Filing first reports of injury for COVID-19 claims
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) reminds employers they are required to report any injury that wholly or partly incapacitates an employee from performing labor or service for more than three calendar days. This includes an employee's contraction of COVID-19 that may have occurred at work and that could be considered an occupational disease or injury, including for those employees previously covered under the COVID-19 presumption in Minnesota Statutes § 176.011, subdivision 15 (f), that expired at 11:59 p.m., Dec. 31, 2021.
DLI has the authority to supervise and require prompt and full compliance with Minnesota workers' compensation statutes and rules, including the requirement for prompt reporting of workers' compensation injuries. The employer must report the injury to its insurer on a form prescribed by the commissioner within 10 days of its occurrence. Per Minn. Stat. § 176.231, subd. 10, failure to file the report in the required time limits may result in penalties against the employer of up to $500 for each occurrence.
With respect to COVID-19 and workers' compensation, an employer's role is to report each injury to its insurer or third-party administrator (TPA) when the employer received notice of the injury or had knowledge of the injury. With COVID-19, knowledge of the injury may be learning an employee tested positive for COVID-19 or that an employee claims to have contracted COVID-19 at work. There is no requirement that an employee complete a first report of injury (FROI), it is the employer's responsibility to complete and submit a FROI to its insurer or TPA. When completing the FROI, employer's should use "Nature of Injury Code 83" for COVID-19 claims. Filing a FROI is not an admission of liability -- the insurer makes that determination -- but failure to report the claim to the insurer or TPA may result in time consuming and costly litigation and increased benefits to injured employees.
An insurer or TPA has 14 days to either accept or deny liability. This 14-day period starts on the first day of lost time from work or the date the employer had notice or knowledge of the lost time, whichever is later. A delay in reporting a claim may result in additional penalties for failure to either accept or deny liability in a timely manner.
Additional information, further assisstance
|
