Title 85A — Title 85A — Workers' Compensation

A. The MITF Director shall be charged with the administration and protection of the Multiple Injury Trust Fund and shall be notified by the Workers' Compensation Commission of all proceedings which may affect such fund. B. The MITF Director shall have authority to conduct all bus…

A. 1. Every employer shall secure compensation as provided under this act to its employees for compensable injuries without regard to fault. 2. There shall be no liability for compensation under this act where the injury or death was substantially occasioned by the willful intent…

A court reporter employed by or contracted by the Workers' Compensation Commission shall be authorized to stenographically report both joint petition settlements and compromise settlements in the Workers' Compensation Court of Existing Claims. A court reporter employed by or cont…

A. If a subcontractor fails to secure compensation required by the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act, the prime contractor shall be liable for compensation to the employees of the subcontractor unless there is an intermediate subcontractor who has workers' compensation cov…

A. Any employer engaging in any exempted or excepted employment may at any time waive the exemptions or exceptions as to any employee or all employees engaged in the employment as the employer may elect by giving notice of waiver of the exemptions or exceptions as provided in sub…

A. An employer shall secure compensation to employees under this act in one of the following ways: 1. By insuring and keeping insured the payment of compensation with any stock corporation, mutual association, or other concerns authorized to transact the business of workers' comp…

A. In order that the liability for compensation may be effectively administered, the employer's carrier may discharge the obligations and duties of the employer under this act if the employer is not a self-insurer. B. For the purpose of an employer's carrier discharging the oblig…

A. If any part of this act be decided by the courts to be unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of this act as a whole, or any part thereof other than the part so decided to be unconstitutional or invalid. B. If the adjudication of unconstitutionalit…

Penalties. A. 1. Any employer who fails to secure compensation required under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) to be deposited in the Workers' Compensat…

A. The Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims (CEC) shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes relating to claims that arise before February 1, 2014. B. Effective July 1, 2024, the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims shall consist of one judge to be ap…

Compensation Court of Existing Claims. All monies received by the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims (CEC) from all filing fees, fees related to the preparation of appeals from the CEC, records search fees, and penalties and fines imposed by the CEC trial judge and co…

Administrative Fund (CECAF). There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving fund for the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims (CEC) to be designated the “Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims Administrative Fund (CECAF)”. The fund shall be a continui…

A. Every employer who has secured compensation under the provisions of this act shall keep posted in a conspicuous place in and about the employer's place of business typewritten or printed notices in accordance with a form prescribed by the Commission. The notices shall state th…

A. Contents. Every policy or contract of insurance issued by a carrier to an employer to secure the payment of compensation under the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act shall contain: 1. a. Provisions that identify the insured employer and either identify each covered emplo…

A. Liability Unaffected. 1. a. The making of a claim for compensation against any employer or carrier for the injury or death of an employee shall not affect the right of the employee, or his or her dependents, to make a claim or maintain an action in court against any third part…

A. Any benefits payable to an injured employee under this act shall be reduced in an amount equal to, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of benefits the injured employee has previously received for the same medical services or period of disability, whether those benefits were paid und…

- Permanent partial disability - Permanent total disability. A. Temporary Total Disability. 1. If the injured employee is temporarily unable to perform his or her job or any alternative work offered by the employer, he or she shall be entitled to receive compensation equal to sev…

A. An injured employee who is entitled to receive permanent partial disability compensation under Section 45 of this title shall receive compensation for each part of the body in accordance with the number of weeks for the scheduled loss set forth below. 1. Arm amputated at the e…

A. Time of death. If death does not result within one (1) year from the date of the accident or within the first three (3) years of the period for compensation payments fixed by the compensation judgment, a rebuttable presumption shall arise that the death did not result from the…

When an injury or death is sustained by a minor employed in violation of federal or state statutes relating to minimum ages for employment of minors, disability or death benefits provided for by this act shall be doubled; provided, however, such penalty shall not apply when the m…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, no compensation for temporary total disability shall be payable to an injured employee for any week for which the injured employee receives unemployment insurance benefits under the laws of this state or the unemployment insurance …

A. The rights and remedies granted to an employee subject to the provisions of the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act shall be exclusive of all other rights and remedies of the employee, his or her legal representative, dependents, next of kin, or anyone else claiming right…

- Fee schedule - Formulary. A. The employer shall promptly provide an injured employee with medical, surgical, hospital, optometric, podiatric, chiropractic and nursing services, along with any medicine, crutches, ambulatory devices, artificial limbs, eyeglasses, contact lenses, …

The employer shall pay one hundred percent (100%) of the medical expenses, subject to the Fee Schedule, with no maximum dollar or duration limits for all compensable injuries. Added by Laws 2013, c. 208, § 51, eff. Feb. 1, 2014.

The employer shall not be liable for any of the payments for medical services and supplies under this act if the Commission determines that there was not a compensable injury. Added by Laws 2013, c. 208, § 52, eff. Feb. 1, 2014.

