Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2429 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Deshotel H.B. No. 2429
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to return-to-work coordination services and the
7	7	return-to-work reimbursement program for employers participating
8	8	in the Texas workers' compensation system.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 413.021, Labor Code, Subsection (a) is
11	11	amended to read as follows: Sec. 413.021. RETURN-TO-WORK
12	12	COORDINATION SERVICES. (a) An insurance carrier shall, with the
13	13	agreement of a participating employer, provide the employer with
14	14	return-to-work coordination services on an ongoing basis as
15	15	necessary to facilitate an employee's return to employment,
16	16	including upon receipt of a notice that an injured employee is
17	17	eligible to receive temporary income benefits. The insurance
18	18	carrier shall also notify the employer of the availability of
19	19	[return-to-work coordination services] the return-to-work
20	20	reimbursement program under Section 413.022. [In offering
21	21	providing the services, insurance carriers and the division shall
22	22	target employers without return-to-work programs shall focus
23	23	return-to-work efforts on workers who begin to receive temporary
24	24	income benefits.] The insurance carrier shall evaluate a
25	25	compensable injury in which the injured employee sustains an injury
26	26	that could potentially result in lost time from employment as early
27	27	as practicable to determine if skilled case management is necessary
28	28	for the injured employee's case. As necessary, case managers who
29	29	are appropriately [licensed to practice in this state] certified
30	30	shall be used to perform these evaluations. A claims adjuster may
31	31	not be used as a case manager. These services may be offered by
32	32	insurance carriers in conjunction with the accident prevention
33	33	services provided under Section 411.061. Nothing in this section
34	34	supersedes the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement
35	35	between an employer and the employer's employees, and nothing in
36	36	this section authorizes or requires an employer to engage in
37	37	conduct that would otherwise be a violation of the employer's
38	38	obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.
39	39	Section 151 et seq.).
40	40	SECTION 2. Section 413.022, Labor Code, is amended to read
41	41	as follows:
42	42	Sec. 413.022. RETURN-TO-WORK [PILOT] REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM
43	43	FOR [SMALL] EMPLOYERS; FUND. (a) In this section:
44	44	(1) "Account" means the workers' compensation
45	45	return-to-work account.
46	46	(2) "Eligible employer" means any employer, other than
47	47	this state or a political subdivision subject to Subtitle C, who
48	48	employs at least two but not more than 50 employees on each business
49	49	day during the preceding calendar year and who has workers'
50	50	compensation insurance coverage.
51	51	(b) The commissioner shall establish by rule a
52	52	return-to-work [pilot] reimbursement program designed to promote
53	53	the early and sustained return to work of an injured employee who
54	54	sustains a compensable injury. Notwithstanding Subsection (a) (2),
55	55	the commissioner may, by rule, expand the types of employers who are
56	56	eligible for reimbursements under this section.
57	57	(c) The [pilot] program shall reimburse from the account an
58	58	eligible employer for expenses incurred by the employer to make
59	59	workplace modifications necessary to accommodate an injured
60	60	employee's return to modified or alternative work. Reimbursement
61	61	under this section to an eligible employer may not exceed [$2,500]
62	62	$5,000. The expenses must be incurred to allow the employee to
63	63	perform modified or alternative work within doctor-imposed work
64	64	restrictions. Allowable expenses may include:
65	65	(1) physical modifications to the worksite;
66	66	(2) equipment, devices, furniture, or tools; and
67	67	(3) other costs necessary for reasonable
68	68	accommodation of the employee's restrictions.
69	69	(c-1) The commissioner by rule shall establish an optional
70	70	preauthorization plan for eligible employers who participate in the
71	71	pilot program. To participate in the preauthorization plan, an
72	72	employer must submit a proposal to the division, in the manner
73	73	prescribed by the division, that describes the workplace
74	74	modifications and other changes that the employer proposes to make
75	75	to accommodate an injured employee's return to work. If the
76	76	division approves the employer's proposal, the division shall
77	77	guarantee reimbursement of the expenses incurred by the employer in
78	78	implementing the modifications and changes from the account unless
79	79	the division determines that the modifications and changes differ
80	80	materially from the employer's proposal. At the discretion of the
81	81	commissioner, the division may provide the employer an advance of
82	82	funds. Reimbursement or an advance of funds under this subsection
83	83	is subject to the limit imposed under Subsection (c).
84	84	(d) The account is established as a special account in the
85	85	general revenue fund. From administrative penalties received by
86	86	the division under this subtitle, the commissioner shall deposit in
87	87	the account an amount not to exceed $100,000 annually. Money in
88	88	the account may be spent by the division, on appropriation by the
89	89	legislature, only for the purposes of implementing this section.
90	90	(e) An employer who wilfully applies for or receives
91	91	reimbursement from the account under this section knowing that the
92	92	employer is not an eligible employer commits a violation.
93	93	(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a)-(e), this section may
94	94	be implemented only to the extent funds are available.
95	95	(g) [This section expires September 1, 2009] The
96	96	commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement the
97	97	provisions of this section.
98	98	SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
99	99	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
100	100	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
101	101	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
102	102	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.