By: Giddings (Senate Sponsor - Deuell) H.B. No. 2547
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2009;
  May 8, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on State
  Affairs; May 19, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote:  
  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the use of a description of employment in determining
  the safety and appropriateness of a return to employment by an
  injured employee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 408, Labor Code, is
  amended by adding Section 408.0221 to read as follows:
         Sec. 408.0221.  REQUEST FOR DESCRIPTION OF EMPLOYMENT. (a)  
  This section applies only to an employee of an employer who has 10
  or more employees.
         (b)  To facilitate an injured employee's return to
  employment as soon as it is considered safe and appropriate by the
  injured employee's treating doctor, the treating doctor may request
  that the injured employee's employer provide the treating doctor
  with the information described by Subsection (d) on the form
  adopted under that subsection.
         (c)  Information provided to a treating doctor under
  Subsection (b) does not constitute:
               (1)  a request by the employer that the injured
  employee return to the employment;
               (2)  an offer of employment by the employer for the
  injured employee to return to employment; or
               (3)  an admission of the compensability of the injury
  of the employee.
         (d)  The commissioner shall prescribe a form to provide
  information from an employer to a treating doctor concerning the
  functions and physical responsibilities of an injured employee's
  job. To the extent possible, the form prescribed under this
  subsection shall be one page, use a check box format as appropriate,
  and be compatible with electronic mail. The form must include:
               (1)  the name and address of the employer and the
  contact information and availability of the individual
  representing the employer who has knowledge of the injured
  employee's job;
               (2)  the scope of the injured employee's employment,
  including any specific tasks, job duties, or work activities that
  the injured employee was required to perform at the time the
  employee sustained the injury; and
               (3)  an area for additional comments or information by
  the employer or individual representing the employer concerning:
                     (A)  the injured employee's job; or
                     (B)  the availability, if any, of other jobs that
  the employer may have that the employer would like the treating
  doctor to consider in determining whether an injured employee is
  able to return to work.
         (e)  The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this section and to facilitate communication between the
  employer and the treating doctor regarding return-to-work
  opportunities.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
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