2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes
Title 21. Labor and Industrial Relations
386. Workers' Compensation Law
- 386-1 Definitions.
- 386-2 Definitions relating to family relationships.
- 386-3 Injuries covered.
- 386-3.5 Negotiation for benefit coverage. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any employer may determine the benefits and coverage of a policy required under this chapter through collective bargaining with an appropriate bargaining unit; provided that the bargained agreement shall be reviewed by the director to ensure that the agreement does not provide benefits and coverage less than those provided in this chapter. The director shall approve the agreement within ninety days after submittal upon a finding that the agreement provides the benefits and coverage required. This section shall not apply to collective bargaining contracts negotiated pursuant to chapter 89. The director may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement this section. (b) This section shall apply only to collective bargaining agreements negotiated subsequent to June 29, 1995. [L 1995, c 234, §1] Revision Note Section was enacted as an addition to part II, but was codified to this part pursuant to §23G-15. "June 29, 1995" substituted for "the effective date of this Act".
- 386-4 Voluntary coverage.
- 386-5 Exclusiveness of right to compensation; exception.
- 386-6 Territorial applicability.
- 386-7 Interstate and foreign commerce and maritime employment.
- 386-8 Liability of third person.
- 386-8.5 Limits of third party liability.
- 386-9 Contracting out forbidden.
- 386-10 Out of state employers.
A. Medical and Rehabilitation Benefits
- 386-21 Medical care, services, and supplies.
- 386-21.1 Medical care, services, and supplies for controverted claims. In the event of a controverted claim, the injured employee's private health care plan shall pay for or provide medical care, services, and supplies in accordance with the private health care contract. When the claim is accepted or determined to be compensable, the employer shall reimburse the private health care plan and the injured employee in amounts as authorized by this chapter and rules adopted by the director. [L 2018, c 107, pt of §2]
- 386-21.2 Treatment plans.
- 386-21.5 Publication of fees by prepaid health care plan contractors.
- 386-21.7 Prescription drugs; pharmaceuticals.
- 386-21.9 Medical care, services, and supplies for firefighters suffering from cancer. If a claim for leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or cancer of the lung, brain, stomach, esophagus, intestines, rectum, kidney, bladder, prostate, or testes filed by an employee with five or more years of service as a firefighter is accepted or determined to be compensable, section 386-21 shall remain applicable; provided that the employer shall be liable for medical care, services, and supplies for a minimum of one hundred ten per cent, and not to exceed one hundred fifty per cent of fees prescribed in the Medicare Resource Based Relative Value Scale applicable to Hawaii as prepared by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. [L 2018, c 107, pt of §2]
- 386-22 Artificial member and other aids.
- 386-23 Services of attendant.
- 386-23.5 Services of attendant, allowance adjustments.
- 386-23.6 Weekly benefit adjustments for recipients of services of attendants.
- 386-24 Medical rehabilitation.
- 386-25 Vocational rehabilitation.
- 386-26 Guidelines on frequency of treatment and reasonable utilization of health care and services.
- 386-27 Qualification and duties of health care providers.
- 386-28 Opioid therapy; qualifying injured employees; informed consent process.
- 386-29 Qualifying injured employees; initial concurrent prescriptions; opioids and benzodiazepines.
1. disability
- 386-31 Total disability.
- 386-32 Partial disability.
- 386-33 Subsequent injuries that would increase disability.
- 386-34 Payment after death.
- 386-35 Benefit adjustment.
- 386-41 Entitlement to and rate of compensation.
- 386-42 Dependents.
- 386-43 Duration of dependents' weekly benefits.
- 386-44 Effect of erroneous payment; insanity of beneficiary.
- 386-51 Computation of average weekly wages.
- 386-51.5 Limited liability in concurrent employment.
- 386-52 Credit for voluntary payments and supplies in kind.
- 386-53 Nonweekly periodic payments.
- 386-54 Commutation of periodic payments.
- 386-55 Trustee in case of lump sum payments.
- 386-56 Payment from the special compensation fund in case of default.
