reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 152 § 26 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 26 - Injuries Arising Out of and in Course of Employment

Section 26. If an employee who has not given notice of his claim of common law rights of action under section twenty-four, or who has given such notice and has waived the same, receives a personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, or arising out of an ordinary risk of the street while actually engaged, with his employer's authorization, in the business affairs or undertakings of his employer, and whether within or without the commonwealth, he shall be paid compensation by the insurer or self-insurer, as hereinafter provided; provided, that as to an injury occurring without the commonwealth he has not given notice of his claim of rights of action under the laws of the jurisdiction wherein such injury occurs or has given such notice and has waived it. For the purposes of this section any person, while operating or using a motor or other vehicle, whether or not belonging to his employer, with his employer's general authorization or approval, in the performance of work in connection with the business affairs or undertakings of his employer, and whether within or without the commonwealth, and any person who, while engaged in the usual course of his trade, business, profession or occupation, is ordered by an employer, or by a person exercising superintendence on behalf of such employer, to perform work which is not in the usual course of such work, trade, business, profession or occupation, and while so performing such work, receives a personal injury, shall be conclusively presumed to be an employee, and if an employee while acting in the course of his employment receives injury resulting from frost bite, heat exhaustion or sunstroke, without having voluntarily assumed increased peril not contemplated by his contract of employment, or is injured by reason of the physical activities of fellow employees in which he does not participate, whether or not such activities are associated with the employment, such injury shall be conclusively presumed to have arisen out of the employment.  If an employee is injured by reason of such physical activities of fellow employees and the department finds that such activities are traceable solely and directly to a physical or mental condition resulting from the service of any of such fellow employees in the armed forces of the United States, the entire amount of compensation that may be found due shall be paid by the insurer, self-insurer or self-insurance group; provided, however, that upon an order or pursuant to an approved agreement of the department, the insurer, self-insurer or self-insurance group shall be reimbursed by the state treasurer from the trust fund established by section sixty-five for all amounts of compensation paid under this section.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 26a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 26a - Suicide

Section 26A. Dependents shall not be precluded from recovery under this chapter, nor shall the insurance company be relieved from making payment to the commonwealth under section sixty-five, for death by suicide of the employee, if it be shown by the weight of the evidence that, due to the injury, the employee was of such unsoundness of mind as to make him irresponsible for his act of suicide.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 26b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 26b - Concurrent Service of Two or More Employers; Joint and Several Liability of Insurers

Section 26B. When an employee employed in the concurrent service of two or more insured employers receives a personal injury compensable under this chapter while performing a duty which is common to such employers, the liability of their insurers under this chapter shall be joint and several. Each insurer or self-insurer liable under this section shall pay compensation according to the proportion of the wages paid by its insured in relation to the concurrent wage which the employee received from all insured employers.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 27 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 27 - Willful Misconduct of Employee

Section 27. If the employee is injured by reason of his serious and wilful misconduct, he shall not receive compensation; but this provision shall not bar compensation to his dependents if the injury results in death.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 27a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 27a - False Representation of Physical Condition by Employee; Right to Benefits

Section 27A. In any claim for compensation where it is found that at the time of hire the employee knowingly and willfully made a false representation as to his physical condition and the employer relied upon the false representation in hiring such employee, when such employee knew or should have known that it was unlikely he could fulfill the duties of the job without incurring a serious injury, then the employee shall, if an injury related to the condition misrepresented occurs, not be entitled to benefits under this chapter. Retention of an employee who rectifies any misrepresentation made to his employer regarding his physical condition subsequent to the hire but prior to the injury shall restore any right to compensation under this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 28 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 28 - Wilful Misconduct of Employer; Defense; Reimbursement of Insurer; Employment of Minor; Mentally Retarded Persons; Injuries at Sheltered Workshops

Section 28. If the employee is injured by reason of the serious and wilful misconduct of an employer or of any person regularly intrusted with and exercising the powers of superintendence, the amounts of compensation hereinafter provided shall be doubled. In case the employer is insured, he shall repay to the insurer the extra compensation paid to the employee. If a claim is made under this section, and the employer is insured, the employer may appear and defend against such claim only. The employment of any minor, known to be such, in violation of any provision of sections sixty to seventy-four, inclusive, or of section one hundred and four of chapter one hundred and forty-nine shall constitute serious and wilful misconduct under this section.  As used in this section the term ''minor'' shall include mentally retarded persons eighteen years of age or older unless:  (1) the employment takes place in a sheltered workshop which holds either a license from the department of developmental services or accreditation from the commission on accreditation of rehabilitation facilities; and  (2) a professional vocational specialist evaluates the employee at the employment site, for the specific job performed and such evaluation determines in writing that the employee is appropriate for and capable of such employment; and  (3) the employee has agreed in writing to the written rehabilitation plan or to an accurate verbal description of such written plan.  The division of administration shall keep statistical records on injuries that occur at sheltered workshops. If there appears to be a pattern of such injuries at a particular sheltered workshop, the office of claims administration shall notify the department of developmental services and such department shall take whatever action it deems appropriate.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 29 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 29 - Required Period of Incapacitation; Personnel Actions

