NOTICE OF INJURY Present law requires an injured employee or their representative, immediately upon the occurrence of an injury, or as is reasonable and practicable, to give or cause to be given to the employer who has no actual notice, written notice of the injury. The employee is not entitled to physician's fees or to any compensation that may have accrued from the date of the accident to the giving of notice, unless it can be shown that the employer had actual knowledge of the accident. Present law requires such notice to state in plain and simple language the name and address of the employee and the time, place, nature, and cause of the accident resulting in injury or death. This bill authorizes the employee's representative to give such notice to the employer. Present law prohibits a defect or inaccuracy in the notice from barring compensation, unless the employer can show, to the satisfaction of the workers' compensation judge before which the matter is pending, that the employer was prejudiced by the failure to give the proper notice, and then only to the extent of the prejudice. This bill revises this provision to require the notice given to be written notice. VOCATIONAL RECOVERY FUND Present law provides that if, after compensation for temporary total disability has been given, the employee has not returned to work because of a work injury, or has returned to work and is receiving wages or a salary that is less than 100% of the wages or salary the employee received from the employee's pre-injury employer on the date of injury, then the injured employee may request vocational recovery assistance from the subsequent injury and vocational recovery fund by submitting an approved form to the bureau of worker's compensation. Under present law, the provisions regarding vocational recovery assistance only apply to injuries that occur on or after July 1, 2018, but not to injuries that occur after June 30, 2025. This bill removes the end date of June 30, 2025. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD Present law authorizes the governor, in consultation with the speaker of the house of representatives and the speaker of the senate, to appoint three qualified individuals to serve as judges on the workers' compensation appeals board. Each individual so selected must be at least 30. This bill increases the minimum age requirement to at least 35. Present law provides that upon appointment, each judge of the workers' compensation appeals board must serve a term of six years and may be reappointed for up to two additional terms by the governor upon expiration of the initial term. This bill revises this provision to, instead, authorize a judge be appointed for up to three additional terms upon expiration of the initial term. Present law provides that service of more than half of a six-year term constitutes service of one full term. This bill removes this provision. Present law provides that a judge appointed to the board to serve less than a full term to fill a vacancy is eligible to serve up to an additional three full terms. This bill revises this provision to, instead, authorize such judge to be eligible to serve up to an additional four terms. FEES Present law provides that the reasonableness of attorney fees for services to employees is subject to the approval of the workers' compensation judge before whom the matter is pending. All attorney fees for attorneys representing employers are subject to review for reasonableness of the fee and are subject to approval by a workers' compensation judge when the fee exceeds $10,000. Additionally under present law, medical costs that have been voluntarily paid by the employer or its insurer must not be included in determining the award for purposes of calculating the attorney's fee. This bill revises the previous provision to now include burial, cremation, or other lawful means of disposition of human remains in addition to medical costs. In addition to attorneys' fees, present law authorizes the court of workers' compensation claims to award reasonable attorneys' fees and reasonable costs, including, but not limited to, reasonable and necessary court reporter expenses and expert witness fees for depositions and trials, incurred when the employer unreasonably denies a claim or unreasonably fails to timely initiate any of the benefits to which the employee or dependent is entitled, including medical benefits, temporary or permanent disability benefits, or death benefits if the workers' compensation judge makes a finding that the benefits were owed at an expedited hearing or compensation hearing. Present law provides that this authority is applicable to injuries that occur between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2025. This bill changes the end date to June 30, 2030. MEDIATORS PROGRAM Present law requires the administrator of the workers' compensation mediators program to establish a workers' compensation mediators program to assist injured or disabled employees, persons claiming death benefits, employers and other persons in protecting their rights, resolving disputes, and obtaining information pertinent to workers compensation laws and practices. In accordance with the rules adopted by the administrator, present law requires conduct alternative dispute resolution and certain other requirements listed in present law, including accepting all documents and information presented to the workers' compensation bureau of this state relating to the employee's wages, medical condition, and any other information pertinent to the resolution of disputed issues and include them in the claim file. This bill removes this requirement of the mediator. JUDGE QUALIFICATIONS Present law requires the administrator of the court of worker's