| Last Action | 03/30/18: signed by Governor (Acts, ch. 40) |
|---|---|
| Title | AN ACT relating to workers' compensation. |
| Bill Documents |
Current/Final
Introduced |
| Fiscal Impact Statements |
Local Mandate
Additional Fiscal Impact Statements Exist |
| Bill Request Number | 244 |
| Sponsors | A. Koenig, B. Rowland, M. Castlen, J. DeCesare, T. Herald, R. Mills, D. Osborne, D. St. Onge, S. Wells, A. Wuchner |
| Summary of Original Version | Amend KRS 342.020 to limit the time period of payment of medical expenses for certain permanent partial disabilities to 780 weeks but provide a mechanism to apply for extended benefits; limit the number of drug screens for which the employer will be liable; amend KRS 342.035 to specify circumstances upon which utilization review can be waived; mandate promulgation of treatment guidelines and a pharmaceutical formulary; clarify that a fee shall not be charged when an injured worker requests the initial copy of medical records; amend KRS 342.040 to indicate that interest will not accrue when the delay in payment of benefits was caused by the employee; amend KRS 342.125 to clarify that the four-year period in which to reopen a claim begins on the date of the original order granting or denying benefits and that subsequent orders granting or denying benefits shall not be considered an original order; amend KRS 342.185 to indicate that an application for adjustment of claim for compensation for a cumulative trauma injury must be made within five years of the last injurious exposure to the cumulative trauma; amend KRS 342.270 to require commissioner of Department of Workers' Claims to promulgate regulations establishing procedures for resolution of claims; amend KRS 342.315 to include pulmonary specialist as an examiner; amend KRS 342.316 to change procedure for filing occupational disease claims; amend KRS 342.320 to change calculation of attorney fees and increase limitation on amount of fees; amend KRS 342.610 to indicate that the employee must show that the voluntary introduction of a substance into his or her body that causes a disturbance of mental or physical capacities was not the proximate cause of his or her injury; amend KRS 342.700 to allow the recovery in subrogation of indemnity and medical expenses paid to or on behalf of the employee, less a pro rata share of the employee's legal expenses; amend KRS 342.730 to increase average weekly wage caps; set time limits for total disability benefits paid to certain professional athletes; allow payment of temporary total disability benefits to be offset by gross income minus applicable taxes paid to an employee during a period of light-duty work or work in an alternative job position; provide an offset against temporary total disability benefits for salary continuation or wholly employer-funded disability retirement plans; indicate that benefits shall terminate when a plaintiff reaches age 67 or two years after the date of injury, whichever shall last occur; amend KRS 342.7305 to require employment for a minimum of one year in order to be the responsible employer in a hearing loss claim; amend KRS 342.732 to set forth parameters for retraining; delete provisions of KRS 342.792 requiring the commissioner of Department of Workers' Claims to adopt regulations regarding the "B" reader process; amend KRS 342.794 to require commissioner of Department of Workers' Claims to maintain a list of "B" readers who are pulmonary specialists; amend KRS 342.990 to conform; specify the applicability of substantive changes to claims arising on or after effective date of Act and remedial changes to all claims irrespective of injury date. |
| Index Headings of Original Version |
Labor and Industry - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes Personnel and Employment - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes Workers' Compensation - Benefits, changes to medical and income benefits and other procedural changes Local Mandate - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes |
| Jump to Proposed Amendments |
House Floor Amendment 1 House Floor Amendment 2 House Floor Amendment 3 Senate Committee Substitute 1 with Fiscal Impact Statements Senate Floor Amendment 1 Senate Floor Amendment 2 |
| Votes | Vote History |
| 02/12/18 |
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| 02/13/18 |
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| 02/15/18 |
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| 02/16/18 |
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| 02/20/18 |
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| 02/21/18 |
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| 02/22/18 |
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| 03/05/18 |
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| 03/19/18 |
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| 03/20/18 |
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| 03/21/18 |
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| 03/22/18 |
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| 03/27/18 |
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| 03/29/18 |
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| 03/30/18 |
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| Amendment | House Floor Amendment 1 |
|---|---|
| Piggyback? | Yes |
| Sponsor | J. York |
| Summary | Delete original provisions; amend KRS 342.0011 to clarify definition of injury to include psychological injuries for certain employees and define "temporary partial disability"; amend KRS 342.020 to allow for attorney fees in medical disputes; amend KRS 342.035 to set forth certain exceptions to utilization review; amend KRS 342.040 and KRS 342.125 to conform; amend KRS 342.320 to increase amount of attorney fees; amend KRS 342.730 to increase cap on income benefits and increase statutory factors for certain permanent impairment; create a new section of KRS Chapter 342 to set out when the psychological injuries are valid workers' compensation claims when no physical injury exists. |
