Vouchers and RTW Update

Saturday, June 18, 2005 | 0

SJDB vouchers - Proposed Regulations

The proposed voucher regulations are currently at the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), which is reviewing them for consistency with other statutes. Assuming OAL finds no problems, DWC is estimating an approximate implementation date of August 1, 2005. The implementation date for these regulations will be announced on the DWC Newsline at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/dwc_newsline.html.

Proposed RTW Regulations The Division of Workers' Compensation has released its proposed Return to Work regulations. The proposed regs (Sect. 10001 - 1005) can be viewed at the DWC web site (http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/DWCWCABForum/3.asp?ForumID=36&RegID=177 ). [Please note that there are two forms associated with these regulations that are also available for review.] Interested parties can also post their comments at the same site through June 8, 2005. These proposed regulations apply to (1) employers with 50 or more employees who must adjust weekly PD payments by 15% based on their decision to offer regular, modified or alternative work (-15%) or not offer such work (+15%).

These regulations are also intended to provide procedural guidance for smaller employers (those with fewer than 50 employees) who wish to seek reimbursement for the costs of job accommodation under L. C. section section 139.48. We should note that the amount of funding available for RTW reimbursements remains unknown since it is dependent on "business practice" penalties which, historically, have been assessed at the rate of roughly one per year. If the historical trend continues, funding would be available to reimburse only a few hundred employers per year out of many thousands who would be potentially eligible. The DWC has no control over funding but is required to develop regulations to distribute whatever money does become available.

Subsequent to this comment period, the DWC can be expected to release these proposed regulations for a 45 day public comment period, as it did with the SJDB voucher regulations. Assuming a relatively smooth comment process (these proposed regs do not appear to raise major issues for stakeholders), these regulations could become operational by the end of 2005.

Pre-2004 VR Cases

Prior to the Pebworth case, the industry expectation was that it would take at least two years before we started to notice a significant reduction in the number of VR cases in the system. RU Consultants report that they continue to be very busy with the dispute resolution process. However, they continue to receive a substantial number of RU-122s to review for VR settlements. Consultants at some of the larger Boards process 6-7 RU-122s per day. This settlement rate is having an impact on VR counselors. While many counselors report that they have not experienced a substantial reduction in their referral rates, they find they are doing far less work per case. Many cases are settled soon after completion of the initial evaluation and it is not uncommon for cases in plan to settle. The likely result of this trend is that full VR case referrals will be uncommon by the end of this year.

Contributed by vocational rehabilitation expert Allan Leno, Leno & Associates, (818) 370-8859, allanleno@leno-assoc.com.

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