American Samoa § 32.0672 - Validity of liability.

§ 32.0672. Validity of liability.

No assignment of, or release of liability for, compensation or benefits due or payable under this chapter and Chapter 32.05, except as otherwise provided by this and Chapter 32.05, is valid, and such compensation and benefits shall be exempt from all claims of creditors and from levy, execution, attachment or other remedy for recovery or collection of a debt, which exemption may not be waived. 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). Since no release is valid except as otherwise provided for by the Workmen’s Compensation Act, summary judgment was not available when the record was unclear on whether the release agreement was approved by the Workmen’s Compensation Commission. A.S.C.A. § 32.0672; T.C.R.C.P. 56. Patau v. Rosendahl Corp., 19 A.S.R.2d 80 (1991).