Workers' Compensation Law

HB 133 / HB 162 / HB 170 – Workers’ compensation liability for occupational disease. Specifies that employers subject to certain workers’ compensation provisions must be liable to furnish compensation for injury or death of an employee by occupational disease.

HB 160 / SB 196 – Restriction of co-employee liability in workers’ compensation. Restricts co-employee liability in workers’ compensation case.

HB 221 – Restriction of employee and employer liability in workers’ compensation. Specifies that an employer or his or her employee will not be liable for any injury or death for which compensation is recoverable under the provisions regarding workers’ compensation.

HB 701 – Employee selection of treating physician in workers’ compensation. Allows an employee who is injured on the job to select his or her own health care provider to cure and relieve the effects of the injury at the expense of the employer.

HB 702 – Second Injury Fund premium cap. Removes the provision limiting the annual surcharge paid by employers to the Second Injury Fund to 3% of the employer’s workers’ compensation net deposits, premiums, or assessments.

HB 788 – Workers’ compensation and Second Injury Fund.  Changes the laws regarding workers’ compensation and the Second Injury Fund; prohibits claims for permanent partial disability for injuries occurring on or after the effective date from being made against the Second Injury Fund, with some exceptions; prohibits any compromise settlement paid by the Second Injury Fund from exceeding $40,000; amends the surcharge paid by employers who self-insure from 2% to not less than .5% or more than 2%; allows the Division of Workers’ Compensation to advance money to the Second Injury Fund and requires the advance to be repaid no later than the end of the fifth year after the advance; specifies that the Second Injury Fund is to eb funded solely by the annual surcharge.

HB 845 – Workers’ compensation opt-out for family members. Allows up to two members of an employer’s family within the third degree of affinity to opt out of workers’ compensation insurance but still be counted toward the total number of employees.

SB 221 – Damage caps for Human Rights Act and discrimination cases. Establishes damage caps for Human Rights Act cases and workers’ compensation discrimination cases.

SB 373 – Workers’ compensation. Modifies the law relating to workers’ compensation; suspends benefits to incarcerated individuals and requires that employees must be entitled to work legally in the United States to receive benefits; clarifies that compensation from the Second Injury Fund shall not be payable when employees elect to pursue workers’ compensation outside the state; suspends life payments from the Second Injury Fund for employees who receive permanent total disability awards but are restored to regular work by the use of glasses, prosthesis or physical rehabilitation; suspends life payments from the Second Injury Fund for all injured employees when the employee is able to obtain suitable gainful employment or be self-employed; allows for suspension of life payments when an injured employee becomes eligible for Social Security benefits attributable to the injury; allows the Division of Workers’ Compensation to advance money to the Second Injury Fund and requires the advance to be repaid no later than the end of the fifth year after the advance.

SB 417 – Second Injury Fund. Modifies the law relating to the Second Injury Fund; provides that no new claims shall be filed against the Second Injury und after July 1, 2011; states that only awards granted prior to that date, awards or settlements in cases filed before that date, and medical bills incurred and filed by employees of uninsured employers before that date shall be paid by the fund.

SB 420 – Dissolution of the Second Injury Fund.  Dissolves the Second Injury Fund.

SB 430 – Workers’ compensation. Modifies the law relating to Workers’ Compensation; suspends benefits to incarcerated individuals and requires that employees must be entitled to work legally in the United States to receive benefits; allows the Second Injury Fund to advance or reimburse employees for expenses when an employee is required to submit to medical treatment outside the area of the place of employment; requires employees to submit to vocational testing and rehabilitation assessment scheduled by the Second Injury Fund; bars claims for permanent partial disability against the Second Injury Fund after the effective date, with some exceptions; caps the amounts awarded in compromise settlements to the total sum of 100 weeks of the employee’s average weekly wage; clarifies that compensation from the Second Injury Fund shall not be payable when employees elect to pursue workers’ compensation outside the state; suspends life payments from the Second Injury Fund for employees who receive permanent total disability awards but are restored to regular work by the use of glasses, prosthesis or physical rehabilitation; suspends life payments from the Second Injury Fund for all injured employees when the employee is able to obtain suitable gainful employment or be self-employed; allows for suspension of life payments when an injured employee becomes eligible for Social Security benefits attributable to the injury; institutes a statutory funding mechanism for the Second Injury Fund.

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