Sec. 4. 39-A MRSA §214, sub-§6 is enacted to read:

6.__Work search requirement.__Nothing in this section may be construed to require an employee that has not received benefits under section 213 for 260 weeks or more to establish the unavailability of work in order to receive benefits.

SUMMARY

This bill amends the provisions in current law for providing total compensation for workplace injuries to clarify that employees who lack the ability to work on a full-time basis in the ordinary competitive labor market in their communities are entitled to be paid benefits for total incapacity under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 39-A, section 212.

In Bureau v. Staffing Network, Inc., 678 A.2d 583 (Me. 1996), the Law Court found that a partially incapacitated employee bears the initial burden of establishing the unavailability of work within that employee's work restrictions. This bill specifically provides that only employees that have received benefits for 260 weeks or more are subject to the work search requirement.