Existing law establishes the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act and the Nevada Occupational Diseases Act, which: (1) provide for the payment of compensation to employees who are injured or disabled as the result of an occupational injury or occupational disease; and (2) govern industrial insurers in this State that provide benefits to those employees. (Chapters 616A-616D and 617 of NRS) Existing law authorizes certain groups of public or private employers to act as an association of self-insured employers if the group and each employer within the group meet certain requirements. (NRS 616B.350-616B.446) Existing law requires a board of trustees to operate any such association and to employ: (1) an association's administrator to carry out the policies of the board and perform such duties as the board delegates; and (2) a third-party administrator to administer the plan of insurance of the association. Existing law prohibits an association's administrator from performing any of the duties assigned to the third-party administrator. (NRS 616B.365) Section 2 of this bill specifies that the association's administrator is prohibited from directly administering claims. Existing law also prohibits the association's administrator and the third-party administrator from having a direct or indirect financial interest in each other. (NRS 616B.371) Section 3 of this bill removes the prohibition on the association's administrator and the third-party administrator from having a financial interest in each other. Section 1 of this bill revises the definition of the term “association's administrator” to specify that the responsibilities of the association's administrator to carry out the daily operations of the association are at the direction of the board of trustees of the association. Existing law establishes the Fund for Workers' Compensation and Safety within the State Treasury. (NRS 616A.425) Existing law creates within the Fund a Subsequent Injury Account for each of the following insurers: (1) self-insured employers; (2) associations of self-insured public or private employers; and (3) private carriers. (NRS 616B.554, 616B.575, 616B.584) Existing law requires that money in the Accounts be used to provide compensation or reimbursement in situations where an employee who has a preexisting permanent physical impairment incurs a subsequent disability by an injury arising out of and in the course of employment which entitles the employee to compensation for the combined disability that is substantially greater than that which would have resulted from the subsequent injury alone. (NRS 616B.557, 616B.560, 616B.578) Existing law requires either a board for administration or the Administrator of the Division of Industrial Relations of the Department of Business and Industry to administer each Account. (NRS 616B.548, 616B.554, 616B.569, 616B.575, 616B.584) Existing law and regulations require self-insured employers, associations of self-insured public or private employers and private carriers to pay an annual assessment to fund the Accounts. (NRS 616B.554, 616B.575, 616B.584; chapter 616B of NAC) Sections 4, 7 and 10 of this bill remove the authority to adopt regulations which impose such assessments from each board for administration and the Administrator of the Division, and section 32 of this bill voids the provisions of existing regulations relating to such assessments, thus eliminating the requirement for assessments to be paid for each Account. Sections 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of this bill require, for compensation or reimbursement provisions to apply, an employee to have incurred a subsequent disability by injury on or before September 30, 2025, thus prohibiting any claims against the Accounts due to a subsequent disability by injury which is incurred on or after October 1, 2025. For purposes of calculating the amount of a premium which is due pursuant to the terms of a policy of industrial insurance, existing law provides that the maximum amount paid to any one employee for services performed during the 12-month period during which a policy is effective shall be deemed to be $36,000. (NRS 616B.222) Existing law also deems $36,000 to be the maximum amount paid in a policy year to an officer or manager of a quasi-public or private corporation or limited-liability company who receives pay for services performed as an officer, manager or employee of the corporation or company. (NRS 616B.624) Sections 13 and 34 of this bill eliminate the $36,000 maximum amount of pay for employees for purposes of calculating the amount of a premium which is due pursuant to the terms of a policy of industrial insurance. Existing law requires an insurer to maintain a list of physicians and chiropractic physicians, selected from a panel established and maintained by the Administrator, from which an injured employee may choose to receive treatment. (NRS 616C.087, 616C.090) Sections 14 and 15 of this bill revise: (1) the number of physicians or chiropractic physicians for certain specified disciplines and specializations which an insurer is required to include in its list; (2) provisions governing changes to the panel maintained by the Administrator and a list maintained by an insurer; and (3) requirements governing the choice of a physician or chiropractic physician by an injured employee. Existing law: (1) authorizes an injured employee, subject to various requirements and restrictions, to obtain an independent medical examination concerning an injury that is the subject of a claim filed for compensation under industrial insurance; (2) provides that such an injured employee is entitled to request such an independent medical examination for a permanent partial disability under certain circumstances; (3) requires an insurer to pay the costs of any independent medical examination; and (4) provides that the insurer must receive a copy of any report or other document generated as a result of the examination. (NRS 616C.145) Section 16 of this bill: (1) eliminates the right of an injured employee to request an independent medical examination for a permanent partial disability under certain circumstances; and (2) eliminates the duty of an insurer to pay the costs of an independent medical examination and the provision that the insurer must receive a copy of any report or other document that is generated as a result of an independent medical examination. Existing law provides that if an injured employee is discharged as a result of misconduct, an insurer may deny compensation for temporary total disability only by proving that: (1) the injured employee was discharged solely for misconduct and not for any reason relating to the employee's claim for compensation; and (2) the sole cause for the injured employee's inability to return to work with the preinjury employer is the discharge for misconduct and not the injury. Existing law also: (1) provides that an insurer waives its rights to deny compensation pursuant to such provisions if the insurer does not make a determination to deny or suspend compensation within 70 days