By: Deshotel H.B. No. 2429

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to return-to-work coordination services and the return-to-work reimbursement program for employers participating in the Texas workers' compensation system.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 413.021, Labor Code, Subsection (a) is amended to read as follows: Sec. 413.021. RETURN-TO-WORK COORDINATION SERVICES. (a) An insurance carrier shall, with the agreement of a participating employer, provide the employer with return-to-work coordination services on an ongoing basis as necessary to facilitate an employee's return to employment, including upon receipt of a notice that an injured employee is eligible to receive temporary income benefits. The insurance carrier shall also notify the employer of the availability of [return-to-work coordination services] the return-to-work reimbursement program under Section 413.022. [In offering providing the services, insurance carriers and the division shall target employers without return-to-work programs shall focus return-to-work efforts on workers who begin to receive temporary income benefits.] The insurance carrier shall evaluate a compensable injury in which the injured employee sustains an injury that could potentially result in lost time from employment as early as practicable to determine if skilled case management is necessary for the injured employee's case. As necessary, case managers who are appropriately [licensed to practice in this state] certified shall be used to perform these evaluations. A claims adjuster may not be used as a case manager. These services may be offered by insurance carriers in conjunction with the accident prevention services provided under Section 411.061. Nothing in this section supersedes the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement between an employer and the employer's employees, and nothing in this section authorizes or requires an employer to engage in conduct that would otherwise be a violation of the employer's obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. Section 151 et seq.).

SECTION 2. Section 413.022, Labor Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 413.022. RETURN-TO-WORK [PILOT] REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM FOR [SMALL] EMPLOYERS; FUND. (a) In this section:

(1) "Account" means the workers' compensation return-to-work account.

(2) "Eligible employer" means any employer, other than this state or a political subdivision subject to Subtitle C, who employs at least two but not more than 50 employees on each business day during the preceding calendar year and who has workers' compensation insurance coverage.

(b) The commissioner shall establish by rule a return-to-work [pilot] reimbursement program designed to promote the early and sustained return to work of an injured employee who sustains a compensable injury. Notwithstanding Subsection (a) (2), the commissioner may, by rule, expand the types of employers who are eligible for reimbursements under this section.

(c) The [pilot] program shall reimburse from the account an eligible employer for expenses incurred by the employer to make workplace modifications necessary to accommodate an injured employee's return to modified or alternative work. Reimbursement under this section to an eligible employer may not exceed [$2,500] $5,000. The expenses must be incurred to allow the employee to perform modified or alternative work within doctor-imposed work restrictions. Allowable expenses may include:

(1) physical modifications to the worksite;

(2) equipment, devices, furniture, or tools; and

(3) other costs necessary for reasonable accommodation of the employee's restrictions.

(c-1) The commissioner by rule shall establish an optional preauthorization plan for eligible employers who participate in the pilot program. To participate in the preauthorization plan, an employer must submit a proposal to the division, in the manner prescribed by the division, that describes the workplace modifications and other changes that the employer proposes to make to accommodate an injured employee's return to work. If the division approves the employer's proposal, the division shall guarantee reimbursement of the expenses incurred by the employer in implementing the modifications and changes from the account unless the division determines that the modifications and changes differ materially from the employer's proposal. At the discretion of the commissioner, the division may provide the employer an advance of funds. Reimbursement or an advance of funds under this subsection is subject to the limit imposed under Subsection (c).

(d) The account is established as a special account in the general revenue fund. From administrative penalties received by the division under this subtitle, the commissioner shall deposit in the account an amount not to exceed $100,000 annually. Money in the account may be spent by the division, on appropriation by the legislature, only for the purposes of implementing this section.

(e) An employer who wilfully applies for or receives reimbursement from the account under this section knowing that the employer is not an eligible employer commits a violation.

(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a)-(e), this section may be implemented only to the extent funds are available.

(g) [This section expires September 1, 2009] The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.