AB469 - Revises provisions relating to labor. (BDR 53-921)

A.B. 469 - *AB469* ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 469–ASSEMBLYMEMBER GALLANT MARCH 17, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to labor. (BDR 53-921) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No. Effect on the State: Yes. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to labor; revising provisions relating to certain administrators employed by an association of self-insured employers; revising provisions relating to subsequent injury accounts; revising provisions relating to physicians or chiropractic physicians who treat industrial injuries and occupational diseases; revising provisions relating to independent medical examinations; revising provisions relating to compensation under industrial insurance; revising procedures for the reimbursement of certain insurers; establishing, revising and eliminating various other provisions relating to industrial insurance; eliminating provisions relating to the expiration and renewal of certain completion cards for certain training required for certain workers; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law establishes the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act and the Nevada 1 Occupational Diseases Act, which: (1) provide for the payment of compensation to 2 employees who are injured or disabled as the result of an occupational injury or 3 occupational disease; and (2) govern industrial insurers in this State that provide 4 benefits to those employees. (Chapters 616A-616D and 617 of NRS) Existing law 5 authorizes certain groups of public or private employers to act as an association of 6 self-insured employers if the group and each employer within the group meet 7 certain requirements. (NRS 616B.350-616B.446) Existing law requires a board of 8 trustees to operate any such association and to employ: (1) an association’s 9 administrator to carry out the policies of the board and perform such duties as the 10 board delegates; and (2) a third-party administrator to administer the plan of 11 insurance of the association. Existing law prohibits an association’s administrator 12 from performing any of the duties assigned to the third-party administrator. 13 – 2 – - *AB469* (NRS 616B.365) Section 2 of this bill specifies that the association’s administrator 14 is prohibited from directly administering claims. Existing law also prohibits the 15 association’s administrator and the third-party administrator from having a direct or 16 indirect financial interest in each other. (NRS 616B.371) Section 3 of this bill 17 removes the prohibition on the association’s administrator and the third-party 18 administrator from having a financial interest in each other. Section 1 of this bill 19 revises the definition of the term “association’s administrator” to specify that the 20 responsibilities of the association’s administrator to carry out the daily operations 21 of the association are at the direction of the board of trustees of the association. 22 Existing law establishes the Fund for Workers’ Compensation and Safety 23 within the State Treasury. (NRS 616A.425) Existing law creates within the Fund a 24 Subsequent Injury Account for each of the following insurers: (1) self-insured 25 employers; (2) associations of self-insured public or private employers; and (3) 26 private carriers. (NRS 616B.554, 616B.575, 616B.584) Existing law requires that 27 money in the Accounts be used to provide compensation or reimbursement in 28 situations where an employee who has a preexisting permanent physical 29 impairment incurs a subsequent disability by an injury arising out of and in the 30 course of employment which entitles the employee to compensation for the 31 combined disability that is substantially greater than that which would have resulted 32 from the subsequent injury alone. (NRS 616B.557, 616B.560, 616B.578) Existing 33 law requires either a board for administration or the Administrator of the Division 34 of Industrial Relations of the Department of Business and Industry to administer 35 each Account. (NRS 616B.548, 616B.554, 616B.569, 616B.575, 616B.584) 36 Existing law and regulations require self-insured employers, associations of self- 37 insured public or private employers and private carriers to pay an annual 38 assessment to fund the Accounts. (NRS 616B.554, 616B.575, 616B.584; chapter 39 616B of NAC) 40 Sections 4, 7 and 10 of this bill remove the authority to adopt regulations 41 which impose such assessments from each board for administration and the 42 Administrator of the Division, and section 32 of this bill voids the provisions of 43 existing regulations relating to such assessments, thus eliminating the requirement 44 for assessments to be paid for each Account. Sections 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of this 45 bill require, for compensation or reimbursement provisions to apply, an employee 46 to have incurred a subsequent disability by injury on or before September 30, 2025, 47 thus prohibiting any claims against the Accounts due to a subsequent disability by 48 injury which is incurred on or after October 1, 2025. 