November 5, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Midland Park Officials seek to pursue light duty option Some Midland Park Borough Coun- cil members want to look into allowing employees on medical leave to return to work and perform light duty if not able to return to their full responsibilities. Modi- fied duty is not offered to any employee in the borough. “Some could do some duty. They are out on full pay; they might as well be doing something,” said Councilwoman Nancy Peet. Councilman Jack Considine agreed, asking Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan to look into what the Joint Insurance Fund permits. The mayor serves on the JIFF’s board of directors. Peet, who works as a risk manager in pri- vate life, said that the employee who comes back to work at light/modified duty is likely to recover more quickly and feels more pro- ductive. “My experience and belief is that by returning injured employees back to work through transitional duty tasks and con- tinually transitioning them to an increased work capacity, you can help control medical costs and keep indemnity expenses as low as possible,” Peet said. O’Hagan said that the JIFF has been dis- cussing the light duty option, but that any Running for a good cause President Mary Ann Vanelli, 5K Co-chair Cheryl Crocitto and Vice President Chris Odell of the Midland Park Public Education Foundation present Midland Park Mayor Patrick ‘Bud’ O’Hagan with a T-shirt from the organization’s first 5K Run, held in September as a fund- raiser. Each borough council member also received a shirt in appreciation of the governing body’s support of the popular event, in which 300 runners and walkers participated. Next year’s event will be held on Sept. 12, according to Vanelli. changes would have to be approved by the 38 member towns and ultimately by union contracts. He said getting people off Work- man’s Comp as quickly as possible is a win/ win for the insurance company. O’Hagan said if an employee is on medi- cal leave, he/she goes out on disability and collects workman’s compensation insurance until able to return to his/her full duties, directly costing the borough nothing until then. But if the employee returns on light duty, he/she now gets fully paid by the bor- ough but cannot perform all the duties, pos- sibly necessitating hiring someone else. In the case of a police officer, he said, there is no such thing as light duty because an offi- cer either can go on patrol or not. “There is nothing else for them to do. There are no other jobs. We don’t have a full time police desk or dispatch service,” O’Hagan said. Peet said “the thought is not just about saving money but for the betterment of our employees and their wellbeing. Light duty must be appropriate and meet the guide- lines as set forth by the treating physician,” she said. The mayor said light duty is not practi- cal for a small town such as Midland Park because the jobs are limited and there isn’t enough light work to keep someone busy full time. Light duty usually means giving the employees a different job altogether, and the town does not have that luxury, he said.