reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-5. Office of Insurance Commissioner; Hearings

The Insurance Commissioner shall keep and maintain his or her office at the seat of government and shall provide a suitable room or rooms, necessary office furniture, supplies, books, periodicals, maps, and other equipment. After due notice, showing the time and place, the Insurance Commissioner may hold hearings anywhere within the state, or elsewhere by agreement of claimant and employer, with the approval of the Insurance Commissioner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-8. Authority of Insurance Commissioner and Employees as to Oaths and Evidence

The Insurance Commissioner and other employees appointed by the Insurance Commissioner may, for the purpose contemplated by this chapter, administer oaths, certify official acts, take depositions, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of pertinent books, accounts, papers, records, documents, and testimony.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-9. Compelling Compliance With Order or Subpoena

In case of failure or refusal of any person to comply with the order of the Insurance Commissioner, or subpoena issued by him or her, or duly appointed employee, or on the refusal of a witness to testify to any matter regarding which he or she may be lawfully interrogated, or refusal to permit an inspection as aforesaid, the circuit judge of the county in which the person resides, on application of the Insurance Commissioner or any duly appointed employee, shall compel obedience by attachment proceedings as for contempt, as in the case of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from the court on a refusal to testify in the court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-10. Fee of Officer Serving Subpoena; Fees and Mileage of Witnesses

Each officer who serves subpoenas on behalf of the Insurance Commissioner shall receive the same fee as a sheriff and each witness who appears in obedience to a subpoena before the Insurance Commissioner or duly appointed employee shall receive for his or her attendance the fees and mileage provided for witnesses in civil cases in the circuit court if the witness was subpoenaed without the request of either claimant or employer at the instance of the Insurance Commissioner or duly appointed employee. The witness fees and mileage of any witness subpoenaed by, or at the instance of, either claimant or employer shall be paid by the party who subpoenas the witness.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-11. Depositions; Investigations

(a) In an investigation into any matter arising under this chapter, the Insurance Commissioner may cause depositions of witnesses residing within or without the state to be taken in the manner prescribed by law for like depositions in the circuit court, but the depositions shall be upon reasonable notice to claimant and employer or other affected persons or their respective attorneys.
(b) The Insurance Commissioner also has discretion to accept and consider depositions taken within or without the state by either the claimant or employer or other affected person, provided due and reasonable notice of the taking of the depositions was given to the other parties or their attorneys, if any:
Provided
, That the Insurance Commissioner, upon due notice to the parties, has authority to refuse or permit the taking of depositions or to reject the depositions after they are taken, if they were taken at a place or under circumstances which imposed an undue burden or hardship upon the other parties. The Insurance Commissioners discretion to accept, refuse to approve or reject the depositions is binding in the absence of abuse of the discretion.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-12. Copies of Proceedings as Evidence

A transcribed copy of the evidence and proceedings, or any specific part thereof, on any investigation or hearing, taken by a stenographer appointed by the Insurance Commissioner and certified and sworn to by the stenographer to be a true and correct transcript of the testimony in the investigation or hearing, or of a particular witness, or of a specific part thereof, or to be a correct transcript of the proceedings had on the investigation or hearing purporting to be taken and subscribed, may be received in evidence by the Insurance Commissioner with the same effect as if the stenographer were present and testified to the facts certified. A copy of the transcript shall be furnished on demand to any party upon payment of the fee prescribed in the rules and policies of the Insurance Commissioner. The fee shall not exceed that prescribed for transcripts in the circuit court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-14. Forms

The Insurance Commissioner shall prepare and furnish free of cost forms (and provide in his or her rules for their distribution so that they may be readily available) of applications for benefits for compensation, notices to employers, proofs of injury or death, of medical attendance, of employment and wage earnings, and any other forms considered proper and advisable. It is the duty of employers to constantly keep on hand a sufficient supply of the forms.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-15. Procedure Before Insurance Commissioner

The Insurance Commissioner is not bound by the usual common-law or statutory rules of evidence, but shall adopt formal rules of practice and procedure as herein provided, and may make investigations in a manner that in his or her judgment is best calculated to ascertain the substantial rights of the parties and to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-17. Annual Report by the Insurance Commissioner and Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board

