Chapter 176 — Intent of the Legislature

176.001 Intent of the Legislature This section states the legislature's intent that workers' compensation cases be decided fairly on their merits, without … 176.011 Definitions This part of the law sets the meanings of key workers' compensation terms. It explains what an "administrative … 176.021 Application to Employers and Employees Employers in Minnesota must pay workers' compensation for any employee injury or death that happens during and because … 176.031 Employer's Liability Exclusive Workers' compensation is the only way an injured employee can get money from an employer for a work injury. However, if … 176.041 Excluded Employments; Application, Exceptions, Election of Coverage Certain workers are excluded from Minnesota's workers' compensation coverage, including family farm workers, sole … 176.043 Trucking and Messenger/courier Industries; Independent Contractors In the trucking and messenger/courier industries, a vehicle operator is considered an employee (covered by workers' … 176.051 Assumption of Liability; Farm and Household Workers Farm workers and household workers are not automatically covered by workers' compensation, but their employers can … 176.061 Third-party Liability When a work injury is caused by someone other than the employer (a third party), the injured worker may be able to sue … 176.071 Joint Employers; Contribution When two or more employers jointly hire and pay one employee, they must share the cost of workers' compensation if that … 176.081 Legal Services or Disbursements; Lien; Review This law sets the most a lawyer can charge an injured worker in a Minnesota workers' comp case. The fee is generally 20% … 176.091 Minor Employees A minor (under 18) who is employed has the same rights as an adult employee when it comes to workers' compensation, … 176.092 Guardian; Conservator When an injured worker or a deceased worker's dependent is a minor or mentally incapacitated, a guardian or conservator … 176.095 Legislative Findings The legislature declared that workers' compensation benefits for total disability should be higher than benefits for … 176.101 Compensation Schedule If a worker gets hurt on the job and cannot work at all for a while, the workers' compensation insurance pays them … 176.102 Rehabilitation Injured workers in Minnesota are entitled to vocational rehabilitation services to help them return to work. The … 176.103 Medical Health Care Review The Department of Labor and Industry monitors the quality of medical care given to injured workers. A Medical Services … 176.104 Rehabilitation Prior to Determination of Liability An injured worker can receive vocational rehabilitation services even while the employer disputes whether the injury is … 176.105 Commissioner to Establish Disability Schedules The commissioner creates rules that assign disability ratings to different types of work injuries. These ratings, based … 176.106 Administrative Conference This section sets the rules for how Minnesota workers' compensation disputes get handled in an informal meeting called … 176.107 Teleconferences The law lets Minnesota's workers' compensation agencies and courts hold meetings and hearings in person, by phone, or by … 176.108 Light-duty Work Pools Employers are allowed to create light-duty work pools to help injured employees return to work in a limited capacity … 176.111 Dependents, Allowances When a worker dies from a work-related injury, this section provides benefits to the worker's dependents. A surviving … 176.121 Commencement of Compensation Workers' compensation for temporary total or temporary partial disability does not begin until the fourth day after the … 176.129 Creation of Special Compensation Fund This section creates the Special Compensation Fund, which is paid for by assessments on employers and insurers. The fund … 176.1292 Forbearance of Amounts Owed to the Special Compensation Fund This section addresses how insurers and self-insured employers must recalculate and pay permanent total disability … 176.130 Targeted Industry Fund; Loggers This section creates the Targeted Industry Fund for loggers, funded by assessments on Minnesota wood mills. The money … 176.1321 Effective Date of Benefit Changes Unless a new law says otherwise, any change to workers' compensation benefits takes effect on October 1 after it is … 176.135 Treatment; Appliances; Supplies Employers must pay for all medical treatment, surgery, hospital stays, medicine, medical supplies, and rehabilitation … 176.1351 Managed Care Employers can use a certified managed care plan to coordinate medical treatment for injured workers. The plan must meet … 176.136 Medical Fee Review The commissioner sets rules that limit how much doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers can charge for … 176.1361 Testimony of Providers If a medical provider submits false testimony or a false report in a workers' compensation case, the matter is referred … 176.1362 Inpatient Hospital Payment This section sets the payment rules for inpatient hospital services in workers' compensation cases, generally capping … 176.1363 Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment This section sets payment rules for ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) in workers' compensation cases. Payment is … 176.1364 Workers' Compensation Hospital Outpatient Fee Schedule This section creates a fee schedule for hospital outpatient services in workers' compensation cases, using the Medicare … 176.1365 Outpatient Billing, Payment, and Dispute Resolution This section governs how ambulatory