reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 4a - Additional compensation

In those cases that the injury, occupational disease or death which entitles the worker, employee, or their beneficiaries to compensation pursuant to this chapter, have been caused as a result of violations to §§ 361—361aa of Title 29, or of the rules and regulations approved by virtue thereof, duly notified and not corrected within the term prescribed by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, the injured worker, or his/her beneficiaries in case of death, shall be entitled to receive additional compensation equal to three (3) times that established in this chapter.
The additional compensation provided herein shall be paid by the Administrator, all at once, from the Fund for Uninsured Employers’ Cases. The amount of said additional compensation shall be billed to the employer and shall constitute a lien on all his/her property, making it available, as provided in this chapter, for the collection of the compensation in the case of uninsured employers. The sums to be paid by virtue of this section shall not be taken into account for the purposes of fixing premiums.
The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources and the Administrator of the Corporation of the State Insurance Fund, shall jointly establish the regulations needed to process, the handling by among both agencies, for the additional compensation payment. The regulations herein authorized shall be completed within sixty (60) days from the effective date of this act.
The employer may appeal the Administrator’s decision imposing additional compensation before the Industrial Commission within a term of thirty (30) days after having been served.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, added as § 3-B on June 6, 1967, No. 111, § 1, p. 350; June 27, 1987, No. 50, § 1, p. 170; Sept. 6, 1996, No. 200, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 5 - Excepted cases of accidents

Accidents occurring under the following circumstances are not compensable labor accidents, and, therefore, shall not entitle a workman or employee, or his heirs, to compensation under this chapter:
(1) When the workman or employee attempts to commit a crime or to injure his employer or any other person, or when he wilfully causes himself the injury.
(2) When the workman or employee is intoxicated, provided such intoxication is the cause of the accident.
(3) When the recklessness of the workman or employee is the sole cause of the injury.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 4; May 7, 1962, No. 7, p. 6, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 7 - Reinstatement following disability

In the cases of working disability according to the provisions of this chapter, the employer shall be under the obligation to reserve the job filled by the laborer or employee at the time the accident occurred, and to reinstate him/her therein, subject to the following conditions:
(1) That the laborer or employee demand reinstatement from his/her employer in his/her job within the period of fifteen (15) days counted from the date the laborer or employee is discharged from treatment or authorized to work with the right to receive treatment, and provided such demand is not made after the lapse of twelve (12) months from the date of the accident;
(2) that the laborer or employee be mentally and physically fit to fill said job at the time he/she demands reinstatement from his/her employer, and
(3) that said job still exists at the time the laborer or employee demands reinstatement. (The job shall be understood to exist when the same is vacant or is being filled by another laborer or employee. The job shall be presumed to be vacant when the same was filled by another laborer or employee within thirty (30) days following the date in which the demand for reinstatement was made.)
If the employer does not comply with the provisions of this section, he/she shall be under the obligation to pay the laborer or employee or his/her beneficiaries the wages said laborer or employee would have received if reinstated; also, the employer shall be responsible for all damages he/she has caused him/her. The laborer or employee or his/her beneficiaries may prosecute and file the corresponding claim for reinstatement and/or damages in court through ordinary proceedings or through the procedure for claiming wages set up by §§ 3118—3132 of Title 32.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, added as § 5-A on Apr. 18, 1950, No. 48, p. 126, § 1; June 5, 1973, No. 101, p. 435, § 1; June 24, 2004, No. 162, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 9 - Delay in deciding cases

