What Is Vocational Rehabilitation?

If you get injured while working in Kansas or Missouri, you may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is a program that pays for the costs of treating a work-related injury, as well as providing benefits that cover a portion of a worker’s lost wages. Under workers’ compensation, you could receive as much as two-thirds of your average weekly wage, as well as have your employer’s insurance cover all your “reasonable” medical expenses and prescription costs.

Workers’ compensation laws in Kansas require all businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance unless they are involved in certain agricultural industries or have a payroll of less than $20,000 a year. In Missouri, employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance if they employ five or more people. Employers in the construction business need workers’ compensation insurance if they have one or more employees. In both states, workers’ compensation covers employees whether they are full-time, part-time or seasonal.

While workers’ compensation helps provide benefits while you are recovering from a work-related injury, many injured workers are interested in getting back to their jobs as soon as possible. Often, an injured worker will be able to return to work with medical restrictions. If an employer cannot find a new job that takes these restrictions into account, injured workers can use vocational rehabilitation to help them find new jobs.

What Are Vocational Rehabilitation Services?

Vocational rehabilitation is a possible workers’ compensation benefit. It provides a worker who got injured on the job, but whose injury prevents them from returning to that position, help in finding a new job. A vocational rehabilitation specialist will provide professional counseling, necessary on-the-job training or retraining. The specialist will also offer services that include testing to find the best match for their skills and help with job placement.

In both Kansas and Missouri, an injured worker may have vocational rehabilitation eligibility at the discretion of the employer or the employer’s insurance company. In most cases, the longer the injured worker remains off the job, the higher the likelihood they will need vocational rehabilitation to find a job at a comparable rate of pay. The counselor will help prepare an individualized plan for employment, or IPE, that will list their job goals and the services they will be receiving. An injured worker can also work on an IPE on their own, or with the help of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney like the ones at The Law Offices of William L. Phalen.

If the employer or the employer’s insurance company will not provide for vocational rehabilitation, the injured worker may ask the rehabilitation administrator for a referral to a provider. The employer pays for this referral.

What Services Are Available?

Vocational rehabilitation in Kansas applies to injured workers in a wide variety of areas.

1. Counseling and Guidance

Receiving the assistance of a counselor is a major service available from Kansas Rehabilitation Services (KRS). Counseling services may include:

Helping an injured worker learn about their disability, their abilities and aptitudes and their interests
Assisting an injured worker in choosing new goals about work, based on the worker’s preference, the result of their vocational assessments and what jobs are available
Helping the injured worker reach their employment goals
Assisting the injured worker to learn about education, health services and community programs

2. Physical and Mental Restoration Services

These services, which KRS may provide, need to directly relate to an injured worker’s ability to find and keep a job. Some of these services include:

Visual services such as eyeglasses
Prosthetic and orthotic devices, including braces, artificial limbs or dentures
Diagnosis and treatment for emotional or mental disorders — treatment for inpatient drug or alcohol abuse is typically limited to a 25-day maximum
Other specialty services such as speech therapy, physical or occupational therapy or nutritional assistance to help develop a better diet for a unique health problem that prevents an injured worker from finding employment

3. Training

If an injured worker needs training to keep their current job or to get a new one, there are several different types of training available. They include:

Work skills
Daily living skills
Vocational
On-the-job

4. Job Placement Services

The primary goal of placement services is to help an injured worker return to their previous job or find a new one. A vocational rehabilitation counselor or job placement specialist will help them look for a new job, fill out the proper forms and help them prepare for a job interview. While the counselor may guide them, in Kansas, the injured worker always has the primary responsibility of finding a new job.

Who Is Eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation Through Workers’ Compensation?

If an injured worker’s employer or the employer’s insurance company offers vocational rehabilitation, the injured worker may be eligible to receive assistance.

To receive vocational rehabilitation, an injured worker needs to meet all the following eligibility requirements:

An individual needs to have a mental or a physical impairment or disability.
This impairment or disability must present a substantial impediment to finding or holding a job.
The individual needs to require vocational rehabilitation services to regain their previous job or to prepare for and retain a new one.

