Bill Text: FL S0444 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Workers' Compensation

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-29 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 271 (Ch. 2014-109) [S0444 Detail]

Download: Florida-2014-S0444-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 444
       
       
        
       By Senator Galvano
       
       
       
       
       
       26-00355A-14                                           2014444__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to workers’ compensation; amending s.
    3         440.107, F.S.; revising powers of the Department of
    4         Financial Services relating to compliance with and
    5         enforcement of workers’ compensation coverage
    6         requirements; revising requirements for the release of
    7         stop-work orders; revising penalties; amending ss.
    8         440.15 and 440.16, F.S.; revising rate formulas
    9         related to the determination of compensation for
   10         disability and death; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of subsection (7)
   15  of section 440.107, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   16         440.107 Department powers to enforce employer compliance
   17  with coverage requirements.—
   18         (7)(a) Whenever the department determines that an employer
   19  who is required to secure the payment to his or her employees of
   20  the compensation provided for by this chapter has failed to
   21  secure the payment of workers’ compensation required by this
   22  chapter or to produce the required business records under
   23  subsection (5) within 10 5 business days after receipt of the
   24  written request of the department, such failure shall be deemed
   25  an immediate serious danger to public health, safety, or welfare
   26  sufficient to justify service by the department of a stop-work
   27  order on the employer, requiring the cessation of all business
   28  operations. If the department makes such a determination, the
   29  department shall issue a stop-work order within 72 hours. The
   30  order shall take effect when served upon the employer or, for a
   31  particular employer worksite, when served at that worksite. In
   32  addition to serving a stop-work order at a particular worksite
   33  which shall be effective immediately, the department shall
   34  immediately proceed with service upon the employer which shall
   35  be effective upon all employer worksites in the state for which
   36  the employer is not in compliance. A stop-work order may be
   37  served with regard to an employer’s worksite by posting a copy
   38  of the stop-work order in a conspicuous location at the
   39  worksite. The order shall remain in effect until the department
   40  issues an order releasing the stop-work order upon a finding
   41  that the employer has come into compliance with the coverage
   42  requirements of this chapter and has paid any penalty assessed
   43  under this section. The department may issue an order of
   44  conditional release from a stop-work order to an employer upon a
   45  finding that the employer has complied with the coverage
   46  requirements of this chapter, paid a penalty of $1,000 as a down
   47  payment, and has agreed to remit periodic payments of the
   48  remaining penalty amount pursuant to a payment agreement
   49  schedule with the department or pay the remaining penalty amount
   50  in full. If an order of conditional release is issued, failure
   51  by the employer to pay the penalty in full or enter into a
   52  payment agreement with the department within 28 days after
   53  service of the stop-work order upon the employer, or to meet any
   54  term or condition of such penalty payment agreement, shall
   55  result in the immediate reinstatement of the stop-work order and
   56  the entire unpaid balance of the penalty shall become
   57  immediately due. The department may require an employer who is
   58  found to have failed to comply with the coverage requirements of
   59  s. 440.38 to file with the department, as a condition of release
   60  from a stop-work order, periodic reports for a probationary
   61  period that shall not exceed 2 years that demonstrate the
   62  employer’s continued compliance with this chapter. The
   63  department shall by rule specify the reports required and the
   64  time for filing under this subsection.
   65         (d)1. In addition to any penalty, stop-work order, or
   66  injunction, the department shall assess against any employer who
   67  has failed to secure the payment of compensation as required by
   68  this chapter a penalty equal to 2 1.5 times the amount the
   69  employer would have paid in premium when applying approved
   70  manual rates to the employer’s payroll during periods for which
   71  it failed to secure the payment of workers’ compensation
   72  required by this chapter within the preceding 2-year 3-year
   73  period or $1,000, whichever is greater. For employers who have
   74  not been previously issued a stop-work order, the department
   75  shall allow the employer to receive a credit for the initial
   76  payment of the estimated annual workers’ compensation policy
   77  premium, as determined by the carrier, to be applied to the
   78  penalty. Before the department applies the credit to the
   79  penalty, the employer must provide the department with
   80  documentation reflecting that the employer has secured the
   81  payment of compensation pursuant to s. 440.38 and proof of
   82  payment to the carrier. In order for the department to apply a
   83  credit for an employer that has secured the payment of
   84  compensation by entering into an employee leasing contract with
   85  a licensed employee leasing company, the employer must provide
   86  the department with a written attestation by a representative
   87  from the employee leasing company that the employer has entered
   88  into an employee leasing contract, the dollar amount
   89  attributable to the initial payment of the estimated workers’
   90  compensation premium for the employer, and proof of payment to
   91  the employee leasing company. The $1,000 penalty shall be
   92  assessed against the employer even if the calculated penalty
   93  after the credit has been applied is less than $1,000.
   94         2. Any subsequent violation within 5 years after the most
   95  recent violation shall, in addition to the penalties set forth
   96  in this subsection, be deemed a knowing act within the meaning
   97  of s. 440.105.
   98         (e) When an employer fails to provide business records
   99  sufficient to enable the department to determine the employer’s
  100  payroll for the period requested for the calculation of the
  101  penalty provided in paragraph (d), for penalty calculation
  102  purposes, the imputed weekly payroll for each employee,
  103  corporate officer, sole proprietor, or partner shall be the
