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Everything You Need to Know About Vocational Evaluation

Everything You Need to Know About Vocational Evaluation

Vocational evaluations are usually conducted at the request of lawyers. Vocational evaluations are a common tool that lawyers use to gain evidence in cases that turn, at least in part, on employability.


Lawyers may want to have their own client evaluated to create evidence in support of the client’s claim. Lawyers may also want an expert to evaluate an opposing party to create evidence that will help the lawyer challenge the party’s claim.


What Is a Vocational Evaluation?

Vocational experts assess employability by conducting vocational evaluations. In simple terms, a vocational evaluation examines a client’s ability to earn income by working. Vocational evaluations may answer the broad question of whether an individual is capable of doing any wage-earning job at all. They may also answer narrower questions about the kinds of work an individual is capable of performing and the income that the individual might earn by working in those occupations.


Vocational experts typically have a master’s degree and relevant training that leads to a state or national certification. They are trained to use reliable techniques and sources of data to determine the kinds of work, if any, that an individual can perform.


When your lawyer wants you participate in a vocational evaluation, your cooperation is essential. When an opposing lawyer hires an expert to conduct a vocational evaluation, your lawyer can guide you regarding the extent of your participation.


A vocational evaluation conducted for your lawyer will follow several steps:


1. Document review . The vocational expert will gather (or ask your lawyer to gather) records that are relevant to your employability. That review may include school transcripts, job training records, personnel files maintained by former employers, tax returns, military records, resumes, and other documents that pertain to work history or suitability for employment. When an injury or disability may affect employability, the vocational expert will also want to review medical records, including functional capacity evaluations, to determine how the injury or disability affects the ability to work.


2. Client interview . The vocational expert will want to review documents with the client to make sure that the information in those records is accurate and complete. The vocational expert will ask the client about past employment, whether the jobs were satisfying or unpleasant, the reasons for employment terminations, the kind of work the client would like to do, whether the client would need additional education or training to perform that work, physical limitations that have an impact on working, and details of any job search the client has conducted.


3. Collateral interviews . The vocational expert may want to talk to family members, friends, healthcare providers, former employers, and other people who have information that relevant to the client’s employability.


4. Vocational Testing . The vocational expert chooses from one or more standardized vocational tests to assess the client’s aptitudes and abilities. Some tests offer insight into the client’s personality and suitability for different kinds of work. For example, some people work better in a group and others are more suited to working independently.


5. Transferable skills assessment . Based on the document review, interviews, and vocational testing, the vocational expert will identify the client’s work skills. The expert will then determine whether there are occupations that the client has not yet performed that a person with those skills might pursue successfully, taking into account any limitations imposed by an injury or disability.


6. Job market survey . Using databases and personal research, the expert will survey the local labor market to determine whether jobs are available that the client has the ability and qualifications to perform.


7. Review preliminary findings . The vocational expert will use all the collected data to reach preliminary conclusions about employability. The expert may want to review those conclusions with the client to make sure that they are accurate.


8. Report preparation . Finally, the vocational expert will prepare a report for the client’s lawyer. That report will articulate the expert’s conclusions about the client’s employability. The expert will state opinions regarding the likelihood that the client can work in previous occupations and will identify other jobs that the client will probably be able to perform. When appropriate, the expert will also identify a range of wages that might be earned in jobs that the client is capable of performing.


When opposing counsel hires a vocational expert, the process may be modified. If the expert is not given the opportunity to interview the client, the expert may need to rely on deposition testimony or documents alone to gather information about the client’s background. Depending on the nature of the case, the expert may or may not be able to conduct vocational testing. Relying on the best available data, the expert will perform a job market analysis and will arrive at conclusions about the client’s employability.


Why Am I Being Asked to Participate in a Vocational Evaluation?

Employability can be an issue in a variety of legal disputes. Lawyers ask clients to participate in vocational evaluations when they believe an expert analysis will help them gain evidence that they can use in court or before an administrative agency.


In cases involving disability benefits, whether paid by government programs or insurance companies, the reduced ability to work (or a total inability, in some cases) may be a condition of receiving benefits. A vocational analysis can provide evidence in support of insurance claims, workers’ compensation claims, and claims for government disability benefits.


In personal injury cases, damages for the loss of earning capacity may hinge on proof that an injury diminishes the opportunity to earn future income. A vocational evaluation can support or refute claims for lost earning capacity.


In cases involving a wrongful termination of employment, the ability to obtain comparable employment in the future is important to a determination of damages. Mitigation of damages defenses may also hinge on a vocational evaluation.


The award of alimony, maintenance, or child support in a family law case is based in large part on the earnings of both spouses. If a spouse is capable of earning a higher income and is choosing to forego more lucrative employment to avoid higher alimony payments, proof of the spouse’s employability in a different occupation may persuade the court to base alimony on wages the spouse could be earning rather than actual earnings.


