Chapter 445
2013 -- H 6164 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/16/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Introduced By: Representatives Williams, Guthrie, Edwards, Blazejewski, and Ucci
Date Introduced: May 28, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 28-33-5, 28-33-11 and 28-33-31 of the
General Laws in Chapter
28-33 entitled
"Workers' Compensation - Benefits" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
28-33-5.
Medical services provided by employer. -- The
employer shall, subject to the
choice of the employee as provided in section 28-33-8,
promptly provide for an injured employee
any reasonable medical, surgical, dental, optical, or
other attendance or treatment, nurse and
hospital service, medicines, crutches, and apparatus for such
period as is necessary, in order to
cure, rehabilitate or relieve the employee from the
effects of his injury; provided, that no fee for
major surgery shall be paid unless permission for it in
writing is first obtained from the workers'
compensation court, the employer, or the insurance carrier
involved, except where compliance
with it may prove fatal or detrimental to the employee.
Irrespective of the date of injury, the
liability of the employer for hospital service rendered under
this section to the injured employee
shall be the cost to the hospital of rendering the service
at the time the service is rendered. The
director, after consultations with representatives of hospitals,
employers, and insurance
companies, shall establish administrative procedures regarding
the furnishing and filing of data
and the time and method of billing and may accept as
representing the costs for both routine and
special services to patients, costs as computed for the
federal Medicare program. Each hospital
licensed under chapter 16 of title 23 which renders services
to injured employees under the
Workers' Compensation Act, chapters 29 -- 38 of this
title, shall submit and certify to the director,
in accordance with requirements of the administrative
procedures established by him or her, its
costs for those services. The employer shall also provide
all medical, optical, dental, and surgical
appliances and apparatus required to cure or relieve the
employee from the effects of the injury,
including but not being limited to the following: ambulance and
nursing service, eyeglasses,
dentures, braces and supports, artificial limbs, crutches, and
other similar appliances; provided,
that the employer shall not be liable to pay for or
provide hearing aids or other amplification
devices.
28-33-11.
Notice of hearings -- Time of decision. -- No
hearing shall be held by the
workers' compensation court or any judge of that court under
sections 28-33-5 -- 28-33-10 unless
written notice of the hearing is mailed sent to
the employer and employee five (5) days before the
time of the hearing. The decision shall be rendered within
seventy-two (72) hours after the
hearing, unless the parties agree otherwise.
28-33-31. Contents
of notice to employer. -- Notice as required by section 28-33-30
shall be in writing and shall state in ordinary language the nature, time, place, and cause of
the
injury, and the name and address of the person injured, and
shall be signed by the injured person,
or by a person in his or her behalf, or, in the event of
his or her death, by his or her legal
representative, or by a person in behalf of either.
SECTION 2. Sections 28-33-16 and 28-33-18.3 of the General
Laws in Chapter 28-33
entitled "Workers' Compensation - Benefits" are
hereby amended to read as follows:
28-33-16.
Burial expenses. -- If the employee dies as a
result of the injury, the employer
shall pay in addition to any compensation provided for in
this chapter, the sum of fifteen thousand
dollars ($15,000) twenty
thousand dollars ($20,000). This sum shall be paid under the provisions
of section 28-33-23.
28-33-18.3.
Continuation of benefits -- Partial incapacity. --
(a)(1) For all injuries
occurring on or after September 1, 1990, in those cases where
the employee has received a notice
of intention to terminate partial incapacity benefits
pursuant to section 28-33-18, the employee or
his or her duly authorized representative may file with
the workers' compensation court a petition
for continuation of benefits on forms prescribed by the
workers' compensation court. In any
proceeding before the workers' compensation court on a petition
for continuation of partial
incapacity benefits, where the employee demonstrates by a fair
preponderance of the evidence
that his or her partial incapacity poses a material
hindrance to obtaining employment suitable to
his or her limitation, partial incapacity benefits shall
continue. For injuries on and after July 1,
2012 2016,
"material hindrance" is defined to include only compensable injuries
causing a greater
than sixty-five percent (65%) degree of functional
impairment and/or disability. Any period of
time for which the employee has received benefits for
total incapacity shall not be included in the
calculation of the three hundred and twelve (312) week period.
(2) The provisions of
this subsection apply to all injuries from Sept. 1, 1990, to July 1,
2012 2016.
