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S1366.......................................by COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RESPONDERS - Amends and adds to existing law relating to disability benefits for volunteer emergency responders to define terms; to revise the designation of employees in public employment; to revise the determination of average weekly wage for volunteer emergency responders; and to provide for the payment of total and permanent disability benefits to volunteer emergency responders. 02/01 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/04 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1366 BY COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RESPONDER DISABILITY BENEFITS; AMENDING SEC- 3 TION 72-102, IDAHO CODE, TO DEFINE A TERM; AMENDING SECTION 72-205, IDAHO 4 CODE, TO REVISE THE DESIGNATION OF EMPLOYEES IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND 5 THEIR EMPLOYERS SUBJECT TO THE WORKER'S COMPENSATION ACT; AMENDING SECTION 6 72-419, IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVE THE DETERMINATION OF AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE FOR 7 VOLUNTEER FIREMEN, POLICE AND CIVIL DEFENSE MEMBERS OR TRAINEES AND TO 8 PROVIDE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE FOR VOLUNTEER EMER- 9 GENCY RESPONDERS BASED ON IDAHO CODE; AND AMENDING CHAPTER 4, TITLE 72, 10 IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 72-408A, IDAHO CODE, TO PRO- 11 VIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY BENEFITS TO VOLUN- 12 TEER EMERGENCY RESPONDERS. 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 14 SECTION 1. That Section 72-102, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 15 amended to read as follows: 16 72-102. DEFINITIONS. Words and terms used in the worker's compensation 17 law, unless the context otherwise requires, are defined in the subsections 18 which follow: 19 (1) "Alien" means a person who is not a citizen, a national or a resident 20 of the United States or Canada. Any person not a citizen or national of the 21 United States who relinquishes or is about to relinquish his residence in the 22 United States shall be regarded as an alien. 23 (2) "Balance billing" means charging, billing, or otherwise attempting to 24 collect directly from an injured employee payment for medical services in 25 excess of amounts allowable in compensable claims as provided by rules promul- 26 gated by the commission pursuant to section 72-508, Idaho Code. 27 (3) "Beneficiary" means any person who is entitled to income benefits or 28 medical and related benefits under this law. 29 (4) "Burial expenses" means a sum, not to exceed six thousand dollars 30 ($6,000) for funeral and burial or cremation, together with the actual 31 expenses of transportation of the employee's body to his place of residence 32 within the United States or Canada. 33 (5) "Commission" means the industrial commission. 34 (6) "Community service worker" means: 35 (a) Any person who has been convicted of a criminal offense, any juvenile 36 who has been found to be within the purview of chapter 5, title 20, Idaho 37 Code, and who has been informally diverted under the provisions of section 38 20-511, Idaho Code, or any person or youth who has been diverted from the 39 criminal or juvenile justice system and who performs a public service for 40 any department, institution, office, college, university, authority, divi- 41 sion, board, bureau, commission, council, or other entity of the state, or 42 any city, county, school district, irrigation district or other taxing 43 district authorized to levy a tax or an assessment or any other political 2 1 subdivision or any private not-for-profit agency which has elected wor- 2 ker's compensation insurance coverage for such person; or 3 (b) Parolees under department of correction supervision, probationers 4 under court order or department of correction supervision and offender 5 residents of community work centers under the direction or order of the 6 board of correction who are performing public service or community service 7 work for any of the entities specified in paragraph (6)(a) of this section 8 other than the department of correction. 9 (7) "Compensation" used collectively means any or all of the income bene- 10 fits and the medical and related benefits and medical services. 11 (8) "Custom farmer" means a person who contracts to supply operated 12 equipment to a proprietor of a farm for the purpose of performing part or all 13 of the activities related to raising or harvesting agricultural or horticul- 14 tural commodities. 15 (9) "Death" means death resulting from an injury or occupational disease. 16 (10) Dependency limitations. 17 (a) "Adopted" and "adoption" include cases where persons are treated as 18 adopted as well as those of legal adoption unless legal adoption is spe- 19 cifically provided. 