1. If benefits for a temporary total disability will be paid to an injured employee for more than 90 days, the insurer or the injured employee may request a vocational rehabilitation counselor to prepare a written assessment of the injured employee’s ability or potential to return to:

(a) The position the employee held at the time that he or she was injured; or

(b) Any other gainful employment.

2. Before completing the written assessment, the counselor shall:

(a) Contact the injured employee and:

(1) Identify the injured employee’s educational background, work experience and career interests; and

(2) Determine whether the injured employee has any existing marketable skills.

(b) Contact the injured employee’s treating physician or chiropractor and determine:

(1) Whether the employee has any temporary or permanent physical limitations;

(2) The estimated duration of the limitations;

(3) Whether there is a plan for continued medical treatment; and

(4) When the employee may return to the position that the employee held at the time of his or her injury or to any other position. The treating physician or chiropractor shall determine whether an employee may return to the position that the employee held at the time of his or her injury.

3. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616C.542 and 616C.547, a vocational rehabilitation counselor shall prepare a written assessment not more than 30 days after receiving a request for a written assessment pursuant to subsection 1. The written assessment must contain a determination as to whether the employee is eligible for vocational rehabilitation services pursuant to NRS 616C.590. If the insurer, with the assistance of the counselor, determines that the employee is eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, a plan for a program of vocational rehabilitation must be completed pursuant to NRS 616C.555.

4. The Division may, by regulation, require a written assessment to include additional information.

5. If an insurer determines that a written assessment requested pursuant to subsection 1 is impractical because of the expected duration of the injured employee’s total temporary disability, the insurer shall:

(a) Complete a written report which specifies the insurer’s reasons for the decision; and

(b) Review the claim at least once every 60 days.

6. The insurer shall deliver a copy of the written assessment or the report completed pursuant to subsection 5 to the injured employee, his or her employer, the treating physician or chiropractor and the injured employee’s attorney or representative, if applicable.

7. For the purposes of this section, “existing marketable skills” include, but are not limited to:

(a) Completion of:

(1) A program at a trade school;

(2) A program which resulted in an associate’s degree; or

(3) A course of study for certification,

if the program or course of study provided the skills and training necessary for the injured employee to be gainfully employed on a reasonably continuous basis in an occupation that is reasonably available in this State.

(b) Completion of a 2-year or 4-year program at a college or university which resulted in a degree.

(c) Completion of any portion of a program for a graduate’s degree at a college or university.

(d) Skills acquired in previous employment, including those acquired during an apprenticeship or a program for on-the-job training.

The skills set forth in paragraphs (a) to (d), inclusive, must have been acquired within the preceding 7 years and be compatible with the physical limitations of the injured employee to be considered existing marketable skills.

8. Each written assessment of an injured employee must be signed by a certified vocational rehabilitation counselor.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 664; A 1993, 2445; 1997, 1438; 2005, 811, 1494)