(b)(1) Where any
employee's incapacity is partial and has extended for more than three
hundred and twelve (312) weeks and the employee has proved an
entitlement to continued
benefits under subsection (a) of this section, payments made
to these incapacitated employees
shall be increased annually on the tenth (10th) day of May
thereafter so long as the employee
remains incapacitated. The increase shall be by an amount
equal to the total percentage increase
in the annual consumer price index,
clerical workers, as formulated and computed by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the United
States Department of Labor for the period of March 1
to February 28 each year.
(2) "Index"
as used in this section refers to the consumer price index,
average for urban wage earners and clerical workers, as that
index was formulated and computed
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States
Department of Labor.
(3) The annual increase
shall be based upon the percentage increase, if any, in the
consumer price index for the month of a given year, over the
index for February, the previous
year. Thereafter, increases shall be made on May 10
annually, based upon the percentage
increase, if any, in the consumer price index for the period
of March 1 to February 28.
(4) The computations in
this section shall be made by the director of labor and training
and promulgated to insurers and employers making payments
required by this section. Increases
shall be paid by insurers and employers without further
order of the court. If payment payable
under this section is not mailed within fourteen (14) days
after the employer or insurer has been
notified by publication in a newspaper of general circulation
in the state it becomes due, there
shall be added to the unpaid payment an amount equal to
twenty percent (20%) of it, to be paid at
the same time as but in addition to the payment.
(5) This section
applies only to payment of weekly indemnity benefits to employees as
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, and does not
apply to specific compensation
payments for loss of use or disfigurement or payment of
dependency benefits or any other
benefits payable under the Workers' Compensation Act.
(c) No petitions for
commutation shall be allowed or entertained in those cases where an
employee is receiving benefits pursuant to this section.
SECTION 3. Sections 28-35-12, 28-35-14, 28-35-15, 28-35-16,
28-35-27, 28-35-28, 28-
35-28.1 and 28-35-37 of the
General Laws in Chapter 28-35 entitled "Workers' Compensation -
Procedure" are hereby amended to read as follows:
28-35-12.
Petition for determination of controversy -- Contents and filing.
-- (a) In all
disputes between an employer and employee in regard to
compensation or any other obligation
established under chapters 29 -- 38 of this title, and when death
has resulted from the injury and
the dependents of the deceased employee entitled to
compensation are, or its apportionment
among them is, in dispute, any person in interest or his or
her duly authorized representative may
file with the administrator of the workers' compensation
court a petition and as many copies of it
as there are respondent parties to the dispute upon
forms prescribed and furnished
by the court,
setting forth the names and residences of the parties, the
facts relating to employment at the time
of injury, the cause, extent, and character of the
injury, the amount of wages, earnings, or salary
received at the time of the injury, and the knowledge of the
employer of notice of the occurrence
of the injury, and any other facts that may be necessary
and proper for the information of the
court, and shall state the matter in dispute and the claims
of the petitioner with reference to it;
provided, that no petition shall be filed within twenty-one
(21) days of the date of the injury and
no petition regarding any other obligation established
under chapters 29 -- 38 of this title shall be
filed until twenty-one (21) days after written demand for
payment upon the employer or insurer
or written notice to the employer or insurer of failure
to fulfill the obligation, except that any
petition alleging the non-payment or late payment of weekly
compensation benefits, attorneys'
fees, and costs, may be filed after fourteen (14) days
from the date the payment is due as set forth
in sections 28-35-42, 28-35-43, and 28-35-20(c). Medical
bills for services ordered paid by
decree or pretrial order shall be paid within fourteen (14)
days of the entry of the decree or order.
In the event that the bills are not paid within the
fourteen (14) day period, a petition may be filed
to enforce said order or decree without any additional
written notice to the employer or insurer.
(b)(1) If one or more
claims are filed for an injury and there are two (2) or more insurers,
any one of which may be held to be liable to pay
compensation, and the judge determines that the
injured employee would be entitled to receive compensation
but for the existence of a controversy
as to which one of the insurers is liable to pay
compensation, one of the insurers shall be selected
by a judge of the workers' compensation court, to pay to
the injured employee the compensation,
pending a final decision of the workers' compensation court
as to the matter in controversy, and
that decision shall require that the amount of compensation
paid shall be deducted from the award
if made against another insurer and shall be paid by
that other insurer to the insurer selected by
the judge.
