A bill for an act
relating to workers' compensation; adopting recommendations of the Workers'
Compensation Advisory Council; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections
176.101, subdivision 1; 176.136, by adding a subdivision; 176.1362, subdivisions
1, 6; 176.1363, subdivisions 1, 2, 3; 176.194, subdivisions 3, 4; 176.223, as
amended; 176.351, by adding a subdivision; Laws 2020, chapter 72, section 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 176.101, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
(a) For injury producing temporary total
disability, the compensation is 66-2/3 percent of the weekly wage at the time of injury.
(b)(1) Commencing on October 1, 2013, and each October 1 thereafter, the maximum
weekly compensation payable is 102 percent of the statewide average weekly wage for the
period ending December 31 of the preceding year.
(2) The Workers' Compensation Advisory Council may consider adjustment increases
and make recommendations to the legislature.
(c) The minimum weekly compensation payable is $130 per week or the injured
employee's actual weekly wage, whichever is less.new text begin Beginning on October 1, 2021, and each
October 1 thereafter, the minimum weekly compensation shall be 20 percent of the maximum
weekly compensation payable or the employee's actual weekly wage, whichever is less.
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(d) Temporary total compensation shall be paid during the period of disability subject
to the cessation and recommencement conditions in paragraphs (e) to (l).
(e) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease when the employee returns to
work. Except as otherwise provided in section 176.102, subdivision 11, temporary total
disability compensation may only be recommenced following cessation under this paragraph,
paragraph (h), or paragraph (j) prior to payment of 130 weeks of temporary total disability
compensation and only as follows:
(1) if temporary total disability compensation ceased because the employee returned to
work, it may be recommenced if the employee is laid off or terminated for reasons other
than misconduct if the layoff or termination occurs prior to 90 days after the employee has
reached maximum medical improvement. Recommenced temporary total disability
compensation under this clause ceases when any of the cessation events in paragraphs (e)
to (l) occurs; or
(2) if temporary total disability compensation ceased because the employee returned to
work or ceased under paragraph (h) or (j), it may be recommenced if the employee is
medically unable to continue at a job due to the injury. Where the employee is medically
unable to continue working due to the injury, temporary total disability compensation may
continue until any of the cessation events in paragraphs (e) to (l) occurs following
recommencement. If an employee who has not yet received temporary total disability
compensation becomes medically unable to continue working due to the injury after reaching
maximum medical improvement, temporary total disability compensation shall commence
and shall continue until any of the events in paragraphs (e) to (l) occurs following
commencement. For purposes of commencement or recommencement under this clause
only, a new period of maximum medical improvement under paragraph (j) begins when the
employee becomes medically unable to continue working due to the injury. Temporary total
disability compensation may not be recommenced under this clause and a new period of
maximum medical improvement does not begin if the employee is not actively employed
when the employee becomes medically unable to work. All periods of initial and
recommenced temporary total disability compensation are included in the 130-week limitation
specified in paragraph (k).
(f) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease if the employee withdraws from
the labor market. Temporary total disability compensation may be recommenced following
cessation under this paragraph only if the employee reenters the labor market prior to 90
days after the employee reached maximum medical improvement and prior to payment of
130 weeks of temporary total disability compensation. Once recommenced, temporary total
disability ceases when any of the cessation events in paragraphs (e) to (l) occurs.
(g) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease if the total disability ends and
the employee fails to diligently search for appropriate work within the employee's physical
restrictions. Temporary total disability compensation may be recommenced following
cessation under this paragraph only if the employee begins diligently searching for
appropriate work within the employee's physical restrictions prior to 90 days after maximum
medical improvement and prior to payment of 130 weeks of temporary total disability
compensation. Once recommenced, temporary total disability compensation ceases when
any of the cessation events in paragraphs (e) to (l) occurs.
(h) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease if the employee has been released
to work without any physical restrictions caused by the work injury.
