Bill > H3849

This bill aims to improve injured workers' access to medical care and workers' compensation benefits by making several changes to existing laws. It clarifies that workers' compensation claims cannot be denied solely based on disputes about whether someone is an employee or disagreements over their average weekly wages, ensuring these issues don't prevent access to benefits. The bill also mandates that when calculating average weekly wages, all evidence of paid wages and hours worked should be considered, even if those wages were below legal minimums, and the calculation should assume compliance with the law. Furthermore, insurers must consider all available evidence from both employers and employees when deciding to start paying weekly benefits, and cannot refuse to pay simply because an employer is uncooperative or fails to provide information, instead relying on employee-provided evidence. For injured employees whose primary language is not English, the bill ensures they will be provided with a qualified interpreter during conciliations and impartial medical exams. The Trust Fund, a state-run entity that acts as an insurer of last resort, is explicitly included in provisions related to payments and responsibilities, and it will be responsible for making payments in certain disputed cases, with the ability to recover those costs from the ultimately liable insurer. The bill also requires employers to post notices about workers' compensation rights and protections in multiple languages in conspicuous locations, and insurers must provide these notices to employers in various formats, including links to online resources. Finally, insurers are required to provide necessary incidental services for adequate healthcare, such as interpretation and transportation, and the Trust Fund must pay weekly benefits and provide healthcare services within 14 days in specific types of disputed claims, with provisions for recovery of those payments.