surgery limited duty (even though the said employee has a balance of 30 contractual limited duty days). Workers compensation and covered physical therapy has stopped. This is a result of the surgeon declaring "maximum medical improvement". As far as the surgeon is concerned the definition of MMI is you have recovered 100% from your surgery.This does not imply you are ready to return to work "full duty". As a result of the company not offering post surgery limited duty the said employee, who was injured on the job, is no longer receiving compensation from either workers comp. or the company. IMO... this is a travesty of justice. This senario contradicts the intent of the language in the CBA governing limited duty. Additionally, this practice negates an emploees' rights under worker compensation law.
ograc
wings396
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I agree with you 100%, however every situation is different. An employee may be injured at work to the point of not being able to work at all. On the other end, you may need some light duty when you return to get back upto par. A friend of mine had back surgery just over a year ago and was in no way ready to start tossing a few hundred bags per day his first day back on the job. At that time he was able to ease back into his position with no complications by utilizing light duty.
ograc
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Two years ago a co worker of mine was determined, by the treating surgeon, to have reached maximum medical improvement. The employee's return to work was "based on the findings of the Functional Capacity Exam" required by the company. The employee's only restriction was not being able to lift 70 lbs. overhead unimpeded. The employee was able to lift 67 lbs. unimpeded. The pre surgery restrictions were no lifting over 15 lbs. The employee was denied the ability to return on a limited duty basis post surgery even though there was a remaining balance of limited duty days for the injury based on contractual language. End result... the loss of compensation, benefits, vacation / sick day accrual for over two months! Many OJIs require "additional strengthening" even after a patient has been declared to have reached "Maximum Medical Improvement". IMO...this message of intimidation by the company is meant to serve as punishment for and a deterrent to claiming a workers compensation OJI. It must be challenged and cease. Am I safe to assume your friend was , in fact, offered post surgery OJI limited duty?
ograc
ograc
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So... once again the company decides to alter the contractual language agreed to. First they agree to 60 days of limited duty per injury... then decide it only applies to pre surgery. They offer limited duty OJI, pre surgery, with very limited restrictions but refuse to offer the contractual balance of limited duty post surgery with far less restrictions. The difference is pre surgery is not a workers compensation claim. Post surgey is a limited duty return to work after a workers compensation claim. Quite a difference in posture by the company regarding the application of Article 16. The end result was over two months of lost compensation, benefits, vacation and sick accrual. Their intended message is let that be a lesson to the said employee and anyone else who goes out on an OJI workers compensation claim. This practice by the company has been grieved and is awaiting arbitration. Going forward, upon further investigation, I believe we will find inconsistent application of this policy and the requirement to pass an FCE as a requiement to return to full duty work, throughout the system. Rumor has it... the company is considering only offering limited duty to red headed, fair skinned fleet service employees in the future.
ograc
I'd like to change the course of conversation and get some feedback from you guy's concerning the negotiations. After talking to some co-workers about the question of the union talaking strike to the company. How many would support that situation. Most I've talked to said for no more tahn the union has done, they would cross the picket line because if the company fired us for walking, they have no faith in the union to get our jobs back. What's the consensus and is the negotiating aware of the lack of support from the membership?
ograc
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The threat of a legal strike, one that is sanctioned by the NMB, is the only real leverage any union or negotiating committee has at the bargaining table. Without that leverage your contract improvement proposals are reduced to requests and nothing more. Do your co workers believe the benefits they now reap are the result of the company's generosity? They are entitled to these contractual gains and benefits because of the solidarity within labor. Workers who weren't afraid to lay it on the line for improved wages, benefits and working conditions. Necigrad is correct. Fortunately, in this day and age you cannot be fired for being part of a legal strike. IMO... your co workers need to better educate themselves on the history and principals of organized labor.
ograc
One other thought. While you can't be fired for a legal strike, you CAN be for an illegal job action. In fact, while unlikely, you could go to jail. Look at what happened with the pilots. That was an illegal job action and they were pretty much smacked down. They were lucky. They weren't fined or jailed.
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