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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 07/18/2024-AMENDED AND REPORTED OUT TO THE FLOOR 06/17/2024-REPORTED OUT TO THE COMMITTEE ON RULES AND JUDICIARY 05/16/2024-HELD IN COMMITTEE BILL NO. 35-0240 Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Virgin Islands February 28, 2024 An Act transferring the administration of the Government Insurance Fund from the Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Finance to the Commissioner of Virgin Islands Department of Labor and amending various sections of title 24 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11 to facilitate better recovery for injury or disease that arises out of and in the course of employment in the Virgin Islands under the Workers’ Compensation Administration, and to ensure that workers entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits receive medical coverage, rehabilitation services, and disability compensation without undue delay by merging the benefits and payment components of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program PROPOSED BY: Senator Novelle E. Francis, Jr., by Request of the Governor WHEREAS, the Virgin Islands Department of Labor administers the Workers’ 1 Compensation Administration; 2 WHEREAS, the Workers’ Compensation Administration receives and processes claims 3 for injury or disease that arises out of and in the course of employment in the Virgin Islands; 4 WHEREAS, the Government Insurance Fund was established to insure employers 5 against liabilities for injuries occurring at the workplace; to assure that employees injured on the 6 job receive compensation, necessary medical coverage and rehabilitation assistance; and, in the 7 case of death, that the employee’s dependents receive adequate assistance. 8 WHEREAS, the Virgin Islands Department of Finance currently administers the 9 Government Insurance Fund and releases the funds for payment of claims; 10 2 WHEREAS, injured workers should be able to file the claims and receive timely benefits, 1 while providers should be paid promptly; 2 WHEREAS, the Workers’ Compensation Administration will be strengthened and 3 enhanced through the automation of all services, beginning with claims and including payments; 4 WHEREAS, the Workers’ Compensation Administration will benefit by merging the 5 claims and payment components of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program; and 6 WHEREAS, the Government Insurance Fund will be renamed the Workers’ 7 Compensation Trust Fund and reestablished in the Department of Labor and aadministered 8 by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor or his designee; Now, therefore, 9 SECTION 1. Title 24 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11 is amended as follows: 10 (a) By striking “Commissioner of Finance” in wherever it occurs and inserting 11 “Commissioner of Labor”; 12 (b) by striking “Virgin Islands Government Insurance Fund” or “Government 13 Insurance Fund” wherever they occur and inserting “Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund”; 14 (c) by striking “Administrator” in wherever it occurs and inserting “Director”; 15 (d) in section 251(a), by striking the definitions of “Board”, “District Administrator” 16 and “Fund Administrator” and inserting the following definitions: 17 (1) “Director” means a person appointed by the Commissioner of Labor to 18 administer the operations of the Workers Compensation Administration. 19 (2) “Waiting Period” means the time that must pass before disability benefits can 20 be paid to an employee who has sustained a personal injury or occupational disease arising 21 out of and in the course of employment. The waiting period is counted as consecutive 22 business days, not calendar days. The date of the injury triggers the start of the waiting 23 period. 24 (e) by repealing section 251a in its entirety; 25 (f) in section 251b: 26 3 (1) in the section heading by striking “Board of Workers’ Compensation 1 Administration” and inserting “Commissioner of Labor”; 2 (2) in the first sentence by striking “Board of Directors of the Workers' 3 Compensation Administration” and inserting “Commissioner of Labor”; 4 (3) by striking subsections (b), (c) and (d) and inserting new subsections (b), 5 (c), and (d) that read as follows: 6 “(b) appoint the Director of the Workers' Compensation Administration; 7 (c) to determine the salary of the Director of the WCA; 8 (d) the Commissioner of Labor shall hear appeals of decisions rendered by the 9 administrative law judge;”; 10 (4) “in subsections (h) and (i) by striking the word “board” and “Board”, 11 respectively, and inserting with “Commissioner of Labor”; and 12 (5) by redesignating subsection (i) as (j), and inserting a new subsection (i) that 13 reads: “(i) administer the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund including the following: 14 (1) protect the solvency of the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund by 15 conducting actuarial studies; determining premium rates in accordance with the costs 16 of administration and payment of claims; 17 (2) pay claims issued by the Commissioner of Labor; 18 (3) through the use of technology, plan and improve, the payment of claims; 19 (4) maintain accounts of income, expenditures and balances; 20 (5) manage the staff of the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund; 21 (6) prepare the budget of the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund; 22 (7) certify documents; 23 (8) collect interest on the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund for the benefit 24 of the Fund; and 25 (9) perform other duties related to the management of the Workers’ 26 4 Compensation Trust Fund.”; 1 (g) in section 251c: 2 (1) in subsection (b) by striking “Board of Directors of the WCA” and 3 inserting “Commissioner of Labor”; 4 (2) in subsections (c), (d), (e), (i) and (j) by striking “board” and inserting 5 “Commissioner of Labor” wherever it appears; and 6 (3) in subsection (j) by adding paragraphs (13) and (14) to read: 7 “(13) review title 24, chapter 11 and make recommendations for amendments 8 every five years; and 9 (14) establish, in partnership with the local medical community, a fee 10 schedule for the payment of medical procedures that must be implemented not later 11 than 60 days after it has been established.”; 12 (h) by repealing section 251d in its entirety; 13 (i) in section 252(a): 14 (1) after the first sentence, by inserting two sentences that read: “There will 15 be a five-day waiting period before disability benefits may be paid. If an employee 16 is found eligible for payment on the 15th day, the compensation is retroactive to the 17 first full day of disability”; 18 (j) in section 254a, by adding subsections (j) and (k) to read: 19 “(j) There is a four-year statute of limitations on medical care. If there has been 20 no activity in a case for four consecutive years, the case will be closed. 