Minnesota Workers' Compensation Defense Law

• Workers' Compensation Defense Law
  • Settling Workers' Compensation Disputes
  • Hiring and Workers' Compensation
  • Resources

Like many other states, Minnesota has a Workers' Compensation system to compensate workers for any injuries occurring in the workplace. Without a Workers' Compensation system, workers injured while on the job would have to prove that their employer's negligence led to the injury. Because the system does not require proof of negligence, anyone injured while working for an employer subject to the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act (only a few employers are exempt) has a greater chance of being compensated than if he or she were injured in some other way and had to file a civil lawsuit. Instead of filing suit, a worker notifies his or her employer of the injury, and the employer then contacts its insurance carrier, which handles payment of any medical bills and other claims made by the employee. All employers subject to the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act must either carry Workers' Compensation insurance or demonstrate that they have the financial resources to cover any reasonably anticipated claims.

The Workers' Compensation system operates under rules substantially different from those used to settle other types of personal injury claims. For this reason, many lawyers specialize in handling only Workers' Compensation disputes, while other lawyers who routinely do personal injury work never handle Workers' Compensation claims.

Under the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act an injured employee may be eligible for some or all of the following:

• Medical services, including all reasonable expenses for care and treatment
• Temporary total disability payments, which provide the employee with as much as two-thirds of his or her weekly wage for the time the worker is unable to work
• Temporary partial disability for employees who are able to work part-time but not able to earn the same amount of money as earned at the time the injury happened
• Permanent partial disability if the employee is permanently disabled
• Permanent total disability payments (as high as two-thirds the salary of the worker at the time of the injury) for employees who are totally disabled and unable to work again
• Death benefits (for some burial expenses and benefits to dependents of the deceased employee) in case of fatal work-related injuries

In return for this relatively easy route to compensation, there is a limit to the amount of money that can be awarded for a work-related injury. For example, employers (or their insurers) are only required to pay for medical expenses, permanent injuries, and/or lost wages. An employer cannot be made to pay for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship, affection, or sexual relations. There are only a few exceptions to these limits on an employer's liability for a work-related injury; the limits generally apply even if an employer's negligence caused the injury.

Often a worker contacts an attorney because the employer or its insurance carrier refuses to pay a Workers' Compensation claim, maintaining that either the injury was not work-related or that the benefits demanded exceed those that are justified for the injury. Sometimes a dispute arises over when an employer stops making Workers' Compensation payments. When a dispute arises, a variety of options exist to settle it, including an administrative conference, conciliation court, or as a final option, a hearing before a Workers' Compensation judge.

By far the most common way to resolve disputes is through a semiformal administrative conference subject to the rules established by the state's Department of Labor and Industry. At the conference, a Department representative acts as an informal mediator and referee who decides what kind of evidence can be discussed by those attending. These rules are very liberal, meaning that almost all applicable evidence can be discussed. Typically, the employer, an investigator from the insurance company (if the employer is not self-insured), the Department representative, the injured employee and the employee's attorney (if one has been hired) attend the conference. The goal of such a conference is to reach a voluntary resolution to the dispute, but if one cannot be reached, the Department representative will make a judgment that everyone is obliged to follow. Such a judgment can be appealed to the Department by anyone involved in the conference.

Going to conciliation court is another way to resolve disputes over a Workers' Compensation claim. Both the employer and employee, however, must agree to turn over the dispute to a conciliation court and the amount of the dispute cannot exceed $5,000. Either side can decide whether to be represented by an attorney in such a proceeding, a decision that should not be made lightly because the decision of the conciliation court judge cannot be appealed.

Finally, a dispute over a Workers' Compensation claim can be taken to a special Workers' Compensation court where a judge will formally hear evidence about the injury and will resolve the dispute in a written decision that both sides must follow. Anyone disagreeing with the decision can appeal it to the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals, and if still unsatisfied, to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Which of the three ways is best to resolve a Workers' Compensation dispute depends on the particular details surrounding the injury and the amount of money involved. In general, the administrative conference can be the best and least expensive way to solve a dispute, but only if employer and employee are willing to negotiate fairly and compromise if necessary. Both the administrative conference and conciliation court are options that can be pursued without lawyers, and therefore either may be a relatively inexpensive option.

It is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire an individual because he or she has a disabling condition from a prior injury. However, employers are protected from some Workers' Compensation liability if an employee is hired with a pre-existing condition. If an employee suffers an injury that is made worse because of a condition existing prior to the time of hiring, the employer is protected from some liability under the Minnesota Second Injury Law. The purpose of this law is to encourage employers to hire people who may have disabilities from a previous injury.

Minnesota Small Business Assistance Office, 500 Metro Square Building, 121 Seventh Place East, St. Paul, MN 55101-2146, (612) 296-3871 or 1-800-657-3858 (free booklet: <I>An Employer's Guide to Employment Law Issues in Minnesota<I> (3d ed. 1993; includes chapter on workers' compensation rules).