Qualifications for Workers’ Compensation Vocational Rehabilitation
To qualify for vocational rehabilitation, you must be unable to return to work in the same or modified position as your job of injury. You must also have no sufficient transferable skills that allow you to gainfully return to the workforce.
The Ability-to-Work Assessment (AWA)
L&I determines if you qualify for workers compensation vocational rehabilitation during the Ability-to-Work Assessment (AWA). The final report to L&I includes the following:
- Your age, education, and work experience
- Your transferable skills
- Preexisting physical and mental conditions and their effect on your employability
- Physical and mental conditions caused by your injury or occupational disease and their effect on your employability
- Your wage at the time of injury
- Your work pattern
- Significant barriers to your employment
- Surveys of potential jobs (referred to as labor market surveys)
- Complete work history, explaining any gaps in employment and any licenses or training that you may have had in addition to your formal education
It is strongly advised that you talk to a Washingtom state L&I attorney before you start working with a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC). A VRC works for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) or the self-insured employer (SIE) and is responsible for making recommendations about your future in the workplace. VRCs and L&I Claims Managers are skilled at finding ways to argue that you can return to the workforce in some other job — even if it’s a job you’ve never performed.
Can You Appeal an Unfavorable Employability Determination?
You, your employer, and your doctor all have the right to protest any decision made about your Washington state L&I claim. L&I must receive a written protest within 15 days for decisions about vocational benefits and all disputes must be made to the Vocational Dispute Resolution Office (VDRO).
Vocational Dispute Resolution Office (VDRO)
The L&I Director makes all final decisions based on those recommendations.
Disputes may be submitted by:
- The injured or ill worker,
- An employer, or
- The representative of an injured or ill worker or employer.
If you disagree with a vocational determination on your Washington state L&I claim, you may submit the Vocational Dispute Form with your concerns. The dispute form is not required, but may prove to be a useful tool.
You may also appeal directly to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA). The decision becomes final if your written appeal is not received within the following legal time limits from the date you received the decision:
- 60 days to appeal a claim decision or a payment decision
- 20 days for providers to appeal a billing decision that reduces the amount paid or demands repayment
What Are Your Options for Workers’ Compensation Vocational Rehabilitation?
If you qualify for vocational rehabilitation, you and your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) will draft a plan to train you for new work which will then be sent to L&I for approval and implementation. Once you have been approved, you will receive an Option Election Form. The options included in the form are:
- Option 1: Follow your approved retraining plan and receive time-loss throughout (up to 2 years)
If L&I does not receive your Option Election Form before the Option 1 retraining plan starts, you must proceed with the Option 1 plan. You can choose Option 2 after starting Option 1 as long as you do so within the first quarter of school.
Choosing your training option is an important decision. Contacting an experienced workers’ compensation and L&I lawyer is crucial during this time. Call Emery | Reddy today to speak with an experienced Intake Specialist for a Free Case Review and to learn how we may be able to help. No fee unless we recover for you.