20 (b) "Brother" and "sister" include stepbrothers and stepsisters, half 21 brothers and half sisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption. 22 (c) "Child" includes adopted children, posthumous children, and acknowl- 23 edged illegitimate children, but does not include stepchildren unless 24 actually dependent. 25 (d) "Grandchild" includes children of legally adopted children and chil- 26 dren of stepchildren, but does not include stepchildren of children, 27 stepchildren of stepchildren, or stepchildren of adopted children unless 28 actually dependent. 29 (e) "Parent" includes stepparents and parents by adoption. 30 (f) "Grandparent" includes parents of parents by adoption, but does not 31 include parents of stepparents, stepparents of parents, or stepparents of 32 stepparents. 33 (11) "Disability," for purposes of determining total or partial temporary 34 disability income benefits, means a decrease in wage-earning capacity due to 35 injury or occupational disease, as such capacity is affected by the medical 36 factor of physical impairment, and by pertinent nonmedical factors as provided 37 in section 72-430, Idaho Code. 38 (12) "Employee" is synonymous with "workman" and means any person who has 39 entered into the employment of, or who works under contract of service or 40 apprenticeship with, an employer. It does not include any person engaged in 41 any of the excepted employments enumerated in section 72-212, Idaho Code, 42 unless an election as provided in section 72-213, Idaho Code, has been filed. 43 Any reference to an employee who has been injured shall, where the employee is 44 dead, include a reference to his dependents as herein defined, if the context 45 so requires, or, where the employee is a minor or incompetent, to his commit- 46 tee or guardian or next friend. 47 (13) (a) "Employer" means any person who has expressly or impliedly hired 48 or contracted the services of another. It includes contractors and subcon- 49 tractors. It includes the owner or lessee of premises, or other person who 50 is virtually the proprietor or operator of the business there carried on, 51 but who, by reason of there being an independent contractor or for any 52 other reason, is not the direct employer of the workers there employed. If 53 the employer is secured, it means his surety so far as applicable. 54 (b) "Professional employer" means a professional employer as defined in 55 chapter 24, title 44, Idaho Code. 3 1 (c) "Temporary employer" means the employer of temporary employees as 2 defined in section 44-2403(7), Idaho Code. 3 (d) "Work site employer" means the client of the temporary or profes- 4 sional employer with whom a worker has been placed. 5 (14) "Farm labor contractor" means any person or his agent or subcontrac- 6 tor who, for a fee, recruits and employs farm workers and performs any farm 7 labor contracting activity. 8 (15) "Gender and number." The masculine gender includes the feminine and 9 neuter; "husband" or "wife" includes "spouse"; the singular number includes 10 plural and the plural the singular. 11 (16) "Income benefits" means payments provided for or made under the pro- 12 visions of this law to the injured employee disabled by an injury or occupa- 13 tional disease, or his dependents in case of death, excluding medical and 14 related benefits. 15 (17) "Independent contractor" means any person who renders service for a 16 specified recompense for a specified result, under the right to control or 17 actual control of his principal as to the result of his work only and not as 18 to the means by which such result is accomplished. For the purposes of wor- 19 ker's compensation law, a custom farmer is considered to be an independent 20 contractor. 21 (18) "Injury" and "accident." 22 (a) "Injury" means a personal injury caused by an accident arising out of 23 and in the course of any employment covered by the worker's compensation 24 law. 25 (b) "Accident" means an unexpected, undesigned, and unlooked for mishap, 26 or untoward event, connected with the industry in which it occurs, and 27 which can be reasonably located as to time when and place where it 28 occurred, causing an injury. 29 (c) "Injury" and "personal injury" shall be construed to include only an 30 injury caused by an accident, which results in violence to the physical 31 structure of the body. The terms shall in no case be construed to include 32 an occupational disease and only such nonoccupational diseases as result 33 directly from an injury. 34 (19) "Manifestation" means the time when an employee knows that he has an 35 occupational disease, or whenever a qualified physician shall inform the 36 injured worker that he has an occupational disease. 