Policy Regarding Translation of Documents

The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, in cooperation with the Tennessee Language Center and the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, seek to improve access to justice for those litigants who have limited proficiency in English.  To that end, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board has adopted the following protocol:

• This protocol applies in any case in which a litigant with limited English proficiency appeals an order of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims and files one or more of the following documents: (1) a notice of appeal; (2) a motion or response to a motion filed on appeal; and/or (3) any brief or reply brief filed on appeal.
• If any such document is timely filed and all or a substantial portion of the document is in a language other than English, the Clerk of the Appeals Board will forward the document to the Tennessee Language Center and request translation of the document into English.
• Once the translated document is received, the Clerk of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will stamp the document filed and forward copies of the filed translation to all parties or their attorneys via any means as provided in Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 0800-02-21-.08.
• For purposes of any statutory or regulatory deadlines, the document will be considered “filed” as of the date the original document, not the translated document, was stamped filed.
• When a document is submitted to the Tennessee Language Center for translation, the Appeals Board will issue an order holding all appeal deadlines in abeyance for up to fourteen (14) calendar days.  All appeal deadlines will recommence following the first business day after the translated document is filed or the expiration of the fourteen-day period, whichever occurs first.
• If, for any reason, the document cannot be translated by the Tennessee Language Center within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date the document was submitted for translation, the appeal will proceed in due course without the translation, and it will be the responsibility of the party who originally submitted the document to submit the document in English within the time specified by the Appeals Board if the party expects that document to be considered by the Appeals Board.

With respect to any translated document filed with the Appeals Board: 

• This policy applies only to the above-identified documents filed by a litigant with limited English proficiency in an appeal pending before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.
• This policy is available only for the translation of documents from the litigant’s chosen language into English for the purpose of facilitating a meaningful review of appeals pending before the Appeals Board.
• The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation does not guarantee or certify that the translation is accurate or that it fairly communicates the intended content.
• It is the responsibility of the parties to ensure a complete and accurate record on appeal.
• It is the responsibility of the party who filed the original document to ensure the accuracy of the translation.
• It is the responsibility of the parties to timely file all documents as required by any applicable statute or rule.
• Once filed, the translated document will be considered by the Appeals Board in lieu of the original document.