By Rovaryn Digital · 10 min read
Why a Single Hub for State RTW Reimbursement Programs
Picture the scene: a second soft-tissue claim opens on a Wednesday, the first is still in its restriction window, and someone on your team asks which state program applies to the newer case — and whether the paperwork deadline for the first one has already passed. The answer is never in one place. State programs live on agency websites that reorganize without notice, the reimbursable-day caps change by legislation, and the filing windows are different in every jurisdiction.
This hub is the fix for that problem. It collects every state reimbursement guide published on this site — Washington's Stay-at-Work program, Texas's Bona Fide Offer rules, Oregon's Employer-at-Injury Program, and Ohio's Transitional Work Grant and Bonus — along with the national overview that maps the landscape before you drill into any single state. Each guide covers the program's current parameters, the documents the administering agency requires, the deadlines that disqualify a reimbursement, and the operational steps an RTW coordinator or HR manager needs to take.
Use this page as your standing reference. Bookmark it, drop it into your onboarding folder, or share it with a TPA or broker who manages RTW across a book of clients. After reading, you will know exactly where to go for each program's step-by-step filing detail and what supporting tools are available when the caseload grows beyond what a spreadsheet can track.
Start Here: The National Overview
If you are not yet certain which program or programs apply to your operation — or if you manage RTW across multiple states and need to map the field before going deep — start with the national overview.
State RTW Incentive Programs: A National Overview →
That article maps every major employer-side wage-reimbursement and grant program currently active in the United States, explains how each category of program works (wage reimbursement, modification grants, premium incentives), and identifies which employers are most likely to qualify. It is the entry point before any state-specific guide.
State-by-State Program Guides
Each guide below covers one state's program in full operational detail: eligibility criteria, reimbursable wage rates, day and dollar caps (with as-of years), form numbers, filing deadlines, and the documentation an employer must retain. Parameters are cited to the administering agency; confirm current form versions and effective dates directly with that agency before filing.
Washington — Stay-at-Work (SAW) and Preferred Worker Program (PWP)
Washington operates two of the most structured wage-reimbursement programs in the country. The Stay-at-Work program reimburses 50% of base wages for light-duty days worked, up to a maximum of 120 days worked and $25,000 per claim for injuries on or after January 1, 2025 — nearly double the prior cap, following the passage of House Bill 2127. (AGC of Washington, 2025) The Preferred Worker Program adds a second reimbursement tier for workers who reach medically fixed and stable status with permanent restrictions; combining both programs, the total reimbursement opportunity per claim reaches up to $75,000 for dates of injury on or after January 1, 2025. (AGC of Washington, 2025)
The filing deadline is strict: the reimbursement application must be submitted within one year after the light-duty work is completed. (WA L&I, 2025) A day worked outside the attending provider's approved job description or outside the approved hours is not reimbursable — even a single hour over the approved limit disqualifies the entire day. (ERNwest, 2025) A partial day, however, counts as one reimbursable day, and the provider must approve the transitional job description in writing before the work begins. (WA L&I Complete Stay at Work Guide, 2024)
No reimbursement is available after claim closure, and dates worked more than one year before the application was submitted are ineligible. (WA L&I Complete Stay at Work Guide, 2024) Because SAW reimbursement depends entirely on approved-day documentation, the recordkeeping discipline required is higher than most employers expect when they first enroll.
Washington Stay-at-Work Reimbursement: Full Filing Guide →
SAW Reimbursement Packet Checklist →
Texas — Bona Fide Offer of Employment and DWC RTW Rules
Texas workers' compensation operates under a different model. Rather than a direct wage-reimbursement program, Texas centers its return-to-work incentive structure on the Bona Fide Offer of Employment (BFOE) — a written offer, compliant with every requirement of 28 TAC §129.6, that an employer extends to an injured worker for modified or alternative duty within the worker's physical restrictions. (TDI-DWC RTW Guide, 2023)
When a worker refuses or fails to acknowledge a valid written BFOE, the carrier may reduce or suspend indemnity benefits. A mailed offer is deemed received five days after mailing, and the carrier may act on the earlier of the worker's rejection or the seventh day after that deemed receipt. (28 TAC §129.6(g), 2024) That reduction mechanism is consequential — but it only engages when the offer itself is fully compliant. A BFOE with missing elements, wrong form language, or incorrect delivery is not valid, and a coordinator cannot rely on it to trigger the benefit-suspension window.
Texas also provides a separate modification-cost program: employers with 2 to 50 employees who carry workers' compensation coverage may receive up to $5,000 for workplace-modification expenses that are preauthorized by TDI-DWC. (TDI-DWC RTW Guide, 2023)
Texas Bona Fide Offer and RTW Filing Guide →
Oregon — Employer-at-Injury Program (EAIP) and Preferred Worker Program (PWP)
Oregon's Employer-at-Injury Program reimburses 50% of early return-to-work gross wages for up to 66 work days within a consecutive 24-month period. (OR WCD, 2025) The program also reimburses worksite-modification and tools-or-equipment costs up to a combined $5,000 cap, funded by the Workers' Benefit Fund without affecting the employer's premium or claim costs. (OR WCD, 2024) There is a one-time administrative fee of $120 per EAIP program. (OR WCD, 2025)
Oregon also operates a Preferred Worker Program for workers who reach medically stationary status with permanent restrictions, parallel in structure to Washington's PWP. Both Oregon programs are administered by the Workers' Compensation Division and require employer participation before the worker reaches medically stationary status for EAIP eligibility.
