Working with employers and injured workers
The Employer-at-Injury Program (EAIP), created in 1993, is for Oregon employers and their injured workers who have temporary medical releases to return to light-duty, transitional jobs. Various statutory and administrative law changes since 1993 have improved access to, and participation in EAIP. Insurers arrange the job placements, for which they receive a flat fee. Insurers may reduce or discontinue temporary disability benefits if a worker refuses modified work, including an EAIP placement.
A statutory change in 1995 expanded the program to include workers with claims classified as nondisabling (even though the workers have medical restrictions on the kinds of work they can perform). By getting workers back to work quickly after an injury, EAIP has prevented many accepted nondisabling claims from becoming disabling claims because no temporary disability benefits are due and payable if the injured worker is working again.
An administrative law change in December 2007 extended benefits to workers with claims in which compensability ultimately was denied, but temporary disability benefits were due and payable while compensability was investigated.