System Allows Deputies to Be Off Work for Years — at Full Salary
Monday, February 25, 2019 | 0
Thanks to a quirk in state law and competing disability agencies, some 18 sheriffs' deputies in Rhode Island have been off work for years but have collected their full salaries — tax free, a local news report has found.
The situation has left courtrooms dangerously low on deputies needed to provide security, the TV news report said. In recent years, as many as 23 deputies have been been on “injured on duty” status, earning full salaries indefinitely while their cases are stuck somewhere between the workers' compensation court and the state retirement system.
One deputy has collected more than $563,000, tax-free, since she was injured on the job in 2006.
In years past, a badly injured deputy could apply for an accidental disability pension, which provides two-thirds of the salary. But in recent years, the state Retirement Board has denied a number of the applications, prompting the law officers to file workers' compensation claims.
In many claims, a compensation judge has ruled that the deputies were not ready to return to work, even though physicians in the cases disagreed about that.
Some cases have been left in limbo, allowing the injured officers to go on injured status, which provides 100% of their salary for an indefinite period. Other state workers are limited to 18 months of injured status, but deputies have been allowed to remain, at full salary, while their workers' comp cases are under review.
But those comp reviews can drag on for years if the claim is appealed, the news report said.
Rhode Island workers' comp law normally provides 75% of a worker's after-tax salary, up to 115% of the state average weekly wage for temporary total disability, and 50% of the average weekly wage for permanent partial disability, up to 500 weeks, according to the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
Gov. Gina Raimondo has proposed changes to the system that she said could save taxpayers $1.7 million a year. The reforms would require all current employees out on IOD for longer than 18 months to apply for an accidental disability pension within 90 days.
Another reform would require an independent doctor to certify an injury. Under current rules, the employee's personal physician certifies the injury, the TV report said. Lawmakers rejected a similar proposal last year.
In October, the administration awarded a contract to Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. to manage workers' compensation for state employees. The state has agreed to pay the company $5.1 million over three years, with an option for renewal in 2021.
In the bidding document for the Beacon Mutual contract, state officials estimated workers' comp claims cost taxpayers $28 million annually. There are an average of 2,036 new claims each year.
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