Safety Panel Reviews Return-to-Work Program for Injured County Workers

Montgomery County Board Coordinating Committee Meeting | June 25, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board Coordinating Committee on Thursday, June 25, 2026, reported that the county’s HELP Safety Committee had reviewed a Return to Work Policy recommended by Bushue HR — a 12-page program that would put the county treasurer in charge of coordinating the return of injured employees to modified duty. The minutes record no motion and no vote.

Return to Work Program Key Points:

• The program document assigns coordination to the Montgomery County Treasurer, with the treasurer’s chief deputy as the designated backup coordinator.
• Injuries would have to be reported before the end of the employee’s shift or within 24 hours; the program warns that failure to report to work or contact a manager within 24 hours of medical treatment may result in disciplinary action.
• Modified duty would be offered in two-week intervals and could continue until maximum medical improvement, a full-duty release, or six months — whichever comes first.
• The document contradicts itself on a basic question of scope: one section limits the program to work-related injuries and illnesses, while the policy itself says it should be followed for work-related or non-work-related injury or illness.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board Coordinating Committee on Thursday, June 25, 2026, recorded that the county’s HELP Safety Committee had reviewed a Return to Work Policy recommended by Bushue HR, the Effingham human resources firm the county has been leaning on across several fronts this summer.

The minutes say nothing more than that. But the committee’s handouts include the program itself: a 12-page document on Bushue HR letterhead, titled “Return to Work Program” and headed “Montgomery County,” that lays out in detail how the county would manage an employee’s return from injury.

Who Runs It

The policy assigns the job to the county treasurer, who “will be responsible for coordinating the return-to-work program.” The treasurer’s chief deputy is named the designated alternate. The coordinator would keep a list of modified duty tasks, contact the injured employee weekly or biweekly, maintain regular contact with the medical provider, obtain updated work restrictions, and monitor and document the employee’s performance while on modified duty.

Supervisors carry a parallel set of duties: arranging first aid and prompt medical attention, investigating on-the-job incidents, determining what modified work is available, and monitoring recovery. The injured employee, the coordinator, the supervisor and a manager would meet at least once a month.

The Timeline

The reporting clock is short. An injury must be reported to the employee’s direct supervisor immediately, and the program states that if notification is not given within 24 hours, disciplinary action may be taken. Work-related injuries would be filed within 24 hours.

Once an employee is cleared for modified duty, the county would determine which tasks fall within the restrictions and send a Return to Work Availability Letter by certified mail — a step the document flags as important documentation “if transitional duty is refused.” That letter carries a warning in bold: failure to return to work by the stated date “may result in a suspension of your workers’ compensation benefits.”

Transitional assignments would be offered in two-week intervals for up to 30 to 90 days, re-offered so long as the work remains available, and reviewed regularly. Modified duty may continue until maximum medical improvement is reached, until a full-duty release, or six months, whichever comes first. Participating employees would earn their regular wage regardless of where the assignment is located, and leave time and benefit balances would be preserved.

Two forms sit at the center of the process. An Authorization for Medical Records and Communication Release would let the county, its insurer and Bushue HR obtain records and speak directly with treating physicians about diagnosis, prognosis and ability to work; it would remain valid for the length of the claim. A Work Status Report, completed by the physician, records restrictions in granular detail — how long the employee can stand, sit, lift and carry, whether they can grasp or keyboard with each hand, and whether they can squat, crawl, kneel or twist.

An Unresolved Question of Scope

The document does not agree with itself on who the program covers. Its opening section states plainly that the program “is available to employees with work-related injuries and illnesses.” The Return-To-Work Policy on page 11 states that the program “should be followed when an employee sustains a work-related or non-work-related injury or illness.” Those are not the same rule, and the record before the committee does not reconcile them.

The document also refers throughout to “the Company” rather than the county — a template artifact that survives into the policy language employees would be asked to acknowledge and sign.

The minutes do not record who presented the review, what the HELP Safety Committee concluded, or when the county might adopt the program. No motion appears. Any action would in any case be a recommendation only; a policy of this kind would require action by the full County Board before it took effect.