81R27622 KCR-D
By: Giddings H.B. No. 2547
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2547:
By: Quintanilla C.S.H.B. No. 2547
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of a description of employment in determining
the safety and appropriateness of a return to employment by an
injured employee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 408, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 408.0221 to read as follows:
Sec. 408.0221. REQUEST FOR DESCRIPTION OF EMPLOYMENT. (a)
This section applies only to an employee of an employer who has 10
or more employees.
(b) To facilitate an injured employee's return to
employment as soon as it is considered safe and appropriate by the
injured employee's treating doctor, the treating doctor may request
that the injured employee's employer provide the treating doctor
with the information described by Subsection (d) on the form
adopted under that subsection.
(c) Information provided to a treating doctor under
Subsection (b) does not constitute:
(1) a request by the employer that the injured
employee return to the employment;
(2) an offer of employment by the employer for the
injured employee to return to employment; or
(3) an admission of the compensability of the injury
of the employee.
(d) The commissioner shall by rule adopt a standardized form
through which an employer may provide information to a treating
doctor concerning an injured employee. The form must:
(1) if possible, be no longer than one page in length
and be compatible with electronic mail; and
(2) include:
(A) the name and address of the employer and, if
applicable, the contact information and availability of the
individual representing the employer who has knowledge of the
injured employee's job;
(B) an area for additional comments or
information if needed by the employer or individual representing
the employer concerning the injured employee's job;
(C) to the extent practicable, a check box format
that indicates work activities that were required of the injured
employee before the employee sustained the injury;
(D) a description of the scope of the injured
employee's employment; and
(E) any other information the commissioner
determines to be necessary to advance communication between the
injured employee's employer and treating doctor.
(e) In adopting the form under Subsection (d), the
commission shall involve interested parties in the rulemaking
process and afford those parties an opportunity to comment on the
form proposed for adoption.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a claim for workers' compensation benefits based on a
compensable injury that occurs on or after the effective date of
this Act. A claim based on a compensable injury that occurs before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the compensable injury occurred, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.