Gene Esqueda is a laborer for Q&D Construction but he severely sprained his ankle the week of Thanksgiving. The injury kept him from doing his regular duties, so the company gave him the option to volunteer at Catholic Charities instead of missing work. He is able to do light-duty work at St. Vincent's Food Pantry.

"I was in a boot, I had limitations, there was little I could do but they found stuff for me to do down here," Esqueda said.

The program allows Esqueda and others in similar situations to work up to 40 hours a week while collecting their regular wages.

"It's allowed me to keep income coming in for my family and it's allowed me to go to doctor's appointments and therapy when it's scheduled," Esqueda said.

Without the program, injured workers would likely have to stay home. They would still collect a check but only two-thirds of their regular salary.

"There's potential of they would end up taking time off and have to lose one-third of their pay under the workers' comp laws or we'd have to find something to to that is less fulfilling in the office, shuffling paperwork," Michael Ochs, Safety Director for Q&D Construction said.

Officials say Q&D regularly pays employees to volunteer but it has been offering it to injured workers for less than a year. So far, they are pleased with the results.

"It helps them keep working," Ochs said. "It also benefits the community to accommodate our light duty restrictions for our employees and benefits everybody.">

Officials with LP Insurance say employees who participate in this program typically return to their regular duties three times sooner than those who take time off work. It can also save the company money in the long run because claims costs are reduced by 70 percent.

"The employee receives 100 percent pay, the employer receives a reduction on their insurance rates and Catholic Charities gets some wonderful employees," Christi Johnson, Workers' Compensation Consultant for LP Insurance said.

Catholic Charities serves 15,000-20,000 people each month, so they need volunteers. Marie Baxter is the CEO of Catholic Charities. She says it has corporate partnerships with more than 100 companies which is very valuable.

"They are absolutely critical for the volunteers that come through here," Baxter said. "Especially during the week. Lots of people want to volunteer on a weekend because they have time. During the week is when we see the most of our clients and those corporate relationships where they're lending us their employees really helps us to stay on top of the demand for food."

Johnson says the volunteers learn a lot about what many people in the Reno-Sparks area deal with when it comes to poverty and hunger. Many of the volunteers enjoy the work, too.

"When the employees come over, there might be a little hesitancy but when they see the culture that Catholic Charities provides and the help that they provide to people, they really end up loving what they're doing here," Johnson said.

Johnson says many who volunteer for work end up coming back on their own time, once their injuries are healed and they are back at their regular jobs. Esqueda says he will probably do the same, and encourage others to do the same.

"It's opened our eyes to things in the community where people need help and it gives you an appreciation for things that you do have," Esqueda said.

Esqueda has an appointment within the next week. He hopes to get back to his regular job shortly after that.

 

 

 

 

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