(2) The workers'
compensation court shall award compensation, costs, and attorneys'
fees in its discretion if one of the insurers is held to
be liable following the hearing.
(c) If any
determination of the workers' compensation court entitles an employee to
retroactive payment of weekly benefits, the court shall award to
the employee interest at the rate
per annum provided in section 9-21-10 on that retroactive
weekly payment from six (6) months
subsequent to the date that the employee first filed a petition
for benefits to the time when that
retroactive payment is actually made. If the proceedings are
unduly delayed by or at the request
of the employee or his or her attorney, the judge may
reduce or eliminate interest on retroactive
payment; provided, that the provisions of this section as
they relate to interest shall apply only to
petitions filed on or after July 1, 1984.
(d) Any fine, penalty,
or interest expense incurred by an insurer under this section may
not be used as an expense for the purpose of seeking a
rate increase before the department of
business regulation.
28-35-14. Copies
of petition to respondents. -- Upon filing with the administrator of
any petition in writing, stating the general
nature of any claim as to which any dispute or
controversy may have arisen, the petitioner administrator
shall mail serve a copy of the petition to
on the respondent or respondents named in it in
accordance with the workers' compensation court
rules of practice.
Service by mail to an employee is adequate if mailed postage prepaid to the
address to which compensation benefits are mailed.
28-35-15.
Service on parties outside state. -- In case an
interested party is located out of
the state, and has no post office address within this
state, a copy of the petition and copies of all
notices shall be filed by the petitioner in the office
of the insurance commissioner and shall also
be sent by registered or certified mail to the last
known post office address of that party. This
filing and mailing shall constitute sufficient service, with
the same force and effect as if served
upon a party located within the state.
28-35-16.
Filing of answer -- Additional parties. -- Within
ten (10) days of the filing of
the petition, the respondent or respondents shall file an
answer to the petition with the workers'
compensation court and mail send a copy of it to the
petitioner, identifying the specific issues
disputed by the respondent or respondents with reference to
the matter in dispute as disclosed by
the petition. No pleadings other than the petition and
answer shall be required to bring the matter
to a final determination. If the respondent or
respondents does not file an answer, the matter shall
proceed as though the allegations of the petition had been
denied. The workers' compensation
court may bring in additional parties by service of a copy
of the petition by registered or certified
mail.
28-35-27.
Decision of controversies -- Decree. -- (a) In any controversy over which the
workers' compensation court has jurisdiction pursuant to this
chapter and
law section 45-21.2-9, any judge of that court shall,
pursuant to sections 28-35-11 -- 28-35-28,
and the procedural rules of the court, hear all questions
of law and fact involved in the
controversy and presented by any party in interest, and he or she
shall within ten (10) days after
the hearing, unless the parties otherwise agree, decide
the merits of the controversy pursuant to
the law and the fair preponderance of the evidence and
notify the administrator of the court of the
decision, who shall immediately notify the parties by mail.
(b) Within seventy-two
(72) hours of the mailing of the notice, exclusive of Sundays and
holidays, the judge shall enter a decree upon the decision,
which shall contain findings of fact, but
within that time any party may appear and present a form of
decree for consideration.
28-35-28.
Appeal to appellate division. -- (a) Any person aggrieved by the entry of a
decree by a judge may appeal to the appellate division
established pursuant to this section by
filing with the administrator of the court within five (5)
days of the date of the entry of a decree,
exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, a claim of
appeal and, subject to the rules of the
court, by filing a written request for a transcript
of the testimony and ruling or any part thereof
desired. Within any time that a judge shall fix, either by an
original fixing or otherwise, the
appellant shall file with the administrator of the court reasons
of appeal stating specifically all
matters determined adversely to him or her which he or she
desires to appeal, together with so
much of the transcript of testimony and rulings as he or
she deems pertinent, and within ten (10)
days after that the parties may file with the
administrator of the court those briefs and memoranda
that they may desire concerning the appeal. The chief
judge shall appoint appellate panels of three
(3) members of the court to
hear any claim of appeal and the decision of the appellate panel shall
be binding on the court. The three (3) members of the
appellate panel shall immediately review
the decree upon the record of the case and shall file a
decision pursuant to the law and the fair
preponderance of the evidence within ten (10) days of the
expiration of the time within which the
parties may file briefs and memoranda. Upon consideration of
the appeal, the appellate panel
shall affirm, reverse, or modify the decree appealed from,
and may itself take any further
proceedings that are just, or may remand the matter to the trial
judge for further consideration of
any factual issue that the appellate division may raise,
including the taking of additional evidence
or testimony by the trial judge. It shall be within the
prerogative of the appellate panel to remand
a matter to the trial judge. If the decision requires
the entry of a new decree, notice shall be given
the parties, and the new decree shall be entered in the
same manner as the original decree, but if
the decision of two (2) appellate panel judges does not
require the entry of a new decree, the
decree shall be affirmed. Any member of the appellate panel
may, for cause, disqualify himself or
herself from hearing any appeal that may come before the
appellate panel.
