Employer Responsibilities
All employing agencies are required to fully cooperate with
SORM and DWC in any way that may be required to properly
administer the state employees workers’ compensation program.
State agencies are responsible for certain required “employer”
reports and forms described in this handbook. Please see Chapters
408 and 409 of the Act for a description of the employer’s responsibilities
for reporting injuries and employer requirements for administering
claims.
As employer, the agency has certain responsibilities. Among
these responsibilities are:
1. Sending timely notices,
reports, and information.
An agency is required to give notices, make reports, and otherwise
transmit information to SORM and to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' CompensationDWC concerning on-the-job
injuries and occupational diseases/illnesses in a timely manner.
Most of these notices and reports must be given or made within
a certain time period after the event or occurrence. The sections
appearing later in this handbook explain how and when to file
specific forms.
2. Designating a claims coordinator.
Each agency must designate one or more claims coordinators,
as may be necessary, and must report to SORM any change in this
designation. The role of the claims coordinator is discussed
later in this handbook.
3. Administrative Violations.
Agencies must comply with all rules enacted by SORM, as well
as those of DWC. Agency policies, guidelines, or instructions
must not vary from DWC rules, SORM rules, or with the Act.
As the employer of record, state agencies are subject to administrative
penalties for violations of the Act which may be assessed against
the employer by the DWC Compliance and Practices Division (see
Chapter 415 of the Act). DWC can assess monetary administrative
penalties on the employer for failing to file certain documents
on time, such as the first report of injury, the wage statement,
and the supplemental report of injury. Instructions for filling
out and filing these forms are included in this handbook. Please
contact DWC’s Information Services at (512) 804-4636 or your
local DWC Field Office for information regarding employer requirements
and administrative violations.
4. Keeping adequate
records.
Each agency must make a record of all injuries sustained by
employees in the course of employment. DWC Rule 120.1 states
that agencies must maintain these records “until the expiration
of five years from the last day of the year in which the injury
occurred or the period of time required by Occupational Safety
and Health Administration standards and regulations, whichever
is greater.” Occupational disease records may be required to
be kept for 30 years beginning from the date an employee’s employment
is terminated. Various written reports also must be filed with
SORM. This is discussed more fully later in the handbook.
5. Notifying SORM immediately if the injury is severe
or fatal.
If the injury is severe or results in death, the agency must
immediately notify SORM by telephone, in addition to filing
the required first report of injury.
6. Posting
required notices in the workplace.
DWC rules require that an employer who has workers’ compensation
insurance coverage post certain notices in the workplace (28
Texas Administrative Code 110.10). Please call DWC’s Information
Services line at (512) 804-4636 for more information.
7. Ombudsman Program
A state agency, as the employer, is required by the Act to inform
employees of DWC’s Ombudsman program. The mission of the Ombudsman
program is to help injured employees, employers, providers,
and persons claiming death benefits to obtain benefits under
the Act. Failure to inform employees of this program is an administrative
violation.
8. Developing health and safety programs
and return-to-work programs.
The Legislature has mandated that all covered agencies have
programs in place to promote the health and safety of the employees
and to assist injured employees with returning to work.
These
programs must comply with SORM’s
Return-to-work
programs will be a coordinated effort involving the SORM Risk
Assessment & Loss Prevention Section, the employing state agency
and the medical provider. See Section 412.051 of the Texas Workers’
Compensation Act and Section 1 of House Bill 2133, or call SORM
at (512) 475-1440 for additional information.
Call DWC’s Information Services line at (512) 804-4636 for
more details on these and other DWC requirements.
9. Employer’s Rights
As the employer of record, state agencies are entitled to certain
rights under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. Section 409.011(b)
of the Act describes the rights of the employer. These rights
include:
(1) the right to be present at all administrative proceedings
relating to an employee’s claim;
(2) the right to present relevant evidence relating to an employee’s
claim at any proceeding;
(3) the right to report suspected fraud;
(4) the right to contest the compensability of an injury if
the insurance carrier accepts liability for the payment of benefits;
(5) the right to receive notice, after making a written request
to the insurance carrier, of:
(A) a proposal to settle a claim; or
(B) an administrative or a judicial proceeding relating to the
resolution of a claim.
Please contact the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation
(DWC) Information Services at (512) 804-4000 for more information
about the employer’s rights and responsibilities.
Notices:
(Adobe PDF) -- September, 2003
Changes in the Employer Rights and Responsibilities, Texas Workers'
Compensation Act (Texas Labor Code, Section 409.011).
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