CSHB 68(L&C): "An Act relating to the division of labor standards and safety; relating to the division of workers' compensation; establishing the division of workers' safety and compensation; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 68(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to the division of labor standards and safety; relating to the division of 02 workers' compensation; establishing the division of workers' safety and compensation; 03 and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 18.20.410(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) Immediately after declaring a temporary nurse staffing emergency under 07 (a) of this section, a health care facility shall file with the division of workers' safety 08 and compensation [LABOR STANDARDS AND SAFETY], Department of Labor 09 and Workforce Development, a report that includes a copy of the signed writing 10 required under (a) of this section. A report under this subsection is a public document. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 18.20.410(b), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, is amended to read: 12 (b) Immediately after declaring a temporary nurse staffing emergency under 13 (a) of this section, a health care facility shall file with the division of labor standards 14 and safety [WORKERS' SAFETY AND COMPENSATION], Department of Labor
01 and Workforce Development, a report that includes a copy of the signed writing 02 required under (a) of this section. A report under this subsection is a public document. 03 * Sec. 3. AS 18.20.450(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) A health care facility shall file with the division of workers' safety and 05 compensation [LABOR STANDARDS AND SAFETY], Department of Labor and 06 Workforce Development, a semiannual report on a form provided by the department. 07 The report for the six-month period ending June 30 must be filed before the following 08 August 1, and the report for the six-month period ending December 31 must be filed 09 before the following February 1. The report must include, for each nurse employed by 10 the health care facility or under contract with the health care facility, the number of 11 overtime hours worked and the number of hours the nurse was on call. A health care 12 facility that does not employ a nurse who worked overtime hours or who was on call 13 during the reporting period is not required to describe hours worked as overtime and 14 on-call hours for individual nurses but may instead complete the report by stating on 15 the form that there are no reportable hours. 16 * Sec. 4. AS 18.20.450(a), as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, is amended to read: 17 (a) A health care facility shall file with the division of labor standards and 18 safety [WORKERS' SAFETY AND COMPENSATION], Department of Labor and 19 Workforce Development, a semiannual report on a form provided by the department. 20 The report for the six-month period ending June 30 must be filed before the following 21 August 1, and the report for the six-month period ending December 31 must be filed 22 before the following February 1. The report must include, for each nurse employed by 23 the health care facility or under contract with the health care facility, the number of 24 overtime hours worked and the number of hours the nurse was on call. A health care 25 facility that does not employ a nurse who worked overtime hours or who was on call 26 during the reporting period is not required to describe hours worked as overtime and 27 on-call hours for individual nurses but may instead complete the report by stating on 28 the form that there are no reportable hours. 29 * Sec. 5. AS 18.60.055 is amended to read: 30 Sec. 18.60.055. Division of workers' safety and compensation [LABOR 31 STANDARDS AND SAFETY]. As established by AS 23.10.075, there is in the
01 department a division of workers' safety and compensation [LABOR STANDARDS 02 AND SAFETY]. Minimum qualifications shall be established for employees of the 03 department acting as safety inspectors under AS 18.60.010 - 18.60.105. These 04 qualifications must include, as a minimum requirement, at least five years general 05 work experience in the field they are assigned to inspect. Training in safety principles, 06 codes, and standards may be substituted for work experience up to a maximum of 07 three years. 08 * Sec. 6. AS 18.60.055, as amended by sec. 5 of this Act, is amended to read: 09 Sec. 18.60.055. Division of labor standards and safety [WORKERS' 10 SAFETY AND COMPENSATION]. As established by AS 23.10.075, there is in the 11 department a division of labor standards and safety [WORKERS' SAFETY AND 12 COMPENSATION]. Minimum qualifications shall be established for employees of 13 the department acting as safety inspectors under AS 18.60.010 - 18.60.105. These 14 qualifications must include, as a minimum requirement, at least five years general 15 work experience in the field they are assigned to inspect. Training in safety principles, 16 codes, and standards may be substituted for work experience up to a maximum of 17 three years. 18 * Sec. 7. AS 18.60.058(a) is amended to read: 19 (a) In the event of an employment accident that is fatal to an employee or that 20 results in an employee's in-patient hospitalization, an employee's loss of an eye, or an 21 employee's amputation, the employer shall report the accident. The report must be 22 made by telephone or in person to the nearest office of the division of workers' safety 23 and compensation [LABOR STANDARDS AND SAFETY] or by telephone to the 24 federal toll-free number provided by the division. The report must relate the name of 25 the establishment, the location of the accident, the time of the accident, a contact 26 person and the telephone number of the contact person, a brief description of the 27 accident, the number of fatalities or injured employees, and the extent of any injuries. 28 The report must be made immediately but in no event later than eight hours after 29 receipt by the employer of information that the accident has occurred. However, if the 30 employer first receives information of a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, loss of an 31 eye, or amputation eight or more hours after the accident but not later than 30 days
