BILL NUMBER: S7803

SPONSOR: RHOADS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to establish-
ing statutory guidelines for return to work by temporarily partially
disabled workers

 
PURPOSE:

An act to amend the workers compensation law in relation to establishing
statutory guidelines for return to work by temporary partially disabled
workers.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 15 of the workers' compensation law,
as follows: 5. Temporary partial disability. In the case of temporary
partial disability resulting in decreased of earning capacity, the
compensation shall be two-thirds of the difference between the injured
employee's average weekly wages before the accident in the same or other
              

employment. Compensation under this subdivision shall be payable during
the continuance of such temporary partial disability, without the neces-
sity for the injured employee to demonstrate ongoing attachment to the
labor market, unless the board finds that the injured employees sepa-
ration from employment is wholly unrelated to his or her compensable
injury.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Workers' Compensation Law provides that in cases of partial disabil-
ity, "the board may in the interest of justice fix such wage-earning
capacity as shall be reasonable, but not in excess of seventy-five per
centum of (the injured worker's) former full time actual earnings,
having due regard to the nature of his injury and his physical impair-
ment." WCL § 15(5-a). The statute recognizes that a partially disabled
worker retains the ability to do some work and provides compensation
only for the loss of wage-earning capacity. No compensation is payable
for the wage-earning capacity the worker retains.

If a partially disabled worker returns to work, benefits are awarded
based on his or her actual earnings. In the absence of a return to work,
the Board must estimate the loss of wage-earning capacity and award
benefits accordingly. WCL § 15(5-a).

The law does not identify the circumstances in which a partially disa-
bled worker must seek employment as a condition of receiving benefits.
The lack of a statutory standard has resulted in substantial litigation
before the Workers' Compensation Board and in the courts. This has
transformed workers' compensation benefits from a range based on the
injured worker's degree of disability into an all-or-nothing scenario
while generating innumerable administrative trials and medical deposi-
tions that create costs for employers and insurers and increase the
Board's administrative burden.

The Act preserves and codifies the requirement of a causal connection
between the injury and the loss of earnings, encourages return to work,
expedites delivery of benefits, and reduces litigation.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.