Laws and rules change for employers and medical providers

Some of the recent changes to workers' compensation laws and rules might affect you. Here's a handy summary.

Safety committees and safety meetings: The proposed change requires every private and public employer subject to OR-OSHA jurisdiction to establish and administer a safety committee or conduct safety meetings.

Detailed requirements for establishing and administering safety committees or for holding safety meetings are specified in the proposed rule. Criteria for determining which option an employer may choose are outlined in the body of the rule.

The proposed rules maintain most of the existing safety committee requirements for larger employers, but they also provide new safety meeting options for larger employers with primarily office environments and for small employers with mobile worksites. All other employers with 10 or fewer employees will be subject to the new safety meeting requirements. According to OR-OSHA, the new safety meeting requirements are designed to significantly reduce the paperwork burden for smaller employers while bringing workers and management together to promote safety and health.

OR-OSHA is also proposing changes to rules relating to farm labor housing and payment for personal protective equipment (PPE).

A number of other rule changes are under consideration at OR-OSHA. Public hearings have been held on these proposed changes, but as of March 24, 2008, the new rules had not been finalized. Go to OR-OSHA's website for details.

A new OR-OSHA rule implements recordkeeping requirements for assaults against health care employees.
Successor employers are now responsible for prior violations issued by OR-OSHA. This holds accountable those who change their business status to avoid responsibility for prior and future enforcement actions.
Employers now have 30 days (instead of 20 days) to file an appeal on a violation, and the length of time before a civil penalty can be recorded as a judgment has been extended to 20 days.
The old rules for Forest Activities/Climbing have been repealed and replaced with new ones. The new rules include current technology, eliminate outdated rules, create uniformity with other rules, and provide for development of a climber rescue plan.

To see the final changes adopted by OR-OSHA on these issues, go to OR-OSHA's website.

Certain medical transportation drivers and taxicab drivers have been added to the list of workers who are not considered subject to the workers' compensation law.
A new law allows chiropractors, podiatrists, physician assistants, and naturopaths to provide treatment for 60 days or 18 visits, and to authorize time loss for 30 days.
As a result of legislative action, registered domestic partners are now qualified beneficiaries for fatal benefits.
Insurers must make lump sum payments of permanent partial disability awards exceeding $6,000 if requested by the worker and certain requirements are met.
A medical provider who treats an injured worker now has one year to submit a billing to the insurer. Previously, providers were required to bill within 60 days.

To view other online resources related to this article visit our Beyond Comp News page and choose the keyword new rules.