Scholarships Centerpiece of Next Step Return-to-Work Plan

Return-to-work programs for injured employees come in many forms and have been around for years, but the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation may have come up with a new wrinkle: publicly funded scholarships for permanently impaired workers. The Next Step program, authorized by state law and funded with up to $500,000 a year, will in the coming months begin offering scholarships of up to $5,000 a year and as much as $20,000 over four years. The scholarships can be used to pay for tuition and fees as part of an approved plan to learn job skills at a Tennessee College of Ap...