By: Deshotel H.B. No. 2429
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to return-to-work coordination services and the
return-to-work reimbursement program for employers participating
in the Texas workers' compensation system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 413.021, Labor Code, Subsection (a) is
amended to read as follows: Sec. 413.021. RETURN-TO-WORK
COORDINATION SERVICES. (a) An insurance carrier shall, with the
agreement of a participating employer, provide the employer with
return-to-work coordination services on an ongoing basis as
necessary to facilitate an employee's return to employment,
including upon receipt of a notice that an injured employee is
eligible to receive temporary income benefits. The insurance
carrier shall also notify the employer of the availability of
[return-to-work coordination services] the return-to-work
reimbursement program under Section 413.022. [In offering
providing the services, insurance carriers and the division shall
target employers without return-to-work programs shall focus
return-to-work efforts on workers who begin to receive temporary
income benefits.] The insurance carrier shall evaluate a
compensable injury in which the injured employee sustains an injury
that could potentially result in lost time from employment as early
as practicable to determine if skilled case management is necessary
for the injured employee's case. As necessary, case managers who
are appropriately [licensed to practice in this state] certified
shall be used to perform these evaluations. A claims adjuster may
not be used as a case manager. These services may be offered by
insurance carriers in conjunction with the accident prevention
services provided under Section 411.061. Nothing in this section
supersedes the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement
between an employer and the employer's employees, and nothing in
this section authorizes or requires an employer to engage in
conduct that would otherwise be a violation of the employer's
obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.
Section 151 et seq.).
SECTION 2. Section 413.022, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 413.022. RETURN-TO-WORK [PILOT] REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM
FOR [SMALL] EMPLOYERS; FUND. (a) In this section:
(1) "Account" means the workers' compensation
return-to-work account.
(2) "Eligible employer" means any employer, other than
this state or a political subdivision subject to Subtitle C, who
employs at least two but not more than 50 employees on each business
day during the preceding calendar year and who has workers'
compensation insurance coverage.
(b) The commissioner shall establish by rule a
return-to-work [pilot] reimbursement program designed to promote
the early and sustained return to work of an injured employee who
sustains a compensable injury. Notwithstanding Subsection (a) (2),
the commissioner may, by rule, expand the types of employers who are
eligible for reimbursements under this section.
(c) The [pilot] program shall reimburse from the account an
eligible employer for expenses incurred by the employer to make
workplace modifications necessary to accommodate an injured
employee's return to modified or alternative work. Reimbursement
under this section to an eligible employer may not exceed [$2,500]
$5,000. The expenses must be incurred to allow the employee to
perform modified or alternative work within doctor-imposed work
restrictions. Allowable expenses may include:
(1) physical modifications to the worksite;
(2) equipment, devices, furniture, or tools; and
(3) other costs necessary for reasonable
accommodation of the employee's restrictions.
(c-1) The commissioner by rule shall establish an optional
preauthorization plan for eligible employers who participate in the
pilot program. To participate in the preauthorization plan, an
employer must submit a proposal to the division, in the manner
prescribed by the division, that describes the workplace
modifications and other changes that the employer proposes to make
to accommodate an injured employee's return to work. If the
division approves the employer's proposal, the division shall
guarantee reimbursement of the expenses incurred by the employer in
implementing the modifications and changes from the account unless
the division determines that the modifications and changes differ
materially from the employer's proposal. At the discretion of the
commissioner, the division may provide the employer an advance of
funds. Reimbursement or an advance of funds under this subsection
is subject to the limit imposed under Subsection (c).
(d) The account is established as a special account in the
general revenue fund. From administrative penalties received by
the division under this subtitle, the commissioner shall deposit in
the account an amount not to exceed $100,000 annually. Money in
the account may be spent by the division, on appropriation by the
legislature, only for the purposes of implementing this section.
(e) An employer who wilfully applies for or receives
reimbursement from the account under this section knowing that the
employer is not an eligible employer commits a violation.
(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a)-(e), this section may
be implemented only to the extent funds are available.
(g) [This section expires September 1, 2009] The
commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement the
provisions of this section.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.