Chapter 23, Chapter 23

(a) As recognized by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in Wampler Foods, Inc. v. Workers’ Compensation Division, 216 W.Va. 129, 602 S.E.2d 805 (2004), and in recognition that a deficit of such critical proportions existed in the workers’ compensation fund that it cons…

Each officer who serves subpoenas on behalf of the Insurance Commissioner shall receive the same fee as a sheriff and each witness who appears in obedience to a subpoena before the Insurance Commissioner or duly appointed employee shall receive for his or her attendance the fees …

(a) In an investigation into any matter arising under this chapter, the Insurance Commissioner may cause depositions of witnesses residing within or without the state to be taken in the manner prescribed by law for like depositions in the circuit court, but the depositions shall …

A transcribed copy of the evidence and proceedings, or any specific part thereof, on any investigation or hearing, taken by a stenographer appointed by the Insurance Commissioner and certified and sworn to by the stenographer to be a true and correct transcript of the testimony i…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall adopt reasonable and proper rules of procedure, regulate and provide for the kind and character of notices, and the service of the notices, in cases of accident and injury to employees, the nature and extent of the proofs and evidence, the met…

The Insurance Commissioner shall prepare and furnish free of cost forms (and provide in his or her rules for their distribution so that they may be readily available) of applications for benefits for compensation, notices to employers, proofs of injury or death, of medical attend…

The Insurance Commissioner is not bound by the usual common-law or statutory rules of evidence, but shall adopt formal rules of practice and procedure as herein provided, and may make investigations in a manner that in his or her judgment is best calculated to ascertain the subst…

No employee of the Insurance Commissioner shall be compelled to testify as to the basis, findings, or reasons for any decision or order rendered by the employee under this chapter in any hearing conducted pursuant to §23-5-1 et seq. of this code.

(a) Any person, firm, corporation, or other entity which willfully, by means of false statement or representation, or by concealment of any material fact, or by other fraudulent scheme, device, or artifice on behalf of himself or herself, itself, or others, obtains or attempts to…

The Insurance Commissioner shall have the power and duty to: (1) Establish operating guidelines and policies designed to ensure the effective regulation of the workers’ compensation insurance market in West Virginia and effectuate the provisions of this chapter; (2) Employ, direc…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the Insurance Commissioner may: (1) Exempt no more than 20 positions of the offices of the Insurance Commissioner from the classified service of the state, the employees of which positions shall serve at the will and pleasure of t…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, with regard to an objection, protest, or any other decision issued after June 30, 2022, all powers and duties of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges, as provided in this chapter, shall be transferred to the Workers’ Com…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall establish a program to require the acceptance of disbursements by electronic transfer from the funds created in §23-2C-1 et seq. of this code to employers, vendors, claimants, and all others lawfully entitled to receive such disbursements. (b)…

Except as expressly provided for in this subsection, information obtained regarding employers and claimants pursuant to this chapter for the purposes of its administration is not subject to the provisions of Chapter 29B of this code unless the provisions are hereafter specificall…

The Insurance Commissioner shall keep and maintain his or her office at the seat of government and shall provide a suitable room or rooms, necessary office furniture, supplies, books, periodicals, maps, and other equipment. After due notice, showing the time and place, the Insura…

The Insurance Commissioner and other employees appointed by the Insurance Commissioner may, for the purpose contemplated by this chapter, administer oaths, certify official acts, take depositions, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of perti…

In case of failure or refusal of any person to comply with the order of the Insurance Commissioner, or subpoena issued by him or her, or duly appointed employee, or on the refusal of a witness to testify to any matter regarding which he or she may be lawfully interrogated, or ref…

(a) The Legislature finds that: (1) There is a long-term actuarial funding crisis in the state-run monopolistic workers’ compensation system; (2) Similar short-term and long-term crises have been ongoing during the past two decades; (3) During the current crisis, employers in Wes…

(a) The State of West Virginia and all governmental agencies or departments created by it, including county boards of education, political subdivisions of the state, any volunteer fire department or company, and other emergency service organizations as defined by §15-5-1 et seq. …

(a) Where a compensable injury or death is caused, in whole or in part, by the act or omission of a third party, the injured worker or, if he or she is deceased or physically or mentally incompetent, his or her dependents or personal representative are entitled to compensation un…

(a) In case any employer within the meaning of this chapter is also engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, and for whom a rule of liability or method of compensation has been established by the Congress of the United States, this chapter applies to him or her only to the exte…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall provide for the development and administration of an assigned risk plan to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage to employers who are unable to procure coverage in the voluntary market. (b) To qualify for coverage under the plan, an…

If any provision of this chapter or the application of such provision to any circumstance is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the remainder of this chapter or the application of the provisions to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby. The Legislature …

If the provisions of this chapter relating to compensation for injuries to, or death of, workers are repealed or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, the period intervening between the occurrence of any injury or death and the repeal, or the final adjudication of invalidity or u…

A person who was employed by the former Workers’ Compensation Commission upon its termination or was laid off by the employers’ mutual insurance company created in this article on or before June 30, 2008, is entitled to be placed on an appropriate reemployment list maintained by …

