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ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 95 By: Seifried and Coleman of the
Senate
and
Archer of the House
An Act relating to workers’ compensation; amending
85A O.S. 2021, Section 2, which relates to
definitions; defining term; updating statutory
language; updating statutory references; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 85A O.S. 2021, Section 2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2. As used in the Administrative Workers’ Compensation
Act:
1. “Actually dependent” means a surviving spouse, a child or
any other person who receives one -half (1/2) or more of his or her
support from the employee;
2. “Carrier” means any stock company, mutual company, or
reciprocal or interinsurance exchange authorized to write or car ry
on the business of workers ’ compensation insurance in this state.
Whenever required by the context, the term “carrier” carrier shall
be deemed to include duly qualified self -insureds or self-insured
groups;
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3. “Case management” means the ongoing coordination, by a case
manager, of health care services provided to an injured or disabled
worker, including but not limited to systematically monitoring the
treatment rendered and the medical progres s of the injured or
disabled worker; ensuring that any treat ment plan follows all
appropriate treatment protocols, utilization controls and practice
parameters; assessing whether alternative health care services are
appropriate and delivered in a cost -effective manner based upon
acceptable medical standards; and ensuring that the injured or
disabled worker is following the prescribed health care plan;
4. “Case manager” means a person who is a registered nurse with
a current, active unencumbered license fro m the Oklahoma Board of
Nursing, or possesses one or more of the following certifications
which indicate the individual has a minimum number of years of case
management experience, has passed a national competency test and
regularly obtains continuing educ ation hours to maintain
certification:
a. Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS),
b. Certified Case Manager (CCM),
c. Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN),
d. Case Manager - Certified (CMC),
e. Certified Occupational Health Nurse (CO HN), or
f. Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist (C OHN-
S);
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5. “Certified workplace medical plan ” means an organization of
health care providers or any other entity, certified by the State
Commissioner of Health, that is authorized to enter into a
contractual agreement with an employer, a group self-insurance
association plan, an employer ’s workers’ compensation insurance
carrier, a third-party administrator or an insured to provide
medical care under the Administrative Workers ’ Compensation Act.
Certified plans shall only include plans which provide medic al
services and payment for services on a fee -for-service basis to
medical providers;
6. “Child” means a natural or adopted son or daughter of the
employee under eighteen (18) years of age; or a natural or adopted
son or daughter of an employee eighteen (18) years of age or over
who is physically or mentally incapable of self -support; or any
natural or adopted son or daughter of an employee eighteen (18)
years of age or over who is actually depend ent; or any natural or
adopted son or daughter of an employe e between eighteen (18) and
twenty-three (23) years of age who is enrolled as a full -time
student in any accredited educational institution. The term “child”
child includes a posthumous child, a child legally adopted or one
for whom adoption proceedings are pending at the time of death, an
actually dependent stepchild or an actually dependent acknowledged
child born out of wedlock;
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7. “Claimant” means a person who claims benefits for an injury
or occupational disease pursuant to the provisions of the
Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act;
8. “Commission” means the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation
Commission;
9. a. “Compensable injury” means damage or harm to the
physical structure of the body, o r damage or harm to
prosthetic appliances, including eyeglasses, contact
lenses, or hearing aids, of which the major cause is
either an accident, cumulative trauma or occupational
disease arising out of the course and scope of
employment. An “accident” means an event involving
factors external to the employee that :
(1) was unintended, unanticipated, unforeseen,
unplanned and unexpected,
(2) occurred at a specifically identifiable time and
place,
(3) occurred by chance or from unknown causes, or
(4) was independent of sickness, mental incapacity,
bodily infirmity or any other cause.