49 For purposes of calculating the amount of a premium which is due pursuant to 50 the terms of a policy of industrial insurance, existing law provides that the 51 maximum amount paid to any one employee for services performed during the 12- 52 month period during which a policy is effective shall be deemed to be $36,000. 53 (NRS 616B.222) Existing law also deems $36,000 to be the maximum amount paid 54 in a policy year to an officer or manager of a quasi-public or private corporation or 55 limited-liability company who receives pay for services performed as an officer, 56 manager or employee of the corporation or company. (NRS 616B.624) Sections 13 57 and 34 of this bill eliminate the $36,000 maximum amount of pay for employees 58 for purposes of calculating the amount of a premium which is due pursuant to the 59 terms of a policy of industrial insurance. 60 Existing law requires an insurer to maintain a list of physicians and chiropractic 61 physicians, selected from a panel established and maintained by the Administrator, 62 from which an injured employee may choose to receive treatment. (NRS 616C.087, 63 616C.090) Sections 14 and 15 of this bill revise: (1) the number of physicians or 64 chiropractic physicians for certain specified disciplines and specializations which 65 an insurer is required to include in its list; (2) provisions governing changes to the 66 panel maintained by the Administrator and a list maintained by an insurer; and (3) 67 – 3 – - *AB469* requirements governing the choice of a physician or chiropractic physician by an 68 injured employee. 69 Existing law: (1) authorizes an injured employee, subject to various 70 requirements and restrictions, to obtain an independent medical examination 71 concerning an injury that is the subject of a claim filed for compensation under 72 industrial insurance; (2) provides that such an injured employee is entitled to 73 request such an independent medical examination for a permanent partial disability 74 under certain circumstances; (3) requires an insurer to pay the costs of any 75 independent medical examination; and (4) provides that the insurer must receive a 76 copy of any report or other document generated as a result of the examination. 77 (NRS 616C.145) Section 16 of this bill: (1) eliminates the right of an injured 78 employee to request an independent medical examination for a permanent partial 79 disability under certain circumstances; and (2) eliminates the duty of an insurer to 80 pay the costs of an independent medical examination and the provision that the 81 insurer must receive a copy of any report or other document that is generated as a 82 result of an independent medical examination. 83 Existing law provides that if an injured employee is discharged as a result of 84 misconduct, an insurer may deny compensation for temporary total disability only 85 by proving that: (1) the injured employee was discharged solely for misconduct and 86 not for any reason relating to the employee’s claim for compensation; and (2) the 87 sole cause for the injured employee’s inability to return to work with the preinjury 88 employer is the discharge for misconduct and not the injury. Existing law also: (1) 89 provides that an insurer waives its rights to deny compensation pursuant to such 90 provisions if the insurer does not make a determination to deny or suspend 91 compensation within 70 days after the insurer learns of the discharge; and (2) 92 prohibits an insurer from denying compensation pursuant to such provisions except 93 for compensation for temporary total disability. (NRS 616C.232) Section 17 of this 94 bill: (1) authorizes an insurer to deny vocational rehabilitation services as well as 95 compensation for temporary total disability to an injured employee who is 96 discharged for misconduct; (2) eliminates provisions requiring a waiver of the 97 rights to deny compensation if the insurer does not make a determination to deny or 98 suspend compensation within 70 days after learning of the discharge; (3) authorizes 99 an insurer to deny compensation for temporary total disability and vocational 100 rehabilitation services to an injured employee who voluntarily resigns from 101 employment with the preinjury employer for any reason unrelated to his or her 102 claim for compensation; and (4) provides that if an injured employee is certified as 103 temporarily totally disabled, the employee’s voluntary resignation or discharge for 104 misconduct does not limit the injured employee’s entitlement to receive benefits for 105 temporary total disability. Section 17 also provides a definition of the term 106 “misconduct” for the purposes of these provisions. 