21 (k) If there has been no activity on a claim for six months, that claim is inactive. 22 The injured worker must submit a medical report for the Director’s consideration in 23 determining if the case will return to active status. A claim may remain inactive for not 24 more than four years.”; 25 (l) in section 254c: 26 5 (1) in subsection (b), by striking “245b” and inserting “254b”; 1 (2) by striking the language in subsection (c) and inserting new language to 2 read: 3 “(c) If a contract or temporary employee is injured, that employee is 4 eligible for a maximum of 26 weeks temporary total disability benefits after the 5 last day of employment. If the injury is catastrophic, that employee is eligible 6 for 120 weeks of disability benefits after the last day of employment. Contract 7 and temporary employees are entitled to medical rehabilitation as provided in 8 section 254a”; 9 (3) by adding subsection (g) to read: 10 “(g) Temporary total disability income benefits are paid for a period not 11 to exceed 120 weeks, or upon reaching maximum medical improvement, 12 whichever occurs first.”; 13 (m) in section 256 by striking “Board of the Workers’ Compensation Administration”, 14 “board”, and “Board of the WCA” wherever they occur and inserting “Commissioner of Labor”; 15 (n) in sections 261 and 263 by striking “Government Insurance Fund” wherever it occurs 16 and inserting “Workers Compensation Trust Fund”; 17 (o) by striking section 265 in its entirety and inserting a new section 265 that reads: 18 “Section 265. Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund 19 There is created the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund (“WCTF”) within the 20 Department of Labor and administered by the Commissioner of Labor for the purpose of 21 insuring employers against liabilities imposed under this chapter, to guarantee that 22 persons entitled to compensation provided by this chapter will receive it, to pay providers 23 and vendors for services to injured workers, and to compensate injured workers directly. 24 The WCTF consists of all premiums received and paid into the WCTF, properties and 25 securities acquired by the WCTF, ten percent of all monies collected for traffic violations 26 6 under title 20 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 43, and any interest earned on monies 1 belonging to the Fund. The Commissioner of Labor shall make payments from the Fund 2 for losses sustained due to injuries and for expenses in as provided in this chapter.”; 3 (p) by striking section 266 in its entirety; 4 (q) in section 272 by striking subsection (c); 5 (r) in section 273: 6 (1) by striking subsection (c) and inserting a new subsection (c): 7 “(c) The annual premium must be paid in full by December 31, or in two 8 installments. If the installment option is chosen, the first installment is payable on 9 or before December 31, consisting of not less than one-half of the annual premium, 10 plus any additional premium due, for which a 6-month policy will issue, and the 11 second installment must be paid on or before June 30, for which a policy will issue 12 for the remaining six months effective until December 31. The actual number of 13 employees a company has employed must be reported to the Workers’ 14 Compensation Administration not later than September 30 of the current year. 15 Rates and notices must be issued to the employer by the Workers’ Compensation 16 Administration not later than November 15, and insurance policy renewals must 17 begin on January 1 of the following year.”; 18 (s) in section 276, by striking "four" and inserting “ten”; 19 (t) in section 277(a), by striking “$500” and inserting “$5,000”; 20 (u) by striking the language in section 279 in its entirety and inserting new language 21 that reads: 22 “Every employer insured under the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund shall keep 23 a true and accurate record of the number of employees and of the wages paid, and the 24 records must be always available for inspection and audit by the Director and the 25 Commissioner of Labor. The Commissioner of Labor shall assess and collect fines from 26 7 an employer who fails to keep true and accurate records or wilfully misrepresents the 1 difference between the premiums paid and the premiums that should have been paid in 2 the same manner as premiums are assessed and collected.” 3 (v) in section 285(a)(2), after the first sentence, b y inserting the following 4 sentence: “An employee terminated for just cause may not receive disability benefits.” 5 (w) in section 286, by adding subsection (d) to read as follows: 6 “(d) An employer shall respond to a payroll inquiry not later than ten days after 7 the inquiry. The Director of the Workers’ Compensation Administration shall impose a 8 fine of $250 when an employer fails to respond within the ten days. The Director of the 9 Workers’ Compensation Administration shall recommend to the Commissioner of 10 Licensing and Consumer Affairs that the employer’s business license be suspended until 11 the payroll inquiry has been completed.”; 12 (x) in section 287(c) by striking “Board of Directors of the Workers’ Compensation 13 Administration” and inserting “Commissioner of Labor”; and 14 (y) in section 288 by striking “Board”, “Board of Directors”, “hearing reporter section 15 of the board”, “the board”, and “board member” and inserting “Commissioner of Labor” in each 16 instance. 17 SECTION 2. Title 20 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 43 is amended by striking 18 “Government Insurance Fund” or “Virgin Islands Government Insurance Fund” wherever 19 it occurs and inserting “Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund”. 20 SECTION 3. This act must be fully implemented not later than December 31, 2025. 21 BILL SUMMARY 22 This bill amends title 24 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11, by transferring the 23 administration of the Government Insurance Fund from the Commissioner of Finance to 24 the Commissioner of Virgin Islands Department of Labor to facilitate better recovery for 25 injury or disease which arises out of and in the course of employment in the Virgin 26 8 Islands under the Workers’ Compensation Administration. Further, this bill ensures that 1 workers entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits receive medical coverage, 2 rehabilitation services, and disability compensation without undue delay by merging the 3 benefits and payments components of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program. 4 BR23-0912/February 7, 2023/HLF 5 G35-034 6 7