Section 29. No compensation pursuant to section thirty-four or thirty-five shall be paid for any injury which does not incapacitate the employee from earning full wages for a period of five or more calendar days. If incapacity extends for a period of twenty-one days or more, compensation shall be paid from the date of onset of incapacity. If incapacity extends for a period of at least five but less than twenty-one days, compensation shall be paid from the sixth day of incapacity. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no compensation shall be paid for any period for which any wages were earned. No mental or emotional disability arising principally out of a bona fide, personnel action including a transfer, promotion, demotion, or termination except such action which is the intentional infliction of emotional harm shall be deemed to be a personal injury within the meaning of this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 30a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 30a - Medical Reports

Section 30A. Any medical report pertaining to an injury which appears to be compensable shall be furnished by the physician or other medical provider to the employee, the insurer, and the department within fourteen days of completion of the examination of the employee. Each failure to comply with such reporting requirement shall be punishable by a civil fine to be determined by the director of administration, of not less than twenty-five nor greater than one thousand dollars. A schedule of incremental increases relative to violations shall be determined by the commissioner.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 30e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 30e - Development of Voluntary Agreements

Section 30E. It shall be the policy of the department to encourage and assist in the development of voluntary agreements between injured employees and insurers to provide and utilize vocational rehabilitation services when necessary to return such employees to suitable gainful employment. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement such policy.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 30f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 30f - Identification of Cases in Which Vocational Rehabilitation Services May Be Required

Section 30F. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the identification and reporting to the office of education and vocational rehabilitation of cases in which vocational rehabilitation services may be required.  The purpose of said rules and regulations shall be to facilitate the earliest possible identification of such cases.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 30g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 30g - Meetings With Injured Employees Requiring Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Section 30G. The office of education and vocational rehabilitation shall contact and meet with each injured employee who it believes may require vocational rehabilitation services in order to return to suitable employment. Any such employee who refuses to meet with the office of education and vocational rehabilitation shall not be entitled to weekly compensation benefits during the period of such refusal. An insurer may reduce by fifteen percent the weekly benefits payable to any employee deemed suitable for vocational rehabilitation services by said office when such employee refuses such services, during the period of such refusal. No lump sum settlement shall be reached between an insurer and any employee who has been deemed suitable for vocational rehabilitation services by the office of education and vocational rehabilitation who has not completed an appropriate rehabilitation program pursuant to this section thirty, without the express written consent of said office. Any employee aggrieved by a reduction in weekly benefits or the prohibition of a lump sum settlement under this section may file a claim for reinstatement of such benefits or removal of such prohibition; provided, however, that compensation shall not be reinstated nor the settlement allowed unless the claimant demonstrates that no vocational rehabilitation program of any kind would be appropriate for such claimant.  The commissioner shall provide by rule a procedure for promptly following up on such meeting by assisting an employee who needs rehabilitation services to obtain such services from the insurer, and shall monitor the progress of rehabilitation agreements and programs.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 30h (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 30h - Applications for Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Section 30H. If the insurer and employee fail to agree to a vocational rehabilitation program, the employee may apply to the office of education and vocational rehabilitation for vocational rehabilitation services. The office shall determine if vocational rehabilitation is necessary and feasible to return the employee to suitable employment. Such determination by the office shall be final and not subject to review by the board or reviewing board, but may be appealed to the commissioner. If the office determines that vocational rehabilitation is necessary and feasible, it shall promptly develop, after such consultation as it judges reasonable with the employee and the insurer, an appropriate program of no greater that one hundred and four weeks for the employee. It shall inform the insurer and the employee of its determination and of the program developed. The insurer shall have ten days in which to review such determination and program. If the insurer refuses to provide the vocational rehabilitation program developed by the office, the office shall provide it to the employee with trust fund money pursuant to section sixty-five. The commissioner shall provide by rule for efficient procedures and quality controls in the office's management of such programs, which may be carried out under contract by private rehabilitation service providers. If, upon the completion of the program, the office determines that the program was successful and returned the employee to suitable employment, it shall assess the insurer no less than twice the cost incurred by the office and such assessment shall be paid into said trust fund. The insurer may contest any aspect of the assessment by filing a complaint with the division of dispute resolution. The injured employee shall not be a party to such proceedings.  A public employer or public employer self-insurance group which has filed a notice of non-participation according to the provisions of section sixty-five, and which has appealed the determination of the office to the commissioner as specified above shall be bound by the decision of the commissioner and, if required by such decision, shall provide the vocational rehabilitation program developed by the office. Such decision shall be enforceable in the same manner as an order pursuant to section twelve.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 30i (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 30i - Availability of New Jobs and Job Training Programs