If the individual qualifies for supplemental security income or Social Security disability income, they are automatically eligible for vocational rehabilitation services.

The individual’s vocational rehabilitation counselor will let them know about their eligibility as soon as possible. Normally, the process takes about 60 days after an application unless the individual agrees to an extension.

Cost of Vocational Rehabilitation Services

If an injured worker’s employer or their employer’s insurance company offers vocational rehabilitation benefits, it’s likely the employer or the insurance company may cover the cost of retraining an injured worker to either return to their old job or find a new one.

Workers in Kansas and Missouri should check with their employers to see if they provide a vocational rehabilitation option as part of workers’ compensation insurance. If not, an injured worker must meet the eligibility requirements listed above to receive vocational rehabilitation services.

An injured worker’s financial resources may not necessarily affect their eligibility to receive vocational rehabilitation services. Whether KRS will pay for some of the services, however, depends on the injured worker’s ability to meet economic need guidelines. KRS will use a variety of resources to determine if the worker is eligible.

Professionals Involved

If you are an injured worker, and you’re interested in returning to work, you should speak to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at the Phalen Law Firm. An experienced attorney will ensure all your rights under the workers’ compensation law get observed, and that you receive all benefits to which you are entitled if you are eligible.

These include assistance if you have received medical restrictions from your doctor and your employer is reluctant to observe them or is ignoring them. An experienced attorney can also help you with an application for vocational rehabilitation services and check to make sure that you’re not paying more for any of these services than necessary. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you determine if you are eligible to receive financial assistance to help with any vocational rehabilitation costs.

Why Vocational Rehabilitation Is Vital

There is a myth prevalent among many employers or employers’ insurance companies that employees like to continue to receive cash and medical services to treat their injuries long after they’ve fully healed. Or, in some cases, an injured worker is not injured at all — they’re just trying to take advantage of the system.

These ideas are far from the truth. The vast majority of injured workers want to return to work as soon as they can. People need to feel productive, to find employment that will provide for their family and themselves. They are not interested in a “free ride.” Their injuries, however, are preventing them from fulfilling those goals. One way they can move toward them is with vocational rehabilitation.

Whether it’s help in preparing to return to an old job, learning how to work in a former position with medical restrictions or finding new employment, vocational rehabilitation services can be beneficial. These include professional training, assistance in filling out job applications and learning how to participate in an interview — an incredibly useful tool for a worker who may not have done a job interview in 20 or 30 years.

Vocational rehabilitation services can make a difference between an injured worker remaining off the job — unable to support their families or themselves and growing increasingly frustrated and angry — or providing an injured worker with a new sense of purpose, learning they can work and live with a disability and still provide for themselves and all their loved ones.

Steps of Vocational Rehabilitation

When you are eligible for vocational rehabilitation, either through your employer or your employer’s insurance carrier or because you have met the eligibility requirements listed above, you can begin the process.

Receiving the services of a vocational rehabilitation counselor is a positive step. How you feel about it, however, is crucial. You need to be a good “consumer” of vocational rehabilitation services, so they provide you with the best possible outcome. Here are some things you can do along the way to help ensure you receive the most from the experience.

1. Have Your Lawyer Present When You First Meet a Rehabilitation Counselor

This point is especially valid if you are receiving vocational rehabilitation services as a workers’ compensation option through your employer or employer’s insurance company. It’s your way of letting the vocational counselor, who is working at the behest of your employer or your employer’s insurance carrier, know your lawyer is familiar with the process and understands all the rules to follow. It signals you know you won’t have to rush back to your job or into a new one, either before you are ready or into a position to which you are ill-suited. Remember, if your employer or your employer’s insurance carrier is providing the option, they want to pay as little as possible for the services, and may try to hasten you back into the workforce before you are ready.

