Call to Order
- 9:02 AM
Roll Call
- Carol Isen, Human Resources Director (Represented by Kate Howard) - Present
- Sophia Kittler, Mayor’s Budget Director (Represented by Matthew Puckett) - Present
- Carmen Chu, City Administrator (Represented by Mark Hennig) - Present
- Erik Rapoport, Deputy Executive Director, San Francisco Employee Retirement System - Present
- ChiaYu Ma, Deputy Controller, Controller’s Office (Represented by Devin Macaulay) - Present
- Matthew Barravecchia, Deputy City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office - Present
Item No. 1 - Public requests to speak on any matter within the jurisdiction of the Workers’ Compensation Council appearing on the agenda
Speaker: Kate Howard, Chair
Council Comment:
None.
Public Comment:
None.
Item No. 2 - Approval with possible modification of minutes
- Action: Minutes from February 3rd, 2025 were approved without objection.
Item No. 3 - Report from the Workers’ Compensation Divisions DHR and SFMTA
Speakers: Julian Robinson, DHR Deputy Director, Workers’ Compensation Division, Jim Radding, SFMTA Manager, Workers’ Compensation Division, Dr. Fiona Wilson, Chief Physician, CCSF Employees, and Mike Cotter, DHR Finance Director
Report on Accomplishments and Initiatives, Temporary Modified Duty, Workplace Violence and Assaults, and Data Insights
Julian Robinson introduced himself and explained that the presentation now integrates:
- Accomplishments of CCSF
- Initiatives of SFMTA
- A temporary modified duty report
Dr. Fiona Wilson of the Health and Safety Division will then present an analysis on the hot topic of workplace violence and assaults. Finance and Technology Director, Mike Cotter, will share financial data and insights from the third quarter.
Julian Robinson, Workers’ Compensation Director, shared actions from the last meeting:
- WCD engaged departments in return-to-work efforts; many were invited to attend today’s council meeting.
- A June 5th WC coordinator meeting has been scheduled to discuss return-to-work on a citywide level across departments.
- WCD met with specific MPN providers who delay or refuse to provide modified duty restrictions to emphasize the importance of returning injured employees to work quickly.
- We are developing a safety and security plan to address workplace assaults.
WCD also
- Upgraded a major claims system in late March to help with Medicare reporting.
- Added 12 mental health providers and 14 overall treating physicians to the MPN.
- Started a mental health provider pilot program to assist departments that see the most mental health claims.
- Completed mandatory state reporting and filed our MPN for re-approval.
- Finalized updates to the catastrophic illness program.
- Supported San Francisco Police Officers Association and Firefighters Local 798 on their actuarial analysis second opinion request.
- Met with Police and Fire behavioral health units to address PTSD and stress of first responders.
Next, Jim Radding shared SFMTA accomplishments. The SFMTA since the beginning of the fiscal year has
- Completed state reporting
- Resolved 197 claims, including
- 69 full C & Rs
- 20 C & R with open medical
- 99 stipulated awards
- 8 dismissals
- 1 take nothing
- Reduced the amount of time from date of knowledge to date seen by adjuster, to 3.5 days via the Lightspeed program.
- Achieved faster return to work through an early intervention program where nurses facilitate proactive care between the worker and doctor.
- Prioritized 24-month-old claims to reduce long duration, foreclosures and increase cost control
- Processed policy and frequently asked questions for citywide communication.
- Added 12 mental health providers and 14 overall treaters to the MPN.
- Piloted a psych program focusing on the top three departments with mental health claims.
CCSF Workers Compensation Division Director Robinson next discussed current modified duty efforts, findings, challenges, and next steps.
During the first three quarters of this fiscal year, Temporary Transitional Work Assignment (TTWA) data analysis showed a slight increase in accommodation.
- 92% of claims reported were eligible for modified duty
- 71% of tracked claims were accommodated for modified duty, and 29% were not
- 58 additional lost days per claim were incurred where department did not accommodate modified duty
- An average claim cost of $20,225 in additional lost-time benefits when not accommodated.
Julian Robinson next discussed reducing costs by increasing the amount of modified duty available to injured employees.