Annually, on or about September 15, in each year, the Insurance Commissioner and the Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board shall make a report as of June 30 addressed to the Governor, which shall include a statement of the causes of the injuries for which the awards were made, an explanation of the diagnostic techniques used by the Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board and all examining physicians to determine the presence of disease, the extent of impairment attributable thereto, a description of the scientific support for the diagnostic techniques and a summary of public and private research relating to problems and prevention of occupational diseases. The report shall include a detailed statement of all disbursements, and the condition of the fund, together with any specific recommendations for improvements in the Workers' Compensation law and for more efficient and responsive administration of the Workers' Compensation law, which the executive director considers appropriate. Copies of all annual reports shall be filed with the Secretary of State and shall be made available to the Legislature and to the public at large.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-18. Insurance Commissioner Employees Not Subject to Subpoena for Workers Compensation Hearings

No employee of the Insurance Commissioner shall be compelled to testify as to the basis, findings, or reasons for any decision or order rendered by the employee under this chapter in any hearing conducted pursuant to 23-5-1
et seq
. of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-19. Civil Remedies

(a) Any person, firm, corporation, or other entity which willfully, by means of false statement or representation, or by concealment of any material fact, or by other fraudulent scheme, device, or artifice on behalf of himself or herself, itself, or others, obtains or attempts to obtain benefits, payments, allowances, or reduced premium costs or other charges, including Workers Compensation coverage, from the Insurance Commissioner, a private carrier, or self-insured employer, to which he, she, or it is not entitled, or in a greater amount than that to which he, she, or it is entitled, shall be liable to the Insurance Commissioner, private carrier, or self-insured employer, whichever is applicable, in an amount equal to three times the amount of such benefits, payments, or allowances to which he, she, or it is not entitled and shall be liable for the payment of reasonable attorney fees and all other fees and costs of litigation.
(b) No criminal action or indictment need be brought against any person, firm, corporation, or other entity as a condition for establishing civil liability hereunder.
(c) A civil action under this section may be prosecuted and maintained on behalf of the Insurance Commissioner, a private carrier, or self-insured employer by any attorney in contract with or employed by the Insurance Commissioner, a private carrier, or self-insured employer to provide such representation.
(d) Venue for a civil action under this section shall be either in the county in which the defendant resides or in Kanawha County as selected by the Insurance Commissioner. Venue for a civil action under this section for private carriers and self-insured employers shall be either in the county in which the defendant resides or the county in which the injured worker was employed, as selected by the private carrier or self-insured employer.
(e) The remedies and penalties provided in this section are in addition to those remedies and penalties provided elsewhere by law.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 1. General Administrative Provisions › §23-1-21. Authorization to Require the Electronic Invoices and Transfers

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall establish a program to require the acceptance of disbursements by electronic transfer from the funds created in 23-2C-1
et seq
. of this code to employers, vendors, claimants, and all others lawfully entitled to receive such disbursements.
(b) The Insurance Commissioner may establish a program to require payments of deposits and other funds into the funds created in 23-2C-1
et seq
. of this code by electronic transfer of funds.
(c) The Insurance Commissioner may establish a program whereby invoices and other charges against the funds created in 23-2C-1
et seq
. of this code may be submitted to the Insurance Commissioner by electronic means.
(d) Any program authorized by this section must be implemented through a rule promulgated by the Workers Compensation Industrial Council.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-1a. Employees Subject to Chapter