In case the Manager of the State Fund delays for more than one month, without justified cause, the decision of a complete case submitted for its consideration, the workman or the employer, who are necessary parties to said case, or any interested party may complain to the Industrial Commission compelling the Manager to decide the case; and if it should be necessary, the Commission may also order the Manager to forward the record of the case to said Commission for the purpose of assuming jurisdiction therein and of deciding it; but before assuming jurisdiction in a case and deciding it, the Commission shall give the Manager a reasonable opportunity to close and decide said case.
In the exercise of its duties and powers, the Manager of the State Fund or any of its employees designated by him, as well as the Industrial Commission and the employees designated by it, are hereby authorized to summon witnesses, administer oaths, and take evidence, and in complying with these provisions they may issue subpoenas and compel the appearance of witnesses and the presentation of documentary and any other evidence. They may visit and inspect buildings, machinery, and other property where an accident has occurred; and may also utilize in their investigations the services of justices of the peace and District judges, prosecuting attorneys, marshals of First Instance and District courts, Police Force, and all agents of the Department of Labor and Human Resources and of the Department of the Treasury.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 10 - Depositions and rogatory letters

Upon written request of the Manager of the State Fund or of the Industrial Commission or of any commissioner thereof, together with interrogatories and cross-interrogatories, if any, filed with the secretary of any part of the First Instance or District Court, or of any justice of the peace, the pertinent judge shall issue the proper orders to take depositions of witnesses residing in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or abroad, or letters rogatory to courts of any State of the United States or of a foreign country, as in any other case pending before said magistrate; and upon the return of said depositions or answers to letters rogatory, the same shall be opened by the secretary of the court or peace court issuing such depositions or letters rogatory, which secretary shall note on the back or at the foot thereof, the date when said deposition or answers to letters rogatory were received, and the same shall forthwith be sent to the Manager or to the Industrial Commission, as the case may be. The stipend of witnesses appearing before the Manager or before the Industrial Commission or a commissioner thereof, shall be six dollars ($6) for room and board, in accordance with regulations approved for the purpose, and in addition, transportation expenses. The part of the First Instance or District Court or the peace court in whose jurisdiction the accident occurred may enforce the provisions of this section relating to compulsory appearance, taking of witnesses’ oaths, and examination of books and documents.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 8; June 15, 1955, No. 70, p. 258, § 1; Apr. 20, 1970, No. 13, p. 33, § 1, eff. 90 days after Apr. 20, 1970.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 13 - Proceedings for tutorship and declaration of heirs

The Industrial Commission may take cognizance of the proceedings for tutorship in the case of minors and mentally disabled adults covered by this chapter, exclusively as regards payment of the compensations awarded by the Manager.
In cases where it may be necessary to determine the heirs of a deceased workman or employee, the Manager shall give notice thereof to the Secretary of Justice so that before the proper part of the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico and by the prosecuting attorney thereof, by any law clerk empowered to act as prosecuting attorney, or by any private attorney at the request of an interested party, all the proper steps may be taken until the declaration of heirs of the deceased workman or employee has been obtained in accordance with the provisions of law; Provided, That this kind of proceeding shall be prosecuted with all urgency by the court without the need of being included in the special docket; and Provided, further, That no costs or fees whatever shall be collected by the court or by its officials for the proceedings or the approval of such cases, or for the certificates issued for the use of the Manager or of the Commission. The officials in charge of the vital statistics and civil registers in each municipality shall issue gratis such certificates as may be necessary for the said purpose. In case it should be necessary for the purpose of awarding a compensation to the beneficiaries of the deceased workman or employee, that an action of filiation be instituted, the same procedure shall be followed as that hereinbefore expressed and without payment of fees of any kind.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 12; Apr. 24, 1951, No. 112, p. 242, § 1; renumbered as § 10 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 14 - Record and report of all accidents

Every employer shall keep a record of all injuries whether serious or slight, suffered by his/her workers or employees in the course of their employment or of such diseases as are covered under the chapter. Within five days after an accident occurs, the employer shall file a written report with the Administrator of the State Insurance Fund Corporation in forms furnished by him/her. Said report shall contain the title and the nature of the occupation of the worker or employee, the wages he/she earns, the location of the establishment, the name, age, gender and occupation of the injured worker or employee, the date and time of any accident that caused the injury, the nature and cause of the injury and any other information required.
Those employers who refuse or neglect to make the reports required by this section shall be sanctioned by the Court of First Instance, Superior Part, with a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
Every employer who intentionally or maliciously unduly reports to the Administrator of the State Insurance Fund Corporation a case concerning a work-related accident shall be liable for all expenses incurred because of said report. Every employer who reports as his/her an accident suffered by a worker or employee who works for an employer who, in violation of the law has not been insured, shall incur a misdemeanor and be sanctioned with a term of imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months or with a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or with both penalties at the discretion of the court. Expenses as well as fines shall be enforced on the property of the employer. Provided, That the court, at its discretion, may impose the penalty of community services in lieu of the penalty of imprisonment.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 13, renumbered as § 11 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Sept. 16, 2004, No. 343, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 15 - Hospital records as admissible evidence

