CSSB 323(JUD): "An Act relating to a subcontractor's, contractor's, and project owner's liability for workers' compensation, to sole proprietors and partnerships without employees, and to the exclusiveness of liability for workers' compensation."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 323(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to a subcontractor's, contractor's, and project owner's liability for 02 workers' compensation, to sole proprietors and partnerships without employees, and to 03 the exclusiveness of liability for workers' compensation." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 23.30.045(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) An employer is liable for and shall secure the payment to employees of the 07 compensation payable under AS 23.30.041, 23.30.050, 23.30.095, 23.30.145, and 08 23.30.180 - 23.30.215. If the employer is a subcontractor and fails to secure the 09 payment of compensation to its employees, the contractor is liable for and shall 10 secure the payment of the compensation to employees of the subcontractor. If the 11 employer is a contractor and fails to secure the payment of compensation to its 12 employees or the employees of a subcontractor, the project owner is liable for 13 and shall secure the payment of the compensation to employees of the contractor 14 and employees of a subcontractor, as applicable [UNLESS THE
01 SUBCONTRACTOR SECURES THE PAYMENT]. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 23.30.045(f)(1) is amended to read: 03 (1) "contractor" means a person who undertakes by contract 04 performance of certain work for another but does not include a vendor whose 05 primary business is the sale or leasing of tools, equipment, other goods, or 06 property; and 07 * Sec. 3. AS 23.30.045(f) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 08 (3) "project owner" means a person who, in the course of the person's 09 business, engages the services of a contractor and who enjoys the beneficial use of the 10 work. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 23.30.045 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 12 (g) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a project owner, contractor, or 13 subcontractor is not liable for and is not obligated to secure the payment of 14 compensation to a sole proprietor or member of a partnership if the sole proprietor or 15 member of a partnership agrees in writing that the project owner, contractor, and 16 subcontractor do not, in regard to the sole proprietor or member of a partnership, have 17 (1) an obligation to secure compensation; and 18 (2) liability for compensation payable under AS 23.30.041, 23.30.050, 19 23.30.095, 23.30.145, and 23.30.180 - 23.30.215. 20 (h) A sole proprietor or member of a partnership who has agreed under (g) of 21 this section may not maintain an action against the project owner, contractor, or 22 subcontractor, or an insurer of the project owner, contractor, or subcontractor, at law 23 or in admiralty for damages on account of injury or death. 24 * Sec. 5. AS 23.30.055 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 23.30.055. Exclusiveness of liability. The liability of an employer 26 prescribed in AS 23.30.045 is exclusive and in place of all other liability of the 27 employer and any fellow employee to the employee, the employee's legal 28 representative, husband or wife, parents, dependents, next of kin, and anyone 29 otherwise entitled to recover damages from the employer or fellow employee at law or 30 in admiralty on account of the injury or death. The liability of the employer is 31 exclusive even if the employee's claim is barred under AS 23.30.022. However, if an
01 employer fails to secure payment of compensation as required by this chapter, an 02 injured employee or the employee's legal representative in case death results from the 03 injury may elect to claim compensation under this chapter, or to maintain an action 04 against the employer at law or in admiralty for damages on account of the injury or 05 death. In that action the defendant may not plead as a defense that the injury was 06 caused by the negligence of a fellow servant, or that the employee assumed the risk of 07 the employment, or that the injury was due to the contributory negligence of the 08 employee. In this section, "employer" includes, in addition to the meaning given 09 in AS 23.30.395, a person who, under AS 23.30.045(a), is liable for or potentially 10 liable for securing payment of compensation.