(b) The findings of the
trial judge on factual matters shall be final unless an appellate
panel finds them to be clearly erroneous. The court may
award costs, including reasonable
attorney fees, to the prevailing party when the appellate
panel finds there was complete absence
of a justiciable issue of
either law or fact.
28-35-28.1.
Reports of hearings -- Transcripts. -- (a) Hearings reporters, or
electronic
court reporters, shall report stenographically,
or electronically, the proceedings in the trial of
every action or proceeding in the workers' compensation
court. Electronic court reporting shall be
used only when hearings reporters are unavailable for any
reason.
(b) Each hearings reporter,
or electronic court reporter, shall also, upon the order of any
judge in the court, transcribe his or her report to be
filed with the judge in the case. He or she
shall also make a transcript of the whole or any part of
that report upon the written request, filed
with the administrator, by either party to the action or
proceeding, and when completed and
within the time limited by the court for filing the
transcript, shall immediately deliver it to the
party ordering it, or to the attorney of record of that
party. For this service, the reporter shall be
paid a reasonable compensation, not less than five dollars
($5.00), and not exceeding three dollars
($3.00) per page for originals and one dollar and
fifty cents ($1.50) per page for copies of it, to be
allowed by the court. If the transcript is used in subsequent
proceedings in the cause, the cost of it
may be allowed as a part of the costs.
28-35-37.
Delay of process for execution of decree. -- No
process for the execution of
any decree of the workers' compensation court from which
an appeal may be taken shall issue
until the expiration of the appeal period, unless all
parties against whom the decree is made,
waive an appeal by a writing filed with the
administrator or by causing an entry thereof to be
made on the docket.
SECTION 4. Section 28-35-20 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-35 entitled "Workers'
Compensation -
Procedure" is hereby amended to read as follows:
28-35-20.
Informal pretrial conference. -- (a) Before any case shall proceed to a trial,
the judge shall conduct a mandatory pretrial conference
within twenty-one (21) days of the date
of filing with a view to expediting the case and
reducing the issues in dispute to a minimum,
notice of which shall be sent by the administrator to the
parties or to their attorneys of record. The
conference shall be informal and no oral testimony shall be
offered or taken. Any statement then
made by either party shall in the absence of agreement be
without prejudice, but any agreement
then made shall be binding.
(b) Within a reasonable
time of receipt, all medical reports and documentary evidence
which the parties possess and which the parties intend to
present as evidence at the pretrial
conference shall be provided to the opposing party.
(c) At the pretrial
conference, the judge shall make every effort to resolve any
controversies or to plan for any subsequent trial of the case. The
judge shall render a pretrial order
immediately at the close of the pretrial conference. The pretrial
order shall be set forth in a
simplified manner on forms prescribed by the workers'
compensation court. It may reflect any
agreements reached between the parties, but shall grant or deny,
in whole or in part, the relief
sought by the petitioner. Subject to the provisions of
subsection 45-21.2-9(j), the The
pretrial
order shall be effective upon entry. Any payments ordered
by it including, but not limited to,
weekly benefits, medical expenses, costs, and attorneys'
fees, shall be paid within fourteen (14)
days of the entry of the order.
(d) Any party aggrieved
by the entry of the order by the judge may claim a trial on any
issue that was not resolved by agreement at the pretrial
conference by filing with the
administrator of the workers' compensation court within five (5)
days of the date of the entry of
the order, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays,
a claim for a trial on forms prescribed by
the administrator of the workers' compensation court. If
no timely claim for a trial is filed or is
filed and withdrawn, the pretrial order shall become, by
operation of law and without further
action by any party, a final decree of the workers'
compensation court.
