SF 3465

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to workers' compensation; modifying appeal procedures; modifying
notice of coverage provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section
176.421, subdivision 4; Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 176.185,
subdivision 1.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 176.185, subdivision 1,
is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Notice of coverage; notice to insured before policy cancellation,
termination or nonrenewal.

Within ten days after the issuance or renewal of a policy
of insurance covering the liability to pay compensation under this chapter written by an
insurer licensed to insure such liability in this state, the insurer shall file notice of coverage
with the commissioner under rules and on forms prescribed by the commissioner. No
policy shall be canceled by the insurer within the policy period nor terminated upon its
expiration date until a notice in writing is delivered or mailed to the insured that meets all
of the requirements in paragraphs (a) to (c).

(a) The notice must specify the date the policy will be terminated if the premium is
not paid, declare that the insurer intends to cancel the policy by the specified date, or does
not intend to renew the policy upon the expiration date.

(b) The notice must include the following statement, which must be placed on or
sent with the premium invoice or other document sent by the insurer to notify the insured
of the intended cancellation or termination: "You must maintain workers' compensation
insurance, or obtain permission to self-insure for workers' compensation from the
Minnesota Department of Commerce. The failure to maintain workers' compensation
coverage is a violation of section 176.181, and could result in criminal prosecution and
civil penalties of up to $1,000 per week per uninsured employee." This statement must be
in at least 12-point font, bold-faced type, and be set out in a separate paragraph.

(c) The notice must be mailed or delivered to the insured new text begin as follows, notwithstanding
any contrary time frame for notice to the policyholder in section 60A.36 or 60A.37:
new text end

new text begin (1) new text end at least 60 days before the actual date the policy is due to expire or be terminated
or canceled new text begin for any reason other than as provided in clause (2);
new text end

new text begin (2) if the cancellation is due to nonpayment of premium, the notice must be sent
at least 30 days before the actual date of cancellation and shall state the amount of
premium due and the due date new text end . deleted text begin This 60-day advance notice to the insured applies to
cancellation, termination, or nonrenewal of all workers' compensation policies for any
reason, notwithstanding any contrary time frame for notice to the policyholder in section
60A.36 or 60A.37.
deleted text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 176.421, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Service and filing of notice; cost of transcript.

Within the 30-day period
for taking an appeal, the appellant shall:

(1) serve a copy of the notice of appeal on each adverse party; new text begin and
new text end

(2) file the original notice, with proof of service by admission or affidavit, with the
chief administrative law judge and file a copy with the commissioner deleted text begin ; deleted text end new text begin . Alternatively, the
original may be retained by the filing party and a copy of the original filed by facsimile
with the chief administrative law judge and the commissioner. Facsimile filings must be
15 pages or less in length. A facsimile appeal received after 4:30 p.m. on a state business
day is considered filed on the next state business day.
new text end

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end In order to defray the cost of the preparation of the record of the proceedings
appealed from, new text begin each appellant and cross-appellant shall new text end pay to the commissioner of
finance, Office of Administrative Hearings account the sum of $25. new text begin The filing fee must
be received by the Office of Administrative Hearings within ten business days after the
end of the appeal period. If the filing fee is not received within ten days after the appeal
period, the appeal is not timely filed.
new text end

The first party to file an appeal is liable for the original cost of preparation of the
transcript. Cross-appellants or any other persons requesting a copy of the transcript are
liable for the cost of the copy. The chief administrative law judge may require payment
for transcription costs to be made in advance of the transcript preparation. The cost of
a transcript prepared by a nongovernmental source shall be paid directly to that source
and shall not exceed the cost that the source would be able to charge the state for the
same service.

Upon a showing of cause, the chief administrative law judge may direct that a
transcript be prepared without expense to the party requesting its preparation, in which
case the cost of the transcript shall be paid by the Office of Administrative Hearings.

All fees received by the Office of Administrative Hearings for the preparation of
the record for submission to the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals or for the cost
of transcripts prepared by the office shall be deposited in the Office of Administrative
Hearings account in the state treasury and shall be used solely for the purpose of keeping
the record of hearings conducted under this chapter and the preparation of transcripts
of those hearings.