White House Memo Launches PEER Initiative for Injured Feds

In a memo from the White House to agency leaders on January 9, 2020, Acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought introduces the Protecting Employee, Enabling Reemployment (PEER) Initiative aimed at reducing work-related injuries. The initiative includes seven areas for federal agencies to focus on from now on.

According to the memo, the initiative has been created to achieve objectives within the President’s Management Agenda- Modernizing Government for the 21st Century and the President’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand.

The memo explains, “In 2018, Federal workers filed almost 107,000 new claims and received approximately $3 billion in workers' compensation payments. Many of these work-related injuries and illnesses are preventable, and executive departments and agencies can and should do more to improve workplace safety and health, improve efficiencies, reduce the financial burden of injury on taxpayers, and relieve unnecessary suffering by workers and their families.”

Under the memo, federal agencies and the Postal Service are expected to improve or maintain performance in seven areas:

1.       reducing total injury and illness case rates;

2.       reducing lost-time injury and illness case rates;

3.       increasing the timely filing rate for workers' compensation claims;

4.       increasing the timely filing rate for wage-loss claims;

5.       increasing the rate of return-to-work outcomes during the initial 45-day post-injury period for traumatic injury cases;

6.       improving the rate at which employees return to work in cases of moderate to severe injury or illness;

7.       implementing and fully using the Department of Labor's electronic filing system.

Goals one through six are designed to focus on “relieving unnecessary suffering” by workers and reducing the “financial burden of injury” on taxpayers. The seventh goal focuses on standardizing the claims process and communicating directly and immediately with the injured employee. These communications include providing critical opioid awareness and pain education information.

Agencies are directed to coordinate with the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Office of Workers' Compensation Programs to develop strategies for addressing each category. The Secretary of Labor will be in charge of measuring performance in the target areas and each agency will be responsible for the cost of the initiative.

The memo was also sent to Chief Human Capital Officers and Human Resource Directors.