Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 436 - DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS SERVICES, WORKERS' COMPENSATION DIVISION › Division 120 - VOCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO INJURED WORKERS › Section 436-120-0008 - Administrative Review and Hearings

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1) Administrative
			 review.
(a) A worker wanting review of any
			 vocational eligibility evaluation or vocational assistance matter must request
			 administrative review by the director.
(b) Under ORS
			 656.340(11) and
			 OAR 436-120-0185 when the worker and
			 insurer are unable to agree on a counselor, the insurer must request
			 administrative review by the director.
(c) Effective vocational assistance is best
			 realized in a nonadversarial environment. The first objective of administrative
			 review is to bring the parties to resolution through alternative dispute
			 resolution procedures, including mediation conferences, whenever possible and
			 appropriate. When a dispute is not resolved through mutual agreement or
			 dismissal, the director will close the record and issue a director's review and
			 order.
(d) The worker's request for
			 review must be submitted to the division no later than the 60th day after the
			 date the worker received written notice of the insurer's action.
(e) Issues raised by the worker where written
			 notice was not provided may be reviewed at the director's discretion.
(f) The worker, insurer, employer at injury,
			 and provider must supply needed information, attend conferences and meetings,
			 and participate in the administrative review process as required by the
			 director.
(A) Upon the director's request, any
			 party to the dispute must provide available information within 14 days of the
			 request.
(B) The insurer must
			 promptly schedule, pay for, and submit to the division any medical or
			 vocational tests, consultations, or reports required by the director.
(C) The worker, insurer, employer at injury,
			 or provider must simultaneously provide copies of material to the other parties
			 to the dispute when submitting material to the division.
(D) Failure to comply with this subsection
			 may result in the director dismissing the administrative review or deciding the
			 issue on the basis of available information when the worker, insurer, provider,
			 or employer at injury fails to comply without reasonable cause.
(g) The director may issue a
			 letter of agreement under section (6) of this rule when the parties resolve a
			 dispute within the scope of OAR 436-120. The director may issue a letter of
			 agreement instead of an administrative order.
(h) The parties have 60 days from the date
			 the director's review and order is issued to request a hearing under OAR
			 436-001-0019.
(i) The director may on the director's own
			 motion reconsider or withdraw any order that has not become final by operation
			 of law.
(j) A party may request
			 reconsideration of a director's review and order upon an allegation of error,
			 omission, misapplication of law, incomplete record, or the discovery of new
			 material evidence that could not reasonably have been discovered and produced
			 during the review.
(A) The director may grant
			 or deny a request for reconsideration at the director's sole
			 discretion.
(B) A request for
			 reconsideration must be received by the division before the director's review
			 and order becomes final or, if appealed, before the proposed and final order is
			 issued.
(C) The parties may submit
			 new material evidence consistent with this rule and may respond to such
			 evidence submitted by others.
(D)
			 Parties must simultaneously notify all other interested parties of their
			 contentions and provide them with copies of all additional information
			 presented.
(E) A request for
			 reconsideration does not stay the 60-day time period within which the parties
			 may request a hearing.