Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1927 Compare Versions

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22 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 622 FILED ON: 1/14/2023
33 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1927
44 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
55 _________________
66 PRESENTED BY:
77 Tram T. Nguyen
88 _________________
99 To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
1010 Court assembled:
1111 The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
1212 An Act to protect injured workers.
1313 _______________
1414 PETITION OF:
1515 NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tram T. Nguyen18th Essex1/11/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/25/2023James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/27/2023Andres X. Vargas3rd Essex2/2/2023Michelle M. DuBois10th Plymouth2/7/2023David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf17th Worcester2/16/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol2/16/2023David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex2/16/2023Brian W. Murray10th Worcester2/16/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex2/21/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/22/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/27/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/28/2023Peter Capano11th Essex3/1/2023William J. Driscoll, Jr.7th Norfolk3/2/2023Daniel Cahill10th Essex3/2/2023Adrian C. Madaro1st Suffolk3/6/2023David M. Rogers24th Middlesex3/7/2023 2 of 2
1616 Kevin G. Honan17th Suffolk3/14/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex3/15/2023 1 of 5
1717 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 622 FILED ON: 1/14/2023
1818 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1927
1919 By Representative Nguyen of Andover, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1927) of
2020 Tram T. Nguyen and others for legislation to protect injured workers. Labor and Workforce
2121 Development.
2222 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
2323 _______________
2424 In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
2525 (2023-2024)
2626 _______________
2727 An Act to protect injured workers.
2828 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
2929 of the same, as follows:
3030 1 SECTION 1. Section 3 of chapter 23E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
3131 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 46, after the word “claims” the
3232 3following words:- ; and further provided that the department shall promptly undertake the
3333 4investigation, hold an investigative conference to obtain any additional evidence or statements,
3434 5and report the findings regardless of whether a case is open or active in the division of dispute
3535 6resolution.
3636 7 SECTION 2. Subsection (a) of section 27C of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so
3737 8appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 5, after the number “151,” and also by
3838 9inserting, in line 15, after the number “151,” the following words:- , or paragraph 2 of section
3939 1075B of chapter 152.
4040 11 SECTION 3. Subsection (b) of said section 27C of said chapter 149 of the General Laws,
4141 12as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 68, after the word “week.” the following 2 of 5
4242 13sentence:- For purposes of a violation of paragraph 2 of section 75B of chapter 152, restitution
4343 14shall include actual and compensatory damages, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, and
4444 15rectifying the infraction may include injunctive relief, punitive damages and other appropriate
4545 16relief.
4646 17 SECTION 4. Section 1 of chapter 152 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
4747 18amended by inserting after the word “death,” in line 39, the following paragraph:-
4848 19 (3A) “Earnings” includes any wages, based on credible evidence, that the employer was
4949 20required to pay pursuant to chapter 149, chapter 151, or any other local, state or federal law.
5050 21When an employer has failed to pay an employee the full amount of wages required by law, and
5151 22the insurer is required to pay compensation to that employee based on the higher required
5252 23amount, the employer shall indemnify the insurer for any additional compensation owed
5353 24 under this chapter as a result of the additional wages.
5454 25 SECTION 5. Section 22 of said chapter 152 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
5555 26hereby amended by striking out, in lines 10, 11 and 12, the words “may be given in the manner
5656 27therein provided or in such other manner as may be approved by the department” and inserting in
5757 28place thereof the following words:-
5858 29 shall be given to employees by posting a copy of the notice, as approved and issued by
5959 30the department, in a visible location utilized by and accessible to all employees of the insured
6060 31person and, depending on the customary manner in which the insured person communicates with
6161 32employees, by providing a hard or electronic copy of the notice to each employee at the time of
6262 33hire and when information contained in the notice changes. The notice shall include information
6363 34on unlawful retaliation, discrimination and fraud under chapter 152 and shall be made available 3 of 5
6464 35by the department in English and all other languages required under subsection (d)(iii) of section
6565 3662A of chapter 151A. The insured person shall post the notice in English and all other primary or
6666 37preferred languages of current employees and shall provide the notice to individual employees in
6767 38their primary or preferred languages, except when the notice is not available from the department
6868 39in those languages.
