Understanding the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and the Role of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors in LHWCA Cases
Original Broadcast Date: February 21, 2012
Applied for 2.0 CEUs: CRC, CVE, CWA, CCAA, CDMS, CCMC, CLCP, MSCC
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Presenter:
Barbara K. Byers, MA, CRC, CVE, CCM, LPC
Objectives:
- Participants will be able to interpret the history of the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act
- Participants will be able to give example of the role of vocational rehabilitation counselors in the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Act
- Participants will be able to explain how labor market surveys are used in Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Act cases
Program Details:
The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA or Longshore Act) is a workers’ compensation program administered by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Act provides for compensation and medical care to employees disabled from injuries that occur on the navigable waters of the United States, or in adjoining areas used in loading, unloading, repairing, or building certain vessels. The Act also provides benefits to specific survivors and dependents if the injury causes the employee's death. The term "injury" includes occupational disease arising out of employment.
The Act covers workers employed in maritime occupations, including longshore workers or other persons in longshore operations, and any harbor workers, including ship repairers, shipbuilders, and shipbreakers. The Act excludes certain workers, however, even if they are injured on navigable waters or an area adjoining those waters. These excluded workers include masters or members of a crew of a vessel and any officer or employee of the United States or of any state or foreign government. Certain other individuals may also be excluded, only if they are covered by a state workers’ compensation law.
In addition, the provisions of the LHWCA are incorporated into several other statutes providing workers’ compensation for other types of employees. For example, the Defense Base Act covers employees of U.S. contractors working outside the United States, while the Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act provides for benefits for civilian employees of post exchanges, service clubs, etc. of the Armed Forces. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act provides coverage to employees of private industry conducting certain operations on the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States.*
This Webinar will help the participant understand the use of vocational rehabilitation under the LHWCA, how vocational counselors are utilized through the Office of Workers’ Compensations as well as by private, self-insured employers and insurance companies. Opportunities to understand the steps to take when one has received a referral of a Longshore case, how to prepare for an ALJ hearing and how to document your vocational efforts.
*http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/longshor.htm
About the Speaker:
Barbara Byers founded Atlantic Vocational Services, Inc. in 1989. She has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Alabama. Byers is licensed as a professional counselor in Virginia and North Carolina. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Certified Vocational Evaluator (CVE), and Certified Case Manager (CCM). She serves as a hearing officer for the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services and is a vocational expert for the Social Security Administration Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. Byers has also been certified as a rehabilitation counselor for the U.S. Department of Labor, OWCP since the first certifying class.
She has served on the executive board of the Virginia Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and is currently chair elect of the IARP forensic board. She also serves on the IARP standards compliance review board.
Byers has 20 years of experience in vocational evaluation, determination of earning capacity, and trial testimony. She works regularly with clients referred under the LSHWCA, including those adjudicated under the Defense Base Act and the the Non-Appropriated Funds Act.
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