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L&I plans phased hiring and system modernization to lower adjudicator caseloads
Summary
L&I leaders said the agency will begin hiring to reduce claim-manager caseloads toward the JLARC-recommended target of 141 cases; they discussed a phased approach (fiscal note referenced up to ~150 adjudicators), proposed a WCAC subcommittee to advise on metrics, and emphasized the Wixom/WATEC modernization project as a supporting priority.
Agency leaders told the advisory committee that reducing claim-manager caseloads is central to improving outcomes and that the new access-to-care legislation gives the department expanded hiring authority.
Brenda Heilman reviewed staffing and caseload slides, saying "our current caseload is right around 220" and that the department plans a recruitment and retention strategy with phased hiring to move toward the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) target of 141 cases per claims manager. She noted the department had requested funding earlier and resubmitted a request; the fiscal note discussed hiring up to roughly 150 adjudicators as a ballpark figure.
Joel Sachs and Kirsten Glenn discussed expected benefits of reduced caseloads: faster decisions, quicker medical authorizations, fewer errors, more proactive case reviews, accelerated return-to-work outcomes and improved staff retention. Committee members recommended more granular, tabular metrics to accompany the charts (by quarter and by claim type) and asked about how apprentices are counted in caseloads; presenters said apprentices carry a partial caseload early in training but are included when carrying a substantial load.
Implementation steps include convening a small advisory subcommittee, negotiating operational metrics for quarterly reporting (average claim cost, duration of temporary total disability, claim-manager timeliness and other measures named in statute), and a sustained discussion over several years to benchmark against national averages. Joel said forming a WCAC subcommittee would allow member input on what data and presentation formats are most useful for stakeholders.
The committee did not vote; staff said they will follow up with detailed tables, JLARC materials and more precise hiring models.
