Texas Workers Compensation Act

    Title 5 - Texas Labor Code - Chapters 401-506

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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LABOR CODE

CHAPTER 505. WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR 
EMPLOYEES OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS


	§ 505.001. DEFINITIONS.  (a) In this chapter:                               
		(1)  Repealed by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 
7.01(32).              
		(2)  "Department" means the Texas Department of 
Transportation.             
		(3)  "Employee" means a person in the service of the 
department under an appointment or express contract of hire and 
whose name appears on the department's payroll.
		(4)  "Legal beneficiary" has the meaning assigned to 
that term under Section 401.011.
	(b)  A reference in this chapter to an employee who has been 
injured includes the employee's legal beneficiary if the injured 
employee is dead.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 7.01(32), eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.002. APPLICATION OF GENERAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION 
LAWS;  LIMIT ON ACTIONS AND DAMAGES.  (a) The following provisions 
of Subtitles A  and B  apply to and are included in this chapter 
except to the extent that they are inconsistent with this chapter:
		(1)  Chapter 401, other than Section 401.012, defining 
"employee";          
		(2)  Chapter 402;                                                             
		(3)  Chapter 403, other than Sections 403.001-403.005;                        
		(4)  Chapters 404 and 405;                                                    
		(5)  Subchapters B, D, E, and H, Chapter 406, other than 
Sections 406.071-406.073, and 406.075;
		(6)  Chapter 408, other than Sections 408.001(b) and 
(c);                   
		(7)  Chapters 409 and 410;                                                    
		(8)  Subchapters A  and G, Chapter 411, other than 
Sections 411.003 and 411.004;
		(9)  Chapters 412-417;  and                                                   
		(10)  Chapter 451.                                                            
	(b)  For the purpose of applying the provisions listed by 
Subsection (a) to this chapter, "employer" means "department."
	(c)  Neither this chapter nor Subtitle A authorizes a cause 
of action or damages against the department or an employee of the 
department beyond the actions and damages authorized by Chapter 
101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.323, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.

SUBCHAPTER B. COVERAGE


	§ 505.011. WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR DEPARTMENT 
EMPLOYEES.  The department shall pay benefits as provided by this 
chapter to an employee with a compensable injury.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.                    


	§ 505.012. AUTHORITY TO SELF-INSURE.  The department may 
self-insure.     

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.                    


	§ 505.013. INDIVIDUALS EMPLOYED BY SUBCONTRACTORS.  (a) 
Except as provided by Subsection (b), an individual employed by a 
subcontractor performing work under contract with the department is 
not considered an employee for purposes of this chapter.
	(b)  The department shall treat a person leasing a tractor, a 
truck, mowing or cutting machinery, or other equipment to the 
department and using the equipment to perform work under a contract 
with the department:
		(1)  as an independent contractor, and the department 
shall require the person, while performing the contract, to provide 
life, health and accident, and disability insurance for the person 
and any individual employed by the person to perform the contract in 
an amount and with coverage approved by the Texas Department of 
Insurance as substantially the same as provided for under workers' 
compensation insurance;
		(2)  as an employee of the state for workers' 
compensation purposes, and the department shall require the person 
to provide workers' compensation insurance for each individual 
employed by the person to perform the contract, in which case this 
chapter applies to the person and the individuals employed by the 
person without regard to the number of individuals employed;  or
		(3)  as an employee of the state for workers' 
compensation purposes, and each individual employed by that person 
to perform the contract as an employee of the state for workers' 
compensation purposes.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.                    

SUBCHAPTER C. ADMINISTRATION


	§ 505.051. ADMINISTRATION;  RULES;  FORMS.  (a) The 
department shall administer this chapter.
	(b)  Process and procedure under this chapter shall be as 
summary as possible.
	(c)  The department may:                                                       
		(1)  adopt rules and prescribe and furnish forms 
necessary to effectively administer this chapter;  and
		(2)  adopt and enforce necessary rules for the 
prevention of accidents and injuries.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.                    


	§ 505.052. PERCENTAGE OF PAYROLL SET ASIDE FOR WORKERS' 
COMPENSATION EXPENSES;  ACCOUNT;  REPORTS.  (a) The department may 
set aside from its available appropriations, other than itemized 
appropriations, an amount not exceeding three and one-half percent 
of the department's annual payroll for the payment of 
administrative expenses, charges, benefits, and awards under this 
chapter.
	(b)  The amount set aside under Subsection (a) shall be set 
up in a separate account in the department's records.  The balance 
of the account at any time may not exceed an amount equal to three 
and one-half percent of the department's annual payroll.
	(c)  The account shall show the disbursements authorized by 
this chapter.  A statement of the amount set aside for the account 
and the disbursements from the account shall be included in the 
reports made to the governor and the legislature as required by law.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.                    


	§ 505.053. CERTIFIED COPIES OF DIVISION DOCUMENTS.  (a) 
The division of workers' compensation shall furnish a certified 
copy of an order, award, decision, or paper on file with the 
division to a person entitled to the copy on written request and 
payment of the fee for the copy.  The fee shall be the same as that 
charged for similar services by the secretary of state's office.
	(b)  The department may obtain certified copies under this 
section without charge.
	(c)  A fee or salary may not be paid to an employee of the 
division of workers' compensation for making the copies that 
exceeds the fee charged for the copies.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.324, 3.325, eff. Sept. 1, 
2005.


