Richard J. Butler

Overview

Richard J. Butler is a labor economist (University of Minnesota / Brigham Young University) specializing in workers' compensation, occupational injury, and disability insurance. He is co-author (with William G. Johnson and Marjorie L. Baldwin) of the influential 1995 ILRR study challenging the use of first return-to-work rates as a measure of WC success. His broader Butler-and-Worrall research series established foundational empirical regularities in WC claim duration and benefit effects.

Key Contributions / Features

• Co-developed the four-pattern taxonomy of post-injury employment outcomes (single-absence-successful, single-absence-unsuccessful, multiple-absences-successful, multiple-absences-unsuccessful)
• Established that employer accommodations (reduced hours, modified equipment, light duty) are the dominant determinants of post-injury employment stability
• Showed that WC replacement rate affects initial return-to-work margin but not post-return stability
• Co-author of 2006 JRI paper decomposing post-injury productivity losses into absentee and earnings effects; showed stable-employment workers still incur significant earnings-effect losses in years 2–3
• Extensive prior work with Worrall on WC benefit generosity, claim duration, and incentive effects

Related

• William G. Johnson
• Marjorie L. Baldwin
• Disability Management and Return to Work
• Workers' Compensation and DI

Sources

• Butler Johnson and Baldwin 1995 — Managing Work Disability Why First Return to Work Is Not a Measure of Success
• Butler Baldwin and Johnson 2006 — The Effects of Occupational Injuries After Returns to Work Work Absences and Losses of On-the-Job Productivity
• Bolduc Fortin Labrecque and Lanoie 2002 — Workers' Compensation Moral Hazard and the Composition of Workplace Injuries