b. “Compensable injury” Compensable injury does not
include:
(1) injury to any active participant in assaults or
combats which, although they may occur in the
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workplace, are the result of non-employment-
related hostility or animus of one, both, or all
of the combatants and which assault or combat
amounts to a deviation from customary duties;
provided, however, injuries caused by horseplay
shall not be considered to be compensable
injuries, except for innocent victims,
(2) injury incurred while engaging in or performing
or as the result of engaging in or performing any
recreational or social activities for the
employee’s personal pleasure,
(3) injury which was inflicted on the emplo yee at a
time when employment services were not being
performed or before the employee was hired or
after the employment relationship was terminated,
(4) injury if the accident was caused by the use of
alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription drugs
used in contravention of physician ’s orders. If
a biological specimen is collected within twenty -
four (24) hours of the employee being injured or
reporting an injury, or if at any time after the
injury a biological specimen is collected by the
Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner if
the injured employee does not survive for at
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least twenty-four (24) hours after the injury and
the employee tests positive for intoxication, an
illegal controlled substance, or a legal
controlled substance used in contraventio n to a
treating physician’s orders, or refuses to
undergo the drug and alcohol testing, there shall
be a rebuttable presumption that the injury was
caused by the use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or
prescription drugs used in contravention of
physician’s orders. This presumption may only be
overcome if the employee p roves by clear and
convincing evidence that his or her state of
intoxication had no causal relationship to the
injury,
(5) any strain, degeneration, damage or harm to, or
disease or condition of, the eye or
musculoskeletal structure or other body part
resulting from the natural results of aging,
osteoarthritis, arthritis, or degenerative
process including, but not limited to,
degenerative joint disease, degenerative disc
disease, degenerative
spondylosis/spondylolisthesis and spinal
stenosis, or
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(6) any preexisting condition except when the
treating physician clearly confirms an
identifiable and significant aggravation incurred
in the course and scope of employment.
c. A compensable injury shall be established by medical
evidence supported by objective findings as defined in
paragraph 31 of this section.
d. The injured employee shall prove by a preponderance of
the evidence that he or she has suffered a compensable
injury.
e. Benefits shall not be pa yable for a condition which
results from a non-work-related independent
intervening cause following a compensable injury which
causes or prolongs disability , or aggravation, or
requires treatment. A non -work-related independent
intervening cause does not require negligence or
recklessness on the part of a claimant.
f. An employee who suffers a compensable injury shall be
entitled to receive compensation as prescribed in this
act the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act .
Notwithstanding other provision s of law, if it is
determined that a compensable injury did not occur,
the employee shall not be entitled to compensation
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under this act the Administrative Workers’
Compensation Act;
10. “Compensation” means the money allowance payable to the
employee or to his or her dependents and includes the medical
services and supplies provided for in Section 50 of this title and
funeral expenses;
11. “Consequential injury ” means injury or harm to a part of
the body that is a direct result of the injury or medical t reatment
to the part of the body originally injured in the c laim. The
Commission shall not make a finding of a consequential injury unless
it is established by objective medical evidence that medical
treatment for such part of the body is required;
12. “Continuing medical maintenance ” means medical treatment
that is reasonable and necessary to maintain a claimant’s condition
resulting from the compensable injury or illness after reaching
maximum medical improvement. Continuing medical maintenance shall
not include diagnostic tests, surgery, injections, counseling ,
physical therapy, or pain management devices or equipment;
13. “Course and scope of employment ” means an activity of any
kind or character for which the employee was hired and that relates
to and derives from the work, business, trade or profession of an
employer, and is performed by an employee in the furtherance of the
affairs or business of an employer. The term includes activities
conducted on the premises of an employer or at other locatio ns
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designated by an employer and travel by an employee in fu rtherance
of the affairs of an employer that is specifically directed by the
employer. This term does not include:
a. an employee’s transportation to and from his or her
place of employment,
b. travel by an employee in furtherance of the affairs of
an employer if the travel is also in furtherance of
personal or private affairs of the employee,
c. any injury occurring in a parking lot or other common
area adjacent to an employer ’s place of business
before the employee clocks in or otherwise begins work
for the employer or after the employee clocks out or
otherwise stops work for the employer unless the
employer owns or maintains exclusive control over the
area, or
d. any injury occurring while an em ployee is on a work
break, unless the injury occurs while the employee is
on a work break inside the employer ’s facility or in
an area owned by or exclusively controlled by the
employer and the work break is authorized by the
employee’s supervisor;
14. “Cumulative trauma” means an injury to an employee that is
caused by the combined effect of repetitive physical activities
extending over a period of time in the course and scope of
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employment. Cumulative trauma shall not mean fatigue, soreness or
general aches and pain that may have been caused, aggravated,
exacerbated or accelerated by the employee ’s course and scope of
employment. Cumulative trauma shall have resulted directly and
independently of all other causes;
15. “Death” means only death resulting from compensable injury
as defined in paragraph 9 of this s ection;
16. “Disability” means incapacity because of compensable injury
to earn, in the same or any other employment, substantially the same
amount of wages the employee was receiving at the time of the
compensable injury;
17. “Drive-away operations” includes every person engaged in
the business of transporting and delivering new or used vehicles by
driving, either singly or by towbar, saddle -mount or full-mount
method, or any combination thereof , with or without towing a
privately owned vehicle;
18. a. “Employee” means any person, including a minor, in the
service of an employer under any contract of hire or
apprenticeship, written or oral, expressed or implied,
but excluding one whose employment is casual and not
in the course of the trade, business, profession, or
occupation of his or her employer and excluding one
who is required to perform work for a municipality or
county or the state or federal government on having
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been convicted of a crimin al offense or while
incarcerated. “Employee” Employee shall also include
a member of the Oklahoma National Guard while in the
performance of duties only while in response to state
orders and any authorized voluntary or uncompensated
worker, rendering serv ices as a firefighter, law
enforcement officer or emergency management worker.
