MAKING A SUITABLE JOB OFFER A suitable job offer is the offer of a job that is within the injured employee‘s medical restrictions and that returns the employee as close as possible to the economic status he or she enjoyed before the injury. Economic status includes not only wages, but also opportunities for promotion and advancement. Employee fringe benefits also may be considered in determining economic status. For example, if the employee had a minor injury, the only appropriate suitable job would be his or her old job or one similar to it. Any job, even a job with another employer, can qualify as a suitable job if it meets the tests of medical appropriateness and economic status, and takes into account the employee’s former employment age, education, previous work history, interests and skills. DISPUTE RESOLUTION The majority of workers’ compensation claims are administered without disputes arising. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry “must make efforts to settle problems of employees and employers by contacting third parties, including attorneys, insurers, and health care providers, on behalf of employers and employees and using the department’s persuasion to settle issues quickly and cooperatively.” (Minn. Stat. § 176.261). For this purpose, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has workers’ compensation specialists and attorneys available to the public either by telephone or on a walk-in basis. Contact information can be found in the Resource Directory section of this Guide. If informal methods are unable to resolve the problem, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and the Office of Administrative Hearings offer administrative conferences and mediation sessions. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry offers administrative conferences to try to resolve medical and rehabilitation benefit issues. The judges at the Office of Administrative Hearings conduct conferences to determine if the workers’ compensation insurers are to be granted their request to discontinue disability benefits to an injured worker. The holder of an administrative conference will attempt to help the parties reach acceptable resolutions of the issues, but if this is not possible, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry will issue a decision and order, which is appealable. Administrative conferences are designed to be fast, informal proceedings to resolve workers’ compensation disputes. Attorneys may represent the parties but are not mandatory. Mediation sessions are also used as a method to expedite the handling of disputed workers’ compensation claims. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry will conduct a mediation session at the request of the parties. All parties must be agreeable to the mediation. Unlike other types of dispute resolution proceedings, the presiding official does not issue a decision. The mediator assists the parties in their efforts to work towards solutions and makes sure the agreements are in conformity with the workers’ compensation laws. If the parties are successful in reaching resolutions, the mediator will prepare the mediation award and arrange for it to be properly signed, awarded, served and filed. As with administrative conferences, attorneys may represent the parties, but are not mandatory.
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