2006 Kansas Code - 44-551

      44-551.   Assistant directors, administrative law judges and special local administrative law judges; powers and duties, compensation, fees and expenses; review of findings and awards by board; delayed order on board review, effect; payment of medical compensation pending review. (a) The duties of the assistant directors of workers compensation shall include but not be limited to acting in the capacity of an administrative law judge.

      (b) (1)   Administrative law judges shall have power to administer oaths, certify official acts, take depositions, issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, accounts, papers, documents and records to the same extent as is conferred on the district courts of this state, and may conduct an investigation, inquiry or hearing on all matters before the administrative law judges. All final orders, awards, modifications of awards, or preliminary awards under K.S.A. 44-534a and amendments thereto made by an administrative law judge shall be subject to review by the board upon written request of any interested party within 10 days. Intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays shall be excluded in the time computation. Review by the board shall be a prerequisite to judicial review as provided for in K.S.A. 44-556 and amendments thereto. On any such review, the board shall have authority to grant or refuse compensation, or to increase or diminish any award of compensation or to remand any matter to the administrative law judge for further proceedings. The orders of the board under this subsection shall be issued within 30 days from the date arguments were presented by the parties.

      (2) (A)   If an administrative law judge has entered a preliminary award under K.S.A. 44-534a and amendments thereto, a review by the board shall not be conducted under this section unless it is alleged that the administrative law judge exceeded the administrative law judge's jurisdiction in granting or denying the relief requested at the preliminary hearing. Such an appeal from a preliminary award may be heard and decided by a single member of the board. Members of the board shall hear such preliminary appeals on a rotating basis and the individual board member who decides the appeal shall sign each such decision. The orders of the board under this subsection shall be issued within 30 days from the date arguments were presented by the parties.

      (B)   If an order on review is not issued by the board within the applicable time period prescribed by subsection (b) (1), medical compensation and any disability compensation as provided in the award of the administrative law judge shall be paid commencing with the first day after such time period and shall continue to be paid until the order of the board is issued, except that no payments shall be made under this provision for any period before the first day after such time period. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or restrict any other remedies available to any party to a claim under any other statute.

      (C)   In any case in which the final award of an administrative law judge is appealed to the board for review under this section and in which the compensability is not an issue to be decided on review by the board, medical compensation shall be payable in accordance with the award of the administrative law judge and shall not be stayed pending such review. The employee may proceed under K.S.A. 44-510k and amendments thereto and may have a hearing in accordance with that statute to enforce the provisions of this subsection.

      (c)   Each assistant director and each administrative law judge or special administrative law judge shall be allowed all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred while in the actual discharge of official duties in administering the workers compensation act, but such expenses shall be sworn to by the person incurring the same and be approved by the secretary.

      (d)   In case of emergency the director may appoint special local administrative law judges and assign to them the examination and hearing of any designated case or cases. Such special local administrative law judges shall be attorneys and admitted to practice law in the state of Kansas and shall, as to all cases assigned to them, exercise the same powers as provided by this section for the regular administrative law judges. Special local administrative law judges shall receive a fee commensurate with the services rendered as fixed by rules and regulations adopted by the director. The fees prescribed by this section prior to the effective date of this act shall be effective until different fees are fixed by such rules and regulations.

      (e)   All special local administrative law judge's fees and expenses, with the exception of settlement hearings, shall be paid from the workers compensation administration fee fund, as provided in K.S.A. 74-712 and amendments thereto. Where there are no available funds or where the special local administrative law judge conducted a settlement hearing, the fees shall be taxed as costs in each case heard by such special local administrative law judge and when collected shall be paid directly to such special local administrative law judge by the party charged with the payment of the same.

      (f)   Except as provided for judicial review under K.S.A. 44-556 and amendments thereto, the decisions and awards of the board shall be final.

      History:   L. 1927, ch. 232, § 36; L. 1953, ch. 245, § 1; L. 1955, ch. 250, § 9; L. 1957, ch. 293, § 6; L. 1961, ch. 243, § 3; L. 1967, ch. 280, § 11; L. 1969, ch. 246, § 3; L. 1971, ch. 179, § 1; L. 1976, ch. 225, § 1; L. 1976, ch. 370, § 21; L. 1980, ch. 146, § 11; L. 1983, ch. 168, § 2; L. 1986, ch. 318, § 55; L. 1990, ch. 183, § 8; Revived and amend., L. 1995, ch. 1, § 2; L. 1996, ch. 79, § 12; L. 1997, ch. 125, § 12; L. 2001, ch. 121, § 4; July 1.