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Labour Market Re-Entry Issues
Background
Concerns over getting retrained usually centre on:
39. My Labour Market Re-Entry provider says that because I was a low-wage earner before I got hurt, I have to settle for a parking lot attendant job.
- Labour Market Re-entry plan is based on choice of Suitable Employment or Business that is to be within worker's restrictions and within the wage range for worker
- With few exceptions (set out in Board policy), will not get retraining to a job that pays much more than pre-injury earnings
- will have to compare pre- to potential post- injury earnings from training, making it very important to be sure that the pre-injury earnings basis is correct (see question 11)
- will not be retrained to be a rocket scientist if you were only at McDonalds's when you got hurt
- may be possible to argue for some other type of occupation, but will still have to fit the wage parameters
40. I finished with the Labour Market Re-entry program. I want more retraining because what I got is not good enough to get me a job.
- hard to get more than one retraining program from the Board
- in limited circumstances, may be possible to get another shot, usually through appeal process
- be aware of the trade-off between getting more retraining and a reduction in the Loss Of Earnings at the end of it, if the retraining lessens the wage loss:
- does the worker want the current amount of Loss Of Earnings benefits or
- is the worker willing to get less Loss Of Earnings at the end of retraining, just to get more skills to be employable, even though more training is not a guarantee that the worker will ever work.
- In 2009, the Board is undertaking a review of the whole LMR program
41. My compensable injury causes a lot of pain, but the Board says they don't care how much pain I have, I have to go to school full time or they won't pay me.
- chronic pain does not stop the rehabilitation process in the Board's eyes
- Board's view: "hurt versus harm"
- be sure to have doctor be specific in restrictions
- be sure doctor sees worker if condition flares up as result of plan, and document any deterioration in things like range of motion etc.
- there is a “Best Practices Guide” on the WSIB website that deals with return to work when Chronic Pain is present that says it is the pain experience that will determine the functional restrictions rather than the functional restrictions of the original organic injury.
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