HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 622        FILED ON: 1/14/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1927

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Tram T. Nguyen

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to protect injured workers.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Tram T. Nguyen

18th Essex

1/11/2023

Carmine Lawrence Gentile

13th Middlesex

1/25/2023

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

1/27/2023

Andres X. Vargas

3rd Essex

2/2/2023

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

2/7/2023

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf

17th Worcester

2/16/2023

Christopher Hendricks

11th Bristol

2/16/2023

David Allen Robertson

19th Middlesex

2/16/2023

Brian W. Murray

10th Worcester

2/16/2023

Steven Ultrino

33rd Middlesex

2/21/2023

Samantha Montaño

15th Suffolk

2/22/2023

James C. Arena-DeRosa

8th Middlesex

2/27/2023

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

1st Hampshire

2/28/2023

Peter Capano

11th Essex

3/1/2023

William J. Driscoll, Jr.

7th Norfolk

3/2/2023

Daniel Cahill

10th Essex

3/2/2023

Adrian C. Madaro

1st Suffolk

3/6/2023

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

3/7/2023

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

3/14/2023

Thomas M. Stanley

9th Middlesex

3/15/2023

Rebecca L. Rausch

Norfolk, Worcester and Middlesex

3/20/2023

Tackey Chan

2nd Norfolk

3/24/2023

John Barrett, III

1st Berkshire

4/5/2023

Margaret R. Scarsdale

1st Middlesex

4/5/2023

Daniel M. Donahue

16th Worcester

4/5/2023

Steven Owens

29th Middlesex

4/5/2023

Russell E. Holmes

6th Suffolk

4/5/2023

Colleen M. Garry

36th Middlesex

4/6/2023

David Paul Linsky

5th Middlesex

4/6/2023

Sean Garballey

23rd Middlesex

4/6/2023

Tricia Farley-Bouvier

2nd Berkshire

4/6/2023

Vanna Howard

17th Middlesex

4/7/2023

Erika Uyterhoeven

27th Middlesex

4/11/2023

Danillo A. Sena

37th Middlesex

4/28/2023

Priscila S. Sousa

6th Middlesex

5/10/2023

Antonio F. D. Cabral

13th Bristol

5/16/2023

Jack Patrick Lewis

7th Middlesex

5/18/2023

Mindy Domb

3rd Hampshire

5/26/2023

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

5/26/2023

Carol A. Doherty

3rd Bristol

6/5/2023

Mike Connolly

26th Middlesex

6/13/2023

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

6/14/2023

Judith A. Garcia

11th Suffolk

6/14/2023

Patrick Joseph Kearney

4th Plymouth

6/14/2023

Denise C. Garlick

13th Norfolk

6/14/2023

Paul J. Donato

35th Middlesex

6/15/2023

Joan Meschino

3rd Plymouth

6/15/2023

Shirley B. Arriaga

8th Hampden

6/15/2023

Brandy Fluker Oakley

12th Suffolk

6/20/2023

Rita A. Mendes

11th Plymouth

6/20/2023

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

7/17/2023

Tommy Vitolo

15th Norfolk

9/7/2023


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 622        FILED ON: 1/14/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1927

By Representative Nguyen of Andover, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1927) of Tram T. Nguyen and others for legislation to protect injured workers.  Labor and Workforce Development.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

 

An Act to protect injured workers.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 3 of chapter 23E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 46, after the word “claims” the following words:- ; and further provided that the department shall promptly undertake the investigation, hold an investigative conference to obtain any additional evidence or statements, and report the findings regardless of whether a case is open or active in the division of dispute resolution.

SECTION 2. Subsection (a) of section 27C of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 5, after the number “151,” and also by inserting, in line 15, after the number “151,” the following words:- , or paragraph 2 of section 75B of chapter 152.

SECTION 3. Subsection (b) of said section 27C of said chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 68, after the word “week.” the following sentence:- For purposes of a violation of paragraph 2 of section 75B of chapter 152, restitution shall include actual and compensatory damages, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, and rectifying the infraction may include injunctive relief, punitive damages and other appropriate relief.

