All employees of Enid Public Schools are provided coverage for medical expenses and lost wages incurred and experienced in connection with legitimate job-related illness or injury. This coverage is provided in complete compliance with all applicable Oklahoma Statutes pertaining to workers' compensation. Employees shall report all job-related illnesses and injuries to their building administrator as soon as such illness or injury becomes apparent. Injured employees will be provided medical treatment at Integris Occupational Medicine clinic or another medical provider chosen by the District or its insurance carrier. Such treatment will be at the expense of the District’s insurance carrier.

The following Board Policy outlines the coordination of workers' compensation benefits and District sick leave benefits for wages lost due to job-related illness or injury. Please read it carefully.

It is the policy of the Board of Education that when an employee is absent from work due to a job-related illness and/or injury, compensation will be made to the claimant by the workers' compensation carrier according to current Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Law. (See Title 85, Sec. 1 through 181)

It is further understood that neither earned vacation nor sick leave time will be used in lieu of workers' compensation benefits except as described below.

The school district will provide additional benefits to the employee, in addition to the workers' compensation benefits, by permitting employees to use a portion of accrued sick leave. When sick leave is used along with workers' compensation benefits, only that amount of sick leave may be used which, when combined with workers' compensation benefits, will provide a combined daily benefit equal to the employee's regular daily rate of pay. Any benefits above the workers' compensation benefits will be taxed at the particular employee's normal tax rate.

In no case will the combined payments to the claimant be in excess of 100 percent of the regular contractual salary for that employee.

Sick leave may be used for time lost to job-related injuries that do not qualify for workers' compensation insurance.

Whenever possible, light duty work may be provided to employees conditionally released by their physician to return to work. Under no circumstances will employees return to work after a compensable injury or illness without a physicians release in writing.