(i) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease if the employee refuses an offer
of work that is consistent with a plan of rehabilitation filed with the commissioner which
meets the requirements of section 176.102, subdivision 4, or, if no plan has been filed, the
employee refuses an offer of gainful employment that the employee can do in the employee's
physical condition. Once temporary total disability compensation has ceased under this
paragraph, it may not be recommenced.
(j) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease 90 days after the employee has
reached maximum medical improvement, except as provided in section 176.102, subdivision
11, paragraph (b). For purposes of this subdivision, the 90-day period after maximum medical
improvement commences on the earlier of: (1) the date that the employee receives a written
medical report indicating that the employee has reached maximum medical improvement;
or (2) the date that the employer or insurer serves the report on the employee and the
employee's attorney, if any. Once temporary total disability compensation has ceased under
this paragraph, it may not be recommenced except if the employee returns to work and is
subsequently medically unable to continue working as provided in paragraph (e), clause
(2).
(k) Temporary total disability compensation shall cease entirely when 130 weeks of
temporary total disability compensation have been paid, except as provided in section
176.102, subdivision 11, paragraph (b). Notwithstanding anything in this section to the
contrary, initial and recommenced temporary total disability compensation combined shall
not be paid for more than 130 weeks, regardless of the number of weeks that have elapsed
since the injury, except that if the employee is in a retraining plan approved under section
176.102, subdivision 11, the 130-week limitation shall not apply during the retraining, but
is subject to the limitation before the plan begins and after the plan ends.
(l) Paragraphs (e) to (k) do not limit other grounds under law to suspend or discontinue
temporary total disability compensation provided under this chapter.
(m) Once an employee has been paid 52 weeks of temporary total compensation, the
employer or insurer must notify the employee in writing of the 130-week limitation on
payment of temporary total compensation. A copy of this notice must also be filed with the
department.
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This section is effective for dates of injury on or after October
1, 2021.
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Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 176.136, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:
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(a) The commissioner may assess
penalties, costs, and expenses against a health care provider who collects or attempts to
collect payment from an employee in violation of subdivision 2; section 176.135, subdivision
7; or 176.83, subdivision 5, paragraph (c), as provided in this subdivision. For purposes of
paragraphs (b) and (c):
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(1) A violation occurs only if the health care provider or the provider's representative
was informed that the treatment or service was for a claimed workers' compensation injury
or that the bill should be submitted to a workers' compensation insurer.
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(2) Once the health care provider has been provided the information described in clause
(1), a violation occurs each time the health care provider, or any person acting on the
provider's behalf or direction, collects or attempts to collect payment from the employee
for charges on a bill for medical treatment or services. An attempt to collect payment from
an employee includes:
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(i) each contact made in person or by United States mail, telephone, text, e-mail, or any
other type of contact seeking payment;
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(ii) engaging a collection agency or other third party to collect from the employee;
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(iii) filing a claim in conciliation court;
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(iv) attaching the employee's tax refund; or
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(v) submitting a report to a credit agency.
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(b) The penalty assessed against a health care provider for each violation shall be $1,000,
payable to the assigned risk safety account, except that:
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(1) the penalty shall be $2,000, payable to the assigned risk safety account, for each
violation if the employee paid the health care provider as a result of the violation, or for the
violations described in paragraph (a), clause (2), items (ii) to (v); and
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(2) the commissioner shall not assess a penalty under this paragraph unless the
commissioner has documentation that the health care provider or the health care provider's
representative has been provided with written notice that the attempted collection or collection
from an employee is prohibited by workers' compensation law and that penalties may be
assessed for a violation of the law. The notice required by this clause may be provided by
any agency or person, including an employee, self-insured employer, insurer, third-party
administrator, or attorney. The written notice required by this clause must only be provided
once and once provided, the commissioner may assess penalties under this paragraph for a
health care provider's or the health care provider's representative's improper collection or
attempts to collect payment for medical services from any employee without provision of
written notice required by this paragraph. Written notice provided before the effective date
of this subdivision satisfies the notice requirement. The commissioner shall post on the
department's website a model notice. The model notice is presumed to provide suff