| Index Headings |
Attorneys - Workers' compensation, adjust fee levels Labor and Industry - Workers' compensation, changes to income and medical benefits Workers' Compensation - Benefits, changes to medical and income Piggybacked Bills - HB 309 to HB 2 |
| Amendment | House Floor Amendment 2 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | A. Koenig |
| Summary | Amend to indicate that a determination that medical benefits should extend beyond the 780 week period is not limited to an extension of only 104 weeks; amend to indicate that a cancer specified in KRS 61.315(11)(b) shall have a 20 year limitations period. |
| Index Headings |
Labor and Industry - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes Personnel and Employment - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes Workers' Compensation - Benefits, changes to medical and income benefits and other procedural changes |
| Amendment | House Floor Amendment 3 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | J. York |
| Summary | Delete original provisions; amend KRS 342.0011 to define "temporary partial disability"; amend KRS 342.020 to allow for attorney fees in medical disputes; amend KRS 342.035 to set forth certain exceptions to utilization review; amend KRS 342.040 and KRS 342.125 to conform; amend KRS 342.316 to indicate that certain types of cancer specified in KRS 61.315(11)(b) shall have a 20 year limitations period; amend KRS 342.320 to increase amount of attorney fees; amend KRS 342.730 to increase cap on income benefits and increase statutory factors for certain permanent impairment. |
| Index Headings |
Attorneys - Workers' compensation, adjust fee levels Labor and Industry - Workers' compensation, changes to income and medical benefits Workers' Compensation - Benefits, changes to medical and income |
| Amendment | Senate Committee Substitute 1 |
|---|---|
| Fiscal Impact Statement | Local Mandate to Senate Committee Substitute 1 |
| Summary | Retain original provisions, except include additional conditions to provisions setting forth injuries due to amputation; provide that employers may request additional urine drug screens beyond proscribed maximum amounts; clarify time periods in which notice must be given and application for benefits filed for cumulative trauma claims; amend KRS 342.265 to specify a higher discount rate for lump sum settlements of awards in excess of forty dollars per week; eliminate provision setting a one year minimum employment with an employer for liability for occupational disease claims; eliminate provision requiring physician to certify that a claimant's breathing test was invalid in order to suspend benefits; make technical changes to provisions dealing with compensability of claim when the employee introduces illegal substances into his or her body; amend provisions to increase age in which income benefits shall terminate to 70 years old, or two years after the date of injury or last exposure, whichever shall last occur; clarify that offset for payments made under disability plans, disability retirement plans, and sickness and accident plans only pertains to exclusively employer-funded plans; clarify that the Commissioner shall maintain a list of "B" readers who are board-certified pulmonary specialists to perform examinations pursuant to KRS 342.316; and make technical changes to provisions designating effective date of certain sections of the Act. |
| Index Headings |
Labor and Industry - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes Personnel and Employment - Workers' compensation, medical and income benefits and procedural changes Workers' Compensation - Benefits, changes to medical and income benefits and other procedural changes Local Mandate - Benefits, changes to medical and income benefits and other procedural changes |
| Amendment | Senate Floor Amendment 1 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | R. Stivers II |
| Summary | Retain original provisions; specify when the permanent partial benefits are extended; and change the time period when benefits shall terminate from when a plaintiff reaches age 70 or two years after the date of injury, whichever shall last occur, to when a plaintiff reaches age 70 or four years after the date of injury, whichever shall last occur. |
| Index Headings |
Labor and Industry - Workers' compensation, income benefits, termination and continuation Personnel and Employment - Workers' compensation, income benefits, termination and continuation Workers' Compensation - Benefits, income benefits, termination and continuation |
| Amendment | Senate Floor Amendment 2 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | M. McGarvey |
| Summary | Delete the original provisions and amend KRS 342.0011 removing the requirement that an injury must be the direct result of a physical injury; amend KRS 342.020 to require that an attorney fee for medical fee disputes; amend KRS 342.035 to require that if the parties agree uitlization review is not necessary and fees for medical records; amend KRS 342.040 to require that no interest be paid if the employee is responsible for the delay; amend KRS 342.185 concerning cumulative trauma; amend KRS 342.320 to increase the maximum attorney fees; amend KRS 342.700 regarding subrogation against third parties; and amend KRS 342.730 to increase income benefits, increase the time for compensation from age 67 or 2 years from the injury to age 70 or 5 years after an injury, establish an offset against an employee returning for light duty, and establish when a professional athlete is eligible for compensation. |
| Index Headings |
Insurance - Workers' Compensation, omnibus provisions Labor and Industry - Workers' Compensation, omnibus provisions Workers' Compensation - Omnibus provisions |
Last updated: 9/1/2020 2:57 PM (EDT)
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