A. An injured employee claiming to be entitled to benefits under this act shall submit to physical examination and treatment by another qualified physician, designated or approved by the Commission, as the Commission may require from time to time if reasonable and necessary. B. I…

Except in cases of hernia, which are specifically covered by Section 61 of this act, where an injured employee unreasonably refuses to submit to a surgical operation which has been advised by at least two qualified physicians and where the recommended operation does not involve u…

A. If an employer or carrier believes that a charge for medical services or supplies under this act is unreasonable, it may submit the charge to the Commission for review. If the Commission determines that the charge is unreasonable, it may amend the charges to reflect the Fee Sc…

A. If the employer has previously contracted with a certified workplace medical plan, the employer shall select for the injured employee a treating physician or chiropractor from the physicians or chiropractors listed within the network of the certified workplace medical plan. Th…

A. If an injured employee misses two or more scheduled appointments for treatment, he or she shall no longer be eligible to receive benefits under this act, unless his or her absence was: 1. Caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the employee's control as determined by the …

A. 1. Every hospital or other person furnishing the injured employee with medical services shall permit its records to be copied by and shall furnish full written information to the Commission, the Workers' Compensation Fraud Investigation Unit, the employer, the carrier, and the…

A. 1. Compensation under this act based on the employee's average weekly wage shall be computed by dividing the employee's gross earnings by the number of full weeks of employment with the employer, up to a maximum of fifty-two (52) weeks. 2. If the injured employee was working o…

A. 1. a. Any person or entity who makes any material false statement or representation, who willfully and knowingly omits or conceals any material information, or who employs any device, scheme, or artifice, or who aids and abets any person for the purpose of: (1) obtaining any b…

The Physician Advisory Committee may recommend the adoption of a method or system to evaluate permanent disability that shall deviate from, or be used in place of or in combination with the Guides. Such recommendation shall be made to the Workers' Compensation Commission which ma…

A. A hernia is not a compensable injury unless the injured employee can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it meets the definition of "compensable injury" under this act and: 1. The occurrence of the hernia followed as the result of sudden effort, severe strain, or the…

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 45 of this title, if an employee suffers a nonsurgical soft tissue injury, temporary total disability compensation shall not exceed eight (8) weeks, regardless of the number of parts of the body to which there is a nonsurgical soft tis…

A. Within ten (10) days after the date of receipt of notice or of knowledge of injury or death, the employer shall send to the Workers' Compensation Commission a report setting forth: 1. The name, address, and business of the employer; 2. The name, address, and occupation of the …

A. Any person or entity may make written application to the State Commissioner of Health to have a workplace medical plan certified that provides management of quality treatment to injured employees for injuries and diseases compensable under this act. Each application for certif…

A. If an employee suffers from an occupational disease as defined in this section and is disabled or dies as a result of the disease, the employee, or, in case of death, his or her dependents, shall be entitled to compensation as if the disability or death were caused by injury a…

A. As used in this act, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Asbestosis" means the characteristic fibrotic condition of the lungs caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust; and 2. "Silicosis" means the characteristic fibrotic condition of the lungs caused by the inhalation …

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, notice of disability resulting from an occupational disease or cumulative trauma shall be the same as in cases of accidental injury. B. Written notice shall be given to the employer of an occupational disease or cumulative trauma b…

A. Unless an employee gives oral or written notice to the employer within thirty (30) days of the date an injury occurs, the rebuttable presumption shall be that the injury was not work- related. Such presumption must be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence. B. Unless an e…

A. Time for Filing. 1. A claim for benefits under this act, other than an occupational disease, shall be barred unless it is filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within one (1) year from the date of the injury or, if the employee has received benefits under this title …

A. An employer may not retaliate against an employee when the employee has in good faith: 1. Filed a claim under this act; 2. Retained a lawyer for representation regarding a claim under this act; 3. Instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under the provisions of thi…

The Commission is authorized and directed to promulgate rules to establish and implement a preliminary conference procedure designed to accomplish the following objectives: 1. To provide the claimant an opportunity to confer with a legal advisor on the staff of the Commission to …

construction. A. Notice. Within ten (10) days after a claim for compensation has been filed, the Workers' Compensation Commission shall notify the employer and any other interested person of the filing of the claim. B. Hearing. 1. The Commission shall assign the claim to an admin…

Evidence. A. Conduct of Hearing or Inquiry. 1. In making an investigation or inquiry or conducting a hearing, the administrative law judges and the Commission shall not be bound by technical or statutory rules of evidence or by technical or formal rules of procedure, except as pr…

A. The Commission shall have the power to preserve and enforce order during any proceeding before it, to issue subpoenas for and administer oaths to and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and require the production of books, papers, documents, and other evidence. B…

In any proceeding for the enforcement of a claim for compensation, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that: 1. The Commission has jurisdiction; 2. Sufficient notice was given; and 3. The injury was not occasioned by the willful intention of the injured employee to bring abou…

The Commission may cause depositions of witnesses to be taken in such manner as it may direct. Added by Laws 2013, c. 208, § 75, eff. Feb. 1, 2014.