Copies of hospital records kept in accordance with law and certified by the persons in custody thereof to be true and complete, shall be admissible as evidence in proceedings before the Manager, the Supreme Court, the Industrial Commission, or any commissioner.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 14, renumbered as § 12 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 17 - Accidents not included

In all cases of disease, injury, or death occurring to workmen or employees not subject to the provisions of this chapter, the liability of said employer is and shall be the same as if this chapter did not exist, regardless of any action which the prejudiced workman or employee may have in accordance with the provisions of § 5141 of Title 31, and the action shall be heard by the part of the Court of First Instance in which the accident occurred.
In such cases, nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed in the sense of depriving the injured workman or employee, or his beneficiaries in case of death, of their right to claim and obtain damages from the employer, in accordance with the injuries suffered by said workman or employee.
In these actions for damages, and as if this chapter were not applicable, the prejudiced workman or employee or his beneficiaries shall have the right, without filing a bond, to attach the property of the employer in the amount determined by the court to insure the satisfaction of such judgment as may be rendered, and such attachment shall include attorney’s fees to be fixed by the court.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 16, renumbered as § 14 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 18 - Penalty for failure to insure

Failure to insure the payment of the compensation as provided in § 19 of this title, shall constitute a misdemeanor to be sanctioned with a term of imprisonment of not more than six (6) months or with a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or with both penalties at the discretion of the court. In case of recidivism both penalties shall be imposed and failure to post the written or printed notice stating the fact of being insured as also provided in § 19 of this title shall constitute a misdemeanor and be sanctioned with a term of imprisonment of not more than six (6) months or with a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or with both penalties at the discretion of the court; Provided, That the complaint shall be filed by the Administrator of the State Insurance Fund Corporation, by his/her agents, or by any agent of the Department of Labor and Human Resources or of the Treasury, to whom the Administrator may delegate, or by any law enforcement officer, before the part of the Court of First Instance where the works of the employer have been conducted and in case the works of the employer extend to more than one judicial district, then before any of these.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 17; Apr. 22, 1942, No. 43, p. 454, § 1; June 26, 1959, No. 88, p. 246, § 1; renumbered as § 15 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Sept. 16, 2004, No. 343, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 19 - Compulsory insurance

Every employer included in the provisions of this chapter shall be bound to insure his/her workers or employees in the State Insurance Fund concerning the compensation they may receive for injuries, illness or death, and shall post a clearly legible written or/and printed notice in a conspicuous place announcing the fact that he/she is insured. Provided, That when the employer gets his/her policy, the Corporation shall give him/her the “printed notice.” Once the employer has made the quarterly payment, the Corporation shall give him/her a transparent sticker to be attached to the printed notice, indicating the year and quarter covered by the payment.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 18; May 13, 1947, No. 384, p. 734, § 1; Apr. 25, 1950, No. 100, p. 256, § 1; June 22, 1957, No. 94, p. 439, § 6; renumbered as § 16 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Sept. 16, 2004, No. 343, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 20 - Employer to report all wages

Every insured employer shall, on reporting his annual payrolls, include in said payrolls the wages paid to all the workmen and employees working for or employed by him, whether by the job or under some person with whom the employer contracted for the job, or under a contractor or independent subcontractor employed or contracted by said employer; and all accounts or taxes collected by the State shall be based on the employer’s current payroll in which shall be included the above-mentioned laborers; Provided, That this provision shall not be applicable to employers for who work is done by an independent contractor who is insured as an employer under the provisions of this chapter.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 19, renumbered as § 17 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 21 - Exclusiveness of remedy