The interest due on payments pursuant to §23-2-9(d)(1) and §23-2C-8(d)(1) of this code shall be the prime rate plus four percent rounded to the nearest whole percent. The prime rate shall be the rate published in the Wall Street Journal on the last business day of the prior fisca…

(a) An employer may elect to purchase workers’ compensation insurance from another a private carrier licensed and otherwise authorized to transact workers’ compensation insurance in this state or (3) self-insure its obligations if it satisfies all requirements of this code to so …

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall review claims determined to be payable from the Old Fund, Uninsured Employer Fund, Self-Insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool, Self-Insured Employer Security Risk Pool, and Private Carrier Guaranty Fund and may contest the determination pursuant…

Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary and notwithstanding any provision in §29A-5-5 of this code to the contrary, in any situation where an employer objects to a decision or action of the Insurance Commissioner, the employer is entitled to file a written d…

(a) Every policy of insurance issued by a private carrier: (1) Shall be in writing; (2) Shall contain the insuring agreements and exclusions; and (3) If it contains a provision inconsistent with this chapter, it shall be deemed to be reformed to conform with this chapter. (b) The…

(a)(1) Rates for workers’ compensation insurance are subject to the provisions of this section, §23-2C-18a of this code, and §33-20-1 et seq. of this code. (2) In the event of any conflict, the provisions of this article shall have paramount effect, but the provisions in this cha…

(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) "Classification system" or "classification" means the plan, system or arrangement for grouping risks with similar characteristics or a specified class of risk by recognizing differences in exposure to hazards. (2) "Experience rating" mean…

(a) Each employer who is required to purchase and maintain workers’ compensation insurance or who elects to purchase workers’ compensation insurance shall pay a premium to a private carrier. Each carrier shall notify its policyholders of the mandated premium payment methodology a…

(a) Employees subject to this chapter are all persons in the service of employers, except those classified as an independent contractor pursuant to §21-5I-4 of this code, and employed by them for the purpose of carrying on the industry, business, service, or work in which they ar…

(a) Whenever there is a possibility of conflict with respect to the application of workers’ compensation laws because the contract of employment is entered into and all or some portion of the work is performed or is to be performed in a state or states other than this state, the …

(a) The Legislature finds that every prime contractor should be responsible to ensure that any subcontractor with which it directly contracts is either self-insured or maintains workers’ compensation coverage throughout the periods during which the services of a subcontractor are…

(a) “Insurance Commissioner” means the Insurance Commissioner of West Virginia as provided in §33-2-1 of this code. (b) “Policy default” means a policyholder that has failed to comply with the terms of its workers’ compensation insurance policy and is consequently without workers…

(a) Every employer shall furnish the Insurance Commissioner, upon request, all information required by him or her to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Every employer shall have a continuous and ongoing duty to maintain current information about its activities, risks, and ra…

(a) Private carriers and self-insured employers shall at all times be bound and shall comply fully with all of the provisions of this chapter. Furthermore, all of the provisions contained in §23-4-1 et seq. of this code pertaining to disability and death benefits are binding on a…

(a) No civil action may be brought or maintained by an employee against a private carrier or a third-party administrator, or any employee or agent of a private carrier or third-party administrator, who violates any provision of this chapter or Chapter 33 of this code. (b) Any adm…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all rules applicable to the former Workers' Compensation Commission are hereby adopted and made effective as to the operation of the Workers' Compensation insurance market to the extent that they are not in conflict with the current l…

Private carriers including the company, are not subject to payment of insurance premium taxes, surcharges, and credits contained in §33-3-1 et seq. of this code on premiums received for workers’ compensation insurance coverage under this chapter. In lieu thereof, the workers’ com…

The Insurance Commissioner shall prepare and furnish report forms for the use of employers subject to this chapter. Every employer receiving from the Insurance Commissioner any form or forms with direction for completion and returning to the Insurance Commissioner shall return th…

Upon discovery that an employer is not maintaining West Virginia workers’ compensation insurance, the Insurance Commissioner shall issue a written notice to the employees of that employer. Notice to employees provided in this section shall be given by posting written notice that …

(a) There is hereby created within the Office of the Insurance Commissioner an industrial council. (b) On or before July 1, 2005, the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint five voting members to the industrial council who meet the requirements and qua…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner in the name of the state may commence a civil action against an employer who, after due notice, defaults in any payment required by this chapter. If judgment is against the employer, the employer shall pay the costs of the action. A civil action und…

Any employer subject to this chapter who procures and continuously maintains workers’ compensation insurance as required by this chapter or who elects to make direct payments of compensation as provided in this section is not liable to respond in damages at common law or by statu…

There is hereby continued in the State Treasury a “Workers’ Compensation Old Fund”, “Workers’ Compensation Uninsured Employers’ Fund”, “Self-insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool”, and “Self-insured Employer Security Risk Pool”. The Insurance Commissioner shall have full authority …

The immunity from liability set out in the preceding section shall extend to every officer, manager, agent, representative or employee of such employer when he is acting in furtherance of the employer's business and does not inflict an injury with deliberate intention.

No employer or employee shall exempt himself or herself from the burden or waive the benefits of this chapter by any contract, agreement, rule, or regulation, and any such contract, agreement, rule, or regulation shall be pro tanto void.