December 4, 2019 | Workers' compensation

In Nebraska when an employee is hurt at work, and they have a permanent injury that prevents a return to the job the employee did at the time of the injury, he or she may be entitled to vocational rehabilitation. This can be the case for injuries to the body as a whole (back and neck, usually) or to multiple or single scheduled members (arm, knee, foot, hand, etc.).

For example, an employee might suffer a catastrophic crush injury to his right arm. After treatment is exhausted and he reaches maximum medical improvement, he may only be able to lift up to 20 pounds with that arm. If his prior type of work was construction, it likely required lifting up to 50 pounds. So this employee might be entitled to vocational rehabilitation.

So how does vocational rehabilitation work for this employee? There is a required priority system. The first step is to see if the employee can return to work in the same job with the same employer. Our employee is not able to do that, so we look at the next two priorities: a modified job with the same employer or a new job with the same employer. If the employer has a permanent office position within the employee’s permanent restrictions, and the employee is qualified to do that type of work (not just physically, but with their past work experience and education), then this would be the appropriate priority and there would be no vocational rehabilitation.

More likely, though, is that the employee who worked construction for 20 years is not qualified for the office position without some additional training or the employee simply does not have a position within the employee’s restrictions. If that’s the case, the next priority is a new job with a new employer. That would mean a period of job placement assistance, most likely. However, our employee has had a big decline in physical function, which limits the jobs that are physically appropriate. He might not have the education to qualify for available jobs and job placement might not be enough to return him to suitable employment (which we’ll talk about a little more below). If that’s the case, the next priority is retraining to allow the employee to change career fields. So if our employee reaches this level, he would go to school for retraining and then have some job placement after that if necessary to find suitable employment.

The goal of any type of vocational rehabilitation is to return someone to “suitable employment.” That just means that the new work is both physically acceptable (within the employee’s permanent restrictions) and economically acceptable (puts them back to a wage that is the same or greater than they earned before). So a physically appropriate job that paid half as much as the employee made at the time of the injury is not suitable. If retraining is involved, some measure of suitability involves what the employee is capable of and is interested in. In other words, an injured employee is not going to be forced to do retraining for a program to become an accountant just because it is suitable if the employee has no interest in accounting.

These issues are first determined by a vocational counselor. The counselor meets with the employee and gets an idea of what their work history and past education is and then develops a plan within the priorities and helps the employee through the plan once approved. The compensation court has a vocational rehabilitation section, and that section must also approve the plan as appropriate to return the employee to suitable employment. If disputes arise during the process, any party can seek an answer from a compensation court judge.

During the plan, the insurance company pays weekly benefits at the temporary total disability rate and for the vocational counselor’s assistance. The Workers’ Compensation Court Trust Fund pays for the expenses associated with the plan, which is mileage in job placement and books, tuition, and room and board or mileage in a retraining plan.

Make sure to ask the adjuster about vocational rehabilitation benefits that might be available to you. They don’t always volunteer that as an option. You can initiate the process with the VR 42B form available on the Court’s website.

If you have questions about whether you might be entitled to vocational rehabilitation, call our office and set up a free consultation 402.933.3345.