When an employer insures his workmen or employees in accordance with this chapter, the right herein established to obtain compensation shall be the only remedy against the employer, even in those cases where maximum compensations and benefits have been granted in accordance thereof; but in case of accident to, or disease or death of, the workmen or employees not entitled to compensation under this chapter, the liability of the employer is, and shall continue to be, the same as if this chapter did not exist.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 20; June 21, 1968, No. 103, p. 192, § 2; renumbered as § 18 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 22 - Assignment of insurance

If any employer, whether an individual, a firm, a partnership, an association, or a corporation, transfers the business during the period for which such employer is insured, to another employer, whether an individual, a firm, a partnership, an association, or a corporation, the Manager of the State Fund may, by means of written notice and with the consent of both the originally insured employer and the employer to whom the business is assigned, cede to his successor all the rights, credits, and obligations pertaining to the employer originally insured, and in such case the name of the assignee shall be substituted for the name of the originally insured employer in all accounts, records, and other matters pertaining to the former for the remainder of the term for which the first employer was insured.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 21, renumbered as § 19 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 23 - Agreement between employers and workers, prohibited

No agreement made by an employee or a worker to pay any portion of the premiums paid by his/her employer shall be valid; and any employer who, for such a purpose makes a deduction from the wages or salary of any employee or worker entitled to the benefits of this chapter, or who obtains from the employee or worker a receipt stating that said employee or worker received as full payment of his/her compensation a sum of money other than the one that was really paid, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a penalty of imprisonment for a term not to exceed six (6) months or to a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 22, renumbered as § 20 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Sept. 16, 2004, No. 343, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 27 - Adjustment of premiums

At the end of each fiscal year, the Manager shall compare the payroll of each employer paying premiums in accordance with this chapter for such fiscal year, with the payroll of the preceding fiscal year on the basis of which the premiums were assessed, levied and collected; and if the payroll for the year during which the insurance was effective is greater than that of the previous fiscal year for which said premiums were assessed, levied, and collected, the Manager shall assess and levy, and shall collect, on the difference, as provided in this chapter, additional premiums in the same manner and on the same basis as the original premiums were assessed, levied, and collected; and if the payroll for the year during which the insurance was effective is less than that of the previous fiscal year for which the premiums were assessed, levied, and collected, the Manager of the State Insurance Fund shall refund or credit, without interest or discount, from the State Insurance Fund, the proportion of the premiums corresponding to the difference between the actual payroll for the year during which the insurance was effective, and the year for which said premiums were assessed, levied, and collected, if the Manager can verify to his full satisfaction that the wages, salaries and other remunerations declared by the employer in the statement or report hereinafter provided for have been correctly stated.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 26; Apr. 22, 1942, No. 43, p. 454, § 1; June 26, 1959, No. 88, p. 246, § 1; May 30, 1970, No. 78, p. 195, § 1; renumbered as § 24 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 28a - Exemption as to technical personnel protected by laws of other jurisdictions

The Manager of the State Insurance Fund is hereby empowered to exempt any employer from the payment of premiums on the salaries of the technical personnel he may employ, for a period which shall not exceed two (2) years, if there be satisfactory evidence that such employees are, and shall continue to be, protected against labor accidents and occupational diseases during such period of time under the statutes of the jurisdiction where their services are hired, or under any law or contract if in the opinion of the Manager such statutes or contracts provide benefits comparable to those provided by §§ 1—42 of this title, known as the Workmen’s Accident Compensation Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or greater benefits.
History —May 16, 1958, No. 16, p. 19, eff. 90 days after May 16, 1958.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 29 - Register of workers and employees

