Citation Nr: 21004733 Decision Date: 01/28/21 Archive Date: 01/28/21 DOCKET NO. 07-11 494 DATE: January 28, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) prior to July 15, 2019 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had a period of active duty for training (ADT) from June 18, 1981 to October 19, 1981, with additional verified periods of ADT in July 1989, June 1991, and August 1991. The Veteran also had reserve service in the California Army National Guard and completed various periods of inactive duty training (IDT) from 1981 to 2009. This matter comes from rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran’s representative properly withdrew representation in October 2019. 1. Entitlement to a TDIU. The Veteran seeks entitlement to a TDIU prior to July 15, 2019. In this regard, the Board notes that from July 15, 2019, the Veteran has been assigned a 100 percent schedular rating for his service-connected psychiatric disorder and also awarded special monthly compensation based on statutory housebound criteria being met; therefore, a TDIU is moot from this date. Prior to July 15, 2019, the Veteran had a combined disability rating of 20 percent from November 3, 1997, 60 percent from November 9, 2009, and 90 percent from December 17, 2013. The Board remanded this matter in May 2020 in order to verify the Veteran’s employment history, to include allowing the Veteran to submit a VA Form 21-8940. In July 2020 the Veteran submitted an incomplete VA Form 21-8940, in which the Veteran indicated he last worked in July 2019. In October 2020 the Veteran submitted another VA Form 21-8940. In that form the Veteran provided inconsistent dates as to the length of his employment. The Veteran noted that he last worked full time in June 2019, however the Veteran indicated that his date of employment was from February 2016 to April 2019; although a prior employer was listed, no specific dates of that employment were reported. In January 2021, the Veteran submitted a letter from the Veteran’s last employer dated in October 2019. The employer indicated that the Veteran had worked for the company. However, the employer did not provide the dates of the Veteran’s employment. The Board finds the Veteran’s employment status in 2019 is unclear. The Board notes that the AOJ has attempted to contact the Veteran’s last employer to obtain the Veteran’s employment information without success. See AOJ development letters dated in November 2020. The record on appeal contains a December 2020 Report of Contact in which the Veteran informed the AOJ that the Veteran’s last two employers would not release any of the Veteran’s employment information as he no longer worked for the companies. However, in light of the fact that the Veteran has clearly recently obtained employment information from his last employer and such letter includes a Human Resources contact person, the Board finds that additional development is warranted. Therefore, a remand is required in order for the AOJ to contact the Veteran’s former employer and clarify the dates the Veteran was employed. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran’s last employer pursuant to the October 2019 letter from that establishment’s Human Resources Generalist submitted by the Veteran in January 2021 to determine the nature and dates of employment of the Veteran, specifically in 2019. i. Document the attempts to contact the Veteran’s former employer, including any contact made to the Human Resources officer noted in the January 2021 employment letter dated October 2019. S. L. Kennedy Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Robert Batten The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.