01 after the accident, the employer must make the report not later than eight hours after 02 receiving the information. This subsection does not apply to an employer that first 03 receives information of a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, loss of an eye, or 04 amputation more than 30 days after the accident. 05 * Sec. 8. AS 18.60.058(a), as amended by sec. 7 of this Act, is amended to read: 06 (a) In the event of an employment accident that is fatal to an employee or that 07 results in an employee's in-patient hospitalization, an employee's loss of an eye, or an 08 employee's amputation, the employer shall report the accident. The report must be 09 made by telephone or in person to the nearest office of the division of labor 10 standards and safety [WORKERS' SAFETY AND COMPENSATION] or by 11 telephone to the federal toll-free number provided by the division. The report must 12 relate the name of the establishment, the location of the accident, the time of the 13 accident, a contact person and the telephone number of the contact person, a brief 14 description of the accident, the number of fatalities or injured employees, and the 15 extent of any injuries. The report must be made immediately but in no event later than 16 eight hours after receipt by the employer of information that the accident has occurred. 17 However, if the employer first receives information of a fatality, in-patient 18 hospitalization, loss of an eye, or amputation eight or more hours after the accident but 19 not later than 30 days after the accident, the employer must make the report not later 20 than eight hours after receiving the information. This subsection does not apply to an 21 employer that first receives information of a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, loss of 22 an eye, or amputation more than 30 days after the accident. 23 * Sec. 9. AS 18.60.235(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) In addition to the deputy inspectors employed under AS 18.60.230 and the 25 special inspectors commissioned under AS 18.60.240, the commissioner of labor and 26 workforce development may appoint an employee of the Department of Labor and 27 Workforce Development as an approved inspector if the employee has completed 28 training by the chief inspector and has passed an examination that has been approved 29 by the director of the division of workers' safety and compensation [LABOR 30 STANDARDS AND SAFETY] to perform inspections under AS 18.60.180 - 31 18.60.395 of cast iron boilers and domestic hot water heaters. An employee does not
01 have to pass the examination described in AS 18.60.290 in order to be appointed an 02 approved inspector under this subsection. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 18.60.235(a), as amended by sec. 9 of this Act, is amended to read: 04 (a) In addition to the deputy inspectors employed under AS 18.60.230 and the 05 special inspectors commissioned under AS 18.60.240, the commissioner of labor and 06 workforce development may appoint an employee of the Department of Labor and 07 Workforce Development as an approved inspector if the employee has completed 08 training by the chief inspector and has passed an examination that has been approved 09 by the director of the division of labor standards and safety [WORKERS' SAFETY 10 AND COMPENSATION] to perform inspections under AS 18.60.180 - 18.60.395 of 11 cast iron boilers and domestic hot water heaters. An employee does not have to pass 12 the examination described in AS 18.60.290 in order to be appointed an approved 13 inspector under this subsection. 14 * Sec. 11. AS 23.05.067(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) Each insurer providing workers' compensation insurance and each 16 employer who is self-insured or uninsured for purposes of AS 23.30 in this state shall 17 pay an annual service fee to the department for the administrative expenses of the state 18 for workers' safety programs under AS 18.60 and the workers' compensation program 19 under AS 23.30 as follows: 20 (1) for each employer, 21 (A) except as provided in (b) of this section, the service fee 22 shall be paid each year to the department at the time that the annual report is 23 required to be filed under AS 23.30.155(m) or (n); and 24 (B) the service fee is 2.9 percent of all payments reported to the 25 division of workers' safety and compensation in the department under 26 AS 23.30.155(m) or (n), except second injury fund payments; and 27 (2) for each insurer, the director of the division of insurance shall, 28 under (e) of this section, deposit from funds received from the insurer under 29 AS 21.09.210 a service fee of 2.5 percent of the direct premium income for workers' 30 compensation insurance received by the insurer during the year ending on the 31 preceding December 31, subject to all the deductions specified in AS 21.09.210(b).