(e) All trials shall be
assigned for hearing and decision to the same judge who presided
over the pretrial of the matter. Notice of the trial shall
be sent by the administrator to the parties
and to their attorneys of record. All trials shall be de
novo, except that issues resolved by
agreement at the pretrial conference may not be reopened. Any
other case or dispute under
chapters 29 -- 38 of this title that arises during the
pendency of this trial, shall be forwarded
immediately to the same judge for pretrial in accordance with this
section and for any subsequent
trial.
(f) If after trial and
the entry of a final decree, it is determined that the employee or
medical services provider was not entitled to the relief
sought in the petition, the employer or
insurer shall be reimbursed from the workers' compensation
administrative fund, described in
chapter 37 of this title, to the extent of any payments made
pursuant to the pretrial order to which
there is no entitlement.
SECTION 5. Section 28-35-59 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-35 entitled "Workers'
Compensation -
Procedure" is hereby repealed.
28-35-59.
Records of proceedings. -- The proceedings in all cases before
the workers'
compensation court under chapters 29 -- 38 of this title are
deemed matters of record, but they are
not required to be recorded at large, but are filed and
numbered in the office of the administrator
of the workers' compensation court, and a docket only,
or short memorandum of the cases, shall
be kept by the administrator in books provided for the
purpose.
SECTION 6. Sections 28-53-2 and 28-53-7 of the General Laws
in Chapter 28-53
entitled "Rhode Island Uninsured Employers Fund" are
hereby amended to read as follows:
28-53-2.
Establishment -- Sources -- Administration. -- (a)
There shall be established
within the department of labor and training a special
restricted receipt account to be known as the
Rhode Island uninsured employers fund. The fund shall
be capitalized from excise taxes assessed
against uninsured employers pursuant to the provisions of
section 28-53-9 of this chapter and
from general revenues appropriated by the legislature.
Beginning in state fiscal year ending June
30, 2013 2015, the legislature may
appropriate up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) in general
revenue funds annually for deposit into the
(b) All moneys in the
fund shall be mingled and undivided. The fund shall be
administered by the director of the department of labor and
training or his or her designee, but in
no case shall the director incur any liability beyond
the amounts paid into and earned by the fund.
(c) All amounts owed to
the uninsured employers fund from illegally uninsured
employers are intended to be excise taxes and as such, all
ambiguities and uncertainties are to be
resolved in favor of a determination that such assessments are
excise taxes.
28-53-7.
Payments to employees of uninsured employers. --
(a) Where it is determined
that the employee was injured in the course of employment
while working for an employer who
fails to maintain a policy of workers' compensation
insurance as required by
laws section 28-36-1, et seq., the uninsured employers
fund shall pay the benefits to which the
injured employee would be entitled pursuant to chapters 29 to
38 of this title subject to the
limitations set forth herein.
(b) The workers'
compensation court shall hear all petitions for payment from the fund
pursuant to Rhode Island general laws section 28-30-1,
et seq., provided, however, that the
uninsured employers fund and the employer shall be named as
parties to any petition seeking
payment of benefits from the fund.
(c) Where an employee
is deemed to be entitled to benefits from the uninsured
employers fund, the fund shall pay benefits for disability and
medical expenses as provided
pursuant to chapters 29 to 38 of this title except that the
employee shall not be entitled to receive
benefits for loss of function and disfigurement pursuant to
the provisions of
laws section 28-33-19.
(d) The fund shall pay
cost, counsel and witness fees as provided in
general laws section 28-35-32 to any employee who
successfully prosecutes any petitions for
compensation, petitions for medical expenses, petitions to amend a
pretrial order or memorandum
of agreement and all other employee petitions and to
employees who successfully defend, in
whole or in part, proceedings seeking to reduce or
terminate any and all workers' compensation
benefits; provided, however, that the attorney's fees awarded
to counsel who represent the
employee in petitions for lump sum commutation filed pursuant
to
section 28-33-25 or in the settlement of disputed cases
pursuant to
section 28-33-25.1 shall be limited to the maximum amount
paid to counsel who serve as court
appointed attorneys in workers' compensation proceedings as
established by rule or order of the
(e) In the event that
the uninsured employer makes payment of any monies to the
employee to compensate the employee for lost wages or medical
expenses, the fund shall be
entitled to a credit for all such monies received by or on
behalf of the employee against any future
benefits payable directly to the employee.