(a) Employees subject to this chapter are all persons in the service of employers, except those classified as an independent contractor pursuant to 21-5I-4 of this code, and employed by them for the purpose of carrying on the industry, business, service, or work in which they are engaged, including, but not limited to:
(1) Persons regularly employed in the state whose duties necessitate employment of a temporary or transitory nature by the same employer without the state;
(2) Every person in the service of the state or of any political subdivision or agency thereof, under any contract of hire, express or implied, and every appointed official or officer thereof while performing his or her official duties;
(3) Checkweighmen employed according to law;
(4) All members of rescue teams assisting in mine accidents with the consent of the owner who, in such case, shall be deemed the employer, or at the direction of the director of the department of mines;
(5) All forest firefighters who, under the supervision of the Director of the Division of Natural Resources or his or her designated representative, assist in the prevention, confinement, and suppression of any forest fire; and
(6) Students while participating in a work-based learning experience with an employer approved as a part of the curriculum by the county board. The county board shall be the employer of record of students while participating in unpaid work-based experiences off school premises with employers other than the county board. Students in unpaid work-based learning experiences shall be considered to be paid the amount of wages so as to provide the minimum workers compensation weekly benefits required by 23-4-6 of this code.
(b) The right to receive compensation under this chapter shall not be affected by the fact that a minor is employed or is permitted to be employed in violation of the laws of this state relating to the employment of minors, or that he or she obtained his or her employment by misrepresenting his or her age.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-1c. Extraterritorial Coverage; Approval and Change of Agreements

(a) Whenever there is a possibility of conflict with respect to the application of workers compensation laws because the contract of employment is entered into and all or some portion of the work is performed or is to be performed in a state or states other than this state, the employer and the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or by the laws of any other state in which all or some portion of the work of the employee is to be performed:
Provided
, That nothing in this section shall be construed as to require an agreement in those instances where 23-2-1(b)(3) or 23-2-1a(a)(1) of this code are applicable. If the parties agree to be bound by the laws of this state, an employee injured within the terms and provisions of this chapter is entitled to benefits under this chapter regardless of the situs of the injury or exposure to occupational pneumoconiosis or other occupational disease, and the rights of the employee and his or her dependents under the laws of this state shall be the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and as a result of the employment.
(b) If the parties agree to be bound by the laws of another state and the employer has complied with the laws of that state, the rights of the employee and his or her dependents under the laws of that state shall be the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and as a result of the employment without regard to the situs of the injury or exposure to occupational pneumoconiosis or other occupational disease.
(c) If the employee is a resident of a state other than this state and is subject to the terms and provisions of the workers compensation law or similar laws of a state other than this state, the employee and his or her dependents are not entitled to the benefits payable under this chapter on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and as a result of employment temporarily within this state, and the rights of the employee and his or her dependents under the laws of the other state shall be the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of any injury, disease or death.
(d) If any employee or his or her dependents are awarded workers compensation benefits or recover damages from the employer under the laws of another state for an injury received in the course of and resulting from the employment, the amount awarded or recovered, whether paid or to be paid in future installments, shall be credited against the amount of any benefits payable under this chapter for the same injury.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-2. Insurance Commissioner to Be Furnished Information by Employers, State Tax Commissioner, and Workforce West Virginia; Secrecy of Information; Examination of Employers, etc.; Violation a Misdemeanor

(a) Every employer shall furnish the Insurance Commissioner, upon request, all information required by him or her to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Every employer shall have a continuous and ongoing duty to maintain current information about its activities, risks, and rates regarding workers compensation coverage. The Insurance Commissioner may examine under oath any employer or officer, agent, or employee of any employer.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute to the contrary, specifically, but not exclusively, 11-10-5, 11-10-5b, and 21A-10-11 of this code, the Insurance Commissioner may receive the following information:
(1) Upon written request to the State Tax Commissioner: The names, addresses, places of business, and other identifying information of all businesses receiving a business franchise registration certificate and the dates thereof; and the names and social security numbers or other tax identification numbers of the businesses and of the businesses workers and employees, if otherwise collected, and the quarterly or other applicable reporting period and annual gross wages or other compensation paid to the workers and employees of businesses reported pursuant to the requirement of withholding of tax on income.
(2) Upon written application to WorkForce West Virginia: In addition to the information that may be released to the Insurance Commissioner for the purposes of this chapter under the provisions of Chapter 21A of this code, the names, addresses, and other identifying information of all employing units filing reports and information pursuant to 21A-10-11 of this code as well as information contained in those reports regarding the number and names, addresses, and social security numbers of employees employed and the gross quarterly or other applicable reporting period wages paid by each employing unit to each identified employee.
(c) All information acquired by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to 23-2-2(b) of this code shall be used only for the performance of the functions necessary for the regulation of the workers compensation insurance industry and other duties as set forth in this chapter.
(d) Reasonable costs of compilation and production of any information made available pursuant to 23-2-2(b) of this code shall be charged to the Insurance Commissioner.
(e) Information acquired by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to 23-2-2(b) of this code is not subject to disclosure under the provisions of Chapter 29B of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-3. Report Forms and Other Forms for Use of Employers