01 * Sec. 12. AS 23.05.067(a), as amended by sec. 11 of this Act, is amended to read: 02 (a) Each insurer providing workers' compensation insurance and each 03 employer who is self-insured or uninsured for purposes of AS 23.30 in this state shall 04 pay an annual service fee to the department for the administrative expenses of the state 05 for workers' safety programs under AS 18.60 and the workers' compensation program 06 under AS 23.30 as follows: 07 (1) for each employer, 08 (A) except as provided in (b) of this section, the service fee 09 shall be paid each year to the department at the time that the annual report is 10 required to be filed under AS 23.30.155(m) or (n); and 11 (B) the service fee is 2.9 percent of all payments reported to the 12 division of workers' [SAFETY AND] compensation in the department under 13 AS 23.30.155(m) or (n), except second injury fund payments; and 14 (2) for each insurer, the director of the division of insurance shall, 15 under (e) of this section, deposit from funds received from the insurer under 16 AS 21.09.210 a service fee of 2.5 percent of the direct premium income for workers' 17 compensation insurance received by the insurer during the year ending on the 18 preceding December 31, subject to all the deductions specified in AS 21.09.210(b). 19 * Sec. 13. AS 23.10.075 is repealed and reenacted to read: 20 Sec. 23.10.075. Division of workers' safety and compensation. The division 21 of workers' safety and compensation is established in the department. The 22 commissioner shall appoint the director of the division. The director shall administer 23 AS 18.60.010 - 18.60.105, AS 23.10.050 - 23.10.150, and AS 23.30.001 - 23.30.400. 24 * Sec. 14. AS 23.10.075 is repealed and reenacted to read: 25 Sec. 23.10.075. Labor standards and safety division. There is established in 26 the department the division of labor standards and safety. The director of the division 27 is responsible to the commissioner. The director shall administer AS 18.60.010 - 28 18.60.105 and AS 23.10.050 - 23.10.150. 29 * Sec. 15. AS 23.10.080 is amended to read: 30 Sec. 23.10.080. Powers and duties of division. The director, or an authorized 31 representative of the director, shall
01 (1) investigate and ascertain the wages and related conditions and 02 standards of employment of any employee in the state; 03 (2) enter the place of business or employment of an employer at 04 reasonable times for the purpose of inspecting payroll records that relate to the 05 question of wages paid or hours worked; 06 (3) require and subpoena from an employer a statement in writing, 07 when the director or the representative considers it necessary, of hours worked by and 08 the wages paid to a person in the employ of the employer, and the commissioner may 09 require the employer to make the statement under oath; 10 (4) question an employee in a place of employment during work hours 11 with respect to the wages paid and the hours worked by the employees; 12 (5) compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, 13 papers, and documents by subpoena when necessary for the purpose of a hearing or 14 investigation provided for in AS 23.10.050 - 23.10.150; 15 (6) facilitate the quick, efficient, fair, and predictable delivery of 16 indemnity and medical benefits to injured workers at a reasonable cost to 17 employers who are required to provide workers' compensation. 18 * Sec. 16. AS 23.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 19 Sec. 23.30.003. Division of workers' compensation; director. The division 20 of workers' compensation is established in the department. The commissioner shall 21 appoint the director of the division of workers' compensation. 22 * Sec. 17. AS 23.30.025(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) An insurer may not enter into or issue a policy of insurance under this 24 chapter until its policy form has been submitted to and approved by the director of the 25 division of insurance. The director of the division of insurance may not approve the 26 policy form of an insurance company until the company files with it the certificate of 27 the director of the division of insurance showing that the company is authorized to 28 transact the business of workers' compensation insurance in the state. The filing of a 29 policy form by an insurance company with the division of workers' safety and 30 compensation for approval constitutes, on the part of the company, a conclusive and 31 unqualified acceptance of the provisions of this chapter, and an agreement by it to be