It shall be the duty of any employer entitled to the benefits of this chapter to keep a complete register showing the name of all such workers or employees, their age, gender, the nature of the work they perform and the wages paid to each. Should any employer fail to meet these requirements, he/she shall incur a misdemeanor and be sanctioned with a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). The penalty of rendering community services may be imposed or both penalties at the discretion of the court.
The Manager of the State Fund may order an examination to be made of all the payrolls and of the account books of such employers by any representative duly authorized by him, and it shall be the duty of every employer to permit said examination to be made.
Any employer who knowingly falsifies in his reports of workmen or employees, or in his payrolls, the information required by this section, or any additional information that may be required of him by regulations duly promulgated, shall be subject to the same penalty as that provided for failure to keep said registers or payrolls, and shall, in addition, be liable to the State Fund for three (3) times the difference between the premium paid and the amount that he should have paid had he stated correctly the information required, which sum shall be collected in the same manner as that provided for the collection of the corresponding premiums in accordance with this chapter, and covered into the State Fund.
It shall not be necessary for the Manager of the State Fund to request the employers included under this chapter to avail themselves of the benefits hereof, but it is the obligation of every employer of workmen or employees to perform such acts as may be necessary to comply, within the term fixed, with the obligation of insuring the compensation of the workmen employed by him, in accordance with the provisions of § 19 of this title.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 28; Apr. 22, 1942, No. 43, p. 454; renumbered as § 26 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Sept. 16, 2004, No. 343, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 30 - Public policy on investments

The Board shall adopt, within ninety (90) days following the date of its creation, the norms, criteria and procedures for the investment of the resources of the Corporation. For the adoption of such norms, criteria and procedures, the Board shall take into consideration the fiduciary nature of the functions of the Corporation attributable to its condition as insurer, its obligation to preserve the reserve funds so that they are available for suitable purposes, and the possibility of the Corporation being forced to liquidate investments in order to make special disbursements on account of benefits and to meet unexpected liquidity needs. The norms adopted thereof shall, in addition, establish the internal control systems that shall be observed for the execution of transactions related to the investment of the Corporation’s funds; the criteria, requirements and conditions for the selection and contracting of the fund administrators and bank custodians that shall effect the investments authorized by this chapter; and the evaluation of the investment transactions and objectives. The Board shall modify these norms from time to time, as required by market circumstances and the needs of the Corporation. The adoption of the norms, criteria and procedures for the investment of the Corporation’s resources shall follow the guidelines specified in this chapter.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 29; Apr. 22, 1942, No. 43, p. 454, § 1; Apr. 26, 1950, No. 124, p. 324, § 1; June 13, 1964, No. 50, p. 117, § 1; June 15, 1966, No. 47, p. 183, § 1; October 29, 1992, No. 83, § 3; renumbered as § 27 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 30b - Restrictions and miscellaneous authorizations

(a) Investments in foreign countries shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the total resources of the Corporation.
(b) For the purpose of making the investments authorized in this chapter, the Board shall contract any specialized professional services that may be necessary, including those of consultants and money managers for the Corporation.
(c) Any investments made under the provisions of this chapter shall be carried out cautiously, carefully and on the basis of the criteria which prudent, reasonable and experienced persons exercise in handling their own affairs, for investment and not speculative purposes, taking into consideration the balance that should exist between yield expectations and risk.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, added as § 29B on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 83, § 3; renumbered as § 27B on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 30c - Authorization to incur debt

The Board may authorize the Administrator to take out loans from any financial institution of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the federal government of the United States of America, or through direct debt placements, solely to carry out the goals and purposes of the Corporation, guaranteeing such a debt with its assets. The interest accrued on account of said obligations shall be exempt from the payment of income tax to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, added as § 29C on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 83, § 3; renumbered as § 27C on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 30d - Depository

All obligations of the Government of the United States or its states or subdivisions, or any other investments originated within the limits of the United States and Puerto Rico owned by the Corporation shall be placed under the custody of a special depository who provides the proper security and who is within the limits of the Continental United States and/or in Puerto Rico. Debt instruments issued and originated in Puerto Rico shall be kept under custody by the Administrator, with the understanding that all or any of said securities may be conveyed to the custodian agent of the Corporation in the Continental United States or in Puerto Rico, in case the Board determines that such a transfer is desirable or necessary. The designation of one or more custodian banks shall need the approval of the Board.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, added as § 29D Oct. 29, 1992, No. 83, § 3; renumbered as § 27D on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 31 - Revision of premiums and rebates