The Insurance Commissioner shall prepare and furnish report forms for the use of employers subject to this chapter. Every employer receiving from the Insurance Commissioner any form or forms with direction for completion and returning to the Insurance Commissioner shall return the form, within the period fixed by the Insurance Commissioner, completed as to answer fully and correctly all pertinent questions in the form, and if unable to do so, shall give good and sufficient reasons for the failure.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-5. Notice to Employees

Upon discovery that an employer is not maintaining West Virginia workers compensation insurance, the Insurance Commissioner shall issue a written notice to the employees of that employer. Notice to employees provided in this section shall be given by posting written notice that the employer is defaulted under the compensation law of West Virginia and that the defaulted employer is liable to its employees for injury or death, both in Workers Compensation benefits and in damages at common law or by statute. The notice shall be in the form prescribed by the Insurance Commissioner and shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the chief works of the employer, as it appears in records of the Insurance Commissioner. If the chief works of the employer cannot be found or identified, the notices shall be posted at the front door of the courthouse of the county in which the chief works are located, according to the Insurance Commissioners records. Any person who shall, prior to the reinstatement of the employer, as provided in this section, or prior to sixty days after the posting of the notice, whichever shall first occur, remove, deface, or render illegible the notice, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $1,000. The notice shall state this provision upon its face. The Insurance Commissioner may require any sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or other official of the State of West Virginia, authorized to serve civil process, to post the notice and to make return thereof of the fact of the posting to the Insurance Commissioner. Any failure of the officer to post any notice within 10 days after he or she has received the notice from the Insurance Commissioner, without just cause or excuse, constitutes a willful failure or refusal to perform a duty required of him or her by law within the meaning of 61-5-28 of this code. Any person actually injured by reason of the failure has an action against the official, and upon any official bond he or she may have given, for the damages as the person may actually have incurred, but not to exceed, in the case of any surety upon the bond, the amount of the penalty of the bond. Any official posting the notice as required in this section is entitled to the same fee as is now or may hereafter be provided for the service of process in suits instituted in courts of record in the State of West Virginia. The fee shall be paid by the Insurance Commissioner out of any funds at his or her disposal.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-6. Exemption of Contributing Employers From Liability

Any employer subject to this chapter who procures and continuously maintains workers compensation insurance as required by this chapter or who elects to make direct payments of compensation as provided in this section is not liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute for the injury or death of any employee, however occurring, after so subscribing or electing, and during any period in which the employer is not in default and has complied fully with all other provisions of this chapter. Continuation in the service of the employer shall be considered a waiver by the employee and by the parents of any minor employee of the right of action as aforesaid, which the employee or his or her parents would otherwise have:
Provided
, That in case of employers not required by this chapter to procure and maintain workers compensation insurance, the injured employee has remained in the employers service with notice that his or her employer has elected to procure and maintain workers compensation insurance, or has elected to make direct payments as aforesaid.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-6a. Exemption From Liability of Officers, Managers, Agents, Representatives or Employees of Contributing Employers

The immunity from liability set out in the preceding section shall extend to every officer, manager, agent, representative or employee of such employer when he is acting in furtherance of the employer's business and does not inflict an injury with deliberate intention.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-7. Benefits of Chapter May Not Be Waived by Contract or Regulation

No employer or employee shall exempt himself or herself from the burden or waive the benefits of this chapter by any contract, agreement, rule, or regulation, and any such contract, agreement, rule, or regulation shall be pro tanto void.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-8. Liability of Employer for Failing to Procure or Maintain Workers Compensation Insurance; Certain Common-Law Defenses Prohibited; Exceptions