surgical centers and hospitals bill and get paid for outpatient services in workers' … 176.137 Remodeling of Residence; Disabled Employees If a work injury leaves an employee permanently disabled, the employer may have to pay to change the employee's home so … 176.138 Medical Data; Access Medical data related to a current workers' compensation claim can be released to the employee, employer, insurer, or the … 176.139 Notice of Rights Posted Employers that carry or elect to carry workers' compensation coverage in Minnesota must post a notice, in a form … 176.141 Notice of Injury If you are injured at work in Minnesota, you should give your employer written notice of the injury within 14 days. You … 176.145 Service of Notice, Form This section governs how the notice of injury described in section 176.141 may be served on the employer. It may be … 176.151 Time Limitations This section sets the deadlines for bringing workers' compensation claims in Minnesota. An injured employee generally … 176.155 Examinations This law says an injured worker must attend a medical exam set up by the employer's doctor when asked, and it sets rules … 176.161 Alien Dependents When a worker dies from a job injury and leaves a dependent living outside the United States, the commissioner directs … 176.165 Lump-sum Payments Workers' compensation that is normally paid in periodic installments can be converted into one or more lump-sum … 176.171 Payment to Trustee After a workers' compensation award or commutation is finally determined, and where death or the nature of the injury … 176.175 Right to Compensation, Award The right to workers' compensation, and any compensation awarded to an injured employee or to dependents in a death … 176.178 Fraud This section makes workers' compensation fraud a crime. A person who, with intent to defraud, receives workers' … 176.179 Recovery of Overpayments If an employer or insurer overpays workers' compensation benefits by mistake of fact or law, a payment received in good … 176.181 Insurance Employers in Minnesota must have workers' compensation insurance to cover injured workers, or get permission from the … 176.1812 Collective Bargaining Agreements Employers and unions can agree in a union contract on special rules for handling workers' compensation claims, and state … 176.182 Business Licenses or Permits; Coverage Required State and local licensing agencies must withhold the issuance or renewal of any business license or permit until the … 176.183 Uninsured and Self-insured Employers; Benefits to Employees and Dependents; Liability of Employer If an employer is not insured or self-insured for workers' compensation, an injured employee (or the employee's … 176.184 Inspections; Enforcement The commissioner of labor and industry may ask an employer for proof of workers' compensation insurance or … 176.185 Policy of Insurance This section sets detailed rules for workers' compensation insurance policies in Minnesota, including what the policy … 176.186 Records From Other State Agencies State agencies must share records with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to help enforce workers' compensation … 176.191 Dispute Between Two or More Employers or Insurers Regarding Liability When two or more employers or insurers disagree about which one is responsible for paying a worker's benefits, the … 176.192 Bomb Disposal Unit Employees This section covers members of a bomb disposal unit who are approved by the commissioner of public safety and employed … 176.194 Prohibited Practices This section lists claims-handling practices that are prohibited for insurers, self-insurers, adjusters, and third-party … 176.195 Revocation of Insurer's License The Commissioner of Commerce can revoke an insurer's license for violating workers' compensation laws, including failing … 176.201 Discriminatory Rates An insurer, or an agent or employee of an insurer, cannot make or charge a workers' compensation rate that discriminates … 176.205 Person Deemed Employer A person who sets up a fraudulent scheme, artifice, or device to get work done without being responsible to the worker … 176.211 Acts or Omissions of Third Persons Except where this chapter provides otherwise, an employer does not have to pay workers' compensation for injuries caused … 176.215 Subcontractor's Failure to Comply With Chapter If a subcontractor fails to carry workers' compensation insurance, the general contractor who hired them is liable for … 176.221 Payment of Compensation and Treatment Charges, Commencement When a worker is hurt on the job in Minnesota, the employer or insurance company generally has 14 days after learning … 176.222 Report on Collection and Assessment of Fines and Penalties The Commissioner of Labor and Industry must report to the legislature each year on the fines and penalties collected … 176.225 Additional Award as Penalty If an employer or insurer unreasonably or vexatiously delays payment, neglects or refuses to pay, intentionally … 176.231 Report of Death or Injury to Commissioner of Department of Labor and Industry Employers and insurers must report serious workplace injuries and deaths to the state within set deadlines, and some … 176.234 Release of Data for Epidemiologic Study On request, the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry must give the commissioner of health private data … 176.235 Notice to Employers and Injured Employee of Rights and Duties When the commissioner of labor and industry learns that an employee has suffered an injury that may be covered by … 176.238 Notice of Discontinuance of Compensation An employer or