Marketing and Job Search Requirements after a Workplace Injury in Virginia

根据弗吉尼亚工人赔偿法，受伤的员工在工作场所发生事故后可以得到赔偿, 雇主必须为受伤的雇员提供可赔偿伤害的医疗.  雇主必须支付受伤雇员因受伤而接受的医疗费用.  As part of this provided medical treatment, 受伤员工的主治医师将持续评估和确定受伤员工的工作能力.  Sometimes, 主治医师将确定受伤的雇员根本没有能力返回工作岗位.   However, 主治医师可以确定受伤的雇员在能力下降的情况下能够重返工作岗位.  This reduced capacity to work is commonly referred to as “light duty” capacity. 

如果主治医师确定受伤员工只能从事轻负荷工作, the treating physician will assign specific work restrictions to the injured employee.  Those restrictions determine what type of work that the injured employee may perform.  限制的范围从受伤工人每天可以工作的小时数到受伤工人可以坐的时间长度, stand, or reach during a work day.  治疗医生的工作限制甚至可以列出受伤工人必须避免的特定类型的任务或动作. 

If the injured employee is returned to work in a light duty capacity, 然后，受伤的员工必须在这些轻型限制范围内寻找一份轻型工作.   Sometimes, 雇主可安排受伤工人到另一个部门工作，或允许受伤工人从事符合指定的轻度工作限制的全勤工作的简化版本，以适应受伤工人的轻度工作限制.   

However, 如果雇主没有为受伤工人提供轻工职位，或没有为雇员提供轻工职位, 受伤雇员有责任推销他/她自己，以胜任治疗医生的轻型工作.  Under Virginia law, 雇员在工作中受伤，但无法返回全职工作岗位, 受伤雇员必须在他/她新的轻型工作能力范围内寻找工作，才能继续领取工人补偿福利.  An injured employee’s active search for a light duty job is referred to as “marketing.”

下面列出了一些由弗吉尼亚工人赔偿委员会提供的指导方针.  这些指导方针有助于确定受伤员工在寻找一份轻工的工作时，是否已证明他/她在市场上作出了足够的努力.

GUIDELINES FOR INJURED EMPLOYEES LOOKING FOR LIGHT DUTY WORK:

1. Good faith search for work - An employee who is partially disabled – i.e., 不能从事正常工作，但能从事轻工工作的人士，如他/她没有领取公开赔偿，则须真诚地寻求轻工工作，以领取伤残津贴.
2. Factors the Commission considers -决定部分残疾雇员是否已作出合理努力寻找合适的轻工工作, the Commission considers such factors as : (1) the nature and extent of the disability; (2) the employee’s training, age, experience, and education; (3) the nature and extent of the job search; (4) the availability of jobs in the area suitable for the employee considering his/her disability; (5) any other matter affecting the employee’s capacity to find suitable employment.
3. Evidence of reasonable effort -假定在大多数情况下，当受伤雇员(a)在被释放后的合理时间内向弗吉尼亚就业委员会注册以返回某种形式的工作，并且(b)直接联系时，他/她作出了合理的努力来推销剩余的工作能力 at least five potential employers per week 当雇员有合理的理由相信可能有一份工作是他或她能够胜任的，以及(c)如果合适的话, contacted the pre-injury employer for light duty work.  Interestingly, 雇员没有必要预先筛选或确定是否有合适的工作.
4. Keep a job search record -受伤雇员提供的有关工作联系的资料必须有事实根据, preferably in writing, about the names of the employers contacted; where the employers are located; the date(s) the contact was made; whether the contact was in person, by phone or via internet; and the result of the contact.
5. Pre-injury skills or experience – When the injured employee has particular job skills or training, 如果该领域有该员工可以合理胜任的工作，他/她可能会在该领域寻找工作. However, if within a reasonable amount of time the search is not successful, the employee must broaden the search beyond that field.
6. Method of Contacting Employers -受伤员工应以合理适合所寻求职位的方式与潜在雇主联系.  In some cases, this involves making personal visits. In other cases, contacts may be made by phone, internet, mail, or through employment agents such as union hiring halls.
7. Attempt to maximize earnings -如果受伤员工找到了一份薪水远低于受伤前工作的工作, the employee should continue looking for a higher paying job.

寻求弗吉尼亚州工人赔偿律师的帮助，以实施这些营销技巧，并在工人赔偿索赔期间保护自己或您的企业.

Kerry Stolz is a Pender & Coward attorney focusing her practice on workers' compensation, insurance defense and civil litigation.

Source: “Marketing Guidelines,” Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, 2019.