Title 39, Title 39

As a condition of the privilege to self-insure pursuant to Title 39, chapter 71, part 21, a private self-insurer shall agree in writing to notify the department and the fund within 24 hours of the filing of any bankruptcy or determination of insolvency relating to that private se…

Biannually or within 6 months after the close of any fiscal year in which the fund has assumed the workers' compensation obligations of an insolvent private self-insurer, the fund shall: (1) contract for an independent certified audit of the financial activities of the fund; and …

(1) Copies of official documents and orders filed or deposited according to law in the office of the department, certified to by a member of the department or by the secretary under the official seal of the department to be true copies of the original, shall be evidence in like m…

(1) The books, records, and payrolls of an employer pertinent to the administration of this chapter must always be open to inspection by the department or any authorized employee of the department for the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of the payroll, the number of worke…

(1) By January 15 of each year, each insurer shall file with the department: (a) summary reports of benefits for all compensation payments made during the previous calendar year to injured workers or their beneficiaries or dependents; (b) statements showing the amounts expended d…

(1) Every employer insured by a plan No. 2 or a plan No. 3 insurer is required to file with the employer's insurer, under rules adopted by the department, a full and complete report of every accident, injury, or occupational disease to an employee arising out of or in the course …

(1) The following actions by a health care provider constitute violations and are subject to the penalty in subsection (2): (a) failing to certify the provision of the services or treatment for which compensation is claimed under this chapter; or (b) referring a worker for treatm…

(1) A person filing a claim under this chapter, by signing the claim, affirms the information filed is true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge. (2) (a) A person who obtains or assists in obtaining benefits to which the person is not entitled or who obtains or assi…

(1) An employer may not use as grounds for terminating a worker the filing of a claim under this chapter. The district court has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes concerning the grounds for termination under this section. (2) When an injured worker is capable of returning to w…

(1) (a) Subject to subsection (1)(b), the department of labor and industry shall reimburse a private employer who has hired a student enrolled in a high-quality work-based learning opportunity for the added costs of the employer's workers' compensation premium because of employin…

(1) Pursuant to the public policy stated in 39-71-105, accurate and prompt claims handling practices are necessary to provide appropriate service to injured workers, employers, and health care providers. To further that public policy, the purpose of this section is to authorize t…

(1) An insurer becomes impaired if the insurer: (a) becomes insolvent; (b) is placed in receivership or administration; (c) declares bankruptcy; or (d) seeks protection from its creditors. (2) An impaired insurer shall, within 30 days of the insurer becoming impaired, furnish the…

This part may be cited as the "Catastrophically Injured Worker's Travel Assistance Act".

The purpose of this part is to assist catastrophically injured workers and their families by providing that funds raised by community service organizations may be matched with funds from insurers to help the workers and their families defray the costs of travel and lodging expens…

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Catastrophically injured" means a physical injury or occupational disease incurred by a worker to the extent that treatment for the injury or occupational disease: (a) requires inpatient care for at least 21 consecutive …

(1) Pursuant to subsection (3), the department of labor and industry shall establish criteria to certify that the funds raised by community service organizations are eligible for matching funds from an insurer. (2) Money raised by community service organizations to pay travel exp…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the Workers' Compensation Act applies to all employers and to all employees. An employer who has any employee in service under any appointment or contract of hire, expressed or implied, oral or written, shall elect to be bound by the prov…

(1) (a) In the absence of an agreement under subsection (2), if a worker employed in this state who is subject to the provisions of this chapter temporarily leaves this state incidental to that employment and receives an injury arising out of and in the course of employment, the …

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (5), if a state agency is the employer, the terms, conditions, and provisions of compensation plan No. 3, state fund, are exclusive, compulsory, and obligatory upon both employer and employee. Any sums necessary to be paid under the provis…

(1) An employer who contracts with an independent contractor to have work performed of a kind which is a regular or a recurrent part of the work of the trade, business, occupation, or profession of such employer is liable for the payment of benefits under this chapter to the empl…

It is unlawful for the employer to deduct or obtain any part of any premium required to be paid by this chapter from the wages or earnings of the employer's workers, and the making or attempt to make any premium deduction is a misdemeanor.