Not later than July 1 of each year, the Manager of the State Fund, giving consideration to the experience obtained in the administration of the law, shall principally revise the rates in force so as to make an equitable distribution of the losses among occupations and industries, and so that rebates in premiums shall approximate as nearly as possible to the experience of each particular group of occupations and industries; and to this end the Manager of the State Fund is empowered to prescribe rules relative to such rebates as may be granted to each employer in accordance with his risks, on the basis of the individual experience of the employer and the adjustment of each employer’s rate, thus establishing a fair margin in excess of, or lower than, the rate taken as a basis for the classification of such employer, in order that this measure may tend to further the prevention of accidents and to preserve in each risk the basic principles of workmen’s compensation insurance.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 30, renumbered as § 28 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 33 - Cession of rights, prohibited

The rights and actions arising from this chapter cannot be negotiated, transferred, or assigned; nor shall they be the object of attachment or claims of third persons, and no judge shall authorize any order for such purposes.
Notwithstanding the provision of the preceding paragraph, the Manager of the State Insurance Fund shall deduct for reimbursement, from any benefits to which an injured worker or employee is entitled hereunder, the payments made to him under any other government insurance program. This deduction shall be made upon presentation by the Director of the Government Agency, Bureau or Office of a certified invoice containing the liquidation of the disability benefit payments made to a worker or employee chargeable to the funds of the government insurance program under his administration. This deduction shall never be made for an amount exceeding the balance of the benefits to which the injured worker or employee is entitled hereunder at the time the State Insurance Fund makes the liquidation or payment of said invoice.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 32; June 4, 1974, No. 52, Part 1, p. 215, § 1; renumbered as § 30 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 34 - Fines, and penalties, interest and surcharges covered into State Insurance Fund

All fines collected on account of the infractions of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be covered into the accounts of the State Insurance Fund Corporation.
Likewise, said corporation is hereby empowered to impose interest, penalties and surcharges to those employers who fail to comply with the processes involving the imposition, assessment and collection of premiums and the cases of uninsured employers, by which they are required to strictly comply with the provisions of law, according to the regulations promulgated to that effect by said corporation.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 33, renumbered as § 31 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Oct. 14, 1999, No. 312, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 35 - Pending litigation

The provisions of this chapter shall in no way affect pending litigations or claims relative to workmen’s compensation under previous laws. The procedure followed in such litigations or claims, until their termination, shall be in accordance with the laws in force on the date of the accident, and the workmen shall be entitled to such sum of money as may be prescribed by said laws.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 34, renumbered as § 32 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 36 - Attorneys or agents

For the prosecution, liquidation, or decision of their cases before the Manager of the State Fund or before the Industrial Commission, workmen or employees do not require the services of attorneys, but if they decide to obtain the services of one for the better direction and defense of their cases, the Industrial Commission shall fix the percentage which should be paid to the attorney in prosecuting a claim in favor of the employee or workman or his heirs or beneficiaries, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
In such cases the Industrial Commission shall fix, chargeable to the State Insurance Fund, the percentage that should belong to the attorney as fees. Expenses incurred by the State Insurance Fund by virtue of this provision shall be paid from the insurance premiums, but they shall not be taken into consideration for purposes of the Merit Rating System. In cases of employers uninsured in violation of law, said expenses shall be charged to the uninsured employer, when the workman wins the case. Under no circumstances shall the appearance of agents or other persons be allowed in any case of claim before the Industrial Commission unless it is a case of a minor or incapacitated person, in which case the person representing the minor or incapacitated person cannot collect any sum or receive any remuneration of any kind for representing or assisting the interested person in his claim for compensation.
In cases that are the object of review before the courts and in mandamus cases authorized by this chapter and in which the services of an attorney are utilized, the court before which the case is tried shall fix the fees which the attorney should equitably receive. In cases of employers uninsured in violation of law, the expenses shall be charged to the uninsured employer, when the workman wins the case.
The fees fixed by the Industrial Commission or the court shall be the only fees that the attorney shall receive for his services.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 35; June 23, 1965, No. 69, p. 141, § 1; June 22, 1975, No. 57, p. 129, § 1; renumbered as § 33 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 37 - Industrial Commission and fund employees’ non-interest in claims