Oregon EAIP and Preferred Worker Program Guide →
Ohio — Transitional Work Grant and Transitional Work Bonus
Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) offers two distinct incentives for employers who establish formal transitional work programs.
The Transitional Work Grant reimburses between $3,700 and $8,200 depending on employer size (effective July 1, 2023), at 100% of the approved maximum — the prior 3-to-1 match requirement was removed. (OH BWC via Ironton Tribune, 2023; OH BWC via Dayton Chamber, 2021) Employers may reapply every five years, replacing the previous one-grant-per-lifetime limit. (OH BWC via Dayton Chamber, 2021)
Ohio has also offered a Transitional Work Bonus - a premium discount for employers using an established transitional work program - but BWC is phasing that bonus out; confirm its current status with OH BWC. (OH BWC)
Ohio's grant is a development cost, not a per-claim wage reimbursement: it funds the upfront work of building job descriptions and establishing the program structure. The premium bonus then rewards ongoing use of that program.
Ohio Transitional Work Grant and Bonus: Full Guide →
State Program Parameters at a Glance
The table below summarizes the four primary state programs. Confirm all figures and form versions directly with the administering agency before filing — parameters change by legislation and effective date.
| State | Program | Wage Reimbursement Rate | Day / Dollar Cap | Key Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Stay-at-Work (SAW) | 50% of base wages | 120 days / $25,000 per claim (injuries on/after 1/1/25) | Application within 1 year of last light-duty day worked |
| Texas | BFOE / DWC | Not a wage-reimbursement program; modification grants up to $5,000 (2–50 employee employers) | Deemed received 5 days after mailing; PIE on earlier of rejection or 7th day after deemed receipt | BFOE must be written and fully compliant with 28 TAC §129.6 |
| Oregon | EAIP | 50% of early RTW gross wages | 66 work days / $5,000 modification cap; $120 admin fee | Employer must engage before medically stationary status for EAIP |
| Ohio | TWG + Bonus | Grant: 100% reimbursement of approved max ($3,700–$8,200 by size); Transitional Work Bonus being phased out | Re-apply every 5 years | Apply before program development spending begins |
Sources: WA L&I 2025; AGC of Washington 2025; TDI-DWC 2023; 28 TAC §129.6 2024; OR WCD 2024–2025; OH BWC 2021–2024. Confirm current parameters with the administering agency.
The Operational Layer: Tracking Approved Days and Filing Packets
Every reimbursement program above has one non-negotiable requirement in common: the employer must be able to prove, after the fact, exactly which days were worked under an approved transitional job description and within approved hours. The administering agency does not take the employer's word for it. L&I will audit the file. The DWC will review the BFOE for compliance. The WCD will verify the wage figures.
That proof lives in the case file — the day-by-day log of approved hours, the written job description signed by the attending provider, the wage records, and the reimbursement packet itself.
Two supporting resources cover the operational discipline:
Tracking Approved Dates Only: Why It Matters for Reimbursement →
This article explains why a single unapproved day in the log — a day worked outside the approved job description or outside the approved hours — can disqualify far more than that one day from a reimbursement packet, and how to build a tracking discipline that protects the employer's filing.
Return-to-Work Case Management: The Coordinator's Guide →
The case management guide covers the full operational structure of an RTW program — case file setup, restriction-window tracking, communication with the treating provider, and how the documentation chain supports not just reimbursement filing but also any subsequent audit, litigation, or claim dispute.
Tools That Support Filing Across Multiple States and Claims
When a single coordinator is managing two or three concurrent cases — each in a different restriction window, each potentially eligible for a different state program — a checklist or a spreadsheet starts to fail. Items fall through. Approved-day counts drift from the log. Reimbursement deadlines are missed by a week.
The State RTW Incentive Atlas & Parameter Workbook is a structured reference and working document: it organizes each state's current program parameters, filing deadlines, and eligible-expense categories in one portable format so a coordinator can open the right program's rules without navigating four different agency websites under deadline pressure. Use it alongside the guides above to build your filing packets.
For coordinators managing five or more concurrent claims, the Transitional Duty Manager platform extends this into a persistent case-tracking layer: restriction windows, approved-day logs, and document generation that supports reimbursement-packet assembly without relying on memory or a shared spreadsheet. You can review how the platform approaches case management in the Return-to-Work Case Management Guide →.
Stay Current as State Programs Change
State reimbursement program parameters are not static. Washington's SAW cap nearly doubled when House Bill 2127 took effect January 1, 2025. (WA L&I GovDelivery bulletin, 2024) Ohio restructured its grant from a matching model to 100% reimbursement and removed the lifetime-limit restriction. (OH BWC via Dayton Chamber, 2021) Oregon's administrative fee and day caps are set by agency rule and can be revised through the rulemaking process.
A coordinator who filed correctly last year can miss a material change in program parameters if the update never reached them. Subscribe to this site's newsletter for plain-language summaries of state RTW program changes, new agency guidance, and updated filing checklists — delivered when there is something worth knowing, not on a fixed editorial calendar.
Subscribe to State RTW Program Updates → (Newsletter signup)
Confirm all program parameters, form versions, and effective dates directly with the administering agency — WA L&I, TX DWC, OR WCD, or OH BWC — before submitting any reimbursement application. This site does not provide legal, claims, or compliance advice; the guides above describe how programs work and what documentation they require, not what the outcome of any specific filing will be.
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