The Fire Department leads modified duty accommodation citywide with a 97% accommodation rate. We plan to meet with all divisions to discuss placement of skilled injured workers in other departments, and expanding the light duty assignment pool.
Additionally, Nurse Manager Robin Stanger is actively working with physicians who routinely either take people off work or who fail to adequately address restrictions. These factors will increase accommodation rates citywide, decrease lost days, and ultimately reduce costs.
Kate Howard asked Julian Robinson to describe the benefits to the injured worker if they come back to work sooner.
Julian Robinson replied that studies show that the longer the employee is out of the workforce and off duty, the less likely they will return at all; impacting the worker financially in the long run. Returning to work, when medically safe to do so, gives a sense of routine, engagement with coworkers, and a sense of contribution to the city, for themselves and for their family. In fact, if a modified duty position offers a lower salary, we supplement the position with wage loss benefits. Whereas, not returning to work can have a negative impact on retirement benefits and dates to retire as temporary disability benefits are not pensionable.
Julian then described an action plan for a light duty assignment pool where departments will be able to seek alternative jobs or modified jobs, even in other divisions which can benefit from transferable skills.
Next, Jim Radding presented the SFMTA modified duty program, called the Ambassador Program. There are 35 – 50 injured workers on the program at any given time, with an average savings of $24,000 per claim. SFMTA provides transferable skills to injured workers, and up to six months of modified duty to help allow for recovery and return to work.
Council Comment:
None.
Next, Department Chief Physician, CCSF Employees Dr. Fiona Wilson spoke about workplace violence. The Workplace Violence and Prevention Plan (WVPP) is required for any California employer with over 10 employees. DHR started tracking workplace violence events in July of 2024, per requirement of SB-553 on occupational safety, workplace violence, restraining orders and a workplace violence prevention plan. As Police, Fire, Sheriff, and hospitals already track this data, our data will not include these departments.
We currently have 20 departments who have reported out little over 300 incidents. Not surprising is the larger number of incidents involving MTA operators. In Q1 to Q3, there have been 98 assault claims in workers compensation costing $1.8 million for MTA. During this time, we've had 89 assault claims at DPH, at non-hospital clinics, costing $800,000.
While we think of assaults as physical, our data shows 56% tend to be verbal and then 44% are physical assaults. These assaults are categorized by definition from the state:
- Type One are from a total stranger, and account for 19% of the reported data.
- Type Two are from a client, and account for 72% of the workplace assault data.
- Type Three is categorized as assault by a colleague, and accounts for 9% of the reported data.
- Type Four, domestic assaults, currently have no data provided.
Costs for assault claims total of $3.9 million this fiscal year, and the previous year was $7.8 million. Half of last time is great, but we may not have all the data. So, we must encourage prevention and encourage departments to report workplace violence and assaults, so the numbers can evolve beyond the first year of data.
Next, Department CFO Mike Cotter presented a summary of FY Q3’s high level performance key metrics.
The workers’ compensation team, MTA, and Intercare have been planning to put data into Power BI, a dashboard that will allow departments to see their own data to see better insights because they're in the trenches with their own staff. ADM has graciously raised their hand to help us pilot in that space.
In general, medical costs have decreased, and indemnity costs have increased slightly per claim on average. Last quarter we added about 600 claims and closed 786, with a closure ratio of 103%. The previously reported duration of claims was around 400 days. COVID years provided shorter term claims - lesser days and less costly claims, for example $20,000.00 per average claim vs current average $33,000.00.
The SFMTA team is working hard to close claims, closing 191 and opening 192 claims, or 99% closure rate this past quarter.
Council Comment:
Public Comment:
None.
Item No. 5 - Opportunity to place items on future agendas
Speaker: Kate Howard, Chair
Council Comment:
Kate Howard requested we discuss customer service and process improvements to help injured employees navigate workers’ compensation.
Public Comment:
None.
Item No. 6 - Opportunity for the public to comment on any matters within the council’s jurisdiction
Council Comment:
None.
Adjournment
DHR Director and Chair Kate Howard stated the next Workers’ Compensation Council meeting will be held Monday, August 4th, 2025, at City Hall, at 9:00 a.m. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 AM.