107 Existing law authorizes an insurer or employer who pays an annual increase in 108 compensation for a permanent total disability or certain death benefits to obtain 109 reimbursement from the Administrator and sets forth procedures for obtaining such 110 reimbursement. (NRS 616C.266, 616C.268) Sections 18 and 19 of this bill revise 111 the procedures to require: (1) the Administrator to authorize the State Treasurer to 112 reimburse the insurer and provide the insurer with proof of the authorization; and 113 (2) the State Treasurer to process and issue the payment for reimbursement not later 114 than 10 days after receiving an authorization from the Administrator. 115 Section 20 of this bill revises provisions governing a stay of a decision of an 116 appeals officer. 117 Section 21 of this bill revises provisions governing the duration of payments 118 for a temporary total disability and an employer’s offer of temporary, light-duty 119 employment to an injured employee. 120 Existing law provides that when a claimant elects to receive and accepts 121 payment for a permanent partial disability in a lump sum, the claimant’s benefits 122 – 4 – - *AB469* terminate and the claimant waives certain rights regarding his or her claim, except 123 the right to: (1) reopen his or her claim; (2) have the claim considered by his or her 124 insurer; (3) certain counseling, training and rehabilitative services; (4) receive a 125 benefit penalty; and (5) conclude or resolve any contested matter, with certain 126 exceptions, which is pending at the time of the election of payment for a permanent 127 partial disability in a lump sum. (NRS 616C.495) Section 23 of this bill eliminates 128 the right of a claimant who elects to receive and accepts payment for a permanent 129 partial disability in a lump sum to conclude or resolve any contested matter which 130 is pending at the time of the election of payment in a lump sum. 131 Existing law requires, in the event of a dispute over an award of compensation 132 for permanent partial disability, an insurer to commence making installment 133 payments to the injured employee for the portion of the award that is not in dispute 134 without requiring the injured employee to make an election whether to receive his 135 or her compensation in installment payments or in a lump sum. (NRS 616C.490) 136 Section 22 of this bill requires a claimant, upon the conclusion of such a dispute, to 137 make an election whether to receive his or her award of compensation in 138 installment payments or in a lump sum. 139 Section 24 of this bill revises certain duties of an insurer as they relate to a plan 140 for a program of vocational rehabilitation for an injured employee. 141 (NRS 616C.570) 142 Existing law: (1) authorizes the Administrator to impose upon an insurer, 143 organization for managed care, health care provider, third-party administrator, 144 employer or professional employer organization a benefit penalty for certain 145 violations of law or regulation; and (2) requires proof of the payment of such a 146 benefit penalty to be submitted to the Administrator within 15 days after the date of 147 the Administrator’s determination of the benefit penalty unless an appeal of the 148 benefit penalty is filed and a stay has been granted. (NRS 616D.120, 616D.140) 149 Section 25 of this bill: (1) revises the amounts and schedule of administrative fines 150 which the Administrator may impose as a benefit penalty; and (2) provides that 151 proof of the payment of such a benefit penalty must be submitted to the 152 Administrator within 15 days after the date of the Administrator’s determination of 153 the benefit penalty unless an appeal of the benefit penalty is filed and the appeals 154 process is not yet complete. Section 27 of this bill requires that payment of such a 155 benefit penalty be paid not later than 30 days after an appeals officer or district 156 court renders a decision upholding the imposition of the benefit penalty. 157 Existing law requires each: (1) entertainment industry worker and supervisory 158 employee to obtain a completion card for taking a course in construction industry or 159 general industry safety and health hazard recognition and prevention; and (2) 160 convention services worker and supervisory employee to obtain a completion card 161 for taking such a course. The required courses must be: (1) developed by the 162 Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of 163 Labor; and (2) approved by the Division of Industrial Relations of the Department 164 of Business and Industry. [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]