compensation claims to appoint qualified individuals to serve as workers' compensation judges. Such judges must have at least five years of experience in workers' compensation matters and be at least 30. This bill increases the required amount of experience to seven years and increases the minimum age requirement to at least 35. Present law prohibits a workers' compensation judge from serving more than three full terms, with service of more than half of a term constituting service of one full term. This bill revises this provision to, instead, prohibit such a judge from serving more than four years, with an appointment to fill a vacancy for less than a full term being eligible to serve up to an additional four full terms. Under present law, any workers' compensation judge appointed to serve less than a full term to fill a vacancy created by the removal or resignation of a sitting workers' compensation judge is eligible to serve an additional three full terms. This bill revises this provision to, instead, authorize an additional four terms. Present law requires the administrator to appoint a qualified individual to serve as chief judge of the court of workers' compensation claims. Upon appointment, the chief judge must serve a term of six years. Service of more than half of a six-year term constitutes service of one full term. This bill removes this provision regarding service of more than half a six-year term. Present law provides that a chief judge appointed to serve less than a full term to fill a vacancy is eligible to serve up to an additional three full terms. This bill revises this provision to, instead, authorize an additional four full terms. FEE FOR CONTEMPT This bill authorizes a workers' compensation judge to sanction a party for contempt and impose a fine of up to $50 per occurrence, in addition to any other civil penalties under law. Additionally, upon imposition of the sanction, the sanctioned party may request a hearing to contest the sanction by filing a request for hearing with the court clerk no later than five business days after the date the judge imposed the sanction. If the judge confirms the contempt finding, then the sanctioned party may appeal that decision by filing a notice of appeal with the workers' compensation appeals board. An appeal of a sanction must not result in a stay of proceedings in the underlying claim. REQUEST OF HEARING Within 60 days after issuance of a dispute certification notice by a workers' compensation mediator, present law requires a party seeking further resolution of disputed issues to file a request for a hearing with the bureau. The clerk of the court of workers' compensation claims must issue notice to all parties identifying the judge to whom the claim has been assigned and the procedure for scheduling and preparing for a hearing. This bill revises this provision to provide that if the presiding judge has not set a case for hearing, then, within 60 days, a party must file the request. Unless permission has been granted by the assigned workers' compensation judge, present law provides that only issues that have been certified by a workers' compensation mediator within a dispute certification notice may be presented to the workers' compensation judge for adjudication. Following the issuance of a dispute certification notice and assignment of the claim to a workers' compensation judge, the workers' compensation judge may grant permission for parties to present issues that have not been certified by a workers' compensation mediator only upon finding that the parties did not have knowledge of the issue prior to issuance of the dispute certification and could not have known of the issue despite reasonable investigation and prohibiting presentation of the issue would result in substantial injustice to the petitioning party. This bill removes all of these provisions and, instead, provides that the presiding workers' compensation judge may, at the judge's discretion, grant permission for parties to present issues that have not been certified by a workers' compensation mediator. JUDGMENTS WITH MULTIPLE FINDINGS If, following a civil action in a worker's compensation case filed pursuant to an appeal, the court enters a judgment or decree that includes multiple findings with separate awards of payment to the employee, then present law requires the following to apply:  If the employer, insurer, or employee appeals one or more of the findings but not all, any payments owed to the employee as the result of a finding not appealed must be due and payable to the employee when the time for appealing the judgment or decree has expired.  If the employer, insurer, or employee appeals more than one of the findings and the supreme court grants permission to appeal as to at least one of the findings appealed but not all, any payments owed to the employee as the result of a finding not appealed or for which permission to appeal was not granted must be due and payable to the employee when the time for appealing the judgment or decree has expired. This bill removes all of the above provisions. Under present law, when the time for filing an appeal has expired under the provisions above, the court unless in its discretion it determines otherwise, must enter final judgment or a mandate pursuant to law as to all finding not appealed or findings for which permission to appeal was not granted. This bill removes this provision.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 50-6-201, 50-6-208(i)(7), 50-6-208, 50-6-218(a), 50-6-218, 50-6-218(b), 50-6-226(a)(2)(A), 50-6-226, 50-6-226(d)(2)(B), 50-6-236(b)(3), 50-6-236, 50-6-238(a)(1), 50-6-238, 50-6-238(a)(2)(B), 50-6-238(a)(2)(D), 50-6-238(a), 50-6-238(b)(3), 50-6-239(a), 50-6-239, 50-6-239(b), 50-6-245