ASSEMBLY, No. 443
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman ROMA
An Act concerning workers' compensation premiums, supplementing chapter 15 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes and amending R.S.34:15-89.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) For the purposes of this act:
"Commission" means the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission established pursuant to section 3 of this act.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Insurance.
"Employee Assistance Plan" means a program in which an employer, or group or consortium of employers, either provides or contracts with a service provider to provide assessment, referral for treatment, treatment, counseling and rehabilitation by qualified and experienced personnel to the employer's employees to resolve employee drug and alcohol abuse problems which may affect employee work performance.
"Employer" means employer as defined in R.S. 34:15-36, but shall not include employers employing more than 200 employees.
2. (New section) a. An employer who provides an employee assistance plan to its employees may apply to the commissioner for a workers' compensation premium reduction pursuant to the provisions of R.S.34:15-89 or a tax credit pursuant to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as Assembly, No. 2457 of 1993), or both. Upon receipt of an application the commissioner shall refer it to the commission to determine whether the employee assistance plan of the employer meets the standards established pursuant to section 4 of this act.
b. (1) Any change in an employee assistance plan subsequent to initial approval by the commission, which may place the employee assistance plan in noncompliance with the standards established pursuant to this act, shall be reported by the employer to the commissioner. If the commissioner determines that the change is significant, the commissioner shall refer the employee assistance plan to the commission to determine whether the employee assistance plan remains in compliance with those standards.
(2) An employer who fails to report any change in an employee assistance plan subsequent to initial approval by the commission, which may place the employee assistance plan in noncompliance with the standards established pursuant to this act, shall be liable for a fine of $100 for each day that the violation continues.
3. (New section) a. There is established the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission. The commission shall consist of nine members as follows: the Commissioner of Insurance, the Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner of Labor or their designees, who shall serve ex-officio and shall be non-voting members; and six public members who are residents of the State and who shall be selected for their knowledge, competence, experience or interest in connection with the diagnosis or treatment of alcohol or drug abuse, the administration of employee assistance plans, the administration of employee benefit plans, or the administration of workers' compensation plans. The public members shall be appointed as follows: the Governor shall appoint two members who shall be members of the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse created pursuant to P.L.1989, c.51 (C.26BB-1 et seq.); the President of the Senate shall appoint two members; and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall appoint two members.
b. All appointments shall be made within 30 days after the effective date of this act. The appointed members of the commission shall serve for a term of three years, and no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms. The initial appointed members of the commission shall serve as follows: two members shall serve for a term of one year, two members shall serve for a term of two years and two members shall serve for a term of three years. Vacancies in the membership of the appointed members of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
c. The members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the commission, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.
d. The commission shall organize as soon as possible after the appointments are made and shall select a chairperson from among its members. The commission may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission. The commission shall meet at least quarterly and may hold meetings and hearings at such places as it designates during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature.
4. (New section) a. The commission shall review the employee assistance plan of an employer referred by the commissioner to determine whether the plan meets the standards established pursuant to subsections b. and e. of this section and the standards established by the commission pursuant to subsections c. and d. of this section. If the commission determines that an employee assistance plan meets the standards established pursuant to this section, it shall recommend to the compensation rating and inspection bureau or the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, or both as the case may be, that the employer providing the employee assistance plan receive a workers' compensation premium reduction pursuant to the provisions of R.S.34:15-89, or a tax credit pursuant to the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as Assembly No. 2457 of 1993), or both.
b. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each request by an employee for assistance from, referral to, or participation in an employee assistance program shall be confidential, and no employer, service provider or other person shall divulge to any person other than the employee, medical personnel, supervisory or administrative personnel of the employer or service provider as designated by the employer on a need to know basis that an employee has requested assistance from, been referred to, or participated in an employee assistance program. The requirement of confidentiality shall apply to all information related to an employee assistance program, including but not limited to any statements, materials, documents, evaluations, impressions, conclusions, findings, or acts taken in the course of, or in connection with, the program. All information regarding employees who participate in an employee assistance plan shall be kept separate from other employer personnel and administrative records.
