Nebraska
48-162.01.
Employees; rehabilitation services; directory of service providers,
counselors, and specialists; vocational rehabilitation plan; priorities;
Attorney General; duties; compensation court; powers; duties.
(1)
One of the primary purposes of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act
is restoration of the injured employee to gainful employment. To this
end the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court may employ one or more
specialists in vocational rehabilitation. Salaries, other benefits, and
administrative expenses incurred by the compensation court for purposes
of vocational rehabilitation shall be paid from the Compensation Court
Cash Fund.
(2)
Vocational rehabilitation specialists employed by the court shall
continuously study the problems of vocational rehabilitation and shall
maintain a directory of individual service providers, counselors, and
specialists which have been approved by the Nebraska Workers'
Compensation Court. The compensation court may approve as qualified such
individual service providers, counselors, and specialists as are
capable of rendering competent vocational rehabilitation services to
injured employees. No individual service provider, counselor, or
specialist shall be considered qualified to provide vocational
rehabilitation services to injured employees unless he or she has
satisfied the standards for certification established by the
compensation court and has been certified by the compensation court.
(3)
When as a result of the injury an employee is unable to perform
suitable work for which he or she has previous training or experience,
he or she is entitled to such vocational rehabilitation services,
including job placement and training, as may be reasonably necessary to
restore him or her to suitable employment. Vocational rehabilitation
training costs shall be paid from the Workers' Compensation Trust Fund.
When vocational rehabilitation training requires residence at or near a
facility or institution away from the employee's customary residence,
whether within or without this state, the reasonable costs of his or her
board, lodging, and travel shall be paid from the Workers' Compensation
Trust Fund.
If
entitlement to vocational rehabilitation services is claimed by the
employee, the employee and the employer or his or her insurer shall
attempt to agree on the choice of a vocational rehabilitation counselor
from the directory of vocational rehabilitation counselors established
pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. If they are unable to agree
on a vocational rehabilitation counselor, the employee or employer or
his or her insurer shall notify the compensation court, and a vocational
rehabilitation specialist of the compensation court shall select a
counselor from the directory of vocational rehabilitation counselors
established pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. Only one such
vocational rehabilitation counselor may provide vocational
rehabilitation services at any one time, and any change in the choice of
a vocational rehabilitation counselor shall be approved by a vocational
rehabilitation specialist or judge of the compensation court. The
vocational rehabilitation counselor so chosen or selected shall evaluate
the employee and, if necessary, develop and implement a vocational
rehabilitation plan. Any such plan shall be evaluated by a vocational
rehabilitation specialist of the compensation court and approved by such
specialist or a judge of the compensation court prior to
implementation. In evaluating a plan the specialist shall make an
independent determination as to whether the proposed plan is likely to
result in suitable employment for the injured employee that is
consistent with the priorities listed in this subsection. It is a
rebuttable presumption that any vocational rehabilitation plan developed
by such vocational rehabilitation counselor and approved by a
vocational rehabilitation specialist of the compensation court is an
appropriate form of vocational rehabilitation. The fee for the
evaluation and for the development and implementation of the vocational
rehabilitation plan shall be paid by the employer or his or her workers'
compensation insurer. The compensation court may establish a fee
schedule for services rendered by a vocational rehabilitation counselor.
Any loss-of-earning-power evaluation performed by a vocational
rehabilitation counselor shall be performed by a counselor from the
directory established pursuant to subsection (2) of this section and
chosen or selected according to the procedures described in this
subsection. It is a rebuttable presumption that any opinion expressed as
the result of such a loss-of-earning-power evaluation is correct.
The
following priorities shall be used in developing and evaluating a
vocational rehabilitation plan. No higher priority may be utilized
unless all lower priorities have been determined by the vocational
rehabilitation counselor and a vocational rehabilitation specialist or
judge of the compensation court to be unlikely to result in suitable
employment for the injured employee that is consistent with the
priorities listed in this subsection. If a lower priority is clearly
inappropriate for the employee, the next higher priority shall be
utilized. The priorities are, listed in order from lower to higher
priority:
(a) Return to the previous job with the same employer;
(b) Modification of the previous job with the same employer;
(c) A new job with the same employer;
(d) A job with a new employer; or
(e) A period of formal training which is designed to lead to employment in another career field.
(4)
The compensation court may cooperate on a reciprocal basis with federal
and state agencies for vocational rehabilitation services or with any
public or private agency.
(5) The Attorney General, when requested by the administrator of the compensation court, may file a motion pursuant to section 48-162.03 regarding
any issue related to vocational rehabilitation services or costs
pursuant to this section. The Attorney General shall be considered a
party for purposes of such motion. The Attorney General may initiate an
original action before the compensation court or may intervene in a
pending action and become a party to the litigation. Any such motion
shall be heard by a judge of the compensation court other than the
presiding judge.
(6)
An employee who has suffered an injury covered by the Nebraska Workers'
Compensation Act is entitled to prompt physical and medical
rehabilitation services. If physical or medical rehabilitation services
are not voluntarily offered and accepted, the compensation court or any
judge thereof on its or his or her own motion, or upon application of
the employee or employer, and after affording the parties an opportunity
to be heard by the compensation court or judge thereof, may refer the
employee to a facility, institution, physician, or other individual
service provider capable of rendering competent physical or medical
rehabilitation services for evaluation and report of the practicability
of, need for, and kind of service or treatment necessary and appropriate
to render him or her fit for a remunerative occupation, and the costs
of such evaluation and report involving physical or medical
rehabilitation shall be borne by the employer or his or her workers'
compensation insurer. Upon receipt of such report and after affording
the parties an opportunity to be heard, the compensation court or judge
thereof may order that the physical or medical services and treatment
recommended in the report or other necessary physical or medical
rehabilitation treatment or service be provided at the expense of the
employer or his or her workers' compensation insurer.
When
physical or medical rehabilitation requires residence at or near the
facility or institution away from the employee's customary residence,
whether within or without this state, the reasonable costs of his or her
board, lodging, and travel shall be paid for by the employer or his or
her workers' compensation insurer in addition to any other benefits
payable under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act, including weekly
compensation benefits for temporary disability.
(7) If the injured employee without reasonable cause refuses to undertake or fails to cooperate with a physical, medical, or vocational rehabilitation program determined by the compensation court or judge thereof to be suitable for him or her or refuses to be evaluated under subsection (3) or (6) of this section or fails to cooperate in such evaluation, the compensation court or judge thereof may suspend, reduce, or limit the compensation otherwise payable under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act. The compensation court or judge thereof may also modify a previous finding, order, award, or judgment relating to physical, medical, or vocational rehabilitation services as necessary in order to accomplish the goal of restoring the injured employee to gainful and suitable employment, or as otherwise required in the interest of justice.