- 386-57 Legal status of right to compensation and compensation payments.
- 386-71 Duties and powers of the director in general.
- 386-71.5 Rehabilitation unit.
- 386-71.6 Workers' compensation benefits facilitator unit. (a) There is established within the department of labor and industrial relations the workers' compensation benefits facilitator unit. All professional and clerical employees of the unit shall be appointed by the director and shall be subject to chapter 76. (b) Facilitators of the unit shall have the following duties and responsibilities: (1) Assist injured workers in filing their workers' compensation claims under this chapter; (2) Assist insurers, employers, and providers; and (3) Facilitate the workers' compensation claims process. (c) All expenses incurred by the director in establishing the unit shall be paid from the special compensation fund. [L 1996, c 260, §1; am L 2000, c 253, §150]
- 386-72 Rulemaking powers.
- 386-73 Original jurisdiction over controversies.
- 386-73.5 Proceedings to determine employment and coverage.
- 386-74 to 386-77 REPEALED.
- 386-78 Compromise.
- 386-79 Medical examination by employer's physician.
- 386-80 Examination by impartial physician.
- 386-81 Notice of injury; waiver.
- 386-82 Claim for compensation; limitation of time.
- 386-83 When claim within specified time is unnecessary or waived.
- 386-84 Limitation of time with respect to minors and mentally incompetent.
- 386-85 Presumptions.
- 386-86 Proceedings upon claim; hearings.
- 386-87 Appeals to appellate board.
- 386-87.1 Standing to intervene in appeals.
- 386-88 Judicial review.
- 386-89 Reopening of cases; continuing jurisdiction of director.
- 386-90 Conforming prior decisions on appeal.
- 386-91 Enforcement of decisions awarding compensation; judgment rendered thereon.
- 386-92 Default in payments of compensation, penalty.
- 386-93 Costs.
- 386-94 Attorneys, physicians, other health care providers, and other fees
- 386-95 Reports of injuries, other reports, penalty.
- 386-96 Reports of physicians, surgeons, and hospitals.
- 386-97 Inspections.
- 386-97.5 Penalties. (a) Any person who, after twenty-one days written notice and the opportunity to be heard by the director, is found to have violated any provision of this chapter or rule adopted thereunder for which no penalty is otherwise provided, shall be fined no more than $500 for each offense. (b) All fines collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited into the special compensation fund created by section 386-151. [L 1991, c 107, §1; am L 2020, c 44, §8]
- 386-98 Fraud violations and penalties.
- 386-99 Posting of information.
- 386-100 Deductible option for medical benefits in insurance policy.
INJURED EMPLOYEES; FUNDS
A. Security for Compensation
- 386-121 Security for payment of compensation; misdemeanor.
- 386-122 Notice of insurance.
- 386-123 Failure to give security for compensation; penalty; injunction.
- 386-124 The insurance contract.
- 386-124.5 Insurer's requirements; failure to maintain claims service office; penalty; injunction.
- 386-125 Knowledge of employer imputed to insurance carrier.
- 386-126 Insolvency of employer not to release insurance carrier.
- 386-127 Cancellation of insurance contracts.
- 386-128 Insurance by the State, counties, and municipalities.
- 386-129 Employees not to pay for insurance; penalty.
- 386-151 Special compensation fund established and maintained.
- 386-152 Levy and charges to finance special compensation fund.
- 386-153 Levy on insurers of employers insured under section 386-121(a)(1).
- 386-154 Charge against employers not insured under section 386-121(a)(1).
- 386-154.5 Special assessments.
- 386-155 Expenses.
AND PUBLIC BOARD MEMBERS
A. Hawaii Guard
- 386-161 Who entitled to compensation.
- 386-162 Terms defined.
- 386-163 Administration.
- 386-164 Appropriation.
- 386-171 Volunteer personnel, medical, etc., expenses.
- 386-172 Administration and procedure.
- 386-173 Time for giving notice, etc.
- 386-174 Appropriation.
- 386-191 Scope.
