Workers' Comp Glossary (Minnesota)
If you're reading comp paperwork and it's full of acronyms, this page is for you. Every term links to a fuller plain-English explanation with the statute cited. (General information, not legal advice.)
NOID (Notice of Intention to Discontinue)
The form a Minnesota workers’ comp insurer must file and serve before stopping or reducing wage-loss benefits on an admitted claim; the worker has a short window to object and request a conference.
QRC (Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant)
The state-registered vocational rehabilitation professional assigned to help an injured Minnesota worker return to suitable work, under Minn. Stat. § 176.102.
IME (Independent Medical Examination)
A medical exam by a doctor the insurer selects and pays, authorized by Minn. Stat. § 176.155; its report is the most common basis for discontinuing benefits or denying treatment.
MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement)
The point at which a work injury has improved as much as it will with treatment; TTD benefits generally end 90 days after the worker receives written notice of MMI.
Claim Petition
The formal pleading that starts a contested Minnesota workers’ comp case, filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings when the insurer denies or refuses to pay benefits.
.239 Conference (Expedited Administrative Conference)
The fast administrative conference under Minn. Stat. § 176.239 that decides whether an insurer may discontinue benefits after filing a NOID.
Stipulation for Settlement
The written, judge-approved agreement that settles some or all of a Minnesota workers’ comp claim under Minn. Stat. § 176.521; "full, final, and complete" language typically closes benefits permanently.
Intervenor
A third party (commonly a health insurer, medical provider, or government program) that joins a Minnesota workers’ comp case to recover money it paid while the claim was disputed.
Roraff Fees (and Heaton Fees)
Additional attorney fees that may be payable by the employer or insurer in some medical-benefit (Roraff) or rehabilitation (Heaton) disputes, rather than coming entirely from the employee’s monetary recovery.
Temporary Order
An order under Minn. Stat. § 176.191 letting an insurer pay benefits without admitting liability, commonly used when insurers dispute which of them owes, so the worker gets paid while they fight.
Discontinuance
The termination or reduction of ongoing Minnesota wage-loss benefits, which generally requires the insurer to file a NOID and survive any timely-requested .239 conference.
First Report of Injury (FROI)
The form a Minnesota employer must file to report a work injury involving lost time, starting the claim in the state system; failing to report promptly is the employer’s violation, not the worker’s.
WID Number (Workers’ Identification Number)
The unique identifier the Minnesota DLI assigns to an injured worker’s claim file, used instead of a Social Security number on workers’ comp filings and in Work Comp Campus.
Work Comp Campus
The Minnesota DLI’s online portal for workers’ compensation claims, where workers, insurers, and attorneys file documents, view claim files, and track disputes electronically.
AWW (Average Weekly Wage)
The worker’s gross pre-injury earnings averaged per week under Minn. Stat. § 176.011; nearly every Minnesota wage-loss benefit is calculated from it.
SAWW (Statewide Average Weekly Wage)
The statewide wage figure Minnesota DLI publishes each year, effective October 1; it sets the maximum weekly compensation rate and other statutory thresholds.
TTD (Temporary Total Disability)
Weekly wage-loss benefits paid while a work injury temporarily keeps a Minnesota worker from working at all: two-thirds of AWW, capped, for up to 130 weeks for recent injuries.
TPD (Temporary Partial Disability)
Weekly benefits when a Minnesota worker is back at work but earning less because of the injury: two-thirds of the difference between pre-injury AWW and current earnings.
PPD (Permanent Partial Disability)
Compensation for permanent functional loss from a work injury, rated as a whole-body percentage under Minn. R. ch. 5223 and converted to dollars on the schedule for the date of injury.
PTD (Permanent Total Disability)
Benefits when a work injury permanently prevents gainful employment: two-thirds of AWW with a floor of 65% of SAWW, subject to permanency-rating thresholds and government-benefit offsets.
DOI (Date of Injury)
The date a Minnesota work injury occurred (or, for repetitive injuries, often the date disability began); it permanently fixes which rates, caps, and rules govern the claim.
Suitable Gainful Employment
The rehabilitation target in Minnesota comp: work consistent with the worker’s restrictions, qualifications, and pre-injury economic status, not just any job.
DLI (Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry)
The state agency administering Minnesota’s workers’ compensation system: rates, forms, dispute intake, the rehabilitation program, Work Comp Campus, and a free ombudsman for unrepresented workers.
UCWCP (Union Construction Workers’ Compensation Program)
A collectively bargained alternative dispute-resolution program for union construction workers’ comp claims in Minnesota, with its own mediation track and participating QRC list.
R-2 (Rehabilitation Plan)
The form documenting the initial rehabilitation plan in a Minnesota comp claim; its filing starts the 60-day window to change QRCs.
R-3 (Rehabilitation Plan Amendment)
The form amending an existing Minnesota rehabilitation plan when the goal, services, timeline, or budget changes.
R-8 (Notice of Rehabilitation Plan Closure)
The form closing rehabilitation services in a Minnesota comp claim; workers can object, and closure without suitable work in hand is worth contesting.
RFA (Rehabilitation Request for Assistance)
The filing that asks Minnesota DLI to resolve a rehabilitation dispute: QRC problems, plan disagreements, closure objections, or denied rehab services.