Travel by a police officer, fireman, or a member of a
first aid or rescue squad, in responding to and
returning from an emergency, shall be deemed to be in
the course of employ ment.
b. The term “employee” employee shall not include:
(1) any person for whom an employer is liable under
any Act of Congress for providing compensation to
employees for injuries, disease or death arising
out of and in the course of employment including ,
but not limited to, the Federal Employees ’
Compensation Act, the Federal Employers ’
Liability Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers ’
Compensation Act and the Jones Act, to the extent
his or her employees are subject to such acts,
(2) any person who is em ployed in agriculture,
ranching or horticulture by an employ er who had a
gross annual payroll in the preceding calendar
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year of less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars
($100,000.00) wages for agricultural, ranching or
horticultural workers, or any person wh o is
employed in agriculture, ranching or horticulture
who is not engaged in operation of motorized
machines. This exemption applies to any period
of time for which such employment exists,
irrespective of whether or not the person is
employed in other act ivities for which the
exemption does not apply. If the pers on is
employed for part of a year in exempt activities
and for part of a year in nonexempt activities,
the employer shall be responsible for providing
workers’ compensation only for the period of time
for which the person is employed in nonexempt
activities,
(3) any person who is a licensed real estate sales
associate or broker, paid on a commission basis,
(4) any person employed by an employer with five or
fewer total employees, all of whom are re lated
within the second degree by blood or marriage to
the employer, all of whom are dependents living
in the household of the employer, or all of whom
are a combination of such relatives and
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dependents. If the employer is not a natural
person such relative shall be related within the
second degree by blood or marriage to a person
who owns fifty percent (50%) or more of the
employer, or such dependent shall be in the
household of a person who owns fifty percent
(50%) or more of the employer,
(5) any person employed by an employer which is a
youth sports league whic h qualifies for exemption
from federal income taxation pursuant to federal
law,
(6) sole proprietors, members of a partnership,
individuals who are party to a franchise
agreement as set out by the Federal Trade
Commission franchise disclosure rule, 16 CFR
436.1 through 436.11, members of a limited
liability company who own at least ten percent
(10%) of the capital of the limited liability
company or any stockholder -employees of a
corporation who own ten percent (10%) or more
stock in the corporation, unless they elect to be
covered by a policy of insurance covering
benefits under the Administrative Workers ’
Compensation Act,
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(7) any person providing or performing voluntary
service who receives no wa ges for the services
other than meals, drug or alcohol rehabilitative
therapy, transportation, lodging or reimbursement
for incidental expenses except for volunteers
specifically provided for in subparagraph a of
this paragraph,
(8) a person, commonly refe rred to as an owner-
operator, who owns or leases a truck -tractor or
truck for hire, if the owner -operator actually
operates the truck-tractor or truck and if the
person contracting with the owner -operator is not
the lessor of the truck -tractor or truck.
