Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)

A functional capacity evaluation is a comprehensive evaluation that evaluates the physical, functional and occupational abilities and capacities of an injured worker. An FCE is designed to determine if an injured worker is safely able to return to regular work duties or to light duties with certain restrictions and limitations. It is the employer’s responsibility to accommodate the doctor’s recommendations for these restrictions. An FCE consists of many standardized assessments the provide performance-based measures and demonstrates the predictive value about the individual's return to work, based on reliability and validity of the results. So, it is important for an injured worker to give their best efforts as this will be reflected on the FCE report, the results and any future recommendations.