Supplemental job displacement benefit (SJDB)

What the SJDB is

The supplemental job displacement benefit helps an injured worker who can't return to their old job retrain for another one. For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, it is a voucher redeemable up to an aggregate of $6,000 (Labor Code section 4658.7). It can pay for education-related retraining or skill enhancement at a California public school or with a provider on the state's Eligible Training Provider List, among other listed expenses.

The rule

A worker whose injury causes permanent partial disability is entitled to the voucher unless the employer makes an offer of regular, modified or alternative work, as Labor Code section 4658.1 defines those terms, that meets two criteria. The offer must be made no later than 60 days after the claims administrator receives the first report from the primary treating physician, an AME or a QME, on the DWC's form, finding the condition permanent and stationary with permanent partial disability. And the offered work must last at least 12 months (Labor Code section 4658.7(b)). If no qualifying offer is made, the voucher is to be offered within 20 days after the time for the offer expires.

Why it matters to an applicant firm

The voucher should issue without a fight, but it is easy to overlook once PD is in dispute. Applicant firms check whether a qualifying work offer came within 60 days of the P&S report, request the voucher if not, and make sure the client knows it exists. A compromise and release should say how the SJDB is handled.