An employer must provide vocational rehabilitation to an injured worker who cannot return to the job he or she held prior to the injury and does not have the skills and functional capacity to return to a job that pays a comparable wage.

The carrier/employer must refer a worker who has been out of work for 90 days for a vocational screening. A worker can also request a screening before then if it looks like he or she will not be able return to his or her job. The screening determines whether the worker is entitled to vocational rehabilitation services.

If the worker is entitled to services, the vocational counselor works with an injured worker to develop a Return to Work Plan. The Plan sets a specific goal for returning the injured worker to work and should identify any training or modification of work or home spaces necessary to achieve this goal. As the worker and vocational counselor work together, this Plan may be modified as needed to achieve the goal of returning the worker to suitable employment.

How Jarvis & Modun Helps Its Clients Get Quality Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Sometimes the employer or its insurance carrier fails to inform the injured worker of his or her right to vocational rehabilitation services or fails to refer the worker for an entitlement assessment within the time it’s suppose to. Jarvis & Modun pushes carriers/employers live up to their obligations of providing quality vocational rehabilitation services consistent with Vermont Law in a timely manner. When one of our clients is found entitled to vocational rehabilitation services, we work closely with his or her vocational counselor to see that a Return to Work Plan gets created that is right for the client.

One’s relationship with a vocational counselor is similar to one’s relationship to a doctor. It is important to have mutual trust and to feel at ease with one another. Not all vocational counselors may be right for you. As with Nurse Case Managers, we have sometimes seen a vocational counselor who appears to be abusing the relationship. Sometimes a counselor has seemed intent on returning an injured workers to any job as quickly as possible regardless of whether the job makes sense for that worker. Injured workers in Vermont have the right to choose a vocational counselor that is right for them. At Jarvis & Modun we won’t hesitate to change a vocational counselor if he or she does not work well with you. We always want our clients work with the best vocational counselors in Vermont. Call Jarvis & Modun at (802) 540-1030 for more information about vocational rehabilitation services in Vermont.