No member of the Industrial Commission nor any officer, employee, or agent in the service of the Industrial Commission or of the Manager of the State Fund shall represent any person or be in any way interested in any action, claim, or matter within the competency of the Manager of the State Fund or of the Industrial Commission. Violation of this section shall be punished by removal or permanent disqualification to serve in any dependency of the workmen’s compensation service; it being understood that this prohibition shall not include purely official acts done by virtue of the office or position held.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 36, renumbered as § 34 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 38 - Information shall be confidential; closing cases

Information acquired by virtue of the provisions of this chapter by the Industrial Commission, by the Manager of the State Insurance Fund, or by any officer or employee to whom the performance of some duty under this chapter has been entrusted, shall be considered as of a private nature when so resolved by the Industrial Commission or the Manager of the State Insurance Fund; and any officer or employee who discloses such information, except by order of a competent authority, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or to imprisonment in jail for not more than six (6) months.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the inspection by the interested party or by his attorney, of the reports and all other documents connected with his case.
The Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico is hereby empowered and authorized to destroy, periodically, all such records of appeals as may have been definitively closed for five (5) or more years by final resolution of the Industrial Commission; Provided, That if a case is set for public hearing and the interested party or parties should fail to appear on account of their not having been located, the Industrial Commission shall issue a summons through an edict once a week during two consecutive weeks, which edict shall be published in one of the newspapers of largest circulation in the Commonwealth, and if, notwithstanding such summons, the said party or parties should fail to appear within a term of sixty (60) days, the Industrial Commission is hereby empowered and authorized to close such case definitively and proceed to destroy same in due time, as provided by this chapter.
In observance of the provisions of other laws concerning document conservation and preservation, it shall be understood that for all legal purposes all cases involving work-related accidents or occupational disease shall be closed after three (3) years as of the definitive closing date of the same.
Those injuries or conditions whose ill effects may become evident after a longer term has elapsed may be excepted from the above provision as mentioned in § 3(a) of this title.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 37; May 2, 1952, No. 185, p. 384, § 2; June 14, 1961, No. 53, § 1; renumbered as § 35 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3; Oct. 16, 1999, No. 314, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 40 - Advance appropriation by Government

The sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or such part thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the Treasury of Puerto Rico not otherwise appropriated, in order to carry out the provisions of this chapter; and such sum, together with all other sums collected for premiums from the employers insured in the State Fund, shall constitute the State Fund.
From the income received annually for premiums and from other sources, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to reimburse to the Commonwealth Treasury, chargeable to the State Fund, the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) every year until the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) hereby appropriated for the State Fund has been reimbursed to the Treasury; Provided, That on July 1, 1935, or as soon as this act becomes effective, the Secretary of the Treasury shall place at the disposal of the Manager of the State Fund the sum appropriated by this section, or such part thereof as may be necessary.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 39, renumbered as § 37 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 41 - Savings provision covering Industrial Commission

Nothing herein prescribed shall be construed as restricting the powers of the Industrial Commission hereby created, as successor to, and liquidator of, the extinguished Industrial Commission, to continue the liquidation of the actions and claims as well as the obligations of the extinguished Liquidating Board of the Workmen’s Relief Commission.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 46, renumbered as § 44 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 42 - Expert assistance