insurer must give an injured worker written notice, and file a copy with the state, before stopping … 176.239 Administrative Decision Concerning Discontinuance of Compensation This law sets up a fast process for a worker to ask for a quick decision when their workers' compensation payments are … 176.245 Receipts for Payment of Compensation, Filing An employer must promptly file receipts for payment of workers' compensation with the division, as required by the … 176.251 Duties of Commissioner of Department of Labor and Industry This section directs the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry to supervise and require prompt and full … 176.253 Insurer, Employer, and Third-party Administrator; Performance of Acts This section sets out who may carry out acts that the workers' compensation chapter requires, and who stays responsible … 176.261 Employee of Commissioner of Department of Labor and Industry May Act for and Advise a Party to a Proceeding An employee of the Commissioner of Labor and Industry may act as an advisor or representative for a party in a workers' … 176.2611 Coordination of the Court of Administrative Hearings' Case Management System and the Workers' Compensation Imaging System This law sets the rules for which workers' compensation documents must go to the Court of Administrative Hearings and … 176.2612 Workers' Compensation Claims Access and Management Platform User System (campus) Minnesota requires the state to run CAMPUS, a single online system where workers' compensation documents are filed, … 176.271 Initiation of Proceedings Under Minnesota law, most workers' compensation cases start when someone files a written petition on an official form … 176.275 Filing of Papers; Proof of Service When a workers' compensation paper is accepted by the state agency, it counts as filed, and papers with missing … 176.281 Orders, Decisions, and Awards; Filing; Service When a workers' compensation agency or court makes a decision, it must be filed right away with the commissioner, and … 176.285 Service of Papers and Notices; Electronic Filing Papers and notices in Minnesota workers' compensation cases are normally delivered by regular mail or by hand. … 176.291 Disputes; Petitions; Procedure This law explains how someone starts a formal dispute over a workers' compensation claim in Minnesota. The person must … 176.295 Nonresident Employers; Foreign Corporation If an injured worker or their family can't deliver a claim to an out-of-state or foreign company, they can file an … 176.301 Determination of Issues This section applies when a workers' compensation issue comes up in a district court lawsuit. The court may decide the … 176.305 Petitions Filed With Workers' Compensation Division This law explains how a workers' compensation petition must be delivered to the other side and filed with the court, and … 176.306 Scheduled Hearings The state's workers' compensation judges must hold hearings in at least six spread-out places around Minnesota, … 176.307 Compensation Judges; Block System Compensation judges are assigned to hear workers' compensation cases using a block system, where groups of cases are … 176.311 Reassignment of Petition for Hearing When a workers' compensation petition is being heard before a compensation judge, the chief administrative law judge may … 176.312 Affidavits of Prejudice and Petitions for Reassignment A party to a workers' compensation case may file an affidavit of prejudice for cause against the assigned compensation … 176.321 Answer to Petition When someone files a workers' compensation claim petition, the other side has 30 days after getting it to file a written … 176.322 Decisions Based on Stipulated Facts If both sides agree on the facts of a workers' comp case and only a legal question is left, the judge can decide the … 176.325 Certified Question The chief administrative law judge or commissioner may certify a question of workers' compensation law to the Minnesota … 176.331 Proceedings When Answer Not Filed If a party in a workers' compensation case doesn't file a required answer or get an extension, the court must quickly … 176.341 Hearing on Petition This law sets the rules for when and where a hearing on a workers' compensation petition is held. The judge must … 176.351 Testimonial Powers In workers' compensation cases, a compensation judge or the commissioner may administer oaths to witnesses and issue … 176.361 Intervention This law lets people who have a stake in a workers' compensation case join the case as a party by filing a written … 176.371 Award or Disallowance of Compensation After a hearing, the compensation judge must dispose of all questions of fact and law and file a written decision with … 176.381 Reference of Questions of Fact This section lets factual questions be referred to a compensation judge for handling. In a hearing before the Workers' … 176.391 Investigations Before, during, or after any hearing, the compensation judge assigned to a workers' compensation matter may make an … 176.401 Hearings Public All hearings before a compensation judge in a workers' compensation matter are public. The section states this rule in a … 176.411 Rules of Evidence, Pleading, and Procedure Workers' compensation proceedings follow relaxed rules of evidence and procedure compared to regular court. Technical … 176.421 Appeals to Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals If a workers' compensation judge makes a decision in a case, the people involved have 30 days to ask the Workers' … 176.442 Appeals From Decisions of Commissioner Appeals from decisions of the commissioner (as opposed to compensation judges) go to the Workers' Compensation Court of … 176.451 Defaults When payment of compensation due under a workers' compensation award is in default for more than 30 days, the employee, … 176.461 Setting Aside Award A workers' compensation award can be set aside or modified if there is a substantial change in the worker's condition, … 176.471 Review by Supreme Court on Certiorari A party who disagrees with a decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals can seek review by the Minnesota … 176.481 Original Jurisdiction of Supreme Court On review by certiorari under the workers' compensation chapter, the Minnesota Supreme Court has original jurisdiction. … 176.491 Stay of Proceedings Pending Disposition of Case When a writ of certiorari has been properly filed under the workers' compensation chapter, it automatically stays … 176.511 Costs In Minnesota workers' compensation proceedings, costs generally are not awarded to any party unless this chapter or this … 176.521 Settlement of Claims A workers' comp settlement is only valid if it is in writing, signed by the parties, and approved by the proper official … 176.522 Notice to Employer After a workers' compensation settlement becomes final, the insurer must notify the employer within 30 days that a final … 176.531 Award of Compensation Against a Political Subdivision or School District When a workers' compensation award must be paid by a political subdivision or school district, the person entitled to … 176.541 State Departments This section applies the workers' compensation chapter to employees of state departments and sets the procedure for … 176.551 Reports This section requires the head of each state department to report every workplace accident involving a department … 176.561 Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals Powers and Duties as to State Employees; Procedure for Determining Liability This section gives the division, a compensation judge, and the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals the same powers … 176.571 Investigations of Injuries to State Employees When a state employee is injured and workers' compensation liability may exist, the commissioner of administration must … 176.572 Contract With Insurance Carriers This section lets the commissioner of administration contract with group health insurance carriers or health maintenance … 176.581 Payment to State Employees This section sets out how workers' compensation is actually paid to injured state employees. The commissioner of … 176.591 State Compensation Revolving Fund This section creates the state compensation revolving fund to help the state meet its workers' compensation obligations … 176.603 Cost of Administering Chapter, Payment This section covers who pays the cost of administering the workers' compensation chapter for state employees. The annual … 176.611 Maintenance of State Compensation Revolving Fund This section sets out how the state compensation revolving fund is maintained and replenished. Each state department … 176.645 Adjustment of Benefits This section requires workers' compensation benefits for certain injuries to be adjusted each year on the anniversary of … 176.651 Severability This is a severability provision for the workers' compensation chapter. It states that if any paragraph or provision of … 176.66 Occupational Diseases; How Regarded This section treats disability caused by an occupational disease as a personal injury under the workers' compensation … 176.82 Action for Civil Damages for Obstructing Employee Seeking Benefits It is illegal for an employer to fire, threaten, or otherwise punish a worker for filing a workers' compensation claim. … 176.83 Rules This section lets the state Commissioner of Labor and Industry write detailed rules for Minnesota's workers' … 176.84 Specificity of Notice or Statement This section requires that a notice of discontinuance or a denial of liability in a workers' compensation case be … 176.85 Penalties; Appeals This section sets the appeal procedure for penalties the commissioner assesses under the workers' compensation law. A … 176.861 Disclosure of Information This section governs the disclosure of workers' compensation claim information when fraud is suspected. The commissioner … 176.862 Disclosure to Law Enforcement This section requires the commissioner to share an employee's current address with law enforcement under narrow … 176.87 Employees Contracting Tuberculosis to Receive Medical Care and Compensation This section provides workers' compensation medical care and benefits to certain public employees who contract … 176.871 Report of Illness of Employee, Hearing on Claim This section covers public employees at state, county, or city sanitariums, medical laboratories, or institutions … 176.872 Findings, Payment of Medical Care and Compensation This section sets out what happens after the Workers' Compensation Division finds that an institutional employee … 176.873 Application to Certain Cases This section defines which institutional tuberculosis cases the related workers' compensation provisions (Laws 1949, … 176.874 Police Officers Contracting Tuberculosis This section gives state, county, or municipal police officers workers' compensation coverage when they contract … 176.875 Report of Illness This section sets the reporting process when a police officer contracts tuberculosis through work contact with an … 176.876 Officers Admitted to Hospital; Payments This section covers payment for hospital and medical care for a police officer who contracts tuberculosis from contact …