37 (20) "Medical and related benefits" means payments provided for or made 38 for medical, hospital, burial and other services as provided in this law other 39 than income benefits. 40 (21) "Medical services" means medical, surgical, dental or other atten- 41 dance or treatment, nurse and hospital service, medicines, apparatus, appli- 42 ances, prostheses, and related services, facilities and supplies. 43 (22) "Occupational diseases." 44 (a) "Occupational disease" means a disease due to the nature of an 45 employment in which the hazards of such disease actually exist, are char- 46 acteristic of, and peculiar to the trade, occupation, process, or employ- 47 ment, but shall not include psychological injuries, disorders or condi- 48 tions unless the conditions set forth in section 72-451, Idaho Code, are 49 met. 50 (b) "Contracted" and "incurred," when referring to an occupational dis- 51 ease, shall be deemed the equivalent of the term "arising out of and in 52 the course of" employment. 53 (c) "Disablement," except in the case of silicosis, means the event of an 54 employee's becoming actually and totally incapacitated because of an occu- 55 pational disease from performing his work in the last occupation in which 4 1 injuriously exposed to the hazards of such disease, and "disability" means 2 the state of being so incapacitated. 3 (d) "Disablement," in the case of silicosis, means the event of first 4 becoming actually incapacitated, because of such disease, from performing 5 any work in any remunerative employment; and "disability" means the state 6 of being so incapacitated. 7 (e) "Silicosis" means the characteristic fibrotic condition of the lungs 8 caused by the inhalation of silicon dioxide dust. 9 (23) "Outworker" means a person to whom articles or materials are fur- 10 nished to be treated in any way on premises not under the control or manage- 11 ment of the person who furnished them. 12 (24) "Person" means the state or any political subdivision thereof, or any 13 individual, partnership, firm, association, trust, corporation, including the 14 state insurance fund, or any representative thereof. 15 (25) "Physician" means medical physicians and surgeons, ophthalmologists, 16 otorhinolaryngologists, dentists, osteopaths, osteopathic physicians and sur- 17 geons, optometrists, podiatrists, chiropractic physicians, and members of any 18 other healing profession licensed or authorized by the statutes of this state 19 to practice such profession within the scope of their practice as defined by 20 the statutes of this state and as authorized by their licenses. 21 (26) "Provider" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, associa- 22 tion, agency, institution, or other legal entity providing any kind of medical 23 services related to the treatment of an injured employee which are compensable 24 under Idaho's worker's compensation law. 25 (27) "Secretary" means the secretary of the commission. 26 (28) "Self-insurer" means an employer who has been authorized under the 27 provisions of this law to carry his own liability to his employees covered by 28 this law. 29 (29) "State" includes any state, district, commonwealth, zone or territory 30 of the United States or any province of Canada. 31 (30) "Surety" means any insurer authorized to insure or guarantee payment 32 of worker's compensation liability of employers in any state; it also includes 33 the state insurance fund, a self-insurer and an inter-insurance exchange. 34 (31) "United States," when used in a geographic sense, means the several 35 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Canal 36 Zone and the territories of the United States. 37 (32) "Volunteer emergency responder" means a firefighter or peace officer, 38 or certified personnel as that term is defined in section 56-1012, Idaho Code, 39 who is a bona fide member of a legally organized law enforcement agency, a 40 legally organized fire department or a licensed emergency medical service pro- 41 vider organization who contributes services without receiving compensation. 42 (33) "Wages" and "wage earning capacity" prior to the injury or disable- 43 ment from occupational disease mean the employee's money payments for services 44 as calculated under section 72-419, Idaho Code, and shall additionally include 45 the reasonable market value of board, rent, housing, lodging, fuel, and other 46 advantages which can be estimated in money which the employee receives from 47 the employer as part of his remuneration, and gratuities received in the 48 course of employment from others than the employer. "Wages" shall not include 49 sums which the employer has paid to the employee to cover any special expenses 50 entailed on him by the nature of his employment. 