96TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5482 To strengthen State workers' compensation programs, and for other purposes. IX IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. BEARD of Rhode Island introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To strengthen State workers' compensation programs, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "National Workers' Com4 pensation Standards Act of 1979". 5 6 7 8 9 10 FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSE SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds and declares that— (1) many thousands of American workers are killed or permanently disabled and millions more are incapacitated from injuries and disease arising out of and in the course of their employment; 2 (2) injuries, diseases, and deaths arising out of and in the course of employment, constitute a burden upon interstate commerce and have a substantial ad verse effect upon the general welfare; (3) work-related injuries and diseases frequently occur during the worker's most productive years which often results in hardship for dependents and families; (4) the vast majority of these injured and ill workers, and their families, are dependent on State workers' compensation systems for economic security, medi cal treatment, rehabilitation, and reemployment assist ance when they suffer an injury, disease, or death arising out of and in the course of their employment; (5) American workers and the national interest are best served by an adequate, prompt, and equitable workers' compensation system; (6) many existing State workers' compensation laws do not provide an adequate, prompt, and equitable system of compensation for injuries, diseases, or deaths arising out of and in the course of employment; (7) the basic national objectives for a comprehensive workers' compensation system include (A) broad coverage of employees and work-related injuries and diseases; (B) substantial protection against interruption of income; (C) provision of prompt and adequate medi 3 cal care and rehabilitation services in order to correct work-related injuries and to restore such injured workers to gainful employment; (D) encouragement of safety and health protection; and (E) an effective system for delivery of benefits and services; (8) the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws, in its 1972 report, found that existing State workers' compensation laws did not meet minimum standards of adequacy and fairness; (9) although in recent years there have been improvements in many State workers' compensation laws, to a great extent existing State workers' compensation laws still fail to meet the minimum standards recommended by the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws; and (10) the improvements that are necessary to insure that a prompt, adequate, and equitable system of workers' compensation is available to all American workers can and should be achieved without delay, and there is a need for the Federal Government to encourage and assist the States in meeting this responsibility and to establish Federal minimum standards for State workers' compensation programs which assure adequacy, promptness, and fairness, while at the same time 4 1 maintaining the primary responsibility and authority for 2 3 workers' compensation in the States. (b) It is the purpose of this Act through the exercise of 4 the power of Congress to regulate commerce among the sev5 eral States and with foreign nations, and to provide for the 6 general welfare, to (1) establish minimum standards for workers' compensation programs for employees throughout the Nation; (2) establish appropriate procedures for providing employees with workers' compensation benefits in accordance with such standards in a State which does not meet such standards; (3) encourage and provide technical and financial assistance to the States to make improvements in ex isting workers' compensation systems— (A) to provide all workers and their families an adequate, prompt, and equitable system of workers' compensation; (B) to restore disabled workers through medical and vocational rehabilitation services to the fullest possible physical, mental, and economic usefulness; and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 5 (4) accomplish the foregoing objectives in such a way as to maintain the primary authority and responsi bility for workers' compensation in the States. DEFINITIONS SEC. 3. For the purposes of this Act— (1) the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor; (2) the term "Advisory Commission" means the National Workers' Compensation Advisory Commission established under this Act; (3) the term "employer" means any person engaged in commerce or an industry affecting commerce, but shall not include the United States, or any State or political subdivision thereof; (4) the term "person" includes one or more individuals, labor unions, partnerships, associations, firms, insurance funds, mutual companies, corporations, companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, societies, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers; (5) the term "employee" means any individual employed by his or her employer or any individual who is treated as an employee for purposes of the workers' compensation law of any State, except that such term does not include |