Joshua Sniegowski Taylor County CVSO

Transcription

1 Joshua Sniegowski Taylor County CVSO

2 Total Disability - Individual Unemployabilty (TDIU or simply IU) is widely misunderstood. The Individual Unemployability Benefit is equal in every way to a 100% Schedular rating. The compensation is 100% and that dollar amount is equal to both ratings. If the veteran is rated as 100% Schedular, he or she may work at any job they are capable of doing. The veteran who is rated as IU may not hold "gainful employment".

3 Individual Unemployability is a part of VA s disability compensation program that allows VA to pay certain veterans compensation at the 100% rate, even though VA has not rated their service-connected disabilities at the total level.

4 Disabled veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities

5 To qualify: Unable to engage in a substantially gainful occupation (SGO); and Veteran has: One SC disability rated at 60% or more; or Two or more disabilities, one of which is rated at least 40% and additional service-connected disabilities to bring the combined rating to 70% or more; or Can by assigned an extraschedular rating under 38 C.F.R. 4.16(b)

6 Extraschedular Rating Where a case presents such an exceptional or unusual disability picture with such related factors as marked interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization as to render impractical the application of the regular schedular standards

7 The term unemployability is not synonymous with the terms unemployed and unemployable for the purpose of determining entitlement to increased compensation. A Veteran may be unemployed or unemployable for a variety of reasons. A determination as to entitlement to a total evaluation based on unemployability is appropriate only when a Veteran s unemployability is a result of SC disabilities.

8 Substantially gainful employment is defined as employment at which non-disabled individuals earn their livelihood with earnings comparable to the particular occupation in the community where the Veteran resides.

9 A SGO provides annual income that exceeds the poverty threshold for one person Education and occupational history considered Marginal employment should not be considered SGO TDIU should be provided to all veterans who are unable to secure and follow an SGO due to service-connected conditions

10 Marginal employment exists: when a Veteran s earned annual income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, as the poverty threshold for one person, and/or on a facts-found basis, and includes, but is not limited to, employment in a protected environment, such as a family business or sheltered workshop, when earned annual income exceeds the poverty threshold.

11 Monitoring changes in employability status is not required when the Veteran is 69 years of age or older has been rated totally disabled due to unemployability for a period of 20 continuous years, which protects the evaluation from future reduction under 38 CFR 3.951(b), or is assigned a 100-percent schedular evaluation.

12 A Veteran in receipt of IU benefits may be entitled to special monthly compensation (SMC) at the Housebound rate under 38 U.S.C. 1114(s) if the evidence shows that the unemployability is the result of one SC disability, and the Veteran has additional SC disability(ies) independently rated at least 60 percent disabling, or been determined to be permanently Housebound as a result of the SC disability that rendered the Veteran unemployable.

13 Example: A Veteran would be entitled to SMC at the Housebound rate if: his/her total IU evaluation is based on a 70 percent SC rating for posttraumatic stress disorder, and the Veteran has additional SC evaluations for headaches and a back condition that combine to 60 percent.

14 Under certain circumstances, multiple disabilities may be considered one disability for the purpose of meeting the requirements of 38 CFR 4.16.

15 Example: Multiple disabilities incurred while a prisoner of war (POW) and disabilities incurred in action prior to, or subsequent to, former POW status, are considered as one disability. Example: Multiple disabilities that occurred during a single event (IED explosion, car accident) are considered as one disability

16 Employment history requirements: five-year period preceding the date on which the Veteran claims to have become too disabled to work, and entire time after the date on which the Veteran claims to have become too disabled to work.

17 Request each employer for whom the Veteran worked during the 12-month period prior to the date the Veteran last worked TDIU cannot be denied solely on the basis of no being completed by an employer

18 The biggest waste of time to the veteran and the VA is when CVSO s request a decision by VR&E, hoping to get back a finding of training infeasibility. All this does is delay the DOC for the veteran s IU benefit. You will screw the veteran out of months of pay and benefits. If the veteran had a VR&E finding, it will be considered by the VARO, but DO NOT delay the submittal of an IU claim to apply for Voc Rehab.

19 M21-1MR, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section F Compensation Based on Individual Unemployability (IU) This section will answer pretty much every question you can come up with.

20 QUESTIONS???