2023 Indiana Code › Title 22. Labor and Safety › Article 8. Occupational Health and Safety › Chapter 1.1. Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Act (Iosha) › 22-8-1.1-35.7. Collection of Penalty Assessments; Judgment Liens

Sec. 35.7. (a) If an employer fails to pay a penalty assessed under this chapter within ten (10) calendar days of the date that the assessment is final under section 35.6 of this chapter, the commissioner or the commissioner's representative may file with the circuit court clerk of any county in which the employer owns any interest in property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, a warrant for the amount of the assessment and interest, if applicable. The commissioner or the commissioner's representative may also send the warrant to the sheriff of any county in which the employer owns real or personal property and direct the sheriff to file the warrant with the circuit court clerk.
(b) When the circuit court clerk receives the warrant from the commissioner, the commissioner's representative, or the sheriff, the clerk shall record the warrant by making an entry in the judgment debtor's column of the judgment record listing the following:
(1) The name of the employer stated in the warrant.
(2) The amount of the warrant.
(3) The date the warrant was filed with the clerk.
(c) When the entry is made, the total amount of the warrant becomes a judgment against the employer. The judgment creates a lien in favor of the state that attaches to all the employer's interest in any real or personal property in the county.
(d) At least thirty (30) calendar days before the date on which the commissioner intends to file a warrant as provided by subsection (a) in order to impose a lien on real or personal property, the commissioner or the commissioner's representative must send a written notice:
(1) to the owner of the real or personal property that would be subject to the lien; or
(2) if the owner of record cannot be identified, to the tenant or other person having control of the real or personal property;
of the date on which the commissioner or the commissioner's representative intends to file the warrant in order to impose a lien on the real or personal property. The commissioner or the commissioner's representative shall provide the circuit court clerk of the county in which the real or personal property that would be subject to the lien is located with a copy of the written notice described in this subsection.
(e) A judgment obtained under subsection (c) is valid for ten (10) years from the date the judgment is filed.
(f) A judgment obtained under subsection (c) shall be released by the commissioner:
(1) after the judgment, including all accrued interest to the date of payment, has been fully satisfied; or
(2) if the commissioner determines that the assessment or the issuance of the warrant was in error.
(g) If the commissioner determines that the filing of a warrant was in error, the commissioner or the commissioner's representative shall mail a release of the judgment to the employer and the circuit court clerk of each county where the warrant was filed. The commissioner or the commissioner's representative shall mail the release as soon as possible but not later than seven (7) calendar days after:
(1) the determination by the commissioner that the filing of the warrant was in error; and
(2) the receipt of information by the commissioner or the commissioner's representative that the judgment has been recorded under subsection (b).
(h) A release issued under subsection (g) must state that the filing of the warrant was in error.
(i) After a warrant becomes a judgment under subsection (c), the commissioner may levy upon the property of the employer that is held by a financial institution (as defined in IC 5-13-4-10) by sending a claim to the financial institution. Upon receipt of a claim under this subsection, the financial institution shall surrender to the commissioner or the commissioner's representative the employer's property. If the amount or value of the employer's property exceeds the amount owed to the state by the employer, the financial institution shall surrender the employer's property in an amount equal to the amount owed. After receiving the commissioner's notice of levy, the financial institution is required to place a sixty (60) day hold or restriction on the withdrawal of funds the employer has on deposit or subsequently deposits, in an amount not to exceed the amount owed.
As added by P.L.33-2009, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.1-2010, SEC.89.