(f) This section shall apply
to injuries that occur on or after January 1, 2013 2015.
SECTION 7. Chapter 42-16.1 of the General Laws entitled
"Department of Labor and
Training" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following section:
42-16.1-18.
Confidentiality. -- (a) Except as provided in
subsection (b) of this section,
the department of labor and training shall not release
information to any individual not connected
with the department relative to any employee's workers'
compensation claim, including, but not
limited to, information obtained from the employee, records
or reports of employers, insurers or
the courts, or from permanent records of the department.
(b) The department of
labor and training may release information to the individual
workers' compensation claimant, employer, insurer or their
attorney upon a written request,
specific as to the information being requested, that
identifies the parties involved in the dispute
and that specifies the requestor's relationship to the
parties and the reason why the records are
being requested.
SECTION 8. Section 45-19-1 of the General Laws in Chapter
45-19 entitled "Relief Of
Injured And Deceased Fire
Fighters And Police Officers" is hereby amended
to read as follows:
45-19-1.
Salary payment during line of duty illness or injury. --
(a) Whenever any
police officer of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation or
whenever any police officer, fire
fighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy
fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal of
any city, town, fire district, or the state of
reason of injuries received or sickness contracted in the
performance of his or her duties or due to
their rendering of emergency assistance within the physical
boundaries of the state of Rhode
Island at any occurrence involving the protection or
rescue of human life which necessitates that
they respond in a professional capacity when they would
normally be considered by their
employer to be officially off-duty, the respective city, town,
fire district, state of
Rhode Island Airport Corporation by which the police
officer, fire fighter, crash rescue
crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy
fire marshal, is employed, shall,
during the period of the incapacity, pay the police
officer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson,
fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire
marshal, the salary or wage and benefits to
which the police officer, fire fighter, crash rescue
crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire
marshal, or deputy fire marshal, would be entitled had he or
she not been incapacitated, and shall
pay the medical, surgical, dental, optical, or other
attendance, or treatment, nurses, and hospital
services, medicines, crutches, and apparatus for the necessary
period, except that if any city,
town, fire district, the state of
police officer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson,
fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or
deputy fire marshal, with insurance coverage for the related
treatment, services, or equipment,
then the city, town, fire district, the state of
only obligated to pay the difference between the maximum
amount allowable under the insurance
coverage and the actual cost of the treatment, service, or
equipment. In addition, the cities, towns,
fire districts, the state of
expenses incurred by a member who has been placed on a
disability pension and suffers a
recurrence of the injury or illness that dictated his or her
disability retirement, subject to the
provisions of subsection (j) herein.
(b) As used in
this section, "police officer" means and includes any chief or other
member of the police department of any city or town
regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage
and any deputy sheriff, member of the fugitive task force,
or capitol police officer, permanent
environmental police officer or criminal investigator of the
department of environmental
management, or airport police officer.
(c) As used in
this section, "fire fighter" means and includes any chief or other
member
of the fire department or rescue personnel of any city,
town, or fire district, and any person
employed as a member of the fire department of the town of
or district in any city or town.
(d) As used in
this section, "crash rescue crewperson" means and includes any chief
or
other member of the emergency crash rescue section,
division of airports, or department of
transportation of the state of
(e) As used in
this section, "fire marshal," "chief deputy fire marshal",
and "deputy fire
marshal" mean and include the fire marshal, chief deputy
fire marshal, and deputy fire marshals
regularly employed by the state of
23.
(f) Any person
employed by the state of
the Rhode Island State Police, who is otherwise entitled
to the benefits of chapter 19 of this title
shall be subject to the provisions of chapters 29 -
38 of title 28 for all case management
procedures and dispute resolution for all benefits.
(g) In order to
receive the benefits provided for under this section, a police officer or
firefighter must prove to their employer that he or she had
reasonable grounds to believe that
there was an emergency which required an immediate need for
their assistance for the protection
or rescue of human life.
(h) Any claims to
the benefits provided for under this section resulting from the
rendering of emergency assistance in the state of
protection or rescue of human life while off-duty, shall first
require those covered by this section
to submit a sworn declaration to their employer
attesting to the date, time, place and nature of the
event involving the protection or rescue of human life
causing the professional assistance to be
rendered and the cause and nature of any injuries sustained in
the protection or rescue of human
life. Sworn declarations shall also be required from any
available witness to the alleged
emergency involving the protection or rescue of human life.