Section 30I. The department shall assist and cooperate with the department of unemployment assistance, the United States Department of Labor, and any other appropriate state or federal agency, in attempting to make available to disabled employees eligible to receive compensation benefits, new jobs and job training programs, including, but not limited to, those conducted under the job training partnership act of nineteen hundred and eighty-two and successor programs. The department of unemployment assistance shall assist in such efforts.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 33 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 33 - Burial Expenses

Section 33. In all cases, the insurer shall pay the reasonable expenses of burial, not exceeding 8 times the average weekly wage in the commonwealth as determined pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29 of chapter 151A.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 34 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 34 - Total Incapacity; Compensation

Section 34. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is total, during each week of incapacity the insurer shall pay the injured employee compensation equal to sixty percent of his or her average weekly wage before the injury, but not more than the maximum weekly compensation rate, unless the average weekly wage of the employee is less than the minimum weekly compensation rate, in which case said weekly compensation shall be equal to his average weekly wage.  The total number of weeks of compensation due the employee under this section shall not exceed one hundred fifty-six.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 34a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 34a - Permanent and Total Incapacity; Compensation

Section 34A. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is both permanent and total, the insurer shall pay to the injured employee, following payment of compensation provided in sections thirty-four and thirty-five, a weekly compensation equal to two-thirds of his average weekly wage before the injury, but not more than the maximum weekly compensation rate nor less than the minimum weekly compensation rate.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 34b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 34b - Review Date; Supplemental Benefits to Secs. 31 or 34a

Section 34B. October first of each year shall be the review date for the purposes of this section.  Any person receiving or entitled to receive benefits under the provisions of section thirty-one or section thirty-four A whose benefits are based on a date of personal injury at least twenty-four months prior to the review date shall have his weekly benefit adjusted, without application, in accordance with the following provisions; provided, however, that no increase in benefits shall be payable which would reduce any benefits the recipient is receiving pursuant to federal social security law.  (a) The director of administration shall determine the percentage change between the average weekly wage in the commonwealth on the date of the injury and the average weekly wage in the commonwealth on the review date. For purposes of this section, no increase in the average weekly wage in the commonwealth shall exceed the lesser of the following: (i) the percentage change in the most recent annual consumer price index calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the northeast region for all urban consumers; (ii) five percent.  (b) The death benefit under section thirty-one or the permanent and total disability benefit under section thirty-four A that was being paid prior to any adjustments under this section shall be the base benefit. The base benefit shall be changed on each review date by the percentage change as calculated in paragraph (a); the resulting amount shall be termed the adjusted benefit and is the amount of benefit to be paid on and after the review date. If the adjusted benefit is larger than the base benefit, the difference shall be termed the supplemental benefit. In no instance shall the adjusted benefit under this section be greater than three times the base benefit.  (c) The supplemental benefits under this section shall be paid by the insurer concurrent with the base benefit. Insurers shall be entitled to quarterly reimbursements for supplemental benefits, pursuant to section sixty-five, for cases involving injuries that occurred on or before October first, nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and for those cases occurring thereafter, to the extent such supplemental benefits are due to the increase of greater than five percent in the average weekly wage in the commonwealth in any single year. No self-insurer, self-insurance group or municipality that has chosen non-participation in the assessment provisions for funding such reimbursements pursuant to section sixty-five shall be entitled to such reimbursements.
MA Gen L ch 152 § 35 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXI - Labor and Industries|Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation|Section 35 - Partial Incapacity; Compensation

Section 35. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is partial, during each week of incapacity the insurer shall pay the injured employee a weekly compensation equal to sixty percent of the difference between his or her average weekly wage before the injury and the weekly wage he or she is capable of earning after the injury, but not more than seventy-five percent of what such employee would receive if he or she were eligible for total incapacity benefits under section thirty-four. An insurer may reduce the amount paid to an employee under this section to the amount at which the employee's combined weekly earnings and benefits are equal to two times the average weekly wage in the commonwealth at the time of such reduction.  The total number of weeks of compensation due the employee under this section shall not exceed two hundred sixty; provided, however, that this number may be extended to five hundred twenty if an insurer agrees or an administrative judge finds that the employee has, as a result of a personal injury under this chapter, suffered a permanent loss of seventy-five percent or more of any bodily function or sense specified in paragraph (a), (b), (e), (f), (g), or (h) of subsection (1) of section thirty-six, developed a permanently life-threatening physical condition, or contracted a permanently disabling occupational disease which is of a physical nature and cause. Where applicable, losses under this section shall be determined in accordance with standards set forth in the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairments. Where the insurer agrees or the administrative judge finds such permanent partial disability as is described in this paragraph, the total number of weeks the employee may receive benefits under both this section and section thirty-four shall not exceed five hundred twenty. Where there has been no such agreement or finding the number of weeks the employee may receive benefits under these sections shall not exceed three hundred sixty-four.