Workers' Compensation Law Summaries
Tennessee, Workers' Compensation Law Summaries
Tennessee's workers' compensation law is located in the Tennessee Code Annotated at Title 50, Chapter 6. The drug-free workplace provisions are at Chapter 9.
COVERAGE
Coverage is compulsory in Tennessee for all employers of five or more and voluntary for employers of less than five. If the employer mines and produces coal, coverage is mandatory for employers of one or more (Sec. 50-6-102). Employer includes a licensed staff leasing company (Sec. 62-43-113).
Corporate officers may reject coverage; coverage is elective for partners and sole proprietors (Sec. 50-6-104). Coverage is voluntary for the state and all political subdivisions (Sec. 50-6-106).
Construction industry.- Effective December 31, 2009, any person engaged in the construction industry, including principal contractors, intermediate contractors and subcontractors shall be required to carry workers' compensation insurance (Sec. 50-6-113(f)(1)(A), as amended by Ch. 1041 (H. 1645), L. 2007, enacted May 28, 2008).
Notwithstanding Sec. 50-6-113(f)(1)(A), a sole proprietor or partner engaged in the construction industry shall not be required to carry workers' compensation on themselves if they are doing work directly for the owner of the property pursuant to Sec. 50-6-113(f)(1)(C) below, but shall be required to carry workers' compensation insurance on any subcontractor, employee or worker not otherwise covered by a policy of workers' compensation; however, if a sole proprietor or partner is working as an intermediate contractor or subcontractor contractor, then workers' compensation insurance shall be required on themselves (Sec. 50-6-113(f)(1)(B), as amended by Ch. 1041 (H. 1645), L. 2007, enacted May 28, 2008).
The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any person building a dwelling or other structure, or performing maintenance, repairs, or making additions to structures, on the person's own property for the person's own use and for which the person receives no compensation (Sec. 50-6-113(f)(1)(C), as amended by Ch. 1041 (H. 1645), L. 2007, enacted May 28, 2008).
Telecommuters.- In a case of first impression, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the injuries of a telecommuter, who was viciously attacked by a neighbor she allowed into her home during the workday, occurred during the course of her employment, but did not arise out of her employment. Thus they were not compensable under state workers’ compensation law. According to the court, her injuries occurred during the course of employment: during a workday at the employee’s regular worksite while the employee was making lunch at home, a location comparable to break rooms and kitchens in traditional worksites. But there was no inherent relationship between her employment as a director of a nonprofit organization and the assault, which the court characterized as “neutral”-neither personal nor distinctly related to employment. Nor was she required to open her home office to the public, so the “street risk” doctrine would not apply to suggest that the assault arose out of her employment (Wait v Travelers Indemnity Co. of Illinois , TennSCt, No. M2007-00099-SC-R3-WC, November 16, 2007).
EXCEPTIONS
Not covered are farm laborers, domestics, casual employees, leased operators or owner operators under contract to an interstate common carrier and voluntary ski patrols (Sec. 50-6-106).
WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO
Insurance choices.- Employers may self-insure (Sec. 50-6-405), insure with private insurance carriers (Sec. 50-6-404) or insure with the state fund (Sec. 50-6-601). Every public and private employer must establish a safety committee if the employer has an experience modification factor of 1.20 or higher (Sec. 50-6-501).
Waiting period.- No compensation other than medical benefits is payable for the first seven days of disability, excluding the day of injury. If the disability extends beyond seven days, compensation is paid beginning on the eighth day after the injury. If the disability continues for 14 days, compensation is paid for the first seven days (Sec. 50-6-205).
Choice of physician.- The injured employee shall accept the medical benefits afforded hereunder; provided, that, except as provided in Sec. 50-6-204(a)(4)(B) or (a)(4)(C), the employer shall designate a group of three or more reputable physicians or surgeons not associated together in practice, if available in that community, from which the injured employee shall have the privilege of selecting the operating surgeon and the attending physician; and provided, further, that the liability of the employer for such services rendered the employee shall be limited to such charges as are established in the applicable medical fee schedule adopted pursuant to this section (Sec. 50-6-204(a)(4)(A), as amended by Ch. 835 (H. 3170), L. 2007, enacted April 30, 2008, and effective July 1, 2008).
However, if the injury or illness requires the treatment of a physician or surgeon who practices orthopedic or neuroscience medicine, then the employer may appoint a panel of physicians or surgeons practicing orthopedic or neuroscience medicine consisting of five physicians, with no more than four physicians affiliated in practice. Employees who are offered such a treating panel are entitled to have a second opinion on the issue of surgery, impairment, and a diagnosis from that same panel (Sec. 50-6-204(a)(4)(D) and E)).
If the injury is a back injury, then the group of three or more physicians or surgeons shall be expanded to four, one of whom must be a chiropractor; provided, that no more than 12 visits to such chiropractor shall be approved per back injury, except upon the approval of the employer (Sec. 50-6-204(a)(4)(B), as amended by Ch. 107 (H. 762), L. 2005, effective May 4, 2005).
The employer shall provide the applicable panel of physicians to the employee in writing on a form prescribed by the division, and the employee shall document in writing the physician the employee has selected and the employee shall sign and date the prescribed form. The employer shall provide a copy of the completed form to the employee and shall maintain a copy of the completed form in the records of the employer and shall produce a copy of the completed form upon request by the division (Sec. 50-6-204(a)(4)(F)).
