If an employee suffers disablement as defined by subdivision 62-8-1(3) or an injury and is unable to return to the employee’s usual and customary line of employment, the employee shall receive compensation at the rate provided by § 62-4-3 up to sixty days from the finding of an ascertainable loss if the employee is actively preparing to engage in a program of rehabilitation as shown by a certificate of enrollment. Moreover, once such employee is engaged in a program of rehabilitation which is reasonably necessary to restore the employee to suitable, substantial, and gainful employment, the employee shall receive compensation at the rate provided by § 62-4-3 during the entire period that the employee is engaged in such program. Evidence of suitable, substantial, and gainful employment, as defined by § 62-4-55, shall only be considered to determine the necessity for a claimant to engage in a program of rehabilitation.

The employee shall file a claim with the employee’s employer requesting such compensation and the employer shall follow the procedure specified in chapter 62-6 for the reporting of injuries when handling such claim. If the claim is denied, the employee may petition for a hearing before the department.

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Source: SL 1974, ch 333, § 4; SL 1978, ch 370, § 8; SL 1989, ch 451, § 2; SL 1990, ch 30, § 20; SL 1994, ch 396, § 9; SL 1998, ch 299, § 1.