Title 71, Labor and Industry

All proceedings in which any individual self-insurer in default or group self-insurer in default is a party before the commission or in any court in this state, on order of the commission, may be stayed for a period not to exceed six (6) months from the date of the default to per…

An employee who as a result of injury is or may be expected to be totally or partially incapacitated for a remunerative occupation and who, under the direction of the commission is being rendered fit to engage in a remunerative occupation may, in the discretion of the commission …

Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225 shall be known and may be cited as the “Drug-Free Workplace Workers’ Compensation Premium Reduction Act.”

It is the intent of the Legislature to promote drug-free workplaces in order that employers in this state be afforded the opportunity to maximize their levels of productivity, enhance their competitive positions in the marketplace, and reach their desired levels of success withou…

(a) The following words and terms in Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225 shall have meanings as follows:(a) “Employee” means any person who works for salary, wages or other remuneration for an employer.(b) “Employer” means a person or entity that is subject to the Mississippi Work…

(1) If an employer implements a drug-free workplace program substantially in accordance with Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225, the employer shall qualify for certification for a five percent (5%) premium discount if offered under the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance p…

(a) A drug-free workplace program must contain the following elements:(a) Written policy statement as provided in Section 71-3-211;(b) Comply with the substance abuse testing procedures as provided in Sections 71-7-1 through 71-7-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, if testing is initia…

In case of temporary partial disability resulting in decrease of earning capacity, there shall be paid to the injured employee sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the difference between the injured employee’s average weekly wages before the injury and his wage-earning c…

(a) A drug-free workplace must provide a written policy statement on substance abuse in order to qualify for the provisions of Section 71-3-207. All employees must be given a written policy statement from the employer that contains:(a) A general statement of the employer’s policy…

(a) In order for an employer’s workplace to qualify as a private sector drug-free workplace and to qualify for the provisions of Section 71-3-207, the following must be met:(a) If an employer has an employee assistance program, the employer must inform the employee of the benefit…

(a) An employer must provide all employees with an education program on alcohol and other drug abuse prior to instituting a private sector drug-free workplace program under Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225. Also, an employer must provide all employees with an annual education p…

(a) In order to qualify as a private sector drug-free workplace and to qualify for the provisions of Section 71-3-207, and in addition to the educational program provided in Section 71-3-215, an employer must provide all supervisory personnel a minimum of two (2) hours of trainin…

(1) All information, interview, reports, statements, memoranda and test results, written or otherwise, received by the employer through a substance abuse program are confidential communications as they pertain to the employee only and may not be used or received in evidence, obta…

No cause of action shall arise in favor of any person against an employer based upon the failure of an employer to establish a substance abuse program in accordance with Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225.

Nothing in Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225 shall be construed to operate retroactively, and nothing in Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225 shall abrogate the right of an employer under state law to conduct substance abuse tests, or implement employee substance abuse testing pro…

If any provision of Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225 or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of Sections 71-3-201 through 71-3-225 that can be given effect without the invalid provisio…

(a) In all cases of claim for hernia, it shall be shown by a preponderance of the evidence:(a) That the descent or protrusion of the hernia or rupture immediately followed as the result of sudden effort, severe strain, or the application of force to the abdominal wall;(b) That th…

(a) If the injury causes death, the compensation shall be known as a death benefit and shall be payable in the amount and to or for the benefit of the persons following:(a) An immediate lump-sum payment of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to the surviving spouse, in addition to o…

Compensation under this chapter to aliens not residents (or about to become nonresidents) of the United States or Canada shall be in the same amount as provided for residents, except that dependents in any foreign country shall be limited to surviving wife and child or children o…

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…