Builders and Contractors Exchange
Weekly Bulletin: 20 july 2007
Vocational Rehabilitation And Reducing Long Term Workers' Compensation Exposure
By: Adam S. Rafal
When an employee is injured and the pre-injury employer is unable to offer selective employment, carriers often look to vocational rehabilitation consultants to reduce their indemnity exposure under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act. Vocational rehabilitation is appropriate where the injured employee carries medical restrictions that affect her ability to return to work. The Commission contemplated two goals in establishing rules for vocational rehabilitation. The first is to “restore an employee to gainful employment.” The second is to “relieve the employer’s burden of future compensation.”
Vocational rehabilitation services are provided by certified rehabilitation providers. These providers are typically certified by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. The counselors’ conduct is governed by guidelines established by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission and posted on their website. The counselor is required to analyze the employee’s pre-injury job and wages in searching for work and must consider the employee’s skills and the likelihood that the potential job searches will lead to gainful employment.
The efforts of the counselor must be reasonable. For example, the counselor must verify that the claimant’s medical condition allows him to return to work with the proposed employer. The counselor is responsible for locating potential employers and for confirming that the proposed employer has work available that the claimant is qualified and medically able to perform.
Vocational rehabilitation services include vocational evaluation, counseling, job coaching, job placement, education and in some cases retraining. The injured employee is required to cooperate with counselor as long as the counselor’s efforts are consistent with the Commission’s guidelines. The unjustified refusal of an employee to cooperate with vocational services can result in a suspension of indemnity benefits during the period of refusal. The Commission looks carefully at issues of refusal. Actions that might constitute a refusal include failing to attend scheduled interviews, failing to meet with the vocational counselor, failing to apply for potential job opportunities and sabotaging interviews with employers.
Once the vocational counselor locates employment, the employer will likely be in a position to modify or terminate an award of compensation depending upon the wages the claimant earns in his new position. An effective vocational counselor will communicate the details of the position to the employer so that the appropriate agreements or applications are filed with the Commission. Vocational rehabilitation is an excellent tool to reduce long term exposure. It is particularly useful where the employee’s injury prevents a return to pre-injury employment and continued indemnity exposure is anticipated.
Questions?
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This article is meant to bring awareness to this topic and is not intended to be used as legal advice.