Title 71, Labor and Industry

Rules of the commission shall govern compromise payments where the prescribed schedules are not applicable and which, in its discretion, may be made in cases where it is not possible to determine the exact extent of disability, as for example in certain injuries to the back or he…

(a) Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions which follow govern the construction and meaning of the terms used in this chapter:(a) “Person” includes an individual, firm, voluntary association or a corporation.(b) “Injury” means accidental injury or accidental death…

Except as otherwise specifically provided, the basis for compensation under this chapter shall be the average weekly wages earned by the employee at the time of the injury, such wages to be determined from the earnings of the injured employee in the employment in which he was wor…

The commission may require the appointment by a court of competent jurisdiction, for any person who is mentally incompetent or a minor, of a guardian or other representative to receive compensation payable to such person under this chapter and to exercise the powers granted to or…

(1) No claim for compensation shall be maintained unless, within thirty (30) days after the occurrence of the injury, actual notice was received by the employer or by an officer, manager, or designated representative of an employer. If no representative has been designated by pos…

(1) Compensation under this chapter shall be paid periodically, promptly, in the usual manner, and directly to the person entitled thereto, without an award except where liability to pay compensation is controverted by the employer. (2) The first installment of compensation shall…

While acting as a self-insurer as authorized by Section 71-3-5, the state highway commission is authorized and empowered to establish and maintain, from funds made available upon requisition from the state treasury, a special workmen’s compensation account, and to deposit such fu…

Every insurance company which transacts the business of compensation insurance and every employer who is subject to the workmen’s compensation law, but who has not insured his liability, shall keep a record of all payments made under the provisions of this law, and of the time an…

No agreement by an employee to pay any portion of premium paid by his employer or to contribute to a benefit fund or department maintained by such employer for the purpose of providing compensation or medical services and supplies as required by this chapter shall be valid. Any e…

No assignment, release, or commutation of compensation or benefits due or payable under this chapter, except as provided by this chapter, shall be valid; and such compensation and benefits shall be exempt from all claims of creditors and from levy, execution, and attachment or ot…

Any person entitled to compensation under the provisions of this chapter shall have a lien against the assets of the carrier or employer for such compensation without limit of amount, and shall, upon insolvency, bankruptcy, or reorganization in bankruptcy proceedings of the carri…

Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the details of practice and procedure in the settlement and adjudication of claims shall be determined by rules of the commission, the text of which shall be published and be readily available to interested parties. The commission sha…

(1) In case of default by the employer in the payment of any compensation due under an award for the period of thirty (30) days after payment is due and payable or, where the employer has failed to secure the payment of compensation to his employees as required, where there is su…

The following shall constitute employers subject to the provisions of this chapter: Every person, firm and private corporation, including any public service corporation but excluding, however, all nonprofit charitable, fraternal, cultural, or religious corporations or association…

The final award of the commission shall be conclusive and binding unless either party to the controversy shall, within thirty (30) days from the date of its filing in the office of the commission and notification to the parties, appeal therefrom to the Supreme Court. Such appeal …

Upon its own initiative or upon the application of any party in interest on the ground of a change in conditions or because of a mistake in a determination of fact, the commission may, at any time prior to one (1) year after date of the last payment of compensation, whether or no…

(1) In making an investigation or inquiry or conducting a hearing, the commission shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence or by technical or formal rules or procedure, except as provided by this chapter, but may make such investigation or inquiry or conduc…

The commission shall regulate, by rules published and available to the parties, the summoning, attendance, use, and compensation of witnesses, and determine the qualifications of specialists and their scale of fees as expert witnesses. Unless otherwise provided by the commission,…

(1) If the court having jurisdiction of proceedings in respect of any claim or compensation order determined that the proceedings in respect of such claim or order have been instituted or continued without reasonable ground, the costs of such proceedings shall be assessed against…

(1) The commission and its hearing officers shall have power to preserve and enforce order during hearings; to issue subpoenas for, to administer oaths to, and to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of books, papers, documents, and other evidence, o…

(1) No claim for legal services or for any other services rendered in respect of a claim or award for compensation, to or on account of any person, shall be valid unless approved by the commission or, if proceedings for review of the order of the commission in respect of such cla…