The 4 Parts of a Vocational Evaluation

 

The purpose of a vocational evaluation is to assess the current and future employability and wage-earning capacity of an individual. The results of the evaluation are used as evidence to help a judge or jury understand an individual’s working abilities as well as pre-injury and post-injury earning capacity. Such reports often include a presentation of a vocational plan outlining specific details as to how the person will return to the job market if they can. There are generally 4 parts to a vocational evaluation .

 

Step 1: Interview


The first part of a vocational evaluation is a diagnostic interview and a medical record review . In this interview, a vocational expert gathers pertinent information affecting the client’s employability. The questions are about work and life experiences, medical information, age, length of absence from the workforce, educational background, vocational and career goals or priorities, motivation, and current family and personal situation.


Step 2: Vocational Testing

 

The next part is  vocational testing , which consists of standardized testing. There are a wide variety of vocational testing instruments used to assess employability. Whichever test is used will be determined by the individual’s particular situation. In general, these instruments are used to develop a work trait profile. The following areas are covered:

 

 

– Academic achievement

 

 

– Ability/aptitude

 

 

– Interest/personality

 

– Work values

– Skills assessment


– Dexterity/coordination


Step 3: Market Research


 

The third part of a vocation evaluation is usually the conducting of Labor Market Research to produce information as to earnings, qualifications, and training requirements for specific job titles within the applicable geographical area that the evaluee may be capable of performing,

 

Step 4: Integration

 

The final part of a vocational evaluation is the integration of all the information collected by the vocational expert. This includes expert observations, medical and psychological reports, Labor market research, test data, and diagnostic information.

 

 

Once all the information has been integrated, the expert conducting the vocational evaluation will formulate an opinion as to the disabled individual’s pre and post-injury employability and  earning capacity  and issue a comprehensive vocational report with vocational recommendations as to the next steps based on both immediate and long-term job and career objectives/goals.

 

What Goes Into a Vocational Evaluation?

You may not be very familiar with the concept of a vocational expert. However, a vocational expert is vital to any serious personal injury or disability case. 


As you may expect, when someone suffers a severe injury in a car accident, the person must show the jury with tangible evidence of how his or her life has been impacted. While it can often be very clear to understand that someone is suffering if the person is in court with a cast on his leg, or a brace on his back, or is in a wheelchair. However, it is another thing to prove that someone cannot work, or has a limited capacity to do work. 


The same is true if someone is applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The Administrative Law Judges who are responsible for determining whether someone is putting forward a legitimate disability claim, that person needs more than their own testimony to  prove  that he can no longer do the job he was doing before an accident or illness. 


Vocational Assessments & Vocational Evaluations

Vocational experts  are the people who are called upon to provide that necessary proof in a disability or personal injury case. Specifically, courts and Administrative Law Judges look to vocational experts to provide two services:  (i) to conduct a  vocational evaluation  and (ii) to provide a vocational assessment

 

 

While an “assessment” and an “evaluation” sound like they are the same thing, they are actually a little different. A vocational evaluation is a specific process that a vocational expert will undertake to arrive at his or her expert opinion about a person’s ability to pursue a job or vocation. Relatedly, but not the same, a vocational assessment is the end result of the expert’s vocational evaluation. In other words, a vocational expert must first conduct an  evaluation  in order to arrive at an assessment


There are essentially four parts to a vocational evaluation.   

 

1. Conducting an Interview
2. Administering  Vocational Testing
3. Engaging in Market Research
4. Putting it All Together


1. Conducting an Interview

 

The first step a vocational expert will take is to meet with a person in a personal injury or disability case. The expert will spend time with the person gathering information with regard to the person’s employability. Thus, the questions during the interview will cover a vast range of topics from work history and life experience to medical history, age, time away from work, level of education, career interests and goals, motivation to get back to work.   

 

 

The expert will also be interested in the person’s family and personal situation. Including, stressors of having children at home, or elderly parents who may need care. Without question, the interview process is comprehensive, so that the vocational expert can truly understand a person’s life before an accident, and his or her potential and desires subsequent to the accident or illness.

 

2. Administering Vocational Testing

 

Armed with information about the person’s life and work, the expert will then ask the person to take a number of tests to assess the person’s employability. Those tests may include:

 

 

1. Coordination and dexterity
2. Basic abilities and aptitude
3. Academic and job skills
4. Personality and job interests
5. Values when it comes to work

 

 

The vocational testing helps the expert figure out the person’s so-called work-trait profile.

