An eligible employee who suffers an injury at work is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Generally, these benefits stop when a worker recovers enough to return to their job or another position with their employer. However, a worker may also be entitled to long-term benefits if their injuries are severe enough to permanently affect their ability to work. Because these worker’s compensation benefits cost money to provide, an employer may seek to limit their financial liability by relying on labor market data and the employee’s medical records to argue that the employee can return to the workforce in another position and does not qualify for permanent disability benefits.
What Is Labor Market Data?
An employer may rely on labor market data like the following to argue that an employee has regained the capability to return to the workforce:
- Wage averages
- Job availability
- Local economic conditions
This labor market data may come from vocational experts who stay current on current labor market conditions.
How Labor Market Data Affects Workers’ Comp Modifications
While state law requires employers to pay workers’ compensation benefits to employees who’ve been injured on the job, employers also have a profit motive to limit the amount they spend this way. Labor market data serves as a tool to do just that. An employer may attempt to use this data to argue that an employee’s condition has improved enough that they can work in other jobs available in the local or national economy, either with or without accommodations—regardless of what the employee contends to the contrary.
For example, an employer may argue against an employee’s total disability claim by asserting that the employee could go back to work in other light-duty roles that pay just as much or more than they earned before their injury. Even when an employee only recovers enough to return to a lower-paying position, labor market data can help an employer argue for partial disability benefits.
Labor Market Surveys and Vocational Experts
Vocational experts may be consulted in workers’ comp cases to conduct labor market surveys with the goal of identifying suitable jobs for an injured or disabled worker. Labor market surveys evaluate both local economic and employment data, as well as a worker’s medical condition, to determine whether suitable positions exist in substantial numbers such that a worker has a reasonable chance of securing work. However, labor market surveys often lead to legal disputes, including over the actual availability of specific jobs in the local economy or the suitability of a position for a worker, given their education, experience, skills, and physical limitations.
Legal Protections for Workers
Workers can pursue administrative hearings to challenge an employer’s reliance on labor market data for reducing or terminating workers’ compensation benefits. Injured employees can also hire their own vocational experts, who can provide contrasting opinions based on economic data and the employee’s medical records.
Contact a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Today
If your employer is trying to use labor market data to end your workers’ comp benefits, contact McCormick & Vilushis LLC immediately for a free, no-obligation consultation. Our workers’ compensation attorneys are ready to help you assert your rights and maintain the benefits you’re entitled to under the law.