Return-To-Work is a proactive approach to helping injured
workers return to safe and productive work activities as soon as
it is physically possible. It is a partnership involving
employers, workers, health care providers, unions, and a Return-
To-Work committee. The primary goal of a Return-To-Work Program
is to return workers to their pre-accident jobs. However, this
is not the only goal. A Return-To-Work Program must also strive
to restore all injured workers to the economic, social and
vocational status that they had prior to the injury. Generally,
Return-To-Work plans, within an overall workplace Return-To-Work
Program, are individually designed for each injured worker as a
short-term accommodation, working towards a common, primary goal
– a successful return to work. Return-To-Work Plans have time
frames and schedules that are transitional and depend on the
type of injury, physical abilities and limitations, skills, and
pre-accident employment duties of the injured worker. Injuries
are costly to all memb