 

3. Engaging in Market Research

 

Once the expert has an in-depth understanding of the person’s work values and abilities, the next step is to look out at the world to see what types of vocations will fit with the person’s work-trait profile. Accordingly, the expert will do intensive labor market research to find a fit for the person with regard to earnings, qualifications, job title, and training requirements in a particular geographic area.

 

4. Putting it All Together

 

All of the work by the vocational expert above leads to the final step of the evaluation, which is making sense of all of the information gathered. In other words, the expert will integrate his or her observations, the medical and psychological reports, the labor market research, testing results, and diagnostic information. The integration will result in an opinion that the expert will present to the jury in a personal injury case, or to an Administrative Law Judge during an SSDI hearing.

 

 

In sum, the vocational evaluation process is rather involved and requires a great deal of training and experience on the vocational expert’s part. If you need a vocational evaluation, be sure to go to someone who has experience with conducting comprehensive evaluations.

 

What Does a Vocational Evaluation Cost? 

If you are in a contested divorce case, you want to put forward the best case possible to justify to the court why your arguments should prevail. In cases in which alimony is the biggest point of friction – which is commonly the case – a vocational evaluation may be an important step. 


The question becomes, however, how much will a vocational evaluation cost? And, is the cost of a vocational expert worth it in the long run? Given that legal fees are very expensive, to begin with, it is vital to keep costs in mind. In fact, you should try to retain an attorney who is mindful of the expense of litigation in your case so you can save where you can. The vocational evaluation cost is an important consideration. 


In this article, we will discuss some general principles regarding vocational evaluations, and then discuss what a vocational evaluation costs. If, after reviewing this article, you have additional questions about a vocational expert for a workers’ compensation claim , we invite you to contact us at Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. – OAS.   


Some Basics on Vocational Evaluations

When in comes to the question of whether you should invest in getting a vocational expert in your divorce case , let your attorney be your advisor. No one knows your case better than you and your attorney. So, consult with your attorney on whether a vocational expert makes sense. 


Here are some general principles with regard to vocational evaluations:


1. Vocational evaluations are typically conducted by trained psychologists or other healthcare professionals.
2. An evaluation will normally require more than one meeting with the vocational expert.
3. The evaluation will look into your skills, education, age, disabilities, and work history. You may also be asked about your hobbies and family history.
4. The vocational expert will likely conduct a personal interview, but will also base his or her evaluation on medical and other records about you.
5. An aptitude or personality test may be part of the evaluation.
6. The vocational expert should conduct market research to find jobs in your area that match your education and skills.
7. The report that results from the evaluation should include the vocational expert’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on the information provided test results, and market research.


Normally, a vocational evaluation will be used to reduce a spouse’s alimony obligations. However, it is sometimes helpful in rooting out one spouse’s attempt to remain underemployed so that he or she does not have to pay as much in alimony. 


The Vocational Evaluation Cost

About four years ago, the price for a vocational evaluation was between $4,500 and $5,000, with an additional $1,000 to $1,500 more if the vocational expert would need to testify in court. 


Those statistics, however, are from four years ago. Given the rate of inflation, those numbers have gone up slightly. So, today a vocational evaluation should cost between $4,900 to $5,400, with an additional $1,100 to $1,700 extra for the expert’s testimony in court. 


Is The Cost Worth It?

The answer is, virtually in every case, a resounding “yes.” There is no question that $5,000 for an expert report is expensive. Yet, try to avoid being “pennywise and pound foolish.” If that $5,000 will save you $1,000 in alimony payments per month (or conversely, mean an additional $1,000 in support payments coming to you each month) then it was a good investment. 


Are there cases in which a vocational evaluation will be unnecessary? Sure. When both spouses work in professional fields for long periods of time, there is little doubt about the earning capacity of each, and there is no chance that either spouse is purposefully remaining underemployed, then a vocational evaluation is likely unnecessary.


However, when you have a case in which one spouse served as the breadwinner while the other remained largely at home to take on most of the family responsibilities, then the question of earning capacity becomes an important one. 


When spouses remain at home largely for family, the breadwinning spouse needs to understand that there is a cost for that situation. A spouse who makes the choice to stay home – and allow the breadwinner to continue a career – made a sacrifice for that breadwinner, and sacrificed his or her own value in the marketplace for the good of the marriage. Thus, the breadwinner should not complain that alimony in such circumstances is appropriate. A vocational evaluation will demonstrate that point. 


In sum, a vocational evaluation could be a very important tool in obtaining a fair, appropriate amount of alimony. You should consult with your attorney to determine whether it is worth it for you.


Vocational Evaluations Services

Occupational Assessment Services has been conducting vocational evaluations for over twenty years. We have worked with clients in New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nevada and Florida. Call us at 800-292-1919  to discuss how a vocational evaluation can bring value to your case.



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