The Manager of the State Insurance Fund is hereby authorized to utilize, chargeable to the budgetary authorizations, the services of actuaries of recognized ability to advise him in the revision and fixing of premium rates and in the general operation of the workmen’s compensation system; and likewise to use the services of engineers specialized in accident prevention and such additional personnel as may be necessary to the planning and execution of a program aimed at preventing and reducing industrial accidents.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 48; May 4, 1937, No. 39, p. 157, § 1; Apr. 22, 1942, No. 43, p. 454, § 1; May 1, 1950, No. 155, p. 414, § 3; June 28, 1969, No. 103, p. 288, § 3; renumbered as § 46 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 60 - Commission intervention on behalf of workers injured in the United States

The Industrial Commission is hereby authorized to intervene in the cases of migrant Puerto Rican workers who have sustained or may sustain labor accidents in any state or territory of the United States when the injured laborers, upon their return to the Commonwealth, or their dependents if they have died, are unable to go to the state or territory where the accident occurred to process their cases before the proper workmen’s compensation commission or board.
History —June 20, 1958, No. 69, p. 162, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 60a - Commission intervention on behalf of workers injured in the United States—Duties on behalf of workers injured in the United States

The intervention of the Industrial Commission in the cases to which § 60 of this title refers shall be limited to perform such acts as are requested of or entrusted to it by the workmen’s compensation commissions or boards having jurisdiction over said cases including those relative to obtaining evidence through medical examinations or public hearings, and take steps related to said cases at the request of the injured workers concerned or their beneficiaries. The Commission may delegate these functions to the officer thereof whom it may designate for the purpose.
History —June 20, 1958, No. 69, p. 162, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 61 - Injured migrant workers returning to the Commonwealth—Medical and hospital benefits for migrant workers

The Manager of the State Insurance Fund is hereby authorized to extend the medical and hospital benefits provided by the Workmen’s Accident Compensation Act, §§ 1—42 of this title, until their rehabilitation, to migrant workers under contract of hire approved by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, when in need of medical treatment and hospitalization on their return to the Commonwealth as a result of injuries or occupational diseases arising in the course and on account of the employment.
History —June 23, 1958, No. 77, p. 173, § 1, eff. July 1, 1958.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 61a - Injured migrant workers returning to the Commonwealth—Appeals to Industrial Commission

The workman shall be entitled to appeal to the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico from any decision made in his case under this chapter by the Manager of the State Insurance Fund with which he does not agree. Said appeal shall be filed within the term of thirty (30) days after service of notice on the workman with a copy of the decision. The procedure before the Industrial Commission shall be the same as that followed in appeal proceedings under the Workmen’s Accident Compensation Act, §§ 1—42 of this title.
Appeals brought by migrant workmen before the Industrial Commission on medical and hospital services in the State Insurance Fund, and which may be pending at the time this act takes effect, shall be resolved by said organization as above provided.
History —June 23, 1958, No. 77, p. 173, added as § 1A on June 4, 1960, No. 38, p. 65.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 62 - Injured migrant workers returning to the Commonwealth—Duties of Manager of State Insurance Fund

The services referred to in § 61 of this title shall be rendered by the Manager of the State Insurance Fund, at the behest of the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources or of the person by him designated.
History —June 23, 1958, No. 77, p. 173, § 2, eff. July 1, 1958.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 63 - Injured migrant workers returning to the Commonwealth—Reimbursement of State Insurance Fund

At the close of the fiscal year the Manager shall certify to the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, for reimbursement purposes, an invoice covering the expenditures incurred pursuant to the provisions of §§ 61 and 62 of this title, and such expenditures shall be repaid into the State Insurance Fund, as provided in §§ 64 and 65 of this title.
History —June 23, 1958, No. 77, p. 173, § 3, eff. July 1, 1958.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 2 - Injured Migrant Workers (§§ 60 — 65) › § 64 - Injured migrant workers returning to the Commonwealth—Budgetary provisions

The appropriations made to the Department of Labor and Human Resources for meeting such expenditures as may be incurred by the State Insurance Fund in complying with the provisions of this chapter during each fiscal year shall be included in the Operating Budget Act.
History —June 23, 1958, No. 77, p. 173, § 4, eff. July 1, 1958.