Key Takeaways
- Ohio vocational rehabilitation can help eligible injured workers return to employment through job modification, job retention, training, assessment, or placement with another employer when returning to the former job isn’t workable.
- For BWC-administered claims, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation determines eligibility, while the managed care organization recommends whether rehabilitation is feasible.
- An approved rehabilitation plan can include career exploration, job modification, job-retention services, skill development, remedial education, short-term training, or assistance finding work outside the former employer.
- Injured workers participating in an approved assessment or comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan can receive living maintenance, subject to payment limits and participation requirements.
- After rehabilitation, an injured worker who returns to lower-paying employment because of limitations from the allowed conditions may qualify for living maintenance wage loss for up to 200 weeks.
- Plevin & Gallucci can help with disputes involving rehabilitation eligibility, medical restrictions, living maintenance, wage loss, plan closure, appeals, and settlement decisions.
If a workplace injury keeps you from returning to your former job, vocational rehabilitation can become an important part of your Ohio workers’ compensation claim. The program is intended to help eligible injured workers get back to work as soon as possible. That can include modifying your former job duties, moving into a different position with the same employer, receiving further training, or looking for work elsewhere when returning to your prior role isn’t possible.
At Plevin & Gallucci, we represent injured workers at every stage of the claims process, including claims that involve return-to-work disputes, rehabilitation eligibility, living maintenance, wage loss, and other issues that can arise while a vocational plan is underway. This guide explains who can qualify for vocational rehabilitation in Ohio, how a plan is developed, what benefits can be available during participation, and what can happen after the plan ends.
What is Vocational Rehabilitation in Ohio Workers’ Compensation?
Under Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4123-18-03, vocational rehabilitation is intended to restore a worker’s vocational functioning. Participation is voluntary. The services center on returning you to employment rather than providing medical treatment solely to manage your workers’ compensation claim.
Ohio follows an established order when considering return-to-work goals. The first objective is returning you to your original job with your former employer. If that isn’t possible, the next objective is encouraging the employer to modify your original job or provide another position. If neither option works, vocational rehabilitation can assist you with finding employment in a related industry and, after that, employment in another industry.
Note: Skill development, remedial education, or short-term training can also be part of rehabilitation when those services support an appropriate return-to-work goal.
Who Qualifies for Vocational Rehabilitation in Ohio?
For a BWC-administered claim, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation determines eligibility, while the managed care organization makes a recommendation about feasibility. You must satisfy both standards before you can participate in an approved vocational rehabilitation plan.
To meet the basic eligibility requirements, your workers’ compensation claim must be allowed by BWC, the Ohio Industrial Commission, or a hearing officer, and you must have missed at least eight days of work due to your work-related injury. Alternatively, your claim may be certified by a self-insuring employer. An allowed condition in the referred claim must also create a significant impediment to obtaining or maintaining employment. In addition, at least one of the following must apply at the time of referral:
- You’re receiving or have been awarded temporary total disability, non-working wage loss, or permanent total disability compensation for a period that includes the referral date.
- You’re receiving salary continuation in place of temporary total disability compensation.
- You received a scheduled-loss award under Ohio Revised Code § 4123.57(B).
- You aren’t receiving compensation, but your physician of record documented claim-related job restrictions within the 180 days before referral.
- You’re receiving job-retention services or meet the requirements for those services.
Except for referrals involving job-retention services, you must also not be working on the date of referral. Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4123-18-03 also contains a separate provision for certain employees of state agencies and state universities when the employee and employer agree to a rehabilitation program, but that provision affects only part of the general eligibility test rather than replacing all eligibility requirements.
Meeting the eligibility criteria is only part of the review. Ohio BWC must also determine that vocational rehabilitation is feasible for you. That means you must be willing and able to participate, and there must be a reasonable probability that rehabilitation services will help you return to work. Medical, psychological, vocational, social, employment-related, and other relevant information can be considered when feasibility is evaluated.
How Does the Vocational Rehabilitation Process Work?
Vocational rehabilitation starts with a referral, which can come from the injured worker, employer, treating physician, or another party involved in the workers’ compensation claim. For a BWC-administered claim, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation determines whether the injured worker meets the eligibility requirements. The managed care organization (MCO) then recommends whether vocational rehabilitation is feasible, and the BWC issues an order approving or denying participation.
If participation is approved, a vocational rehabilitation case-management provider develops a written plan based on the return-to-work goal and the barriers preventing you from reaching it. A comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan identifies the following:
- Services to be provided;
- Anticipated duration and cost of those services;
- Return-to-work strategies being used;
- The method for evaluating progress.
An assessment plan is usually carried out when further vocational information is needed before developing a strategy. This assessment plan, which can last up to four weeks, may include career exploration and assessment activities. A job-retention plan is used when the goal is helping you remain employed despite problems related to the conditions in your claim.
If the Ohio BWC denies your participation in vocational rehabilitation, you can appeal that order to the Industrial Commission under Ohio Revised Code § 4123.511. Please note that a denial of vocational rehabilitation doesn’t end other workers’ compensation benefits you’re otherwise entitled to receive.
What Services Can Be Included in Vocational Rehabilitation?
The services in a vocational rehabilitation plan depend on the approved return-to-work goal and the employment barriers identified in your written plan, which identifies the services to be provided, their anticipated duration and cost, the return-to-work strategies being used, and the method for evaluating those services.
Depending on the plan, vocational rehabilitation can include:
- Career Exploration and Assessment: An assessment plan can include career exploration and other vocational assessment activities when additional information is needed before a broader rehabilitation plan is developed.