51 (334) "Wages" and "wage earning capacity" after the injury or disablement 52 from occupational disease shall be presumed to be the actual earnings after 53 the injury or disablement, which presumption may be overcome by showing that 54 those earnings do not fairly and reasonably represent wage earning capacity; 55 in such a case wage earning capacity shall be determined in the light of all 5 1 factors and circumstances which may affect the worker's capacity to earn 2 wages. 3 (345) "Work experience student" means any person enrolled in the public 4 school districts of this state and who, as part of his instruction, is 5 enrolled in a class or program for academic credit and for which the student 6 is employed by, or works for, a private or governmental entity. The student 7 need not receive wages from the private or governmental entity in order to be 8 classified as a work experience student. 9 (356) "Worker's compensation law" or "workmen's compensation law" means 10 and includes the worker's compensation law of this state and any like or simi- 11 lar law of any state, United States, territory, or province of Canada. 12 SECTION 2. That Section 72-205, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 13 amended to read as follows: 14 72-205. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT GENERALLY -- COVERAGE. The following shall con- 15 stitute employees in public employment and their employers subject to the pro- 16 visions of this law: 17 (1) Every person in the service of the state or of any political subdivi- 18 sion thereof, under any contract of hire, express or implied, and every offi- 19 cial or officer thereof, whether elected or appointed, while performing his 20 official duties, except officials of athletic contests involving secondary 21 schools, as defined by section 33-119, Idaho Code. 22 (2) Every person in the service of a county, city, or any political sub- 23 division thereof, or of any municipal corporation. 24 (3) Participants in the Idaho youth conservation project under the super- 25 vision of the Idaho state forester. 26 (4) Every person who is amember of avolunteerfire or police department27 emergency responder shall be deemed, for the purposes of this law, to be in 28 the employment of the political subdivision or municipality where the depart- 29 ment, agency or organization is organized. 30 (5) Every person who is a regularly enrolled volunteer member or trainee 31 of the department of disaster and civil defense, or of a civil defense corps, 32 shall be deemed, for the purposes of this law, to be in the employment of the 33 state. 34 (6) Members of the Idaho national guard while on duty and employees of or 35 persons providing voluntary service to an approved Idaho national guard 36 morale, welfare, and recreational activity. No Idaho compensation benefits 37 shall inure to any such member, employee or volunteer or their beneficiaries 38 for any injury or death compensable under federal law. 39 (7) A community service worker, as that term is defined in section 40 72-102, Idaho Code, is considered to be an employee in public employment for 41 purposes of receiving worker's compensation benefits, which shall be the com- 42 munity service worker's exclusive remedy for all injuries and occupational 43 diseases as provided under chapters 1 through 8, title 72, Idaho Code. 44 (8) Every person who participates in a youth employment program funded in 45 whole or in part by state or federal money and administered by a state or fed- 46 eral agency or a nonprofit corporation or entity. 47 (9) A work experience student, as that term is defined in section 72-102, 48 Idaho Code, who does not receive wages while participating in the school's 49 work experience program shall be covered by the school district's policy with 50 the state insurance fund. 51 SECTION 3. That Section 72-419, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 52 amended to read as follows: 6 1 72-419. DETERMINATION OF AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE. Except as otherwise pro- 2 vided in this law, the average weekly wage of the employee at the time of the 3 accident causing the injury or of manifestation of the occupational disease 4 shall be taken as the basis upon which to compute compensation and shall be 5 determined as follows: 6 (1) If at such time the wages are fixed by the week, the amount so fixed 7 shall be the average weekly wage. 8 (2) If at such time the wages are fixed by the month, the average weekly 9 wage shall be the monthly wage so fixed multiplied by twelve (12) and divided 10 by fifty-two (52). 11 (3) If at such time the wages are fixed by the year, the average weekly 12 wage shall be the yearly wage so fixed divided by fifty-two (52). 