1. (a) Upon the employee's election, the administrator shall assign a rehabilitation specialist under AS 23.30.043(b) to develop the stay-at-work plan.
2. (b) The rehabilitation specialist shall contact the employer of the injured employee not later than 14 days after receiving the assignment to determine if the employer consents to the employee's participation in the stay-at-work program.
3. (c) If the employer does not consent to the employee's participation, the rehabilitation specialist shall inform the parties that a stay-at-work plan cannot be developed.

4. (d) If the employer consents to the employee's participation, the rehabilitation specialist shall determine if a stay-at-work plan can be developed. To make a determination, the rehabilitation specialist shall

   1. (1) interview the employee to identify

      1. (A) barriers to the employee staying at work, and
      2. (B) the employee's technical skills, transferrable skills, physical and intellectual capacities, academic achievement, and emotional condition;
   2. (2) contact the employer to determine if a stay-at-work position can be created through modification of the employee's regular work, job restructuring, assistive devices, worksite modification, reduced hours, or reassignment to another job;
   3. (3) contact the employee's attending physician to obtain a written opinion that will include the anticipated medical treatment plan, time that the employee is expected to be incapacitated from work, anticipated date of employee's release to modified duty and full duty, temporary or permanent work restrictions, and anticipated date of medical stability; and
   4. (4) obtain the written opinion of the employee's attending physician that the employee has the permanent physical capacities to participate in a stay-at-work plan.

5. (e) A stay-at-work plan developed by the rehabilitation specialist must include

   1. (1) the job analysis;
   2. (2) the date the plan begins and the date the plan ends, with a total time frame not to exceed two years from the date of plan approval under AS 23.30.043(k);
   3. (3) the plan's cost, which may not exceed the statutory amount under AS 23.30.043(j);
   4. (4) a finding that explains why the employee can be reasonably expected to satisfactorily complete the stay-at-work plan within the time and cost limits; and
   5. (5) a summary of the information gathered by the rehabilitation specialist under (d) of this section.

6. (f) Not later than 60 days after the referral, the rehabilitation specialist shall

   1. (1) provide the stay-at-work plan to the program coordinator, employee, employer, and employee's attending physician and facilitate communication regarding plan acceptance; or
   2. (2) provide the employee, employer, and administrator a written determination that includes the reasons a stay-at-work plan cannot be developed.

(Eff. 3/23/2025, Register 253)

Authority: AS 23.30.005, AS 23.30.043