  104  statewide average weekly wage as defined in s. 440.12(2)
  105  multiplied by 2 1.5.
  106         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraph (a)
  107  of subsection (2), and paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of
  108  section 440.15, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  109         440.15 Compensation for disability.—Compensation for
  110  disability shall be paid to the employee, subject to the limits
  111  provided in s. 440.12(2), as follows:
  112         (1) PERMANENT TOTAL DISABILITY.—
  113         (a) In case of total disability adjudged to be permanent,
  114  66 2/3 or 66.67 percent of the average weekly wages shall be
  115  paid to the employee during the continuance of such total
  116  disability. No Compensation is not shall be payable under this
  117  section if the employee is engaged in, or is physically capable
  118  of engaging in, at least sedentary employment.
  119         (2) TEMPORARY TOTAL DISABILITY.—
  120         (a) Subject to subsection (7), in case of disability total
  121  in character but temporary in quality, 66 2/3 or 66.67 percent
  122  of the average weekly wages shall be paid to the employee during
  123  the continuance thereof, not to exceed 104 weeks except as
  124  provided in this subsection, s. 440.12(1), and s. 440.14(3).
  125  Once the employee reaches the maximum number of weeks allowed,
  126  or the employee reaches the date of maximum medical improvement,
  127  whichever occurs earlier, temporary disability benefits shall
  128  cease and the injured worker’s permanent impairment shall be
  129  determined.
  130         (4) TEMPORARY PARTIAL DISABILITY.—
  131         (a) Subject to subsection (7), in case of temporary partial
  132  disability, compensation shall be equal to 80 percent of the
  133  difference between 80 percent of the employee’s average weekly
  134  wage and the salary, wages, and other remuneration the employee
  135  is able to earn postinjury, as compared weekly; however, weekly
  136  temporary partial disability benefits may not exceed an amount
  137  equal to 66 2/3 or 66.67 percent of the employee’s average
  138  weekly wage at the time of accident. In order to simplify the
  139  comparison of the preinjury average weekly wage with the salary,
  140  wages, and other remuneration the employee is able to earn
  141  postinjury, the department may by rule provide for payment of
  142  the initial installment of temporary partial disability benefits
  143  to be paid as a partial week so that payment for remaining weeks
  144  of temporary partial disability can coincide as closely as
  145  possible with the postinjury employer’s work week. The amount
  146  determined to be the salary, wages, and other remuneration the
  147  employee is able to earn shall in no case be less than the sum
  148  actually being earned by the employee, including earnings from
  149  sheltered employment. Benefits are shall be payable under this
  150  subsection only if overall maximum medical improvement has not
  151  been reached and the medical conditions resulting from the
  152  accident create restrictions on the injured employee’s ability
  153  to return to work.
  154         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsection
  155  (3) of section 440.16, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  156         440.16 Compensation for death.—
  157         (1) If death results from the accident within 1 year
  158  thereafter or follows continuous disability and results from the
  159  accident within 5 years thereafter, the employer shall pay:
  160         (b) Compensation, in addition to the above, in the
  161  following percentages of the average weekly wages to the
  162  following persons entitled thereto on account of dependency upon
  163  the deceased, and in the following order of preference, subject
  164  to the limitation provided in subparagraph 2., but such
  165  compensation shall be subject to the limits provided in s.
  166  440.12(2), shall not exceed $150,000, and may be less than, but
  167  shall not exceed, for all dependents or persons entitled to
  168  compensation, 66 2/3 or 66.67 percent of the average wage:
  169         1. To the spouse, if there is no child, 50 percent of the
  170  average weekly wage, such compensation to cease upon the
  171  spouse’s death.
  172         2. To the spouse, if there is a child or children, the
  173  compensation payable under subparagraph 1. and, in addition, 16
  174  2/3 or 16.67 percent on account of the child or children.
  175  However, when the deceased is survived by a spouse and also a
  176  child or children, whether such child or children are the
  177  product of the union existing at the time of death or of a
  178  former marriage or marriages, the judge of compensation claims
  179  may provide for the payment of compensation in such manner as
  180  may appear to the judge of compensation claims just and proper
  181  and for the best interests of the respective parties and, in so
  182  doing, may provide for the entire compensation to be paid
  183  exclusively to the child or children; and, in the case of death
  184  of such spouse, 33 1/3 or 33.33 percent for each child. However,
  185  upon the surviving spouse’s remarriage, the spouse shall be
  186  entitled to a lump-sum payment equal to 26 weeks of compensation
  187  at the rate of 50 percent of the average weekly wage as provided
  188  in s. 440.12(2), unless the $150,000 limit provided in this
  189  paragraph is exceeded, in which case the surviving spouse shall
  190  receive a lump-sum payment equal to the remaining available
  191  benefits in lieu of any further indemnity benefits. In no case
  192  shall A surviving spouse’s acceptance of a lump-sum payment does
  193  not affect payment of death benefits to other dependents.
  194         3. To the child or children, if there is no spouse, 33 1/3
  195  or 33.33 percent for each child.
  196         4. To the parents, 25 percent to each, such compensation to
  197  be paid during the continuance of dependency.
  198         5. To the brothers, sisters, and grandchildren, 15 percent
  199  for each brother, sister, or grandchild.
  200         (3) If Where, because of the limitation in paragraph
  201  (1)(b), a person or class of persons cannot receive the
  202  percentage of compensation specified as payable to or on account
  203  of such person or class, there shall be available to such person
  204  or class that proportion of such percentage as, when added to
  205  the total percentage payable to all persons having priority of
  206  preference, will not exceed a total of said 66 2/3 or 66.67
  207  percent, which proportion shall be paid:
  208         (a) To such person; or
  209         (b) To such class, share and share alike, unless the judge
  210  of compensation claims determines otherwise in accordance with
  211  the provisions of subsection (4).
  212         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.