6969 40 SECTION 6. Section 75B of said chapter 152 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
7070 41hereby amended by striking out paragraphs (2) to (4) in their entirety and inserting in place
7171 42thereof the following paragraphs:-
7272 43 (2) No person or entity, itself or through its agent, may discharge, refuse to hire, or in any
7373 44other manner discriminate or take adverse action, or to threaten to discharge, refuse to hire, or in
7474 45any other manner discriminate or take adverse action, against any person because that person
7575 46has: (i) exercised a right afforded by this chapter, including reporting or seeking care for a work-
7676 47related injury or illness; (ii) assisted any other person in exercising a right afforded by this
7777 48chapter; (iii) informed any other person about a right afforded by this chapter; (iv) opposed a
7878 49violation of this chapter; (v) testified or in any other manner cooperated with an inquiry or
7979 50proceeding pursuant to this chapter; or (vi) because of a belief that the person may in the future
8080 51engage in any such actions. For purposes of this paragraph, “adverse action” shall include any
8181 52action to deprive an employee of any right afforded by this chapter, including through false
8282 53denial of an employment relationship or false denial that an injury or illness was work related.
8383 54 (3) There shall be a rebuttable presumption of a violation of paragraph (2) of this section
8484 55if a person or entity, itself or through its agent, discharges, refuses to hire, or in any other manner
8585 56discriminates or takes adverse action, or threatens to discharge, refuse to hire, or in any other 4 of 5
8686 57manner discriminate or take adverse action, against a person within 90 days of that person’s
8787 58exercise of a right afforded by this chapter, including: (i) reporting or seeking care for a work-
8888 59related injury or illness; (ii) assisting any other person in exercising a right afforded by this
8989 60chapter; (iii) informing any other person about a right afforded by this chapter; (iv) opposing a
9090 61violation of this chapter; (v) or testifying or in any other manner cooperating with an inquiry or
9191 62proceeding pursuant to this chapter. This presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing
9292 63evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose and that the action would
9393 64have been taken in the absence of the person’s exercise of a right afforded by this chapter. For
9494 65purposes of this paragraph, “adverse action” shall include any action to deprive an employee of
9595 66any right afforded by this chapter, including through false denial of an employment relationship
9696 67or false denial that an injury or illness was work related.
9797 68 (4) A person claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of paragraph 2 of this section may
9898 69file a complaint with the attorney general, who may initiate criminal or civil proceedings
9999 70pursuant to section 27C of chapter 149. Alternatively, a person claiming to be aggrieved by a
100100 71violation of paragraph 2 of this section may, within 3 years after the violation, initiate a civil
101101 72action; provided, however, that the 3-year limitation period shall be tolled from the date that the
102102 73person files a complaint with the attorney general alleging violation of paragraph 2 of this
103103 74section until the date that the attorney general’s office declines to pursue enforcement of that
104104 75complaint or the date that an enforcement action by the attorney general becomes final. A person
105105 76so aggrieved who prevails in such an action shall be awarded treble damages, as liquidated
106106 77damages, for any lost wages and other benefits, other actual and compensatory damages, costs of
107107 78litigation and reasonable attorneys’ fees and may be awarded injunctive relief, punitive damages
108108 79and other appropriate relief. 5 of 5
109109 80 (5) Upon a determination by the commissioner that a request for data maintained by the
110110 81department is intended to be used in such a manner as to violate the purposes of this section, the
111111 82commissioner may find that the disclosure of such data constitutes an unwarranted invasion of
112112 83personal privacy pursuant to chapter 4 and deny said request. Nothing in this section shall be
113113 84construed to prohibit an insurer's right to obtain information held by the department regarding
114114 85any employee who has filed a claim against such insurer.