Nevada vocational rehabilitation, answered

It is a benefit under NRS Chapter 616C for injured employees who cannot return to the job they held at the time of injury. A vocational rehabilitation counselor completes a written assessment under NRS 616C.550, the insurer determines eligibility under NRS 616C.590, and a plan is developed under NRS 616C.555 consisting of either job placement assistance or formal retraining.

The insurer, third-party administrator or self-insured employer administering the workers' compensation claim pays for the services. The injured worker does not pay for vocational rehabilitation.

Under NRS 616C.555(3), as amended by AB 128 effective July 1, 2019, the maximum is 9 months for a 0% permanent partial disability rating, 12 months for 1% up to 6%, and 24 months for 6% or greater. Where the written assessment finds existing marketable skills, the plan is job placement assistance only and is capped at six months from the date of notification.

Yes. Counseling is delivered directly in Spanish or English by the counselor, not through a scheduled interpreter. A large share of the Las Vegas hospitality and construction workforce is monolingual Spanish speaking, and that changes what a transferable skills interview can actually surface.

Our Las Vegas office is at 3230 South Buffalo Drive, Suite 102. We serve Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Summerlin, Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise and the rest of Clark County. Under NRS 616C.580 services may extend to eligible workers living within fifty miles of the Nevada border, or across a border where that is more cost-effective.

By phone at 702-857-9460, by fax at 855-837-2681, or by email at vocationalrehabservices@gmail.com. Please include the medical report or FCE showing the MMI date and the current work restrictions. Referrals are reviewed promptly and a counselor is assigned by name.

It is the systematic comparison of what an injured worker can still do against occupations that exist in the local labor market. We break the job of injury into its physical demands and learned skills, apply the permanent restrictions, and identify the occupations those skills still reach. It is the analysis that determines whether a plan is job placement only or formal retraining.

That changes the file significantly. NRS 616C.530 sets a priority order: return to the same job first, then a modified job with the same employer, then a different job with the same employer, then placement with another employer, and only then formal retraining. Every rung above retraining costs the claim less, which is why we ask about modified duty on the referral form.

Not until a treating or examining physician or chiropractor determines the injured employee can safely take part, under NRS 616C.555(6). That is why the medical report or FCE with the MMI date and current restrictions matters so much at referral.

Yes, in some cases. Under NRS 616C.555(9) an injured employee may request a second program in writing, and the insurer must authorize it upon good cause shown — generally that the first program did not retrain the worker for a job they can actually perform within their restrictions.

It is the compensation paid to an injured employee while they participate in vocational rehabilitation, under NRS 616C.575. Maintenance during the period the plan is being developed is capped at 60 days under NAC 616C.577(3), which is one reason a stalled plan becomes a dispute.

Under NRS 616C.595 the insurer and the injured employee may agree in writing to a lump sum in lieu of services. The amount offered cannot be less than 55% of the value of the vocational rehabilitation maintenance benefits, a floor raised from 40% by AB 128 in 2019.