01 bound by them. 02 * Sec. 18. AS 23.30.025(a), as amended by sec. 17 of this Act, is amended to read: 03 (a) An insurer may not enter into or issue a policy of insurance under this 04 chapter until its policy form has been submitted to and approved by the director of the 05 division of insurance. The director of the division of insurance may not approve the 06 policy form of an insurance company until the company files with it the certificate of 07 the director of the division of insurance showing that the company is authorized to 08 transact the business of workers' compensation insurance in the state. The filing of a 09 policy form by an insurance company with the division of workers' [SAFETY AND] 10 compensation for approval constitutes, on the part of the company, a conclusive and 11 unqualified acceptance of the provisions of this chapter, and an agreement by it to be 12 bound by them. 13 * Sec. 19. AS 23.30.280(e) is amended to read: 14 (e) Except as provided in (f) of this section, a person is not liable for civil 15 damages for filing a report concerning a suspected, anticipated, or completed 16 fraudulent act or a false or misleading statement or representation with, or for 17 furnishing other information, whether written or oral, concerning a suspected, 18 anticipated, or completed fraudulent act or false or misleading statements or 19 representation to 20 (1) law enforcement officials or their agents and employees; 21 (2) the division of workers' safety and compensation, the division of 22 insurance in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, 23 or an agency in another state that regulates insurance or workers' compensation; 24 (3) an insurer or adjuster or its agents, employees, or designees, or the 25 risk manager of a self-insured employer under this chapter. 26 * Sec. 20. AS 23.30.280(e), as amended by sec. 19 of this Act, is amended to read: 27 (e) Except as provided in (f) of this section, a person is not liable for civil 28 damages for filing a report concerning a suspected, anticipated, or completed 29 fraudulent act or a false or misleading statement or representation with, or for 30 furnishing other information, whether written or oral, concerning a suspected, 31 anticipated, or completed fraudulent act or false or misleading statements or
01 representation to 02 (1) law enforcement officials or their agents and employees; 03 (2) the division of workers' [SAFETY AND] compensation, the 04 division of insurance in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 05 Development, or an agency in another state that regulates insurance or workers' 06 compensation; 07 (3) an insurer or adjuster or its agents, employees, or designees, or the 08 risk manager of a self-insured employer under this chapter. 09 * Sec. 21. AS 23.30.395(15) is amended to read: 10 (15) "director" means the director of the division of workers' safety 11 and compensation in the department; 12 * Sec. 22. AS 23.30.395(15), as amended by sec. 21 of this Act, is amended to read: 13 (15) "director" means the director of the division of workers' 14 [SAFETY AND] compensation in the department; 15 * Sec. 23. AS 23.30.395(17) is amended to read: 16 (17) "division" means the division of workers' safety and 17 compensation in the department; 18 * Sec. 24. AS 23.30.395(17), as amended by sec. 23 of this Act, is amended to read: 19 (17) "division" means the division of workers' [SAFETY AND] 20 compensation in the department; 21 * Sec. 25. AS 39.25.120(c)(14) is amended to read: 22 (14) the rehabilitation administrator of the division of workers' safety 23 and compensation; 24 * Sec. 26. AS 39.25.120(c)(14), as amended by sec. 25 of this Act, is amended to read: 25 (14) the rehabilitation administrator of the division of workers' 26 [SAFETY AND] compensation; 27 * Sec. 27. AS 39.25.158(b) is amended to read: 28 (b) After an employee requests to return to work, the reemployment benefits 29 administrator of the division of workers' safety and compensation or the director of 30 vocational rehabilitation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development 31 shall review the request and certify that the employee is able to return to work under
01 (c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section, or defer certification until the employee completes 02 retraining under (f) of this section. 03 * Sec. 28. AS 39.25.158(b), as amended by sec. 27 of this Act, is amended to read: 04 (b) After an employee requests to return to work, the reemployment benefits 05 administrator of the division of workers' [SAFETY AND] compensation or the 06 director of vocational rehabilitation in the Department of Labor and Workforce 07 Development shall review the request and certify that the employee is able to return to 08 work under (c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section, or defer certification until the employee 09 completes retraining under (f) of this section. 10 * Sec. 29. AS 23.30.002 is repealed. 11 * Sec. 30. AS 23.10.080(6) is repealed. 12 * Sec. 31. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 13 read: 14 MERGER OF DIVISIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND 15 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: TRANSITION. (a) Notwithstanding the temporary 16 merger under this Act of the division of labor standards and safety with the division of 17 workers' compensation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, all 18 litigation, administrative proceedings, investigations, orders, certificates, regulations, 19 contractual obligations, rights, and liabilities continue in effect. 20 (b) Records, equipment, allocations, and other property of each affected division may 21 be transferred as necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. 22 * Sec. 32. Sections 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 30 of this Act take 23 effect July 1, 2022. 24 * Sec. 33. Except as provided in sec. 32 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2019.