SECTION 4. Section 1 of chapter 152 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “death,” in line 39, the following paragraph:-

(3A) “Earnings” includes any wages, based on credible evidence, that the employer was required to pay pursuant to chapter 149, chapter 151, or any other local, state or federal law. When an employer has failed to pay an employee the full amount of wages required by law, and the insurer is required to pay compensation to that employee based on the higher required amount, the employer shall indemnify the insurer for any additional compensation owed

under this chapter as a result of the additional wages.

SECTION 5. Section 22 of said chapter 152 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 10, 11 and 12, the words “may be given in the manner therein provided or in such other manner as may be approved by the department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-

shall be given to employees by posting a copy of the notice, as approved and issued by the department, in a visible location utilized by and accessible to all employees of the insured person and, depending on the customary manner in which the insured person communicates with employees, by providing a hard or electronic copy of the notice to each employee at the time of hire and when information contained in the notice changes. The notice shall include information on unlawful retaliation, discrimination and fraud under chapter 152 and shall be made available by the department in English and all other languages required under subsection (d)(iii) of section 62A of chapter 151A. The insured person shall post the notice in English and all other primary or preferred languages of current employees and shall provide the notice to individual employees in their primary or preferred languages, except when the notice is not available from the department in those languages.

SECTION 6. Section 75B of said chapter 152 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out paragraphs (2) to (4) in their entirety and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:-

(2) No person or entity, itself or through its agent, may discharge, refuse to hire, or in any other manner discriminate or take adverse action, or to threaten to discharge, refuse to hire, or in any other manner discriminate or take adverse action, against any person because that person has: (i) exercised a right afforded by this chapter, including reporting or seeking care for a work-related injury or illness; (ii) assisted any other person in exercising a right afforded by this chapter; (iii) informed any other person about a right afforded by this chapter; (iv) opposed a violation of this chapter; (v) testified or in any other manner cooperated with an inquiry or proceeding pursuant to this chapter; or (vi) because of a belief that the person may in the future engage in any such actions. For purposes of this paragraph, “adverse action” shall include any action to deprive an employee of any right afforded by this chapter, including through false denial of an employment relationship or false denial that an injury or illness was work related.

(3) There shall be a rebuttable presumption of a violation of paragraph (2) of this section if a person or entity, itself or through its agent, discharges, refuses to hire, or in any other manner discriminates or takes adverse action, or threatens to discharge, refuse to hire, or in any other manner discriminate or take adverse action, against a person within 90 days of that person’s exercise of a right afforded by this chapter, including: (i) reporting or seeking care for a work-related injury or illness; (ii) assisting any other person in exercising a right afforded by this chapter; (iii) informing any other person about a right afforded by this chapter; (iv) opposing a violation of this chapter; (v) or testifying or in any other manner cooperating with an inquiry or proceeding pursuant to this chapter. This presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose and that the action would have been taken in the absence of the person’s exercise of a right afforded by this chapter. For purposes of this paragraph, “adverse action” shall include any action to deprive an employee of any right afforded by this chapter, including through false denial of an employment relationship or false denial that an injury or illness was work related.

(4) A person claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of paragraph 2 of this section may file a complaint with the attorney general, who may initiate criminal or civil proceedings pursuant to section 27C of chapter 149. Alternatively, a person claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of paragraph 2 of this section may, within 3 years after the violation, initiate a civil action; provided, however, that the 3-year limitation period shall be tolled from the date that the person files a complaint with the attorney general alleging violation of paragraph 2 of this section until the date that the attorney general’s office declines to pursue enforcement of that complaint or the date that an enforcement action by the attorney general becomes final. A person so aggrieved who prevails in such an action shall be awarded treble damages, as liquidated damages, for any lost wages and other benefits, other actual and compensatory damages, costs of litigation and reasonable attorneys’ fees and may be awarded injunctive relief, punitive damages and other appropriate relief.

(5) Upon a determination by the commissioner that a request for data maintained by the department is intended to be used in such a manner as to violate the purposes of this section, the commissioner may find that the disclosure of such data constitutes an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to chapter 4 and deny said request. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an insurer's right to obtain information held by the department regarding any employee who has filed a claim against such insurer.