Committee/Subcommittee Amendment — PCS for HB 359 (2020) — Amendment No. 1

Summary

Amendment No. 1 to PCS for HB 359 (2020), offered by Representative Santiago before the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee and published 1/14/2020. The amendment inserts a new Section 2 amending section 440.12, Florida Statutes, to allow weekly workers' compensation payments to be transmitted to the employee's account with a money transmitter licensed under part II of chapter 560. A new Section 3 amends section 440.20 so that such a transmission satisfies the carrier's obligation to pay compensation directly to the employee, and it keeps the 20 percent penalty for installments not paid within 7 days. A title amendment describes both changes. The committee action boxes are left unmarked.

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                                          COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENT
                                             Bill No. PCS for HB 359    (2020)
       Amendment No. 1




            COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTEE ACTION
       ADOPTED                       (Y/N)
       ADOPTED AS AMENDED            (Y/N)
       ADOPTED W/O OBJECTION         (Y/N)
       FAILED TO ADOPT               (Y/N)
       WITHDRAWN                     (Y/N)
       OTHER


1      Committee/Subcommittee hearing bill:       Insurance & Banking
2      Subcommittee
3      Representative Santiago offered the following:
4
5           Amendment (with title amendment)
6           Between lines 56 and 57, insert:
7           Section 2.    Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
8      440.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
9           440.12    Time for commencement and limits on weekly rate of
10     compensation.—
11          (1)    Compensation is not allowed for the first 7 days of
12     the disability, except for benefits provided under s. 440.13.
13     However, if the injury results in more than 21 days of
14     disability, compensation is allowed from the commencement of the
15     disability.


     PCS for HB 359 a1
     Published On: 1/14/2020 7:59:46 PM
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                                          COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENT
                                           Bill No. PCS for HB 359   (2020)
       Amendment No. 1


16          (a)   All weekly compensation payments, except for the first
17     payment, must be paid by check or, if authorized by the
18     employee, on a prepaid card pursuant to paragraph (b) or
19     deposited directly into the employee's account at a financial
20     institution as defined in s. 655.005 or transmitted to the
21     employee’s account with a money transmitter licensed under part
22     II of chapter 560.
23          Section 3.    Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph
24     (a) of subsection (6) of section 440.20, Florida Statutes, are
25     amended to read:
26          440.20   Time for payment of compensation and medical bills;
27     penalties for late payment.—
28          (1)(a)   Unless the carrier denies compensability or
29     entitlement to benefits, the carrier shall pay compensation
30     directly to the employee as required by ss. 440.14, 440.15, and
31     440.16, in accordance with those sections. Upon receipt of the
32     employee's authorization as provided for in s. 440.12(1)(a), the
33     carrier's obligation to pay compensation directly to the
34     employee is satisfied when the carrier directly deposits, by
35     electronic transfer or other means, compensation into the
36     employee's account at a financial institution as defined in s.
37     655.005 or onto a prepaid card in accordance with s. 440.12(1)
38     or transmits the employee’s compensation to the employee’s
39     account with a money transmitter licensed under part II of
40     chapter 560. Compensation by direct deposit or through the use
     PCS for HB 359 a1
     Published On: 1/14/2020 7:59:46 PM
                                    Page 2 of 4
                                          COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENT
                                          Bill No. PCS for HB 359    (2020)
       Amendment No. 1


41     of a prepaid card or through transmission is considered paid on
42     the date the funds become available for withdrawal by the
43     employee.
44          (6)(a) If any installment of compensation for death or
45     dependency benefits, or compensation for disability benefits
46     payable without an award is not paid within 7 days after it
47     becomes due, as provided in subsection (2), subsection (3), or
48     subsection (4), there shall be added to such unpaid installment
49     a penalty of an amount equal to 20 percent of the unpaid
50     installment, which shall be paid at the same time as, but in
51     addition to, such installment of compensation. This penalty
52     shall not apply for late payments resulting from conditions over
53     which the employer or carrier had no control. When any
54     installment of compensation payable without an award has not
55     been paid within 7 days after it became due and the claimant
56     concludes the prosecution of the claim before a judge of
57     compensation claims without having specifically claimed
58     additional compensation in the nature of a penalty under this
59     section, the claimant will be deemed to have acknowledged that,
60     owing to conditions over which the employer or carrier had no
61     control, such installment could not be paid within the period
62     prescribed for payment and to have waived the right to claim
63     such penalty. However, during the course of a hearing, the judge
64     of compensation claims shall on her or his own motion raise the
65     question of whether such penalty should be awarded or excused.
     PCS for HB 359 a1
     Published On: 1/14/2020 7:59:46 PM
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                                           COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENT
                                            Bill No. PCS for HB 359   (2020)
       Amendment No. 1


66     The department may assess without a hearing the penalty against
67     either the employer or the carrier, depending upon who was at
68     fault in causing the delay. The insurance policy cannot provide
69     that this sum will be paid by the carrier if the department or
70     the judge of compensation claims determines that the penalty
71     should be paid by the employer rather than the carrier. Any
72     additional installment of compensation paid by the carrier
73     pursuant to this section shall be paid directly to the employee
74     by check or, if authorized by the employee, by direct deposit
75     into the employee's account at a financial institution or by
76     transmission to the employee's account with a money transmitter
77     licensed under part II of chapter 560.
78
79
80           -----------------------------------------------------
81                          T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T
82          Between lines 4 and 5, insert:
83          amending s. 440.12, F.S.; providing that an employee
84          receiving workers’ compensation payments may authorize
85          a carrier to transmit compensation payments to a money
86          transmitter; amending s. 440.20, F.S.; specifying that
87          the carrier's transmission of compensation to the
88          employee’s money transmitter account satisfies the
89          carrier’s obligation to pay compensation directly to
90          the employee;
     PCS for HB 359 a1
     Published On: 1/14/2020 7:59:46 PM
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