How To

For employees with filed workers’ compensation claims, for whom medical documentation permanently disables the employee from ever returning to their job classification in state government, the workers’ compensation third party claim administration (TPA) company will provide notice of such to the employing state agency.

If the agency has not already done so, receipt of the TPA notification should trigger the employing state agency to:

• assess whether the employee qualifies as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, and if so,
• whether the employee could perform his or her job classification with reasonable accommodations and without undue hardship on the agency. 

 
As part of this accommodation process, the employing state agency must also consider whether it would be a reasonable accommodation and would not cause undue hardship, to transfer the employee to a vacant position for which he or she is qualified within the agency (i.e. the agency’s less arduous duty search).

Less Arduous Duty Search

Per 5-244-1 of the State Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, when an appointing authority recommends to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) that an employee be transferred to less arduous duties, DAS shall attempt to find a suitable position for the affected employee in accordance with the requirements of the State Personnel Act.