(i)
All declarations required under this section shall contain the following
language:
"Under penalty of
perjury, I declare and affirm that I have examined this declaration,
including any accompanying schedules and statements, and that
all statements contained herein
are true and correct."
(j) Any person
receiving injured on-duty benefits pursuant to this section, and subject to
the jurisdiction of the state retirement board for
accidental retirement disability, for an injury
occurring on or after July 1, 2011, shall be eligible to receive
such benefits for a total period of
eighteen (18) months after the date of the person's injury
that resulted in said person's injured on
duty status, except as provided for in subdivision
45-19-1(j)(2).
(1) Within eighteen
(18) months of being injured, the person shall apply for an accidental
disability retirement allowance from the state retirement board.
A person who so applies shall
continue to receive injured on duty payments until the
person's application for an accidental
disability retirement allowance has been allowed or denied, and
if denied initially, then upon the
expiration of the appeal period from such decision to the
workers' compensation court pursuant to
45-21.2-9 of the general laws, or, if
appealed, then upon a decision from the workers'
compensation court denying said appeal, whichever is
applicable.
(2) If a person with
injured on duty status fails to apply for an accidental disability
retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the
eighteen (18) month period set
forth in this subsection, that person's injured on duty
payments shall terminate, unless said person
provides to the applicable municipality a written opinion from
a physician that states that it is the
physician's opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty,
that the person will be able to
return to work within six (6) months. In such event, the
injured person may continue to receive
injured on duty payments for a period, not to exceed six (6)
months, after the initial eighteen (18)
month period expires.
(j) Any person
receiving injured on-duty benefits pursuant to this section, and subject to
the jurisdiction of the state retirement board for
accidental retirement disability, for an injury
occurring on or after July 1, 2011, shall apply for an
accidental disability retirement allowance
from the state retirement board not later than the later
of eighteen (18) months after the date of the
person’s injury that resulted in said person’s injured on duty
status or sixty (60) days from the
date on which the treating physician certifies that the
person has reached maximum medical
improvement. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter
any and all rights of the parties
with respect to independent medical examination or
otherwise, as set forth in the applicable
collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing,
any person receiving injured on
duty benefits as the result of a static and incapacitating
injury whose permanent nature is readily
obvious and ascertainable shall be required to apply for an
accidental disability retirement
allowance within sixty (60) days from the date on which the
treating physician certifies that the
person’s injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date
on which such determination of
permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical
examination procedures as set
forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
(1) If a person with
injured on duty status fails to apply for an accidental disability
retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the
time frame set forth above, that
person’s injured on duty payment shall terminate. Further, any
person suffering a static and
incapacitating injury as set forth in subsection (j) above and who
fails to apply for an accidental
disability benefit allowance as set forth in subsection (j)
shall have his or her injured on duty
payment terminated.
(2) A person who so applies
shall continue to receive injured on duty payments, and the
right to continue to receive IOD payments of a person who
so applies shall terminate in the event
of a final ruling of the workers compensation court
allowing accidental disability benefits.
Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter
any and all rights of the parties with respect to
independent medical examination or otherwise, as set forth in the
applicable collective bargaining
agreement.
SECTION 9. Section 45-21.2-9 of the General Laws in Chapter
45-21.2 entitled
"Optional Retirement
for Members of Police Force and Fire Fighters" is hereby amended to read
as follows:
45-21.2-9.
Retirement for accidental disability. -- (a) Any member in active service,
regardless of length of service, is entitled to an accidental
disability retirement allowance.
Application for the allowance is made by the member or
on the member's behalf, stating that the
member is physically or mentally incapacitated for further
service as the result of an injury
sustained while in the performance of duty and certifying to
the time, place, and conditions of the
duty performed by the member which resulted in the alleged
disability and that the alleged
disability was not the result of the willful negligence or
misconduct on the part of the member,
and was not the result of age or length of service, and
that the member has not attained the age of
sixty-five (65). The application shall be made within
eighteen (18) months of the alleged
accident from which the injury has resulted in the member's
present disability and shall be
accompanied by an accident report and a physician's report
certifying to the disability. If the
member was able to return to his or her employment and
subsequently reinjures or aggravates the
same injury, the member shall make another application
within eighteen (18) months of the
reinjury or aggravation which shall be accompanied by a
physician's report certifying to the
reinjury or aggravation causing the disability. If a medical
examination made by three (3)
physicians engaged by the retirement board, and other
investigations as the board may make,
confirms the statements made by the member, the board may
grant the member an accidental
disability retirement allowance.