Every employer shall keep a record in respect of any injury to an employee. Such record shall contain such information of disability or death in respect of such injury as the commission may by regulation require, and shall be available to inspection by the commission or by any st…

The noncontroverted case medical reports, rehabilitation counselor reports and psychological reports of the commission, insofar as they refer to accidents, injuries and settlements, shall not be open to the public under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983, but only to the …

(1) Within ten (10) days after the fatal termination of any injury, the employer, if self-insured, or its carrier, shall file a report thereof with the commission on a form approved by the commission for this purpose.In the event of an injury which shall cause loss of time in exc…

Any person who willfully makes any false or misleading statement or representation for the purpose of obtaining or wrongfully withholding any benefit or payment under this chapter is guilty of a felony and on conviction thereof may be punished by a fine of not to exceed Five Thou…

(1) Compensation shall be payable for disability or death of an employee from injury or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment, without regard to fault as to the cause of the injury or occupational disease. An occupational disease shall be deemed to a…

The acceptance of compensation benefits from or the making of a claim for compensation against an employer or insurer for the injury or death of an employee shall not affect the right of the employee or his dependents to sue any other party at law for such injury or death, but th…

(1) If an employee who has previously lost, or lost the use of, one (1) hand, one (1) arm, one (1) foot, one (1) leg, or one (1) eye, becomes permanently and totally incapacitated through the loss, or loss of use, of another member or organ, the employer shall be liable only for …

(1) Insurance of liability: An employer liable under this chapter to pay compensation shall insure payment of such compensation by a carrier authorized to insure such liability in this state unless such employer shall be exempted from doing so by the commission. (2) Exemption fro…

[From July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2026, this section shall read as follows:] (1) Every contract for the insurance of the compensation herein provided, or against liability therefor, issued or renewed on or before June 30, 2026, shall be deemed to be made subject to the provision…

Acceptance of a premium on a policy securing to an employee compensation, either alone or in connection with other insurance, shall estop the carrier so accepting from pleading that the employment of such employee is not covered under this chapter or that the employment is not ca…

Every employer who has secured compensation under the provisions of this chapter shall keep notices posted in a conspicuous place or places in and about his place or places of business, in accordance with a form prescribed by the commission, stating that such employer has secured…

(1) Any employer required to secure the payment of compensation under this chapter who fails to secure such compensation is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for …

(1) There is hereby created a commission to be known as the workmen’s compensation commission, consisting of three (3) members, who shall devote their entire time to the duties of the office. The governor shall appoint the members of the commission, by and with the consent of the…

(1) The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission Building in Jackson, Mississippi, shall be renamed the “Liles Williams Workers’ Compensation Building.” (2) The Department of Finance and Administration shall prepare or have prepared a distinctive plaque, to be placed in a pro…

Members of the commission shall give bond in the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) of a surety company authorized to do business in the state, for the faithful performance of their duties. The premium upon such bonds shall be paid out of the workmen’s compensation administ…

The commission shall have a seal for authentication of its orders, awards, and proceedings, upon which shall be inscribed the words “workmen’s compensation commission-Mississippi-seal,” and it shall be judicially noticed.

(1) Except as provided under subsection (2) of this section, the liability of an employer to pay compensation shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability of such employer to the employee, his legal representative, husband or wife, parents, dependents, next of kin, and …

Commissioners and employees of the commission shall receive their necessary traveling expenses and costs of subsistence while traveling on official business and away from their designated station. Expense accounts shall be sworn to by the person presenting them and, upon approval…

The commission shall appoint such officers and employees as are necessary adequately to administer the Workers’ Compensation Law, including not more than eight (8) administrative judges to be appointed by the commission with the consent of the Governor and an executive director w…

(1) The commission shall make such expenditures as may be necessary for the adequate administration of this chapter, including salaries and traveling expense, the cost of personal services, office rent at the seat of government and elsewhere, the purchase of books, periodicals, o…

All civil penalties provided in this chapter, if not voluntarily paid, may be collected by civil suit brought by the commission, and shall be paid into the State General Fund.

(1) The commission shall estimate annually in advance the amounts necessary for the administration of this chapter, in the following manner:(a) The commission shall, as soon as practicable after the first day of January in each year, determine the expense of administration of thi…