Senate Bill S305

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S305

SPONSOR: RHOADS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to establish-
ing statutory guidelines for return to work by temporarily partially
disabled workers

 
PURPOSE:

An act to amend the workers compensation law in relation to establishing
statutory guidelines for return to work by temporary partially disabled
workers.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 15 of the workers' compensation law,
as follows: 5. Temporary partial disability. In the case of temporary
partial disability resulting in decreased of earning capacity, the
compensation shall be two-thirds of the difference between the injured
employee's average weekly wages before the accident in the same or other
              

employment. Compensation under this subdivision shall be payable during
the continuance of such temporary partial disability, without the neces-
sity for the injured employee to demonstrate ongoing attachment to the
labor market, unless the board finds that the injured employees sepa-
ration from employment is wholly unrelated to his or her compensable
injury.

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Workers' Compensation Law provides that in cases of partial disabil-
ity, "the board may in the interest of justice fix such wage-earning
capacity as shall be reasonable, but not in excess of seventy-five per
centum of  
THE INJURED WORKER'S formerearnings, having due regard to
the nature of his injury and his physical impairment." WCL § 15(5-a).
The statute recognizes that a partially disabled worker retains the
ability to do some work and provides compensation only for the loss of
wage-earning capacity. No compensation is payable for the wage-earning
capacity the worker retains.

If a partially disabled worker returns to work, benefits are awarded
based on his or her actual earnings. In the absence of a return to work,
the Board must estimate the loss of wage-earning capacity and award
benefits accordingly. WCL § 15(5-a).  The law does not identify the
circumstances in which a partially disabled worker must seek employment
as a condition of receiving benefits. The lack of a statutory standard
has resulted in substantial litigation before the Workers' Compensation
Board and in the courts. This has transformed workers' compensation
benefits from a range based on the injured worker's degree of disability
into an all-or-nothing scenario while generating innumerable administra-
tive trials and medical depositions that create costs for employers and
insurers and increase the Board's administrative burden.

The Act preserves and codifies the requirement of a causal connection.
between the injury and the loss of earnings, encourages return to work,
expedites delivery of benefits, and reduces litigation.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.