(b) For the purposes of
subsection (a), "aggravation" shall mean an intervening work-
related trauma that independently contributes to a member's
original injury that amounts to more
than the natural progression of the preexisting disease or
condition and is not the result of age or
length of service. The intervening independent trauma
causing the aggravation must be an
identifiable event or series of work-related events that are the
proximate cause of the member's
present condition of disability.
(c) "Occupational
cancer", as used in this section, means a cancer arising out of
employment as a fire fighter, due to injury due to exposures to
smoke, fumes, or carcinogenic,
poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances while in the
performance of active duty in the fire
department.
(d) For purposes of
subsection (a), "reinjury" shall mean a
recurrence of the original
work-related injury from a specific ascertainable event. The
specific event must be the proximate
cause of the member's present condition of disability.
(e) Any fire fighter,
including one employed by the state, or a municipal firefighter
employed by a municipality that participates in the optional
retirement for police officers and fire
fighters as provided in this chapter, who is unable to perform
his or her duties in the fire
department by reason of a disabling occupational cancer which
develops or manifests itself
during a period while the fire fighter is in the service of the
department, and any retired member
of the fire force of any city or town who develops
occupational cancer, is entitled to receive an
occupational cancer disability and he or she is entitled to all of
the benefits provided for in this
chapter, chapters 19, 19.1, and 21 of this title and chapter
10 of title 36 if the fire fighter is
employed by the state.
(f) In the event that
any party is aggrieved by the determination of the retirement board
pursuant to section 45-19-1, for an injury occurring on or
after July 1, 2011, the party may submit
an appeal to the
appeal with the retirement board and shall serve a copy of
the notice of appeal upon the opposing
party.
(g) Within twenty (20)
days of the receipt of the notice of appeal, the retirement board
shall transmit the entire record of proceedings before it,
together with its order, to the workers'
compensation court.
(h) In the event that a
party files a notice of appeal to the workers' compensation court,
the order of the retirement board shall be stayed pending
further action by the court pursuant to
the provisions of
(i)
Upon receipt of the record of proceedings before the retirement board, the
court shall
assign the matter to a judge and shall issue a notice at the
time advising the parties of the judge to
whom the case has been assigned and the date for pretrial
conference in accordance with Rhode
Island general law section 28-35-20.
(j) All proceedings
filed with the workers' compensation court pursuant to this section
shall be de novo and shall be subject to the provisions of
chapters 29 to 38 of Title 28 for all case
management procedures and dispute resolution processes, as
provided under the rules of workers'
compensation court. The workers' compensation court shall enter
a pretrial order in accordance
with subsection 28-35-20(c) which grants or denies, in
whole or in part, the relief sought by the
petitioner. The pretrial order shall be effective upon entry and
any payments ordered by it shall be
paid within fourteen (14) days of the entry of the order.
Provided, however, that in the event that
the retirement board files a claim for trial of the
pretrial order entered by the court, the order of
the court shall be stayed until a final order or decree
is entered by the court. If after trial and the
entry of a final decree, the court sustains the findings and
orders entered in the pretrial order, the
retirement board shall reimburse the municipality all benefits
paid by it from the time the pretrial
order was entered until the time the final decree is
entered by the court. Where the
matter has
been heard and decided by the workers' compensation court,
the court shall retain jurisdiction to
review any prior orders or decrees entered by it. Such
petitions to review shall be filed directly
with the workers' compensation court and shall be subject
to the case management and dispute
resolution procedures set forth in chapters 29 through 38 of
title 28 ("Labor and Labor
Relations").
(k) If the court
determines that a member qualifies for accidental disability retirement,
the member shall receive a retirement allowance equal to
sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66
2/3%) of the rate of the member's compensation at the
date of the member's retirement, subject to
the provisions of section 45-21-31.
SECTION 10. Nothing contained in this act shall abrogate or
affect substantive rights or
pre-existing agreements, preliminary determinations, orders or
decrees.
SECTION 11. Section 1 and Section 3 shall take effect on
October 1, 2013.The
remainder of the act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02682/SUB A
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