Return-to-Work Programs
Restrictions an employer can actually staff around
Overview
Return-to-Work Programs for federal and state claims
"Light duty" is not a restriction. We issue specific limits — weight, duration, posture, frequency — plus a review date, so a supervisor can build a schedule from the note without calling for clarification.
The cost of a work injury is driven less by the treatment than by the days away. Most of those days are lost in the gap between a note that says "no heavy lifting" and a supervisor who has no idea whether that means this position, this shift, or none at all.
We write restrictions as numbers a schedule can be built from: pounds by height, minutes of standing, permitted postures, repetitions per hour, driving and equipment limits, and a review date. When we have your written job description, we go further and state which specific tasks are in and out.
Restrictions remain a clinical determination. They are advanced when measured capability supports it and are not adjusted at an employer's or an agency's request — which is precisely what makes them worth relying on.
Scope of service
What's included
- Objective, quantified work restrictions
- Graded duty schedules with review dates
- Duty status reporting on the form the jurisdiction requires
- Job-description review against current capability
- Coordination with supervisors and nurse case managers
- Full-duty release documentation at conclusion
What a restriction set specifies
- Lift and carry limits by height: floor, waist, shoulder, overhead
- Push and pull force limits
- Standing, walking and sitting duration per hour and per shift
- Bending, twisting, kneeling, crawling and climbing limits
- Repetition and grip limits for hand and wrist claims
- Driving, machinery and at-height restrictions
- Shift length and overtime limits where clinically indicated
- A review date at which the set is reassessed
Program support for employers
- Review of your existing modified-duty position bank
- Task-level in/out determinations from your job descriptions
- Transitional duty progression schedules
- Supervisor-facing summaries in plain language
- Coordination with nurse case managers and TPAs
- Documentation of full-duty release at conclusion
How it works
From referral to closure
1. Job description intake
We ask for the written essential functions and, where you have one, the modified-duty position bank. Restrictions written against real tasks are far easier to staff.
2. Capability measurement
Current tolerance is measured rather than estimated: lift capacity, positional tolerance, repetition tolerance.
3. Quantified restriction set
The restriction set is issued in numbers with a review date, and where possible mapped to specific tasks as permitted or not permitted.
4. Duty status reporting
Federal duty status is reported on CA-17. State duty status goes to the employer, insurer or TPA in the format that carrier expects.
5. Graded progression
At each review the set is advanced, held with a stated clinical reason, or escalated — so the schedule moves on a documented cadence.
6. Full-duty release
Release documentation states that the essential functions are met, or names the permanent residual restriction if one remains.
Documentation you receive
- Quantified restriction set with a review date
- Task-level permitted / not-permitted list from your job description
- CA-17 duty status for federal claims
- Duty status reporting to the employer, insurer or TPA for state claims
- Supervisor-facing plain-language summary
- Full-duty release or permanent residual restriction documentation
Why safety managers and TPAs use us
- Notes a supervisor can schedule from without calling the clinic
- Fewer lost days by moving workers into transitional duty sooner
- Task-level clarity instead of "light duty as tolerated"
- A documented review cadence, so files do not drift
- Clean closure: full-duty release or a named permanent restriction
Federal and state rules
Federal duty status is reported on CA-17. State duty status is reported to the employer, insurer or TPA. Restrictions are a clinical determination and are not adjusted at an employer's or agency's request. Under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, an injured federal employee chooses their own initial treating physician. Nothing on this page should be read as an agency directing an employee's choice of provider.
Questions
Return-to-Work Programs: frequently asked questions
By location
Return-to-Work Programs near you
Return-to-Work Programs in Kansas City, MO
A Kansas City employer's cost on a claim is mostly lost time, not treatment. We write restrictions that a supervisor can staff on Monday, update them as function returns, and say plainly when full duty is appropriate.
Kansas City detailsReturn-to-Work Programs in St. Louis, MO
For St. Louis employers, the difference between a four-week claim and a four-month claim is usually how fast someone gets back on transitional duty. We write restrictions in plain task language and revisit them on a real schedule.
St. Louis detailsRelated services