All employers who fail to procure and continuously maintain workers compensation insurance as required by this chapter or who fail to obtain permission to self-insure their workers compensation risk as permitted by 23-2-9 of this code shall be liable to their employees (within the meaning of this article) for all damages suffered by reason of personal injuries sustained in the course of employment caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of the employer or any of the employers officers, agents, or employees while acting within the scope of their employment and in the course of their employment and also to the personal representatives of such employees where death results from such personal injuries, and in any action by any such employee or personal representative thereof, such defendant shall not avail himself or herself of the following common-law defenses: The defense of the fellow-servant rule; the defense of the assumption of risk; or the defense of contributory negligence; and further shall not avail himself or herself of any defense that the negligence in question was that of someone whose duties are prescribed by statute:
Provided
, That such provision depriving a defendant employer of certain common-law defenses under the circumstances therein set forth shall not apply to an action brought against a county court, Board of Education, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, or against any employer not required to cover his or her employees under the provisions of this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-9a. Sanctions for Default by Self-Insured Employers; Rulemaking Authority

Whenever the authority of an employer to self-insure its obligations under this chapter is terminated and such employer is thereafter in default in the payment of any portion of surcharges or assessments required under this chapter or by rules promulgated thereunder, or in any payment required to be made as benefits provided by this chapter to the employer's injured employees or dependents of fatally injured employees, such employer shall be ineligible for government contracts to the same extent as an employer in "employer default," as provided for in section ten-a, article three, chapter five-a of this code, and shall also be subject to the license and permit revocation and termination sanctions to the same extent as employers in "employer default" pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (1), subsection (e), section nineteen, article two-c of this chapter. The Insurance Commissioner shall propose rules, as provided in section five, article two-c of this chapter, establishing administrative penalties for nonpayment of obligations under this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-10. Application of Chapter to Interstate Commerce

(a) In case any employer within the meaning of this chapter is also engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, and for whom a rule of liability or method of compensation has been established by the Congress of the United States, this chapter applies to him or her only to the extent that his or her mutual connection with work in this state is clearly separable and distinguishable from his or her interstate work, and to the extent that the work in this state is clearly separable and distinguishable from his or her interstate work, the employer is subject to the terms and provisions of this chapter in like manner as all other employers under this chapter. Payments of premiums shall be on the basis of the payroll of those employees who perform work in this state only.
(b) Unless and until the Congress of the United States has by appropriate legislation established a rule of liability or method of compensation governing employers and employees engaged in commerce within the purview of the commerce clause of the United States Constitution (article I, section 8), section one of this article applies without regard to the interstate or intrastate character or nature of the work or business engaged in.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-11. Partial Invalidity of Chapter

If any provision of this chapter or the application of such provision to any circumstance is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the remainder of this chapter or the application of the provisions to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby. The Legislature hereby declares that it would have passed the remainder of this chapter if it had known that such provision, or its application to any circumstances, would be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-12. Effect of Repeal or Invalidity of Chapter on Action for Damages

If the provisions of this chapter relating to compensation for injuries to, or death of, workers are repealed or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, the period intervening between the occurrence of any injury or death and the repeal, or the final adjudication of invalidity or unconstitutionality, shall not be computed as a part of the time limited by law for the commencement of any action relating to the injuries or death, but the amount of any compensation which may have been paid on account of injury or death shall be deducted from any judgment for damages recovered on account of the injury or death.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-13. Interest

The interest due on payments pursuant to 23-2-9(d)(1) and 23-2C-8(d)(1) of this code shall be the prime rate plus four percent rounded to the nearest whole percent. The prime rate shall be the rate published in the Wall Street Journal on the last business day of the prior fiscal year reflecting the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 75 percent of the nations 30 largest banks:
Provided
, That in no event shall the rate of interest charged to a political subdivision of the state or a volunteer fire department exceed 10 percent per annum.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-14. Sale or Transfer of Business; Attachment of Lien for Premium, etc.; Payments Due; Criminal Penalties for Failure to Pay; Creation and Avoidance or Elimination of Lien; Enforcement of Lien; Successor Liability

[Repealed.]
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2. Employers and Employees Subject to Chapter; Extraterritorial Coverage › §23-2-17. Employer Right to Hearing; Content of Petition; Appeal

Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary and notwithstanding any provision in 29A-5-5 of this code to the contrary, in any situation where an employer objects to a decision or action of the Insurance Commissioner, the employer is entitled to file a written demand for hearing upon the decision or action in accordance with 33-2-13 of this code. The written demand must be filed within 30 days of the employers receipt of notice of the disputed Insurance Commissioners decision or action or, in the absence of such receipt, within 60 days of the date of the decision, the time limitations being hereby declared to be a condition of the right to litigate the decision or action and therefore jurisdictional.
The employers written demand shall clearly identify the decision or action disputed and the bases upon which the employer disputes the decision or action. Upon receipt of a written demand, the Insurance Commissioner shall schedule a hearing which shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of 29A-5-1
et seq
. and 33-2-13 of this code. An appeal from a final decision of the Insurance Commissioner shall be taken in accord with the provisions of 33-2-13 of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-1. Findings and Purpose

(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) There is a long-term actuarial funding crisis in the state-run monopolistic workers compensation system;
(2) Similar short-term and long-term crises have been ongoing during the past two decades;
(3) During the current crisis, employers in West Virginia find it increasingly difficult to afford the rates charged by the Workers Compensation Commission for workers compensation coverage and that paying said rates adversely impacts employers ability to compete in a global economic environment;
(4) The cost of obtaining workers compensation coverage from the state system may result in many employers leaving the state;
(5) Employers access to competitive workers compensation rates and the resulting economic development benefit is of utmost importance to the citizens of West Virginia;
(6) A mechanism is needed to provide an enduring solution to this recurring workers compensation crisis;
(7) An employers mutual insurance company or a similar entity has proven to be a successful mechanism in other states for helping employers secure insurance and for stabilizing the insurance market;
(8) There is a substantial public interest in creating a method to provide a stable workers compensation insurance market in this state;
(9) The state-run workers compensation program is a substantial actual and potential liability to the state;
(10) There is substantial public benefit in transferring certain actual and potential future liability of the state to the private sector and creating a stable self-sufficient entity which will be a potential source of workers compensation coverage for employers in this state;
(11) A stable, financially viable insurer in the private sector will aid in providing a continuing source of insurance funds to compensate injured workers; and
(12) Because the public will greatly benefit from the formation of an employers mutual insurance company, state efforts to encourage and support the formation of such an entity, including providing funding for the entitys initial capital, is in the clear public interest.
(b) The purpose of this article is to create a mechanism for the formation of an employers mutual insurance company that will provide:
(1) A means for employers to obtain workers compensation insurance that is reasonably available and affordable; and
(2) Compensation to employees of mutual policyholders who suffer work place injuries as defined in this chapter.
(c) The employers mutual insurance company contemplated and created as the successor to the former Workers Compensation Commission in this article began operation on January 1, 2006. The state opened to a private, competitive market for workers compensation insurance on July 1, 2008. This section remains in this code for historical purposes.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-3. Private Carriers Not Subject to Certain Premium Taxes, Surcharges, and Credits; Regulatory Surcharge Imposed on Private Carriers and Self-Insured Employers

Private carriers including the company, are not subject to payment of insurance premium taxes, surcharges, and credits contained in 33-3-1 et seq. of this code on premiums received for workers compensation insurance coverage under this chapter. In lieu thereof, the workers compensation insurance market is subject to the following:
(1)(A) With respect to fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2008, each private carrier shall collect a surcharge in the amount of five and five-tenths percent of the premium collected plus the total of all premium discounts based on deductible provisions that were applied:
Provided
, That prior to June 30, 2013, and every five years thereafter, the Insurance Commissioner shall review the percentage surcharge and determine a new percentage as he or she deems necessary; and
(B) The amounts required to be collected under 23-2C-3(a)(1)(A) of this code shall be remitted to the Insurance Commissioner on or before the twenty-fifth day of the month succeeding the end of the quarter in which they are collected, except for the fourth quarter for which the surcharge shall be remitted on or before March 1 of the succeeding year.
(2) Each fiscal year, the Insurance Commissioner shall calculate a percentage surcharge to be remitted on a quarterly basis by self-insured employers and said percentage shall be calculated by dividing the previous years self-insured payroll in the state into the portion of the Insurance Commissioners budget amount attributable to regulation of the self-insured employer market. This resulting percentage shall be applied to each self-insured employers payroll and the resulting amount shall be remitted as a regulatory surcharge by each self-insured employer. The Industrial Council may promulgate a rule for implementation of this section. All private carriers and self-insured employers shall furnish the Insurance Commissioner with all required information and cooperate in all respects necessary for the Insurance Commissioner to perform the duties set forth in this section and in other provisions of this chapter and Chapter 33 of this code. The surcharge shall be calculated so as to only defray the costs associated with the administration of this chapter and the funds raised shall not be used for any other purpose.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-6. Continuation of Old Fund, Uninsured Employer Fund, Self-Insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool, and Self-Insured Employer Security Risk Pool

