Attendance & Leave

Workers' Compensation & Return to Work

The University of South Florida provides a safe and healthy work environment. USF's Workers' Compensation program is intended to provide medical treatment, disability leave and supplemental wages, as necessary, to eligible employees in the event they experience a work-related injury or illness.

USF is committed to returning employees to work, either on light or regular duty as appropriate, following a work-related injury or illness once a physician has released them to return to work.

REQUIREMENT FOR AN ILL OR INJURED EMPLOYEE:

An employee who becomes ill or is injured as the result  of a work-related incident must report the incident to the supervisor immediately. Report any on-the-job injury to the supervisor, no matter how minor the injury may appear to be.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUPERVISOR OF AN ILL OR INJURED  EMPLOYEE:

When an employee, student employee, or volunteer reports a work-related injury or  illness, take prompt action to:

  • Ensure the individual receives necessary medical  attention. In case of emergency, call 911 or immediately send the employee to a hospital emergency room.     
  • With the injured or ill individual, immediately call Amerisys at 1-800-455-2079 to report the work-related injury or illness so the employee can receive appropriate care.    
  • Complete the Consolidated Injury/Illness Report within 24 hours.
  • Take action to correct any safety hazards to prevent  the same or similar injury or illness from occurring again.
  • Students who become injured or ill while performing tasks for course credit are not covered by Workers’ Compensation. A responsible USF person should complete the Consolidated Injury/Illness Report, but Amerisys should not be called.
  • Anyone observing a safety hazard or near miss at a USF location should complete the Safety Hazard / Near Miss Report Form.

Eligible Employees

  • Faculty
  • Administration
  • Staff
  • Federal Work Study Students
  • Temporary (formerly OPS)
  • Volunteers

Location Codes

 
(0281 is the Agency Identifier for USF) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
0282 Education and General Summary
0283 Educational and General Activities
0285 Medical Center
0297 Auxiliary Enterprises
0298 Contracts & Grants
0299 Local Funds

Workers Compensation Program Administration

The program is administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services with the Division of Risk Management acting as the carrier. At USF the program is overseen by Central Human Resources.  Injury or illness reporting and medical case management services are provided to injured or ill employees and their supervisors by Amerisys in partnership with the Florida Division of Risk Management.

Return to Work Program

The purpose of the Return to Work program is to promote successful employee re-integration into the work environment. USF's Return-to-Work program will provide modified duty and alternate duty assignments, when available that accommodate the functional restrictions and limitations as determined by the authorized treating healthcare provider and will bring the injured worker back to work as quickly as medically possible.  

RESOURCES


Frequently Asked Questions

1. How is an employee paid on Wage Loss? 

Once the 40 hours of disability leave exhausts, the state will pay 5.3 hours a day of the wages (66.67%) while the employee is out of work. Then the employee can use their own leave time to get paid for the additional 2.7 hours a day. 

If a holiday falls while an employee is on wage loss, the employee receives 8 hours for the holidays (5.3 from Risk Management and 2.7 from USF). The employee does not receive any special compensatory time or a delayed holiday to be taken at a later date. Employees who are receiving workers comp benefits continue to accrue annual/ sick leave at the rate accrued prior to the incident.

2. What is disability leave? 

Disability leave is a leave of absence granted to employees who have become unable to perform the functions of their job as a result of a physical or medical condition, or temporary disability.

3. Who pays disability leave?

For all Faculty, Staff, and Admin employees, the employer pays their regular wages for the first 40 hours of disability leave.

4. Are Temporary (OPS) workers eligible for disability leave?

Temprorary (OPS) employees are not paid for the first 7 days of disability unless they are out of work 21 or more days. The Division of Risk Management (DRM) will pay the first 7 days. Full time Temporary workers will be paid after the first 7 days if they are out over 21 days. Part time Temporary workers will be paid after the first 7 days but will not be reimbursed for the first 7 days.