If You Are Injured at Work

If you are injured or contract an illness at work, your medical bills should be fully paid by the city's Worker's Compensation Division. If you are absent, you should receive your full net pay for up to 80 days without any deductions from your sick leave.

Medical Treatment/Reporting Steps

Secure appropriate medical treatment immediately. Even if an injury appears to be minor, you should have it examined by a doctor. Tell the doctor treating you that your injury or illness is a result of your employment. To receive worker's compensation benefits under the state law, you must receive medical treatment. The doctor's statements will help determine compensability under the law.

Ask the doctor/hospital to submit all bills and medical reports to Worker's Compensation Division - Employee Benefits Division, City of Milwaukee City Hall, 200 East Wells Street, Room 701, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Keep a record and all receipts for your out-of-pocket medical expenses related to the injury or illness. You should submit the original bills for prescription drugs and your travel expenses (directly between your home and the site of medical services) to the city's Worker's Compensation Division for reimbursement. Be certain to retain a copy for your records.

Our Advice: If possible, you should receive treatment from an in-network doctor. The law allows you to see any doctor. However, if your claim is disputed, and, for example, payment for a portion of your treatment is denied, any outstanding bills will be paid, without a hassle, if you were treated in-network.

School Reporting Steps

Report the injury or illness to your principal as soon as possible.

Provide your school with the information needed to file the EB-49 form. The EB-49 form is the official form MPS uses for reporting a work-related injury or illness. It is your responsibility to provide a statement of the facts such as what took place, where, when, how, and who was present. After you obtain medical treatment, make certain that the name and address of the doctor/hospital are included on the EB-49 report form.

NOTE: While it is important to have the EB-49 form filed promptly, you should take great care to provide a clear and accurate statement of the facts. When your written statement is being prepared, you should be calm and not under duress. Your account of the incident is very important because worker's compensation benefits are based on the facts of each case. If you have any questions, you should call an MTEA staff member for assistance in making certain that the EB-49 form is properly completed.

If you are absent, notify your school that your absence is work-related, so that the school's payroll report is coded as "Industrial Accident." The MTEA/MBSD Teacher Contract provides for up to 80 days at full net pay for absences due to an injury or illness covered by worker's compensation. The 80 days at full net pay are in lieu of worker's compensation payments from the state and are not deducted from your sick leave accumulation. You should check your payroll check statement to make certain that you are paid without any deductions from your sick leave accumulation.

If You Are Assaulted

If you are assaulted, you should follow the worker's compensation reporting steps above and file an assault report form as soon as you can.

You should receive your full, regular net pay - with no deductions from sick leave - for time lost due to any assault. The contract states:

"If an assault on an employee results in loss of time, the employee shall be compensated in full for such time minus any worker's compensation, disability, social security, or retirement benefits the employee actually receives for such time and such paid absence shall in no event be deducted from any sick leave."

Steps If Medical Problems Recur

If medical problems recur that you believe are caused by a work-related injury or illness, you should take the following steps:

Notify your school if you are absent from work. Be certain that you explain that the absence is due to a prior work-related injury or illness, and indicate the date that the injury or illness occurred. The absence should be coded on the school's time sheet as due to an industrial accident.

Inform the doctor who provides treatment that you believe the problem is due to a prior work-related injury or illness.

If the doctor finds that a prior work-related injury or illness is causing a recurrence of medical problems, ask the doctor to send the treatment bill to the city's Worker's Compensation Division. Along with the bill, the doctor should send a report which includes:

• the date of the current treatment;
• the diagnosis;
• the doctor's statement that the medical problem is caused by a prior work-related injury or illness;
• the prescribed treatment.

If Problems, Call Us

If a problem arises as you follow the above steps, you should contact an MTEA staff member at 414-259-1990 for assistance.