PJC General Negligence 2024

W ORKERS ’ C OMPENSATION —D ISABILITY , MMI & I MPAIRMENT

PJC 23.5

PJC 23.5 Date Bona Fide Position of Employment Offer Received—Question If you answered “Yes” to Question ______ [ 23.4B ], then answer the follow ing question. Otherwise, do not answer the following question. QUESTION ______ What is the date that Paul Payne was offered the bona fide position of employment? Answer by month, day, and year. Answer: _______________ COMMENT When to use. PJC 23.5 should be used when a carrier appeals a decision of the Division of Workers’ Compensation of the Texas Department of Insurance (DWC) that the injured worker was not offered a bona fide position of employment. PJC 23.5 should be conditioned on a negative answer to PJC 23.4A or an affirmative answer to PJC 23.4B. Burden of proof. The burden of proof should be placed appropriately in accor dance with the decision of the appeals panel. See PJC 15.1. Source of question and instructions. For purposes of calculating the amount of temporary income benefits owed an injured worker, the Code provides that “if an employee is offered a bona fide position of employment that the employee is reason ably capable of performing, given the physical condition of the employee and the geo graphic accessibility of the position to the employee, the employee’s weekly earnings after the injury are equal to the weekly wage for the position offered to the employee.” Tex. Lab. Code § 408.103(e). See also Tex. Lab. Code §408.144(c), which contains a similar provision for supplemental income benefits cases.

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