Henry

Under Labor Code section 4644, subdivision (a)(6)(B), the liability of an employer for an injured employee’s vocational rehabilitation terminates if the employer offers and the employee accepts alternate work lasting 12 months.

Here we hold that a seasonal employee is entitled to only 12 months of alternate seasonal work, not to 12 months of continuous work.

Jennifer Lee Henry (Henry) injured her back while employed as a seasonal ski instructor at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (Mammoth Mountain). She could not perform her usual work at Mammoth Mountain. Henry requested vocational rehabilitation. Mammoth Mountain offered her alternative employment as a cashier for the following ski season. (§ 4644, subd. (a)(6).) Henry rejected the offer and petitioned for additional relief through the workers’ compensation and judicial systems.

Henry contended that the offer does not comply with section 4644, subdivision (a)(6)(B) which requires that the employer offer alternative work in a regular position lasting at least 12 months. 2 The rehabilitation consultant in the workers’ compensation rehabilitation unit concluded that the offer of alternative work as a seasonal cashier…