Provided, however, an owner -operator shall not be
precluded from workers ’ compensation coverage
under the Administrative Workers ’ Compensation
Act if the owner-operator elects to participate
as a sole proprietor,
(9) a person referred to as a drive -away owner-
operator who privately owns and utilizes a tow
vehicle in drive-away operations and operates
independently for hire, if the drive -away owner-
operator actually utilizes the tow vehicle and if
the person contracting with the drive -away owner-
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operator is not the lessor of the tow vehicle.
Provided, however, a drive -away owner-operator
shall not be precluded from workers ’ compensation
coverage under the Administrative Workers ’
Compensation Act if the drive -away owner-operator
elects to participate as a sole proprietor, and
(10) any person who is employed as a domest ic servant
or as a casual worker in and about a private home
or household, which private home or household had
a gross annual payroll in the preceding calendar
year of less than Fifty Thousand Dol lars
($50,000.00) for such workers , and
(11) any person engaging in a temporary work
arrangement that allows the individual to observe
a work environment and gain work experience
without the expectation of financial
compensation;
19. “Employer” means a natural person, partnership,
association, limited liability co mpany, corporation, and the legal
representatives of a deceased employer, or the receiver or trustee
of a person, partnership, association, corporation, or limited
liability company, departments, instrumentalities and institutions
of this state and divisions thereof, counties and divisions thereof,
public trusts, boards of education and incorporated cities or towns
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and divisions thereof, employing a person included within the term
“employee” employee as defined in this section. Employer may also
mean the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier, if
applicable. Except as provided otherwise, this act the
Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act applies to all public and
private entities and institutions;
20. “Employment” includes work or labor in a trade, business,
occupation or activity carried on by an employer or any authorized
voluntary or uncompensated worker rendering services as a
firefighter, peace officer or emergency management w orker;
21. “Evidence-based” means expert-based, literature-supported
and outcomes validated by well -designed randomized trials when such
information is available and which uses the best available evidence
to support medical decision making;
22. “Gainful employment” means the capacity to perform
employment for wages for a period of time that is not part -time,
occasional or sporadic;
23. “Impaired self-insurer” means a private self -insurer or
group self-insurance association that fails to pay its workers ’
compensation obligations, or is financially unable to do so and is
the subject of any proceeding under the Federal Bankruptcy Reform
Act of 1978, and any subsequent amendments or is the subject of any
proceeding in which a receiver, custodian, liquidator,
rehabilitator, trustee or similar officer has been appointed by a
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court of competent jurisdiction to act in lieu of or on behalf of
the self-insurer;
24. “Incapacity” means inadequate strength or ability to
perform a work-related task;
25. “Insurance Commissioner” means the Insurance Commissioner
of the State of Oklahoma this state;
26. “Insurance Department ” means the Insurance Department of
the State of Oklahoma this state;
27. “Major cause” means more than fifty percent (50%) of the
resulting injury, disease or illness. A finding of major cause
shall be established by a preponderance of the evidence. A finding
that the workplace was not a major cause of the injury, disease or
illness shall not adversely affect the exclusive remedy provisions
of this act the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act and shall
not create a separate cause of action outside this act the
Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act ;
28. “Maximum medical improvement ” means that no further
material improvement would reasonably be expected from medical
treatment or the passage of time;
29. “Medical services” means those services specified in
Section 50 of this title;
30. “Misconduct” shall include the following:
a. unexplained absenteeism or tardiness,
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b. willful or wanton indi fference to or neglect of the
duties required,
c. willful or wanton breach of any duty required by the
employer,
d. the mismanagement of a position of employment by
action or inaction,
e. actions or omissions that place in jeopardy the
health, life, or pro perty of self or others,
f. dishonesty,
g. wrongdoing,
h. violation of a law, or
i. a violation of a policy or rule adopted to ensure
orderly work or the safety of self or others;
31. a. (1) “Objective findings” are those findings which
cannot come under the voluntary control of the
patient.
(2) (a) When determining permanent disability, a
physician, any other medical provider, an
administrative law judge, the Commission or
the courts shall not consider complaints of
pain.
(b) For the purpose of making perm anent
disability ratings to the spine, physicians
shall use criteria established by the Sixth
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Edition of the American Medical Association
“Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent
Impairment”.
(3) (a) Objective evidence necessary to prove
permanent disability in occupational hearing
loss cases may be established by me dically
recognized and accepted clinical diagnostic
methodologies, including, but not limited
to, audiological tests that measure air and
bone conduction thresholds and speech
discrimination abili ty.
