Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 436 - DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS SERVICES, WORKERS' COMPENSATION DIVISION › Division 120 - VOCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO INJURED WORKERS › Section 436-120-0005 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
Unless a term is specifically defined elsewhere in these rules
				or the context otherwise requires, the definitions of ORS chapter 656 are
				hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of these rules. For the
				purpose of these rules, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) "Cost-of-living matrix" means the chart
			 issued annually by the division in Bulletin 124 that publishes the conversion
			 factors, effective July 1 of each year, used to adjust for changes in the
			 cost-of-living rate from the date of injury to the date of calculation. The
			 conversion factor is based on the annual percentage increase or decrease in the
			 average weekly wage, as defined in ORS
			 656.211.
(2) "Counselor" means the vocational
			 assistance counselor certified under these rules to provide vocational
			 assistance to injured workers and activities for determining a worker's
			 eligibility for vocational assistance.
(3) "Director" means the director of the
			 Department of Consumer and Business Services, or the director's
			 designee.
(4) "Division" means the
			 Workers' Compensation Division of the Department of Consumer and Business
			 Services.
(5) "Employer at injury"
			 means the organization that employed the worker when the worker sustained the
			 injury or occupational disease.
(6)
			 "Insurer" means the insurance company or self-insured employer responsible for
			 the workers' compensation claim.
(7) "Provider" means the vocational
			 assistance provider that is an insurer or other public or private organization
			 registered under these rules to provide vocational assistance to injured
			 workers and activities for determining a worker's eligibility for vocational
			 assistance.
(8) "Reasonable cause"
			 may include, but is not limited to, a medically documented limitation in the
			 worker's activities due to illness or medical condition of the worker or the
			 worker's family, financial hardship, incarceration for less than six months, or
			 circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the worker. "Reasonable cause"
			 for failure to provide information or participate in activities related to
			 vocational assistance will be determined based upon individual circumstances of
			 the case.
(9) "Reasonable labor
			 market" for an occupation means it can be said to have reasonable employment
			 opportunities if competitively qualified workers can expect to find equivalent
			 jobs in the occupation within a reasonable period of time. A reasonable period
			 of time, for workers in the majority of occupations, would be the six months
			 that they could collect regular unemployment insurance benefits, if they were
			 entitled to them.
(10) "Regular
			 employment" means the employment the worker held at the time of the injury or
			 at the time of the claim for aggravation, whichever gave rise to the potential
			 eligibility for vocational assistance; or, for a worker not employed at the
			 time of aggravation, the employment the worker held on the last day of work
			 before the aggravation claim. If the basis for potential eligibility is a
			 reopening to process a newly accepted condition, "regular employment" is the
			 employment the worker held at the time of the injury. When the condition arose
			 after claim closure, "regular employment" is determined as if it were an
			 aggravation claim.
(11)
			 "Substantial handicap to employment" means the worker, because of the injury or
			 aggravation, lacks the necessary physical capacities, knowledge, skills, and
			 abilities to be employed in suitable employment.
(a) "Knowledge" means an organized body of
			 factual or procedural information derived from the worker's education,
			 training, and experience.
(b)
			 "Skills" means the demonstrated mental and physical proficiency to apply
			 knowledge.
(c) "Abilities" means
			 the cognitive, psychological, and physical capability to apply the worker's
			 knowledge and skills.