(Temporary) Liability of insurers -- limitations. (1) For workers' compensation injuries, each insurer is liable for the payment of compensation, in the manner and to the extent provided in this section, to an employee of an employer covered under plan No. 1, plan No. 2, and the …

In case of bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, or the failure of an employer or insurer to meet any obligations imposed by this chapter, every liability which may be due under this chapter shall constitute a first lien upon any deposit made by such employer or insurer, and if su…

(1) An agreement by an employee to waive any rights under this chapter is not valid. (2) (a) A person who possesses and is working under a current independent contractor exemption certificate issued by the department waives all rights and benefits of the Workers' Compensation Act…

For all employments covered under the Workers' Compensation Act or for which an election has been made for coverage under this chapter, the provisions of this chapter are exclusive. Except as provided in part 5 of this chapter for uninsured employers and except as otherwise provi…

The right to compensation and medical benefits as provided by this chapter is not affected by the fact that the injury, occupational disease, or death is caused by the negligence of a third party other than the employer or the servants or employees of the employer. Whenever injur…

(1) (a) If an employee is intentionally injured by an intentional and deliberate act of the employee's employer or by the intentional and deliberate act of a fellow employee while performing the duties of employment, the employee or in case of death the employee's heirs or person…

(1) If an action is prosecuted as provided for in 39-71-412 or 39-71-413 and except as otherwise provided in this section, the insurer is entitled to subrogation for all compensation and benefits paid or to be paid under the Workers' Compensation Act. The insurer's right of subro…

(1) If a claimant and insurer have a dispute over benefits and the dispute involves an issue of whether the claimant is an independent contractor or employee, either party may, after mediation pursuant to department rules, petition the workers' compensation judge for resolution o…

(1) (a) (i) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a)(ii), a person who regularly and customarily performs services at a location other than the person's own fixed business location shall apply to the department for an independent contractor exemption certificate unless the person …

(1) The department may suspend an independent contractor exemption certificate for a specific business relationship if the department determines that the employing unit exerts or retains a right of control to a degree that causes a certificate holder to violate the provisions of …

(1) A person may not: (a) perform work as an independent contractor without first: (i) obtaining from the department an independent contractor exemption certificate unless the individual is not required to obtain an independent contractor exemption certificate pursuant to 39-71-4…

Insurers may provide financial incentives to an employer who implements a formal safety program. An insurer may provide to an employer a premium discount that reflects the degree of risk diminished by the implemented safety program.

As used in 39-71-433, the following definitions apply: (1) "Business entity" means a business enterprise owned by a single person, corporation, organization, business trust, trust, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, joint venture, association, …

(1) Two or more business entities may join together to form a group to purchase individual workers' compensation insurance policies covering each member of the group. (2) A group formed under this section may purchase individual workers' compensation insurance policies covering e…

(1) In order to lower the amount an employer is required to pay to obtain workers' compensation insurance coverage under this chapter, a workers' compensation policy issued by the state compensation insurance fund under plan No. 3 or by a private insurer under plan No. 2 must off…

(1) An insurer issuing a workers' compensation or an employer's liability insurance policy may offer to the policyholder, as part of the policy or by endorsement, optional deductibles for benefits payable under the policy consistent with the standards contained in subsection (3).…

The department may, as provided in Title 18, chapter 11, enter into an agreement with a tribal government to recognize, with the same effect as the exclusive remedy and benefits under plans No. 1, 2, and 3, tribal workers' compensation plans or self-insured plans that the departm…

(1) Notwithstanding 39-71-118(8)(a), an employee of an employer in this state who is employed by the employer to work solely in North Dakota, and who is required by the laws of that state to be covered for workers' compensation purposes while working in that state, is not conside…

For the purposes of 39-71-501, 39-71-503 through 39-71-511, 39-71-515 through 39-71-520, and 39-71-541, "uninsured employer" means an employer who has not properly complied with the provisions of 39-71-401.

(1) There is created an uninsured employers' fund in the state special revenue account to pay: (a) to an injured employee of an uninsured employer the same benefits the employee would have received if the employer had been properly enrolled under compensation plan No. 1, 2, or 3,…

The fund is funded in the following manner: (1) (a) The department may require that the uninsured employer pay to the fund a penalty of either up to double the premium amount the employer would have paid on the payroll of the employer's workers in this state if the employer had b…

All appropriate provisions in the Workers' Compensation Act apply to the fund in the same manner as they apply to compensation plans No. 1, 2, and 3.

(1) (a) If, upon demand of the department, an uninsured employer refuses to make the payments to the fund that are provided for in 39-71-504(1)(a), (1)(c), and (2), the unpaid penalties, fees, and interest have the effect of a judgment against the employer at the time the payment…

(1) When the department discovers an uninsured employer, it shall order the employer to cease operations until the employer has elected to be bound by a compensation plan. (2) When the department discovers a person, business, or other entity functioning as a prime contractor that…

(1) An employee who suffers an injury arising out of and in the course of employment while working for an uninsured employer, as defined in 39-71-501, or an employee's beneficiaries in injuries resulting in death may pursue all remedies concurrently, including but not limited to:…