For years, insurance companies have sought to reduce exposure through the labor market survey process wherein a medical release to return to work was obtained but work with the time-of-injury employer not available. Under those circumstances, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act allows an insurance company to send a claimant to a vocational interview with a vocational counselor. Typically, the vocational counselor will make two determinations. First, the counselor will determine whether or not work is generally available to the claimant within the release from the provider. Second, the counselor will determine how much that work pays on average per week. If the vocational expert finds that work is generally available to the claimant in his local economy, the insurance company, through their counsel, can petition the court to reduce the claimant’s benefits.

In theory, the labor market survey process is a fair and equitable means for insurance companies to mitigate their exposure in situations where the insured has shut down their business, eliminated certain positions or the claimant involuntarily separated his employment. However, in recent years, new case law and economics presented hurdles that left insurance companies wondering whether or not the labor market survey process was a cost effective and justifiable means of mitigating exposure.

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