	§ 505.054. PREEMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL REQUIRED;  EXAMINING 
PHYSICIANS.  (a) An individual may not be certified as an employee 
of the department under this chapter until the individual:
		(1)  submits to a physical examination as provided by 
this section;  and    
		(2)  is certified by the examining physician to be 
physically fit to perform the duties and services to which the 
individual is to be assigned.
	(b)  Absence of a physical examination under this section 
does not bar recovery.
	(c)  The department shall designate a convenient number of 
regularly licensed practicing physicians to make physical 
examinations of individuals employed by or to be employed by the 
department to determine if the individuals are physically fit to be 
classified as department employees.
	(d)  A physician designated under Subsection (c) who 
conducts an examination shall file with the department a complete 
transcript of the examination on a form furnished by the 
department.  The department shall maintain all reports under this 
subsection as part of the department's permanent records.  A report 
under this subsection is admissible in evidence before the division 
of workers' compensation and in an appeal from a final award or 
ruling of the commissioner of workers' compensation in which the 
individual named in the examination is a claimant for compensation 
under this chapter.  A report under this subsection that is admitted 
is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the report.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.326, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.055. REPORTS OF INJURIES.  (a) A report of an injury 
filed with the division of workers' compensation under Section 
409.005, in addition to the information required by commissioner of 
workers' compensation rules, must contain:
		(1)  the name, age, sex, and occupation of the injured 
employee;            
		(2)  the character of work in which the employee was 
engaged at the time of the injury;
		(3)  the place, date, and hour of the injury;  and                            
		(4)  the nature and cause of the injury.                                      
	(b)  In addition to subsequent reports of an injury filed 
with the division of workers' compensation under Section 
409.005(e), the department shall file a subsequent report on a form 
obtained for that purpose:
		(1)  on the termination of incapacity of the injured 
employee;  or          
		(2)  if the incapacity extends beyond 60 days.                                

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.327, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.056. REQUIRED EXAMINATION OF INJURED EMPLOYEE;  
REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO EXAMINATION.  (a) The division of workers' 
compensation may require an employee who claims to have been 
injured to submit to an examination by the division or a person 
acting under the division's authority at a reasonable time and 
place in this state.
	(b)  An employee is not entitled to compensation during or 
for a period in which the employee refuses to submit to an 
examination under Subsection (a) or Section 408.004.
	(c)  The department may have an injured employee examined at 
a reasonable time and at a place suitable to the employee's 
condition and convenient and accessible to the employee by a 
physician selected by the department.  The department shall pay for 
an examination under this subsection and for the employee's 
reasonable expenses incident to the examination.
	(d)  On the request of an employee or the department, the 
employee or the department is entitled to have a physician selected 
by the employee or the department present to participate in an 
examination under Subsection (a) or Section 408.004.  The employee 
is entitled to have a physician selected by the employee present to 
participate in an examination under Subsection (c).  The department 
shall pay the fee set by the commissioner of workers' compensation 
of a physician selected by the employee under this subsection.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.328, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.057. REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO MEDICAL TREATMENT.  (a) 
The commissioner of workers' compensation may order or direct the 
department to reduce or suspend the compensation of an injured 
employee if the employee:
		(1)  persists in insanitary or injurious practices that 
tend to imperil or retard the employee's recovery;  or
		(2)  refuses to submit to medical, surgical, or other 
remedial treatment recognized by the state that is reasonably 
essential to promote the employee's recovery.
	(b)  Compensation may not be reduced or suspended under this 
section without reasonable notice to the employee and an 
opportunity to be heard.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.329, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.058. POSTPONEMENT OF HEARING.  If an injured 
employee is receiving benefits under this chapter and the 
department is providing hospitalization or medical treatment to the 
employee, the division of workers' compensation may postpone the 
hearing of the employee's claim.  An appeal may not be taken from an 
order of the commissioner of workers' compensation under this 
section.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.330, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.059. NOTICE OF APPEAL;  NOTICE OF TRIAL COURT 
JUDGMENT;  OFFENSE.  (a) In each case appealed from the division of 
workers' compensation to a county or district court:
		(1)  the clerk of the court shall mail to the division:                       
			(A)  not later than the 20th day after the date the 
case is filed, a notice containing the style, number, and date of 
filing of the case;  and
			(B)  not later than the 20th day after the date the 
judgment is rendered, a certified copy of the judgment;  and
		(2)  the attorney preparing the judgment shall file the 
original and a copy of the judgment with the clerk.
	(b)  An attorney's failure to comply with Subsection (a)(2) 
does not excuse the failure of a county or district clerk to comply 
with Subsection (a)(1)(B).
	(c)  The duties of a county or district clerk under 
Subsection (a)(1) are part of the clerk's ex officio duties, and the 
clerk is not entitled to a fee for the services.
	(d)  A county or district clerk who violates this section 
commits an offense.  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor 
punishable by a fine not to exceed $250.

Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended 
by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 265, § 3.331, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 505.060. EFFECT OF SICK LEAVE;  ANNUAL LEAVE.  (a) An 
employee may elect to use accrued sick leave before receiving 
income benefits.  If an employee elects to use sick leave, the 
employee is not entitled to income benefits under this chapter 
until the employee has exhausted the employee's accrued sick leave.
	(b)  An employee may elect to use all or any number of weeks 
of accrued annual leave after the employee's accrued sick leave is 
exhausted.  If an employee elects to use annual leave, the employee 
is not entitled to income benefits under this chapter until the 
elected number of weeks of leave have been exhausted.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 706, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001;  
Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1017, § 2.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2002;  Acts 
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1456, § 14.03, eff. June 17, 2001.