- Job Modification: If you can’t return to your original position, Ohio’s return-to-work priorities may allow consideration of changes to that job or changing to another position with your former employer.
- Job-Retention Services: These services can be used when you’re working but an allowed condition is creating a significant work-related problem that impacts continued employment.
- Training and Skill Development: Skill enhancement, remedial education, and short-term training can be used when they support an approved return-to-work objective.
- Assistance with Employment Outside the Former Employer: If returning to your former employer isn’t workable, rehabilitation can move toward employment in a related industry and, if that option doesn’t succeed, employment in another industry.
Ohio’s vocational rehabilitation rules place returning you to suitable employment ahead of pursuing unrestricted education or a worker-selected career change. Training and other services must support the return-to-work goals established under the rehabilitation plan and Ohio’s return-to-work priorities.
FAQs About Vocational Rehabilitation in Ohio
Can You Receive Workers’ Compensation While in Vocational Rehabilitation?
If you’re approved for vocational rehabilitation and begin participating in an approved assessment plan or vocational rehabilitation plan, you can receive living maintenance payments while the plan is active. Living maintenance begins when you actually start participating in the approved plan, as opposed to when you’re referred for rehabilitation or when BWC approves participation.
Under Ohio Revised Code § 4121.63, weekly living maintenance can’t exceed the amount you would receive in temporary total disability compensation. It also can’t be less than 50% of the current statewide average weekly wage. Living maintenance generally can continue for up to six months, although the BWC can extend payments if it determines that continued rehabilitation will benefit you.
Your participation directly affects payment. If BWC determines that you won’t be able to participate actively for 30 days or longer because of medical instability, living maintenance is suspended during that period. If you miss a full day of rehabilitation activities without good cause, BWC can deduct one-seventh of your weekly living maintenance payment for that day.
Living maintenance ends when an assessment plan or comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan closes. If you return to work while the plan remains open, BWC generally won’t pay living maintenance during that period unless the work is part of an approved gradual return-to-work plan.
Note: Ohio law also treats a worker receiving living maintenance as temporarily totally disabled for compensation purposes. While you’re receiving living maintenance, you generally can’t receive another type of workers’ compensation payment at the same time, except for compensation available under Ohio Revised Code § 4123.57(B).
What Happens After Vocational Rehabilitation Ends?
You may return to modified work, take another position with your former employer, or begin working for a different employer. If your earnings are lower because of limitations caused by the allowed conditions in your claim, you may qualify for living maintenance wage loss.
As mentioned before, under Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4123-18-21, living maintenance wage loss may be available after successful completion of an approved comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan or job-retention plan.
- For a comprehensive plan, a successful return to work generally means obtaining employment within 60 days after the plan closes.
- For a job-retention plan, it means retaining employment after the plan closes.
In either situation, the job must fall within your physical or psychiatric limitations and be reasonable when compared with the return-to-work goals in the rehabilitation plan.
Living maintenance wage loss is generally calculated at 66⅔% of the difference between your current weekly earnings and the greater of your full or average weekly wage for the claim. This payment is subject to a maximum equal to the statewide average weekly wage, and payments can continue for up to 200 weeks.
The BWC may also review whether you have voluntarily limited your income. Working fewer hours than you’re capable of working or accepting employment that doesn’t pay comparably to what you earned before can affect continued eligibility. In some situations, the BWC can also require a good-faith search for employment with earnings closer to your pre-injury wage.
To request living maintenance wage loss, you must submit an application along with medical documentation of the physical or psychiatric limitations that apply. After approval, you must also provide proof of your current earnings so the BWC can calculate and continue the benefit.
How Can an Ohio Workers’ Compensation Attorney Help with Vocational Rehabilitation?
Vocational rehabilitation can affect several parts of your workers’ compensation claim, including compensation, return-to-work expectations, wage-loss benefits, and settlement. Disputes can arise over eligibility, feasibility, medical restrictions, plan closure, or the type of work you’re expected to pursue. An attorney can review how those issues fit with the allowed conditions in your claim and the benefits you’re receiving.
At Plevin & Gallucci, we can help injured workers address issues such as:
- Eligibility Disputes: This includes reviewing a denial of vocational rehabilitation and determining whether an appeal to the Ohio Industrial Commission is appropriate.
- Medical Restrictions: We can examine whether the restrictions documented in your claim support rehabilitation eligibility, continued participation, or a return-to-work position.
- Living Maintenance: Our lawyers handle disputes involving the start, suspension, reduction, or termination of living maintenance payments.
- Living Maintenance Wage Loss: We can help address eligibility, calculation issues, job-search requirements, and disputes over claims that you voluntarily limited your earnings.
- Plan Closure: We can review the stated reason for closing a rehabilitation plan and how that decision affects other benefits.
- Settlement Decisions: Our lawyers will explain how settling the medical or indemnity portion of a claim can end eligibility for vocational rehabilitation.
Vocational rehabilitation decisions can affect both your employment options and the compensation available through your claim. Getting legal advice before appealing a denial, accepting disputed work, or settling the claim can help you evaluate the consequences of those decisions first.
Call Plevin & Gallucci for Help With Your Vocational Rehabilitation Claim
Vocational rehabilitation can help you get back to work after a workplace injury or occupational disease. At Plevin & Gallucci, we help injured workers address disputes that arise during vocational rehabilitation and understand how return-to-work decisions can affect an active workers’ compensation claim. If you have questions about eligibility, living maintenance, wage loss, and other aspects, call our law firm at (866) 989-4305, fill out our contact form, or click in the bottom right-hand corner of the page to chat with an agent now.
