The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Application for Supplemental Income Benefits--The Commission form TWCC-52 containing the following information:

   1. (A) a statement, with supporting payroll documentation, that the employee has earned less than 80% of the employee's average weekly wage as a direct result of the impairment from the compensable injury;
   2. (B) the amount of the employee's wages during the qualifying period;
   3. (C) a statement, with supporting information such as that outlined in §130.102(e) of this title (relating to Eligibility for Supplemental Income Benefits; Amount), that the employee has in good faith sought employment commensurate with the employee's ability to work; and
   4. (D) for self-employed individuals, copies of all supporting documentation such as, business plans, contacts, sales tax registration, and any other pertinent documentation to document all efforts to establish or maintain a self-employed enterprise during the qualifying period.
2. (2) First Quarter--The 13 weeks beginning on the day after the last day of the impairment income benefits period.
3. (3) Impairment income benefits period--The number of weeks computed under the Act, Texas Labor Code, §408.121 for which the injured employee is entitled to receive impairment income benefits, starting with the day after the date the employee reached maximum medical improvement.
4. (4) Qualifying period--A period of time for which the employee's activities and wages are reviewed to determine eligibility for supplemental income benefits. The qualifying period ends on the fourteenth day before the beginning date of the quarter and consists of the 13 previous consecutive weeks.
5. (5) Reviewing authority--The person who reviews the Application for Supplemental Income Benefits and other information to make the determination of entitlement or non-entitlement to supplemental income benefits including Commission staff for the first quarter determination and the insurance adjuster for subsequent quarter determinations.
6. (6) Subsequent Quarter--A 13-week period beginning on the day after the last day of a previous quarter. The term subsequent quarter applies to all quarters after the first quarter.
7. (7) Vocational Rehabilitation Services--Services which can reasonably be expected to benefit the employee in terms of employability including, but not limited to, identification of the employee's physical and vocational abilities, training, physical or mental restoration, vocational assessment, transferable skills assessment, development of and modifications to an individualized vocational rehabilitation plan, or other services necessary to enable an injured employee to become employed in an occupation that is reasonably consistent with his or her strengths, physical abilities including ability to travel, educational abilities, interest, and pre-injury income level.
8. (8) Full time vocational rehabilitation program--Any program, provided by the Texas Rehabilitation Commission or a private provider of vocational rehabilitation services that is included in the Registry of Private Providers of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, for the provision of vocational rehabilitation services designed to assist the injured employee to return to work that includes a vocational rehabilitation plan. A vocational rehabilitation plan includes, at a minimum, an employment goal, any intermediate goals, a description of the services to be provided or arranged, the start and end dates of the described services, and the injured employee's responsibilities for the successful completion of the plan.
9. (9) Wages--All forms of remuneration payable for personal services rendered during the qualifying period as defined in Texas Labor Code, §401.011(43), including the wages of a bona fide offer of employment which was not accepted.

Source Note:The provisions of this §130.101 adopted to be effective January 31, 1999, 24 TexReg 399; amended to be effective November 28, 1999, 24 TexReg 10339.