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LDCRO says it has handled ~750 complaints; 58% of job offers found valid in decisions
Summary
Sheryl Fisher reported the Light Duty Complaint Resolution Office opened in Sept. 2024 has handled roughly 750 complaints (748 completed as of March 10); where decisions were issued about 58% of offered light-duty jobs were found valid and 42% not valid; state-fund complaints averaged 8 business days to resolve and self-insured averaged 23 days, with improvement to ~4.5 days in January 2026.
Sheryl Fisher, chief of claims, presented an update on the Light Duty Complaint Resolution Office (LDCRO), a central unit established in September 2024 to resolve disagreements about light-duty job offers.
Fisher said the office had received about 750 complaints and completed 748 as of March 10. Of the complaints where the office made a decision, approximately 58% of job offers were found valid and about 42% were found not valid. She told the committee that the most common reasons job offers were found not valid included duties outside a worker's restrictions, job descriptions not approved by the attending provider, unreasonable start dates and unreasonable job locations.
On timeliness, Fisher said the average time to resolve a complaint was about eight business days for state-fund claims and about 23 days for self-insured claims, though performance had improved: in January 2026 complaints were being resolved in about 4.5 business days on average.
Committee members asked for examples of "unreasonable" start dates and locations; Fisher and others gave case-based examples (childcare arrangements after long absences, a light-duty office position more than 30 miles from the injured worker's prior worksite, clothing or commuting barriers). Fisher said the office uses consistent policies and a small dedicated team to improve objective and consistent decisions and encouraged employers and TPAs to consult the office to prevent invalid job offers.
The committee did not take formal action; staff said they would follow up with data comparing state-fund and self-insured resolution times at a later date.
