American Samoa § 32.0554 - Invalid agreements

§ 32.0554. Invalid agreements

(a) No agreement by an employee to pay any portion of a premium paid by his employer to a carrier, or to contribute to a benefit fund or department maintained by such employer for the purpose of providing compensation or medical services and supplies as required by this chapter and Chapter 32.06, is valid, Any employer who makes a deduction for such purpose from the pay of any employee entitled to the benefits of this chapter and Chapter 32.06 is guilty of a class C misdemeanor. (b) No agreement by an employee to waive his right to compensation under this chapter and Chapter 32.06 is valid. Case Notes: Disallowing compromise contracts between the employer and employee, the Workmen’s Compensation Act bars an agreement to prevent the employee from receiving or altering the amount of compensation fixed and guaranteed to him by statute. A.S.C.A. §§ 32.0554(b), A.S.C.A. § 32.0672. Etimani v. Samoa Packing Co., 19 A.S.R.2d 1 (1991). Because American Samoa’s Workmen’s Compensation Act disallows compromise contracts between the employer and employee, the employer’s liability for workmen’s compensation benefits, fixed and guaranteed under the Act, may not be altered by way of contract. A.S.C.A. §§ 32.0554(b), 32.0672. Patau v. Rosendahl Corp., 19 A.S.R.2d 80 (1991). Amendments: 1980 Amended to conform with pena1ties provided for in Title 46. Criminal Justice.