Case law.- An employer defending a workers' comp claim may not conduct an ex parte interview with the claimant's treating physician, the Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled, unless the claimant waives his implied covenant of confidentiality. However, the employer does have a statutory right, under state workers' compensation law, to compel the injured worker to undergo a medical evaluation by a physician of the employer's choosing, so long as the employer's request is “reasonable,” the court held (Overstreet v TRW Commercial Steering Division , June 17, 2008)(Concurrence)).
Drug and alcohol use.- Compensation is not allowed if an injury or death is due to intoxication or illegal drug use. A refusal to test and test results of specified levels support a presumption that the drug or alcohol was the proximate cause of injury (Sec. 50-6-110).
Premium discounts.- The Department of Commerce and Insurance will give at least a 5 percent credit on workers' compensation insurance premiums to employers that implement drug-free workplace plans (Sec. 50-6-418).
Drug-free workplace.- If an employer implements a drug-free workplace plan, including notice, education and procedural requirements for drug and alcohol testing, the employer may require that employees submit to drug or alcohol tests. The employer must notify all employees that it is a condition of employment for employees to refrain from reporting to work or working with the presence of drugs or alcohol in their bodies and that if an employee refuses to submit to a drug or alcohol test, the employee forfeits eligibility for workers' compensation medical and indemnity benefits (Sec. 50-9-101).
A covered employer may test an employee or job applicant for drugs provided that for public employees the testing is limited to the extent permitted by state and federal law (Sec. 50-9-104).
Offset provisions.- An offset from workers' compensation disability benefits is allowed if payments are made to an employee under an employer-funded disability plan for the same injury if the plan so provides (Sec. 50-6-114).
NOTICE
Notice must be given immediately after an injury or as soon as reasonable and practical if the employer does not have actual knowledge of the injury. No compensation is allowed unless written notice is given to the employer within 30 days.
In cases where an injury is a result of gradual or cumulative events or trauma, then the injured employee (or the employee's representative) must provide notice to the employer within 30 days after the employee knows or reasonably knows that he or she suffered a work-related injury that has resulted in a permanent physical impairment. Notice within 30 days is also required after the employee is rendered unable to perform normal work activities as a result of the work-related injury and the employee knows or reasonably should know that the injury was caused by work-related activities. A wage statement must be filed by the insurer, employer or self-insured pool with the department within 30 days for injuries involving death or seven days of time away (Sec. 50-6-201).
Failure of notice may be excusable (Sec. 50-6-202).
See also WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO, above.
DEADLINES
Occupational disease.-Statute of limitations.- The right to compensation for an occupational disease or a claim for death benefits as a result of an occupational disease shall be forever barred, unless a claim is initiated pursuant to Sec. 50-6-203; provided, however, that the applicable time limitation period or periods shall commence as of the date of the beginning of the incapacity for work resulting from an occupational disease or upon the date death results from the occupational disease; provided, however, that if upon the date of the death of the employee the employee's claim has become barred, the claim of the employee's dependent or dependents shall likewise be barred, and in such case the claim shall be barred whether or not the employer gives the notice required by Sec. 50-6-224(2) (Sec. 50-6-306(a)).
Note: An employee who filed a workers' compensation claim within one year of becoming incapacitated from working as a result of an occupational disease made the filing on a timely basis in accordance with TCA 50-6-306(a) (see just above). The state supreme court ruled that the trial court erred in dismissing the suit as untimely and remanded the matter for consideration.
The claimant who worked with manganese dioxide was diagnosed with work-related lung cancer in February and underwent surgery in 2000. After returning to work following the surgery to remove a portion of one lung, the claimant experienced a recurrence of the cancer in spring 2002. The claimant continued working until July 2002 and filed for worker’s compensation benefits in April 2003.
The supreme court found that the trial court erred in treating the statute of limitations for an occupational disease case the same as for a gradually occurring injury. Different code sections apply to occupational disease and gradually occurring injury claims. The statute of limitations for occupational disease is triggered not by actual or constructive knowledge of the disease alone, but also by an incapacity to work. This incapacity occurs when the claimant is unable to perform the normal duties of the position, a doctor tells the claimant to stop working or the claimant requests assignment to different duties because of the disease. The statute runs not from the date of first treatment, but rather from the beginning of the incapacity to perform the regular duties of work (William W. Brown, Jr., et al v. Erachem Comilog, Inc. , No. M2005-01825-SC-WCM-CV, August 30, 2007).
POSTING
See ¶44-9900 .
PENALTIES
Health care providers found to have rendered excessive or inappropriate services (Sec. 50-6-124) may be penalized.
An employer which knowingly, willfully and intentionally causes a compensation claim to be paid under health insurance or which fails to provide medical treatment for a work-related injury can be liable for a civil penalty of $500 (Sec. 50-6-128).
If an insurer or self-insured fails to comply with an order of a workers' compensation specialist, the commissioner may assess a fine of $10,000. Additional penalties of $1,000 per day can be levied (Sec. 50-6-238).
CONTACTS
Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Workers' Compensation Division 220 French Landing Drive Nashville, TN 37243-1002 Phone: 1-800-332-2667 (within Tennessee) or 615-532-4812 Fax: (615) 532-1468 Email: wc.info@state.tn.us.
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