By Elizabeth Vines, staff attorney, Cookeville, Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board

It is not uncommon for the Appeals Board to be faced with an appeal in which a self-represented litigant’s primary language is not English. This can create difficulties for the litigant to communicate his or her position to the Appeals Board and for the Appeals Board to conduct a meaningful review of the case. 

To remedy this problem, the Appeals Board has adopted a policy that will allow self-represented litigants to request translation of a written document into English for filing with the Appeals Board. This service, arranged in cooperation with the Tennessee Language Center (formerly Tennessee Foreign Language Institute), will be at no cost to the litigants in the case. 

In order to utilize this service, the self-represented litigant should fill out and file with the Clerk of the Appeals Board a “Request for Translation of Document” form, found on the Appeals Board’s website, along with the document to be translated.

The document will be considered “filed” as of the date the original document was filed, not the date the translated document is filed. Additionally, the filing of a request for translation will hold all other appeal deadlines in abeyance for up to fourteen calendar days. The deadlines will recommence the first business day after the translated document is filed or following the expiration of the fourteen-day period, whichever is earlier. 

This service does not alter the parties’ obligation to ensure the record on appeal is complete, and the Bureau does not guarantee the accuracy of any translation obtained through this service.

We are committed to equal justice for all at the Appeals Board, language barriers notwithstanding, and we are grateful that opposing counsel is accommodating as well.

Photo of Denny Cove Overlook in Sequatchie, Tennessee by Elizabeth Vines.