Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=176.102&year=2009
Timestamp: 2017-04-29 11:33:42
Document Index: 279544264

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 5220', 'art 1', 'art 5220', 'art 1', 'art 5220', 'art 1', 'art 5220', 'art 1', 'art 5220', 'art 1']

176.102 - 2009 Minnesota Statutes
2009 Minnesota StatutesLabor, IndustryChapter 176Section 176.102
176.1011176.1021
Full Chapter TextSection 176.102
(a) This section applies only to vocational rehabilitation of injured employees and their spouses as provided under subdivision 1a. Physical rehabilitation of injured employees is considered treatment subject to section 176.135. (b) Rehabilitation is intended to restore the injured employee so the employee may return to a job related to the employee's former employment or to a job in another work area which produces an economic status as close as possible to that the employee would have enjoyed without disability. Rehabilitation to a job with a higher economic status than would have occurred without disability is permitted if it can be demonstrated that this rehabilitation is necessary to increase the likelihood of reemployment. Economic status is to be measured not only by opportunity for immediate income but also by opportunity for future income.
Upon the request of a qualified dependent surviving spouse, rehabilitation services shall be provided through the rehabilitation services section of the Workers' Compensation Division. For the purposes of this subdivision a qualified dependent surviving spouse is a dependent surviving spouse, as determined under section 176.111, who is in need of rehabilitation assistance to become self-supporting. A spouse who is provided rehabilitation services under this subdivision is not entitled to compensation under subdivision 11. §
(a) The commissioner shall hire a director of rehabilitation services in the classified service. The commissioner shall monitor and supervise rehabilitation services, including, but not limited to, making determinations regarding the selection and delivery of rehabilitation services and the criteria used to approve qualified rehabilitation consultants and rehabilitation vendors. The commissioner may also make determinations regarding fees for rehabilitation services and shall by rule establish a fee schedule or otherwise limit fees charged by qualified rehabilitation consultants and vendors. The commissioner shall annually review the fees and give notice of any adjustment in the State Register. The commissioner may hire qualified personnel to assist in the commissioner's duties under this section and may delegate the duties and performance. (b) On October 1, 2008, the maximum hourly rate for rehabilitation services under Minnesota Rules, part 5220.1900, subpart 1c, is increased to $91, and the maximum hourly rate for rehabilitation services under Minnesota Rules, part 5220.1900, subpart 1d, is increased to $81. These increases are in lieu of the October 1, 2008, annual increase authorized by Minnesota Rules, part 5220.1900, subpart 1b. The maximum hourly rate and annual increase under Minnesota Rules, part 5220.1900, subpart 1e, and the hourly rate reduction under Minnesota Rules, part 5220.1900, subpart 1f, are unchanged by this paragraph. §
There is created a rehabilitation review panel composed of the commissioner or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio member and two members each from employers, insurers, and rehabilitation, two licensed or registered health care providers, one chiropractor, and four members representing labor. The members shall be appointed by the commissioner and shall serve four-year terms which may be renewed. Terms, compensation, and removal for members shall be governed by section 15.0575. Notwithstanding section 15.059, this panel does not expire unless the panel no longer fulfills the purpose for which the panel was established, the panel has not met in the last 18 months, or the panel does not comply with the registration requirements of section 15.0599, subdivision 3. The panel shall select a chair. The panel shall review and make a determination with respect to appeals from orders of the commissioner regarding certification approval of qualified rehabilitation consultants and vendors. The hearings are de novo and initiated by the panel under the contested case procedures of chapter 14, and are appealable to the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals in the manner provided by section 176.421. §
(a) A rehabilitation consultation must be provided by the employer to an injured employee upon request of the employee, the employer, or the commissioner. When the commissioner has received notice or information that an employee has sustained an injury that may be compensable under this chapter, the commissioner must notify the injured employee of the right to request a rehabilitation consultation to assist in return to work. The notice may be included in other information the commissioner gives to the employee under section 176.235, and must be highlighted in a way to draw the employee's attention to it. If a rehabilitation consultation is requested, the employer shall provide a qualified rehabilitation consultant. If the injured employee objects to the employer's selection, the employee may select a qualified rehabilitation consultant of the employee's own choosing within 60 days following the filing of a copy of the employee's rehabilitation plan with the commissioner. If the consultation indicates that rehabilitation services are appropriate under subdivision 1, the employer shall provide the services. If the consultation indicates that rehabilitation services are not appropriate under subdivision 1, the employer shall notify the employee of this determination within 14 days after the consultation. (b) In order to assist the commissioner in determining whether or not to request rehabilitation consultation for an injured employee, an employer shall notify the commissioner whenever the employee's temporary total disability will likely exceed 13 weeks. The notification must be made within 90 days from the date of the injury or when the likelihood of at least a 13-week disability can be determined, whichever is earlier, and must include a current physician's report.
(a) Retraining is limited to 156 weeks. An employee who has been approved for retraining may petition the commissioner or compensation judge for additional compensation not to exceed 25 percent of the compensation otherwise payable. If the commissioner or compensation judge determines that this additional compensation is warranted due to unusual or unique circumstances of the employee's retraining plan, the commissioner may award additional compensation in an amount not to exceed the employee's request. This additional compensation shall cease at any time the commissioner or compensation judge determines the special circumstances are no longer present. (b) If the employee is not employed during a retraining plan that has been specifically approved under this section, temporary total compensation is payable for up to 90 days after the end of the retraining plan; except that, payment during the 90-day period is subject to cessation in accordance with section 176.101. If the employee is employed during the retraining plan but earning less than at the time of injury, temporary partial compensation is payable at the rate of 66-2/3 percent of the difference between the employee's weekly wage at the time of injury and the weekly wage the employee is able to earn in the employee's partially disabled condition, subject to the maximum rate for temporary total compensation. Temporary partial compensation is not subject to the 225-week or 450-week limitations provided by section 176.101, subdivision 2, during the retraining plan, but is subject to those limitations before and after the plan. (c) Any request for retraining shall be filed with the commissioner before 208 weeks of any combination of temporary total or temporary partial compensation have been paid. Retraining shall not be available after 208 weeks of any combination of temporary total or temporary partial compensation benefits have been paid unless the request for the retraining has been filed with the commissioner prior to the time the 208 weeks of compensation have been paid. (d) The employer or insurer must notify the employee in writing of the 208-week limitation for filing a request for retraining with the commissioner. This notice must be given before 80 weeks of temporary total disability or temporary partial disability compensation have been paid, regardless of the number of weeks that have elapsed since the date of injury. If the notice is not given before the 80 weeks, the period of time within which to file a request for retraining is extended by the number of days the notice is late, but in no event may a request be filed later than 225 weeks after any combination of temporary total disability or temporary partial disability compensation have been paid. The commissioner may assess a penalty of $25 per day that the notice is late, up to a maximum penalty of $2,000, against an employer or insurer for failure to provide the notice. The penalty is payable to the commissioner for deposit in the assigned risk safety account. §
All benefits payable under chapter 176 may, after a determination and order by the commissioner or compensation judge, be discontinued or forfeited for any time during which the employee refuses to submit to any reasonable examinations and evaluative procedures ordered by the commissioner or compensation judge to determine the need for and details of a plan of rehabilitation, or refuses to participate in rehabilitation evaluation as required by this section or does not make a good faith effort to participate in a rehabilitation plan. A discontinuance under this section is governed by sections 176.238 and 176.239. §