after the insurer learns of the discharge; and (2) prohibits an insurer from denying compensation pursuant to such provisions except for compensation for temporary total disability. (NRS 616C.232) Section 17 of this bill: (1) authorizes an insurer to deny vocational rehabilitation services as well as compensation for temporary total disability to an injured employee who is discharged for misconduct; (2) eliminates provisions requiring a waiver of the rights to deny compensation if the insurer does not make a determination to deny or suspend compensation within 70 days after learning of the discharge; (3) authorizes an insurer to deny compensation for temporary total disability and vocational rehabilitation services to an injured employee who voluntarily resigns from employment with the preinjury employer for any reason unrelated to his or her claim for compensation; and (4) provides that if an injured employee is certified as temporarily totally disabled, the employee's voluntary resignation or discharge for misconduct does not limit the injured employee's entitlement to receive benefits for temporary total disability. Section 17 also provides a definition of the term “misconduct” for the purposes of these provisions. Existing law authorizes an insurer or employer who pays an annual increase in compensation for a permanent total disability or certain death benefits to obtain reimbursement from the Administrator and sets forth procedures for obtaining such reimbursement. (NRS 616C.266, 616C.268) Sections 18 and 19 of this bill revise the procedures to require: (1) the Administrator to authorize the State Treasurer to reimburse the insurer and provide the insurer with proof of the authorization; and (2) the State Treasurer to process and issue the payment for reimbursement not later than 10 days after receiving an authorization from the Administrator. Section 20 of this bill revises provisions governing a stay of a decision of an appeals officer. Section 21 of this bill revises provisions governing the duration of payments for a temporary total disability and an employer's offer of temporary, light-duty employment to an injured employee. Existing law provides that when a claimant elects to receive and accepts payment for a permanent partial disability in a lump sum, the claimant's benefits terminate and the claimant waives certain rights regarding his or her claim, except the right to: (1) reopen his or her claim; (2) have the claim considered by his or her insurer; (3) certain counseling, training and rehabilitative services; (4) receive a benefit penalty; and (5) conclude or resolve any contested matter, with certain exceptions, which is pending at the time of the election of payment for a permanent partial disability in a lump sum. (NRS 616C.495) Section 23 of this bill eliminates the right of a claimant who elects to receive and accepts payment for a permanent partial disability in a lump sum to conclude or resolve any contested matter which is pending at the time of the election of payment in a lump sum. Existing law requires, in the event of a dispute over an award of compensation for permanent partial disability, an insurer to commence making installment payments to the injured employee for the portion of the award that is not in dispute without requiring the injured employee to make an election whether to receive his or her compensation in installment payments or in a lump sum. (NRS 616C.490) Section 22 of this bill requires a claimant, upon the conclusion of such a dispute, to make an election whether to receive his or her award of compensation in installment payments or in a lump sum. Section 24 of this bill revises certain duties of an insurer as they relate to a plan for a program of vocational rehabilitation for an injured employee. (NRS 616C.570) Existing law: (1) authorizes the Administrator to impose upon an insurer, organization for managed care, health care provider, third-party administrator, employer or professional employer organization a benefit penalty for certain violations of law or regulation; and (2) requires proof of the payment of such a benefit penalty to be submitted to the Administrator within 15 days after the date of the Administrator's determination of the benefit penalty unless an appeal of the benefit penalty is filed and a stay has been granted. (NRS 616D.120, 616D.140) Section 25 of this bill: (1) revises the amounts and schedule of administrative fines which the Administrator may impose as a benefit penalty; and (2) provides that proof of the payment of such a benefit penalty must be submitted to the Administrator within 15 days after the date of the Administrator's determination of the benefit penalty unless an appeal of the benefit penalty is filed and the appeals process is not yet complete. Section 27 of this bill requires that payment of such a benefit penalty be paid not later than 30 days after an appeals officer or district court renders a decision upholding the imposition of the benefit penalty. Existing law requires each: (1) entertainment industry worker and supervisory employee to obtain a completion card for taking a course in construction industry or general industry safety and health hazard recognition and prevention; and (2) convention services worker and supervisory employee to obtain a completion card for taking such a course. The required courses must be: (1) developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor; and (2) approved by the Division of Industrial Relations of the Department of Business and Industry. Existing law provides that such completion cards expire 5 years after their issuance and provide that the completion cards may be renewed by the completion of certain continuing education. (NRS 618.9911, 618.9929) Existing law requires the Division to adopt regulations that set forth guidelines for job-specific training to qualify as continuing education for the purposes of renewing completion cards for the entertainment industry and convention services work. (NRS 618.9909, 618.9927) Sections 28-31 of this bill eliminate provisions: (1) providing for the expiration of completion cards; (2) requiring the completion of continuing education for the renewal of such completion cards; and (3) requiring the Division to adopt regulations setting forth guidelines for job-specific training to qualify as continuing education for the purposes of renewing such completion cards.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 616A.060, 616B.365, 616B.371, 616B.554, 616B.557, 616B.560, 616B.575, 616B.578, 616B.581, 616B.584, 616B.587, 616B.590, 616B.624, 616C.087, 616C.090, 616C.145, 616C.232, 616C.266, 616C.268, 616C.375, 616C.475, 616C.490, 616C.495, 616C.570, 616D.120, 616D.130, 616D.140, 618.9909, 618.9911, 618.9927, 618.9929, 616B.222
BDR: 616A.060, 616B.365, 616B.371, 616B.554, 616B.557, 616B.560, 616B.575, 616B.578, 616B.581, 616B.584, 616B.587, 616B.590, 616B.624, 616C.087, 616C.090, 616C.145, 616C.232, 616C.266, 616C.268, 616C.375, 616C.475, 616C.490, 616C.495, 616C.570, 616D.120, 616D.130, 616D.140, 618.9909, 618.9911, 618.9927, 618.9929, 616B.222