(2) The requirements for confidentiality provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection may be waived only if:
(a) The employee to whom the information applies has requested and authorized the waiver;
(b) The waiver is in writing and specifies the information to be released and the persons to whom the information may be provided; and
(c) The information released is the information authorized for release by the employee and released only to the persons designated by the employee.
c. The commission shall determine (1) the maximum acceptable limits for co-payments or deductibles chargeable to an employee and (2) the minimum acceptable levels of coverage available to each employee from an employee assistance plan or the employer providing the employee assistance plan for the following types of benefits:
(a) Inpatient detoxification, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient care for alcohol abuse treatment;
(b) Inpatient detoxification, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient care for drug abuse treatment.
d. The commission may establish any other standards that it deems necessary to ensure that an employee assistance plan provides adequate drug and alcohol treatment for employees.
e. An employer shall provide to each employee a written policy statement describing the benefits available from the employee assistance plan, and an explanation of the guarantees of confidentiality and any other standards imposed upon the plan pursuant to this act.
f. The commission shall review an employee assistance plan referred to it by the commissioner which has significantly altered the content of its plan subsequent to initial approval by the commission to determine if the plan remains in compliance with the standards established pursuant to this section. If the commission determines that the plan is no longer in compliance with the standards, the commission shall recommend to the compensation rating and inspection bureau or the Director of the Division of Taxation, or both, as the case may be, that the benefits granted pursuant to this act be rescinded.
g. The commission shall report to the Governor and the Legislature, at such times as the Legislature may request, on the effect of this act in encouraging businesses to provide employee assistance plans for their employees.
5. R.S.34:15-89 is amended to read as follows:
34:15-89. The compensation rating and inspection bureau as created and established by the act entitled "An act concerning the compulsory insurance of compensation payments arising under section 2 of an act entitled, "An act prescribing the liability of an employer to make compensation for injuries received by an employee in the course of employment, establishing an elective schedule of compensation, and regulating procedure for the determination of liability and compensation thereunder,' approved April 4, 1911," approved March 27, 1917 (L.1917, c.178, p.522), as amended and supplemented is continued under the supervision of the Commissioner [of Banking and] Insurance.
It shall establish and maintain rules, regulations and premium rates for [workmen's] workers' compensation and employer's liability insurance and equitably adjust the same, as far as practicable, to the hazard of individual risks, by inspection by the bureau.
It shall adopt means for assuring uniform and accurate audit of payrolls as they relate to policies of [workmen's] workers' compensation and employer's liability insurance by auditors, appointed by the bureau, with the approval of the said commissioner or by such other means as the bureau may, with the approval of the Commissioner of [Banking and] Insurance, establish.
It shall furnish upon request to any of its members or to any employer upon whose risk a rating has been promulgated by it, information as to such rating, including the method of its computation, and shall encourage employers to reduce the number and severity of accidents by adjusting premiums and rates, through the use of credits and debits or other proper factors, under such uniform system of experience or other form of merit rating as may be approved by the said commissioner.
The compensation rating and inspection bureau shall, upon the recommendation of the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission pursuant to section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), reduce the workers' compensation premiums paid by employers providing employee assistance plans approved by the commission by 5%. Three years after initial approval by the commission, the compensation rating and inspection bureau, upon the approval of the commissioner, may increase or reduce the reduction by no more than 2.5%, according to any factors that the compensation rating and inspection bureau and the commission deem relevant, including, but not limited to, the experience of the employer. Any reduction granted pursuant to this section shall remain in effect until the commission revokes its approval of the employer's employee assistance plan pursuant to subsection f. of section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.1955, c.108, s.1)
6. (New section) The commissioner, in consultation with the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission, shall, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of this act.
7. This act shall take effect on the 180th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for reductions in workers' compensation insurance premiums for those employers employing no more than 200 employees who are determined by the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission, created pursuant to the bill, to provide qualified employee assistance plans to their employees. The commission shall also determine the eligibility of employers providing qualified employee assistance plans for tax credits granted pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as Assembly, No. 2457 of 1993).
The bill defines employee assistance plans as programs in which an employer, or group or consortium of employers, provides assessment, referral for treatment, treatment, counseling and rehabilitation by qualified and experienced personnel to their employees to resolve employee drug and alcohol abuse problems which may affect employee work performance. Employee assistance plans may be provided by an employer directly or through a service provider.
In order to receive a workers' compensation premium reduction or a tax credit an employer must apply to the Commissioner of Insurance; the commissioner then refers the application to the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission to determine whether the employer's plan meets the standards provided for by the bill. Employers are required to report to the commissioner any changes in their plans subsequent to initial qualification which may place the plan in noncompliance with the standards set forth in the bill; the commissioner then refers the change reported by the employer to the Employee Assistance Plan Review Commission to determine whether the change places the plan in noncompliance with the bill's standards. If the commission determines that the plan no longer meets the standards, the commission may recommend revoking the premium reduction or tax credit. Any employer who fails to report a change which may place the employer's plan in noncompliance is liable for a $100 penalty for each day the violation continues.
This bill is not intended to preclude employers from receiving premium reductions if they provide employee assistance plans which offer more benefits and services or protections for employees than those required by the standards established for employee assistance plans by the bill.
Requires reduced workers' compensation premiums for employers providing employee assistance plans.