ReEmployAbility, the largest national provider of early return-to-work (RTW) services and transitional employment programs, announced results from a return-to-work (RTW) program with Waste Management, the largest environmental solutions provider in North America. ReEmployAbility’s Transition2Work® Program helped Waste Management supplement its in-house RTW program, successfully assisting injured workers whom Waste Management could not accommodate with modified light duty assignments.
“We have a very successful Transition to Recovery program that reduced our daily TTD headcount significantly, but we flat lined,” said Bob Drew, Director of Risk Management for Waste Management. “ReEmployAbility had a different spin—sending people with restrictions to work at non-profits. This allows us to accommodate injured workers with restrictions in areas where we don’t have any appropriate opportunities, and the results have been fantastic!”
The Transition2Work program places injured workers with local non-profit organizations to perform modified light duty assignments. The employer pays wages to the injured worker while at the non-profit. The injured worker benefits by easing back into the workforce, enjoys the camaraderie of a work environment, and gets the benefit of helping others. The employer retains a valuable employee, reduces indemnity spend, and can even get a tax deduction for wages paid to the employee while on assignment at the non-profit.
“Many employers have in-house programs,” said Debra Livingston, ReEmployAbility’s co-founder. “Transition2Work gives employers a flexible alternative that can fill in the gaps of their in-house programs, like it did for Waste Management. If you have one case or one hundred, we can place your injured worker in a suitable light duty assignment.”
Partnering with nearly 20,000 nonprofit organizations across the nation, ReEmployAbility offers quick placement within 1.8 days on average, and turnkey RTW program services, including injured worker communication and complete claim documentation.
“We don’t offer a cookie cutter return to work program,” stated Frances Ford, ReEmployAbility’s co-founder. “After ten years of specializing in return to work services, our Transition2Work program fits the needs of every employer, and most importantly, every injured worker.”
Waste Management began the Transition2Work program with a pilot program earlier this year, and is now in the process of rolling out the program to its entire organization.
