S.B. No. 1814
AN ACT
relating to return-to-work coordination services and a
return-to-work reimbursement program for employers participating
in the workers' compensation system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 413.021, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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 on receipt
of a notice that an injured employee is eligible to receive
temporary income benefits. The insurance carrier shall notify the
employer of the availability of the return-to-work reimbursement
program under Section 413.022 [coordination services]. [In
offering the services, insurance carriers and the division shall
target employers without return-to-work programs and 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 certified [licensed to practice in this state]
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. The heading to Section 413.022, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 413.022. RETURN-TO-WORK REIMBURSEMENT [PILOT] PROGRAM
FOR [SMALL] EMPLOYERS; FUND.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 413.022, Labor Code, is
amended by amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivision (3) to
read as follows:
(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 and who:
(A) employed at least two but not more than 50
employees on each business day during the preceding calendar year;
or
(B) is a type of employer designated as eligible
to participate in the program by the commissioner.
(3) "Program" means the return-to-work reimbursement
program established under this section.
SECTION 4. Subsections (b), (c), (c-1), and (g), Section
413.022, Labor Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner shall establish by rule a
return-to-work reimbursement [pilot] program designed to promote
the early and sustained return to work of an injured employee who
sustains a compensable injury. The commissioner, by rule, may
expand eligibility to participate in the program to types of
employers who are not described by Subsection (a)(2)(A).
(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 $5,000
[$2,500]. 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. If determined to be a
public purpose by the commissioner, and in accordance with rules
adopted by the commissioner, the division may provide the employer
an advance of funds under this subsection. Reimbursement or an
advance of funds under this subsection is subject to the limit
imposed under Subsection (c).
(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this [This] section [expires September 1, 2009].
SECTION 5. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1814 passed the Senate on
April 16, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1814 passed the House on
May 20, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 129, Nays 11, two
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor