Vocational Rehabilitation Services
 

What are vocational rehabilitation services?

Washington workers’ compensation law gives injured workers the opportunity to work with a vocational counselor to become employable. Vocational rehabilitation services are provided at the discretion of L&I. If the injured worker qualifies, the injured worker meets with a vocational rehabilitation counselor (VRC) who investigates the injured workers’ employability and identifies necessary retraining programs to achieve employability.

Who qualifies for vocational services?

Eligibility for vocational rehabilitation benefits is determined by L&I. The department may, at its sole discretion, authorize vocational rehabilitation services that are likely to enable the injured worker to become employable. Note that this benefit is discretionary, and L&I or your SIE are not required to provide them.

You will not qualify for vocational services if you are already working, or the medical evidence of your case suggests you are capable of working. Note that L&I and SIEs often use vocational services as a means finding you employable and turning off your time loss or other benefits.
 

The vocational rehabilitation process

After being referred for vocational rehabilitation services, L&I or your SIE will assign you to a vocational rehabilitation counselor (VRC). Your vocational rehabilitation counselor works for L&I or your SIE. The VRC will initially perform an ability to work assessment. In this assessment, the VRC looks at your employment history, transferable skills, and work restrictions to determine your ability to work. Following this assessment, your VRC will make a recommendation to your claim manager on what is needed, if anything, for your return to the workforce. If services are required for your return to work, you will begin the plan development phase, in which your VRC creates a path to gainful employment.

Ability to work assessment

As mentioned above, in the initial phase of vocational services, a VRC conducts an ability to work assessment considering your employment history, transferrable skills, and medical restrictions. If your VRC finds that you are capable of performing any gainful employment, then your claim manager will not recommend retraining, and your claim manager will likely use this as evidence to cut off your benefits. It is important to note that any gainful employment may serve as a basis to cut off your benefits. There is no requirement that this job be comparable to your job of injury.
 

Plan development

If your VRC cannot identify gainful employment using your ability to work assessment, then you will be referred for plan development. As the name implies, you and your VRC will develop a plan for achieving gainful employment. This plan must be completed and submitted to L&I in 90 days.
 

Retraining

Upon approval of the plan, you are provided with two options.

• Option 1: Proceed with the plan you developed with your VRC. Under this option, you are given 2 years to complete the plan, you are paid time loss, during this time, and you can continue to treat for claim related medical conditions on L&I.
• Option 2: Develop your own plan. Under this option, you are given $19,414.34 to put toward tuition or other retraining costs. You are free to deviate from your VRC’s training plan entirely. Under this option, however, you are paid a settlement in the form of 9 months of time loss and your claim is closed.

What if I disagree with the vocational determination?

Dispute it! If you do not agree with the outcome of your ability to work assessment or your vocational retraining plan, you have the freedom to dispute it. You can dispute a vocational determination by dispute, protest, or appeal. A vocational dispute is reviewed by the vocational dispute resolution office (VDRO), who will make a recommendation to the L&I director. The director makes a final decision based on that recommendation.

Do I get time loss while receiving vocational retraining?

You are entitled to receive time loss while actively participating in vocational retraining.