1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to occupational safety; permitting injured 
  1.3             employees a civil remedy if an employer violated 
  1.4             safety laws; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 
  1.5             176.031. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.031, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      176.031 [EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY EXCLUSIVE.] 
  1.10     (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
  1.11  liability of an employer prescribed by this chapter is exclusive 
  1.12  and in the place of any other liability to such employee, 
  1.13  personal representative, surviving spouse, parent, any child, 
  1.14  dependent, next of kin, or other person entitled to recover 
  1.15  damages on account of such injury or death.  If an employer 
  1.16  other than the state or any municipal subdivision thereof fails 
  1.17  to insure or self-insure liability for compensation to injured 
  1.18  employees and their dependents, an injured employee, or legal 
  1.19  representatives or, if death results from the injury, any 
  1.20  dependent may elect to claim compensation under this chapter or 
  1.21  to maintain an action in the courts for damages on account of 
  1.22  such injury or death.  In such action it is not necessary to 
  1.23  plead or prove freedom from contributory negligence.  The 
  1.24  defendant may not plead as a defense that the injury was caused 
  1.25  by the negligence of a fellow servant, that the employee assumed 
  2.1   the risk of employment, or that the injury was due to the 
  2.2   contributory negligence of the employee, unless it appears that 
  2.3   such negligence was willful on the part of the employee.  The 
  2.4   burden of proof to establish such willful negligence is upon the 
  2.5   defendant.  For the purposes of this chapter the state and each 
  2.6   municipal subdivision thereof is treated as a self-insurer when 
  2.7   not carrying insurance at the time of the injury or death of an 
  2.8   employee.  
  2.9      (b) In addition to the liability prescribed by this 
  2.10  chapter, a seriously injured employee or legal representative, 
  2.11  or, if death results from any injury, the employee's heirs or 
  2.12  next of kin, may maintain an action in the courts for damages on 
  2.13  account of a serious injury or death if the employer knowingly 
  2.14  violated an occupational safety and health standard adopted 
  2.15  under chapter 182, and the violation was a substantial 
  2.16  contributing cause of the serious injury or death.  It is 
  2.17  negligence per se on the part of an employer if it is proved by 
  2.18  a preponderance of the evidence that the employer knowingly 
  2.19  violated the standard, and the violation was a substantial 
  2.20  contributing cause of the serious injury or death.  Any recovery 
  2.21  under this paragraph must be reduced by any benefits paid or 
  2.22  payable under this chapter.  For the purpose of this paragraph 
  2.23  "serious injury" means an injury that causes: 
  2.24     (1) more than $100,000 in medical expense for its cure and 
  2.25  relief; and 
  2.26     (2) at least 52 weeks of lost work time.