Alabama § 16-1A-3 - Policies, Procedures, and Rights Pertaining to Employees Injured on the Job; Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Trust Fund.

§ 16-1A-3. Policies, Procedures, and Rights Pertaining to Employees Injured on the Job; Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Trust Fund.

(a) The following policies, procedures, and rights are established pertaining to employees who are injured while on the job:

(1) The employee shall provide written notice of the injury to an immediate supervisor or the executive officer within five working days after the injury occurred, or where the employee has died or is not clinically able to make notification, another individual who is reasonably knowledgeable may make the notification of the injury within 90 days of the date of the injury. The board may adopt rules to further provide for the notice requirements under this subdivision.

(2) The board shall adopt uniform injury reporting forms. The employer shall distribute the forms to the institutions under his or her supervision. The employer shall prepare the first report of injury form and the employee shall sign the completed injury report form. The employer shall then forward the employee-signed form to the Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Board.

(3) Other notification procedures may be established by written policy of the employer but shall not supersede notification procedures established by the board or this chapter.

(b) There is established a separate special trust fund in the State Treasury to be known as the Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Trust Fund. All receipts collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in this fund and used to carry out this chapter. Monies in the fund unspent or unencumbered at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund in the State Treasury but shall be carried forward to the succeeding fiscal year. All monies in the fund may be invested and reinvested by the board. Any monetary interest that accrues in the fund shall be retained in the fund from year to year.

(c)(1) The program shall be governed by this chapter.

(2) Payments shall be made by PEEHIP pursuant to this chapter to physicians licensed to practice medicine or other medical providers for services to injured employees and shall be in accordance with the schedule of maximum fees as established by PEEHIP. The board, in its sole discretion, may designate and authorize a licensed physician to perform an Independent Medical Examination, or IME, of the employee to assess an injured employee’s physical or mental condition; provided, that any physician designated by the board to perform an IME shall be paid for by the board and not by PEEHIP.

(3) An employee must use an authorized treating physician covered by PEEHIP. For employees who do not participate in PEEHIP, the board shall adopt rules for selecting authorized treating physicians or other medical providers and shall adopt rules for employees who dispute treatment by an authorized treating physician. The board shall reimburse such injured employees for copayments and deductibles not paid for by PEEHIP; provided, that the board shall not be required to pay such copayments or deductibles for any medical treatment or attention, physical rehabilitation, medicine, medical or surgical supplies, crutches, artificial members, or other apparatus, other than as may be reasonably necessary and otherwise owed under the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act. The board shall have the absolute discretion to select an authorized treating physician and shall not be responsible to reimburse any physician not so authorized. If the employee is dissatisfied with the initial treating physician selected by the board, and if further treatment is required, the employee may so advise the board and the employee shall be entitled to a second physician from a panel or a list of four physicians selected by the board. The intent of this subdivision is that the board and the employee shall act in compliance with Section 25-5-77.

(4) Any rules adopted by the board to establish and operate the program shall be subject to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.

(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect any benefit to which an employee is entitled under this title.

(e) Sufficient appropriations to the fund for full coverage shall be considered a mandate for local boards of education to participate in the program pursuant to Section 25-5-50(d).