Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the TDI-DWC Research & Evaluation Group’s release of its 2023 Return to Work Report, which examined RTW outcomes between 2007-2020, including the percentage of injured employees who initially return to work after their injury; the percentage who remain at work; and the average days away from work.
Key findings included that the initial RTW rate slightly decreased between injury years 2017-2019 from 83% to 79%, and then returned to 83% in 2020 – variance that the report says may be due to work interruptions from COVID-19 starting in early 2020 (since those injured in the last quarter of 2019 could experience COVID-19 impacts within six months of injury). Similar dips were also apparent in sustained RTW rates. The report also notes the enduring trend that older employees, employees with severe injuries, and employees working in industries that rely on manual labor tend to have more lost time than other employees.