00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 305(L&C)                                                                                       
01 "An Act establishing a standard for determining when an injured worker is                                               
02 eligible for reemployment benefits and establishing a procedure for adopting a                                          
03 new, revised, or replacement standard for determining when an injured worker                                            
04 is eligible for reemployment benefits."                                                                                 
05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06    * Section 1.  AS 23.30.041(e) is amended to read:                                                                  
07  (e)  An employee shall be eligible for benefits under this section upon the                                           
08 employee's written request and by having a physician predict that the employee will                                     
09 have permanent physical capacities that are less than the physical demands of the                                       
10 employee's job as described in the  1993 edition of the  United States Department of                                  
11 Labor's "Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the  Revised  Dictionary of                               
12 Occupational Titles" for                                                                                                
13   (1)  the employee's job at the time of injury; or                                                                    
14   (2)  other jobs that exist in the labor market that the employee has held                                            

01 or received training for within 10 years before the injury or that the employee has held                                
02 following the injury for a period long enough to obtain the skills to compete in the                                    
03 labor market, according to specific vocational preparation codes as described in the                                    
04  1993 edition of the  United States Department of Labor's "Selected Characteristics of                                
05 Occupations Defined in the  Revised  Dictionary of Occupational Titles.                                               
06    * Sec. 2.  AS 23.30.041 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
07  (q)  When the United States Department of Labor publishes a new edition,                                              
08 revision, or replacement for the "Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in                                    
09 the Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles" referred to in (e) of this section, the                                  
10 board shall, not later than 90 days after the last day of the month in which the new                                    
11 edition, revision, or replacement standard is published, hold an open meeting under                                     
12 AS 44.62.310 to select the date on which the new edition, revision, or replacement                                      
13 standard will be implemented to make all eligibility determinations required under (e)                                  
14 of this section.  The date selected by the board for implementing the new edition,                                      
15 revision, or replacement standard may not be later than 90 days after the last day of                                   
16 the month in which the new edition, revision, or replacement standard is published.                                     
17 After the meeting, the board shall issue a public notice announcing the date selected.                                  
18 The requirements of AS 44.62.010 - 44.62.300 do not apply to the selection or                                           
19 announcement of the date under this subsection.