13 (4) (a) If at such time the wages are fixed by the day, hour or by the 14 output of the employee, the average weekly wage shall be the wage most 15 favorable to the employee computed by dividing by thirteen (13) his wages 16 (not including overtime or premium pay) earned in the employ of the 17 employer in the first, second, third or fourth period of thirteen (13) 18 consecutive calendar weeks in the fifty-two (52) weeks immediately preced- 19 ing the time of accident or manifestation of the disease. 20 (b) If the employee has been in the employ of the employer less than 21 twelve (12) calendar weeks immediately preceding the accident or manifes- 22 tation of the disease, his average weekly wage shall be computed under the 23 foregoing paragraph, taking the wages (not including overtime or premium 24 pay) for such purpose to be the amount he would have earned had he been so 25 employed by the employer the full thirteen (13) calendar weeks immediately 26 preceding such time and had worked, when work was available to other 27 employees in a similar occupation. 28 (5) If at such time the hourly wage has not been fixed or cannot be 29 ascertained, the wage for the purpose of calculating compensation shall be 30 taken to be the usual wage for similar services where such services are ren- 31 dered by paid employees. 32 (6) In seasonal occupations that do not customarily operate throughout 33 the entire year, the average weekly wage shall be taken to be one-fiftieth 34 (1/50) of the total wages which the employee has earned from all occupations 35 during the twelve (12) calendar months immediately preceding the time of the 36 accident or manifestation of the disease. 37 (7) In the case of a volunteerfiremen, police and civil defense members38or traineesemergency responder, the income benefits shall bebased on the39average weekly wage in their regular employmentdetermined pursuant to section 40 72-408A, Idaho Code. 41 (8) If the employee was a minor, apprentice or trainee at the time of the 42 accident or manifestation of the disease, and it is established that under 43 normal conditions his wages should be expected to increase during the period 44 of disability that fact may be considered in computing his average weekly 45 wage. 46 (9) When the employee is working under concurrent contracts with two (2) 47 or more employers and the defendant employer has knowledge of such employment 48 prior to the injury, the employee's wages from all such employers shall be 49 considered as if earned from the employer liable for compensation. 50 (10) When circumstances are such that the actual rate of pay cannot be 51 readily ascertained, the wage shall be deemed to be the contractual, customary 52 or usual wage in the particular employment, industry or community for the same 53 or similar service. 54 (11) In the case of public employees covered under section 72-205(6), 55 Idaho Code, the income benefits shall be based on the greater of the average 7 1 weekly wage of the employee's civilian employment and pay computed for one 2 (1) weekend drill in a month, or full-time active duty pay fixed by the month 3 as provided in section 46-605, Idaho Code. 4 SECTION 4. That Chapter 4, Title 72, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 5 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 6 ignated as Section 72-408A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 7 72-408A. DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RESPONDERS. Income 8 benefits for total or partial disability during the period of recovery, and 9 thereafter in cases of total and permanent disability, shall be paid to a vol- 10 unteer emergency responder subject to deduction on account of a waiting 11 period. For a period not to exceed twelve (12) months, the deduction shall be 12 an amount equal to sixty-seven percent (67%) of the average weekly state wage, 13 as determined pursuant to section 72-409(2), Idaho Code. The maximum monthly 14 income benefit as provided in this section shall be subject to an annual cost 15 of living adjustment as determined by the industrial commission by rule.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17434C1
The purpose of this legislation is to amend the Worker s
Compensation to provide minimum weekly benefits, based upon 67
percent of the average weekly state wage, for volunteer emergency
responders who are injured or disabled in the line of duty.
FISCAL NOTE
There will be no fiscal impact to the Idaho State General Fund.
All worker s compensation premiums will be paid by the employers
of volunteer emergency responders. The additional cost of the
work to administer the requirements of this legislation will be
minimal and absorbed by the State Insurance Fund.
Sponsors:
Name: Senator Stan Bastian
Phone: (208) 332-1354
Joyce Broadsword
Les Bock
Eric Anderson
Contact:
The Idaho Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Association
Greg Redden, Executive Director 1-800-347-3546
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1366