(b) Any difference in the baseline hearing
levels shall be confirmed by subsequent
testing; provided, however, such test shall
be given within four (4) weeks of the
initial baseline hearing level test but not
before five (5) days after being adjusted
for presbycusis.
b. Medical opinions addressing compensabilit y and
permanent disability shall be stated within a
reasonable degree of medical certainty;
32. “Official Disability Guidelines ” or “ODG” means the current
edition of the Official Disability Guid elines and the ODG Treatment
in Workers’ Comp as published by the Work Loss Data Institute;
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33. “Permanent disability ” means the extent, expressed as a
percentage, of the loss of a portion of the total physiological
capabilities of the human body as estab lished by competent medical
evidence and based on the Sixth Edition of the American Medical
Association “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment ”, if
the impairment is contained therein;
34. “Permanent partial disability ” means a permanent disabi lity
or loss of use after maximum medical improvement has been reached
which prevents the injured employee, who has been released to return
to work by the treating physician, from returning to his or her pre -
injury or equivalent job. All evaluations of pe rmanent partial
disability must be supported by objective fi ndings;
35. “Permanent total disability ” means, based on objective
findings, incapacity, based upon accidental injury or occupational
disease, to earn wages in any employment for which the employ ee may
become physically suited and reasonably fitted by education,
training, experience or vocational rehabilitation provided under
this act the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act . Loss of both
hands, both feet, both legs, or both eyes, or any two thereof, shall
constitute permanent total disability;
36. “Preexisting condition ” means any illness, injury, disease,
or other physical or mental condition, whether or not work -related,
for which medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was
recommended or received preceding the date of injury;
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37. “Pre-injury or equivalent job ” means the job that the
claimant was working for the employer at the time the injury
occurred or any other employment offered by the claimant ’s employer
that pays at least one h undred percent (100%) of the employee ’s
average weekly wage;
38. “Private self-insurer” means a private employer that has
been authorized to self -insure its workers’ compensation obligations
pursuant to this act the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Ac t,
but does not include group self -insurance associations authorized by
this act the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act , or any public
employer that self-insures pursuant to this act the Administrative
Workers’ Compensation Act ;
39. “Prosthetic” means an artificial device used to replace a
part or joint of the body that is lost or injured in an accident or
illness covered by this act the Administrative Workers’ Compensation
Act;
40. “Scheduled member” or “member” means hands, fingers, arms,
legs, feet, toes, and eyes. In addition, for purposes of the
Multiple Injury Trust Fund only, “scheduled member” scheduled member
means hearing impairment;
41. “Scientifically based ” involves the application of
rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to o btain reliable
and valid knowledge relevant to medical testi ng, diagnoses and
treatment; is adequate to justify the general conclusions drawn; and
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has been accepted by a peer -review journal or approved by a panel of
independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and
scientific review;
42. “State average weekly wage ” means the state average weekly
wage determined by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission in
the preceding calendar year. If such determination is not
available, the Commiss ion shall determine the wage annually after
reasonable investigation;
43. “Subcontractor” means a person, firm, corporation or other
legal entity hired by the general or prime contractor to perform a
specific task for the completion of a work -related activity;
44. “Surgery” does not include an injection, or the forcing of
fluids beneath the skin, for treatment or diagnosis;
45. “Surviving spouse” means the employee’s spouse by reason of
a legal marriage recognized by the State of Oklahoma this state or
under the requirements of a common law marriage in this state , as
determined by the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission;
46. “Temporary partial disability ” means an injured employee
who is temporarily unable to perform his or her job, but may perform
alternative work offered by the employer;
47. “Time of accident” or “date of accident” means the time or
date of the occurrence of the accidental incident from which
compensable injury, disability, or death results; and
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48. “Wages” means money compensat ion received for employment at
the time of the accident, inc luding the reasonable value of board,
rent, housing, lodging, or similar advantage received from the
employer and includes the amount of tips required to be reported by
the employer under Section 6053 of the Internal Revenue Code and the
regulations promulgated pursuant thereto or the amount of actual
tips reported, whichever amount is greater.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
Passed the Senate the 26th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives