This policy covers Laboratory employee workers' compensation coverage under the University of California self-insured program, medical treatment of work-related injuries and illnesses, the reporting and processing of employee workers' compensation claims, and the University's extended sick-leave benefits, which supplement workers' compensation temporary disability payments. Questions regarding workers' compensation should be directed to the Laboratory Workers' Compensation Office.
It is the policy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that all Laboratory employees who, within the course and scope of employment, contract an illness or are injured:
All those employed by the Laboratory in any capacity, including graduate student research assistants (GSRAs), are covered by the University of California Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Program. Because GSRAs do not accrue vacation or sick leave, however, they are not eligible for the Laboratory's Supplement to Workers' Compensation described in Paragraph (D), below. Benefits to which an employee who is injured or contracts a disease within the course and scope of employment may be entitled include medical, hospital, and surgical care; compensation for wage loss during disability (called temporary disability payments); death benefits and a burial allowance, which may be paid to the employee's dependents if death results from the injury or illness; and vocational rehabilitation, which may be provided if the injury or illness prevents an employee from continuing in his or her job.
During business hours, the injured or ill employee's division or department should send or transport the employee to Health Services for treatment. After business hours, the employee's division or department should contact the Fire Department to transport the employee to medical treatment.
Injured employees who have filed a Designated Physician Treatment Form with Health Services and who are treated by that physician for a job-related injury or illness must advise the physician that it is a work-related injury or illness and that all billings and the Doctor's First Report of Injury should be sent to Applied Risk Management—East Bay Labs, 1956 Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
Employees are required to report work-related injuries and illnesses immediately to their supervisor or to Health Services. The employee's supervisor or designated division/department personnel must complete the employer section of the Employee's Claim for Workers' Compensation Benefits form (Employee Claim Form) and give the form to the employee within one working day of employee reporting or Laboratory knowledge of the injury or illness. See Supervisor/Manager Instructions for Reporting Workers' Compensation Claims, available from the Laboratory Workers' Compensation Office, for additional information and procedures. Failure to promptly provide employee claim forms to injured employees may result in financial penalties against the Laboratory. Health Services will provide an employee claim form to employees who receive treatment at Health Services for an industrial injury or illness.
Supervisors must advise either Health Services or the Laboratory Workers' Compensation Office immediately of all off-site reports of employee work-related injuries or illnesses. As above, supervisors must complete the employer section of the employee claim form and mail the form to the employee within one working day of the report or Laboratory knowledge of the illness or injury.
An employee who accrues sick leave and vacation will be permitted to use accrued sick leave and vacation if so desired to supplement temporary disability payments received from workers' compensation.
Sick leave and vacation (if so elected) payments will be the difference between the amount payable to the employee under workers' compensation as temporary disability and the employee's regular salary. The additional payment made to an employee to provide the employee with full salary before receipt of disability payments will be deemed an advance temporary disability payment under the Workers' Compensation Act.
An employee who receives advance temporary disability payment must reimburse the Laboratory for such payment. The reimbursement is used to restore proportionate sick leave and vacation credit as appropriate.
An employee who is receiving temporary disability payments and who has exhausted all accrued sick leave will receive extended sick leave and vacation (if so elected) payments from the Laboratory in an amount equal to the difference between the temporary disability payments from workers' compensation and 80% of the basic salary plus any shift differential the employee would have received. If the employee returns to work at less than his or her appointment at the time of injury, the employee's earnings plus any temporary disability payments, if less than 80% of basic salary plus any shift differential, will be supplemented to 80% by extended sick-leave payments as long as the employee continues to be medically authorized for workers' compensation temporary disability. Total extended sick-leave payments must not exceed 26 weeks for any one injury or illness or for all injuries or illnesses arising out of any one accident.
An eligible employee who does not have sufficient accrued sick leave to cover the two-calendar-day waiting period for receiving workers' compensation temporary disability payments will receive extended sick leave benefits to cover any part of the waiting period not covered by sick leave. Payment will be made only after determination that the injury or illness is compensable under workers' compensation.
An employee who elects not to use all accrued sick leave is not eligible for extended sick-leave benefits.
a. Supplemental Leave
An employee who is receiving temporary disability payments and supplemental payments and supplemental sick leave or vacation as described in Paragraph (D)(2), above, is considered to be on regular pay status for purposes of application of all Laboratory personnel policies except completion of the probationary period. Sick leave and vacation accrued during this disability period may be used as soon as they accrue.
b. Extended Sick Leave
An employee who is receiving temporary disability payments and extended sick leave benefits is considered to be on regular pay status for purposes of application of all Laboratory personnel policies except completion of the probationary period. Sick leave and vacation accrued during the disability period are credited to the employee, however, only on return to work. If an employee terminates without returning to work, the employee will be paid for vacation for the period he or she received extended sick leave payment.
c. Leave Without Pay
An employee on leave without pay and receiving temporary disability payments accrues sick leave and vacation on the same basis as if regularly employed, but such accrual is credited to the employee only on return to work. During the period that an employee is on leave without pay status, the employee's health care benefits only will be paid by the University. The cost of all other benefits must be paid by the employee. If an employee terminates without returning to work, no payment will be made for such vacation credit.
Paragraph Deleted
An employee must not use vacation, sick leave, or extended sick leave to supplement workers' compensation payments beyond a predetermined date of termination or leave without pay. Any vacation credit remaining on the date of termination will be paid on a lump-sum basis.
Compensation coverage is required when the Laboratory employs persons who will either:
Divisions/departments requiring out-of-state workers' compensation coverage for employees with out-of-state job assignments may obtain such coverage by completing a Request for Out-of-State Workers' Compensation Coverage form (available from the Human Resources Department) and returning it to the Workers' Compensation Coordinator no later than ten business days before the starting date for such employees.