2. Watch What You Say Around the Rehabilitation Counselor

Don’t make definitive statements like “I’m only going to work for a job that pays $25 an hour or more.” The vocational rehabilitation counselor could report these kinds of statements back to the employer or the employer’s insurance carrier, which they could use as an excuse to say you are not cooperating and suspend your benefits.

3. Follow the Rules and Keep All Appointments

There are specific rules to follow to receive all the vocational rehabilitation services you would like. They include things like reporting on grades if you are undergoing vocational rehabilitation at a school or keeping all medical appointments a rehabilitation counselor may have ordered. If you are concerned about what’s happening to you, talk to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at the Phalen Law Firm. You should still, however, observe the rules and keep appointments until your attorney advises you otherwise.

4. Return to Work as Soon as You Can

Even taking into account the advice above, it is still always a good idea to get back to work as soon as possible. You’ll feel better, make more money and your image of yourself will improve. Don’t go back to work before you’re ready, but when it’s time, don’t linger.

5. Don’t Let People Talk You Into Starting a Small Business

Sometimes, vocational rehabilitation counselors may try to shorten the services they provide an injured worker by suggesting they go into business for themselves. At one time or another, everyone has thought about becoming their own boss. When you are recovering from an injury or disability, however, it is not the time to start on your own. You are already dealing with enough. And when you consider 20 percent of new businesses fail in their first year, you can see the error of the idea.

6. If You Have Concerns About the Vocational Rehabilitation Process, Speak to an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney

If the vocational rehabilitation process seems too hurried for you, or you don’t think it is being applied properly in your case, you should seek advice from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at the Phalen Law Firm. They can answer all your questions, advise you on the next best steps to take and help you decide if your situation warrants any legal action. Don’t wait to do this. The idea behind the vocational rehabilitation process is to help you prepare for a job. If that’s not what it’s doing, you need to move to correct it right away.

Frequently Asked Questions About Workers’ Compensation

1. How Do I File an Application for Vocational Rehabilitation Services?

In Kansas, if you have a disability that affects your chances of getting or keeping a job and you want to apply for vocational rehabilitation services, you can do so at the nearest Department of Children and Families or KRS office. You can find your closest office by calling toll-free 866-213-9079 or TDD 800-432-0698.

2. Will KRS Help Me Keep My Old Job or Find a New Job With My Disability?

A counselor at a KRS office will help determine if you are eligible for vocational rehabilitation. If you are, the counselor will help you work toward your personal employment goal.

3. How Long Does It Take Before I Know If I’m Eligible?

If you are an injured worker whose employer or employer’s insurance company provides a vocational rehabilitation option, you may be eligible as soon as you qualify for workers’ compensation. If your employer or your employer’s insurance company does not offer this option, you need to go through the regular application process outlined above. In most cases, you will most likely know if you are qualified to receive vocational rehabilitation services within 60 days.

4. Do These Services Cost Money?

While there is a test for economic need, you may be required to pay for some of the services you will receive through vocational rehabilitation. If you fall below the economic need threshold, the services can be provided for you. Your counselor will always let you know what services you will need to pay for. But before KRS can pay for anything, your counselor must provide written approval.

5. What Is Order of Selection?

KRS may not have all the financial resources to serve everyone who applies, even if they are eligible. The law states people with severe disabilities receive vocational rehabilitation services first. As part of the application process, you may receive medical testing to determine the severity of your disability. KRS will also decide based on the number and kinds of services you need to find a job, how long these services should last and how your disability affects your chances of getting a job.

Contact the Phalen Law Firm If You Have Any Questions About Workers’ Compensation or the Vocational Rehabilitation Process

If you have any questions about the workers’ compensation process in Kansas or Missouri, or if you want to know how vocational rehabilitation process can work for you if you wish to return to work, contact the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at the Phalen Law Firm.

We offer a free consultation. You can reach us at 800-235-1807 or visit our contact us page where you can leave us your contact information and details about your situation. A member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Recent Articles from The Law Office of William L. Phalen

January 4, 2020