2025 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 342 - Workers' compensation 342.230 Appointment, qualifications, terms, and duties of administrative law judges -- Exemption from classified service -- Removal provisions -- Vacancies -- Chief administrative law judge.
Universal Citation:
KY Rev Stat § 342.230 (2025)
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342.230
Appointment, qualifications, terms, and duties of administrative law
judges -- Exemption from classified service -- Removal provisions -- Vacancies
-- Chief administrative law judge.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
The commissioner with the assistance of the board shall train and instruct the
administrative law judges on an ongoing basis; assign cases; and monitor the
caseloads of the administrative law judges and the Workers' Compensation Board to
ensure timely disposition of cases; keep and be the custodian of the records of the
board and the administrative law judges; annually report the activities of the board
and the administrative law judges to the Governor; and devote his or her full time to
the duties of his or her office. The commissioner shall be paid a salary not less than
the salary of a member of the board.
The Governor shall appoint, with the consent of the Senate in accordance with KRS
11.160 for a term of four (4) years, not more than nineteen (19) administrative law
judges, each of whom shall be an attorney and shall have five (5) years' experience
in the Commonwealth in the practice of workers' compensation law or a related
field, and extensive knowledge of workers' compensation law, and shall be paid the
same salary as a Circuit Judge. Each newly appointed administrative law judge
shall not assume his or her office until June 1 following confirmation by the Senate.
Administrative law judges who are reappointed shall continue to serve in their
capacity until the reappointment is confirmed by the Senate or the Senate adjourns
without confirming the appointment. Each administrative law judge shall be exempt
from the classified service, and his or her support staff may be exempt from the
classified service. Each administrative law judge may be employed for additional
terms with the consent of the Senate in accordance with KRS 11.160. The
Governor, at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of a term of an
administrative law judge, shall provide the name of the individual whom he or she
intends to appoint to the position to the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee
on Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor. These administrative law judges
shall conduct hearings, and otherwise supervise the presentation of evidence and
perform any other duties assigned to them by statute and shall render final
decisions, orders, or awards. Administrative law judges may, in receiving evidence,
make rulings affecting the competency, relevancy, and materiality of the evidence
about to be presented and upon motions presented during the taking of evidence as
will expedite the preparation of the case.
To ensure that the administrative law judges perform their responsibilities
competently and issue decisions consistent with this chapter, the commissioner
shall, at least twice annually, conduct training and education seminars in workers'
compensation law; administrative law; and methods and procedures for writing
well-reasoned, clear, correct, and concise opinions, orders, or awards.
The Governor may at any time remove the commissioner or any member of the
board. The commissioner may remove any administrative law judge. A member of
the board or an administrative law judge may be removed for good cause, including
violation of the code of judicial ethics or the code of ethics applicable to the
executive branch of the Commonwealth. In addition, an administrative law judge or
a member of the board may be removed for the persistent or repeated failure to
(5)
(6)
(7)
perform satisfactorily the specific duties assigned in this chapter, including the
requirement of timely disposition of cases, review of attorney's fees, and failure to
attend training and continuing education programs required by this section.
Any vacancy in the term of an administrative law judge, which occurs prior to the
expiration of the term, shall be filled if necessary by appointment of the Governor
in accordance with subsection (2) of this section within sixty (60) days from the
date the vacancy occurs, with the consent of the Senate in accordance with KRS
11.160, for the remainder of the term. An administrative law judge appointed to fill
an unexpired term shall immediately assume the office subject to the confirmation
by the Senate in accordance with KRS 11.160 for the remainder of the term.
Any administrative law judge not currently pending confirmation by the Senate
with a term expiring on or before:
(a) December 1, 2025, shall continue serving a term that shall expire on June 1,
2026;
(b) December 1, 2026, shall continue serving a term that shall expire on June 1,
2027;
(c) December 1, 2027, shall continue serving a term that shall expire on June 1,
2028; or
(d) December 1, 2028, shall continue serving a term that shall expire on June 1,
2029.
One (1) of the administrative law judges appointed pursuant to this section shall be
appointed as a chief administrative law judge, to have the same qualifications,
powers, duties, and requirements as those of other administrative law judges. The
chief administrative law judge shall not be assigned regular dockets but shall
instead assist the commissioner by doing all scheduling of the administrative law
judges, handling dockets assigned to the administrative law judges in case of an
emergency, providing supervision of the administrative law judges, and providing
educational opportunities for the administrative law judges. The chief
administrative law judge shall be paid at the same rate as the administrative law
judges plus an additional three thousand dollars ($3,000) per year. At any time the
commissioner may replace the chief administrative law judge with one (1) of the
other administrative law judges at which time the former chief administrative law
judge shall resume the duties assigned to the other administrative law judges
pursuant to this chapter. On January 1, 1998, the commissioner shall employ a
person in this position for a four (4) year term.
Effective: June 27, 2025
History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 93, sec. 4, effective June 27, 2025. -- Amended
2021 Ky. Acts ch. 124, sec. 7, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended 2017 Ky. Acts
ch. 82, sec. 8, effective June 29, 2017; and ch. 134, sec. 10, effective June 29, 2017. - Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 1801, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended
2000 Ky. Acts ch. 514, sec. 12, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1996 (1st Extra.
Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 10, effective December 12, 1996. -- Amended 1994 Ky.
Acts ch. 181, Part 3, sec. 12, effective April 4, 1994. -- Amended 1964 Ky. Acts ch.
192, sec. 16. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 33, sec. 1, effective March 7, 1990, -Amended 1987 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 25, effective January 4, 1988. - Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 414, sec. 37, effective July 13, 1984, -- Amended
1976 Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 5. -- Amended 1954 Ky. Acts ch. 222, sec. 2. -Amended 1948 Ky. Acts ch. 64, sec. 13. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1,
effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 4618-112, 4923.
Legislative Research Commission Note (2/1/2018). Under the authority of KRS
7.136(1)(h), a reference to "subsection (3) of this section" in subsection (5) of this
statute has been changed to "subsection (2) of this section" by the Reviser of Statutes
following the enactment of 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 10, which deleted a
subsection from KRS 342.230 and renumbered the subsequent subsections, but
overlooked the internal subsection reference in the existing language.
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