- 386-192 Definitions.
- 386-193 Authority to act as workers' compensation self-insurance group.
- 386-194 Qualifications for initial approval and continued authority to act as a workers' compensation self-insurance group.
- 386-195 Certificate of approval; termination.
- 386-196 Examinations.
- 386-197 Board of trustees; membership, powers, duties, and prohibitions.
- 386-198 Group membership; termination, liability.
- 386-199 Service companies.
- 386-200 Licensing of producer
- 386-201 Financial statements and other reports.
- 386-202 Misrepresentation prohibited.
- 386-203 Investments.
- 386-204 Rates and reporting of rates.
- 386-205 Refunds.
- 386-206 Premium payment; reserves.
- 386-207 Deficits and insolvencies.
- 386-208 Guaranty mechanism.
- 386-209 Monetary penalties.
- 386-210 Cease and desist orders.
- 386-211 Revocation of certificate of approval.
- 386-212 Notice and hearing.
- 386-213 Rules.
- 386-214 Severability.
Note
Chapter heading amended by L 1975, c 41, 1.
This chapter is based on L 1963, c 116, which completely revised and reenacted this chapter. See also L 1975, c 41, 1.
For prior legislative history see: Chapter 97 in RLH 1955, vol 1; L 1957, cc 55, 78, 80, 81, 133, 134, 214, 215, and 216; L 1959, cc 48, 78, 185, 240, and 241; L 1961, cc 3, 5, 99, 115, and 152.
Cross References
Hawaii employers' mutual insurance company, see 431:14A-101 to 431:14A-119.
Leave sharing program, see 78-26.
Workers' compensation closed claims study by auditor; submission to 2018 legislature. L 2016, c 188.
Attorney General Opinions
Absent explicit inclusion, hanai children were not entitled to statutory benefits under workers' compensation laws. Att. Gen. Op. 93-1.
Neither the disability compensation division (DCD) nor the labor and industrial relations appeals board (LIRAB) is an "entity" for purposes of chapter 323C when it reviews, evaluates, and decides on claims for workers compensation; some provisions of chapter 323C apply to each in its adjudicatory capacity because the DCD and the LIRAB receive protected health information when they process workers compensation claims. Att. Gen. Op. 2000-2.
Law Journals and Reviews
Commentary on Selected Employment and Labor Law Decisions Under the Lum Court. 14 UH L. Rev. 423 (1992).
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Remedies Available to Victims in Hawai`i. 15 UH L. Rev. 453 (1993).
Hawai`i's Workers' Compensation Scheme: An Employer's License to Kill? 29 UH L. Rev. 211 (2006).
One-Sided Bargain? Assessing the Fairness of Hawai`i's Workers' Compensation Law. 31 UH L. Rev. 553 (2009).
The Jones Act Fish Farmer. 33 UH L. Rev. 223 (2010).
Case Notes
Exclusive remedy for assault and battery suffered during work. 634 F. Supp. 684 (1986).
Plaintiff failed to exhaust the administrative remedies provided to plaintiff by this chapter; prior to filing a separate suit for bad faith denial of benefits or payments, plaintiff must first exhaust all available administrative remedies before the department of labor and industrial relations, disability compensation division. 28 F. Supp. 2d 588 (1997).
This chapter does not bar claims based on the intentional conduct of an employer or employee because such claims are not based on "accidents" related to employment; plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim not barred by this chapter. 721 F. Supp. 2d 947 (2010).
Workers' compensation law is constitutional. 71 H. 358, 791 P.2d 1257 (1990).
Appeals board correctly determined that consequent medical expenses attributable to claimant's non-industrial motor vehicle accident were not covered by this chapter. 77 H. 152, 883 P.2d 73 (1994).
Claimant not precluded by exclusivity provision of 386-5 from seeking common law tort remedies against employer's insurer where injuries allegedly caused by insurer's denial of medical benefits and disability payments not "work injuries" within scope of this chapter. 83 H. 457, 927 P.2d 858 (1996).