There is hereby continued in the State Treasury a "Workers Compensation Old Fund", "Workers Compensation Uninsured Employers Fund", "Self-insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool", and "Self-insured Employer Security Risk Pool". The Insurance Commissioner shall have full authority to administer the Old Fund, the Uninsured Employers Fund, the Self-Insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool, and the Self-Insured Employer Security Risk Pool.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-7. Custody, Investment and Disbursement of Funds

The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of the Old Fund, the Uninsured Employer Fund, the Self-Insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool, and the Self-Insured Employer Security Risk Pool, and moneys payable to each of these funds shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the funds. Each fund shall be a separate and distinct fund upon the books and records of the Auditor and Treasurer. Disbursements from these funds shall be made upon requisitions signed by the Insurance Commissioner. The Old Fund, the Uninsured Employer Fund, the Self-Insured Employer Guaranty Risk Pool, and the Self-Insured Employer Security Risk Pool are participant plans as defined in 12-6-2 of this code and are subject to the provisions of 12-6-9a of this code. The funds may be invested by the Investment Management Board in accordance with 12-6-1
et seq
. of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-10. West Virginia Adverse Risk Assignment

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall provide for the development and administration of an assigned risk plan to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage to employers who are unable to procure coverage in the voluntary market.
(b) To qualify for coverage under the plan, an employer must have been categorically declined coverage by at least two insurers that are not affiliated with each other. The employer has the burden of establishing that at least two unaffiliated insurers are unwilling to provide coverage at any premium level that is reasonably related to the risk presented by the employer. The assigned risk plan may also provide for other reasonable qualifications and for the termination of coverage under the plan for specified reasons.
(c) Any employer that satisfies the requirements of subsection (b) of this section and other qualifications established in the plan shall be provided coverage at a premium level to be determined or approved by the Insurance Commissioner, which premiums shall be actuarially sound, consistent with classification and rate-making methodologies found in the insurance industry, and calculated to enable the plan to be self-sustaining and, to the greatest extent possible, able to operate without subsidies from employers and insurers in the voluntary market. Rates may not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.
(d) The Insurance Commissioner may designate any third party, including any private carrier or rating organization with substantial experience in developing and administering similar programs in other states, to develop and administer the assigned risk plan for a period of three years, and thereafter, shall contract with any qualified party, including the then current administrator, to continue the administration of the assigned risk plan: Provided, That the Insurance Commissioner must approve the plan prior to the plan becoming operative. The plan established pursuant to this section shall require that all private carriers participate as a condition of their authority to transact business in this state.
(e) In the event the plan incurs a deficit in one or more policy years, the Insurance Commissioner may assess all private carriers providing workers' compensation insurance in voluntary market funds as are necessary to cover the deficits. The assessments shall result in an equitable distribution of costs among private carriers based upon premiums received by the private carriers in the private market. Assessments made upon the policies of each private carrier pursuant to this section may be collected by each carrier in the form of a surcharge.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-12. Certain Personnel Provisions Governing Workers Compensation Commission Employees and Employees Laid Off by the Employers Mutual Insurance Company During Its Initial Year of Operation

A person who was employed by the former Workers Compensation Commission upon its termination or was laid off by the employers mutual insurance company created in this article on or before June 30, 2008, is entitled to be placed on an appropriate reemployment list maintained by the Department of Personnel and to be allowed a preference on that list. The Department of Personnel shall maintain such an employee on the reemployment list indefinitely, or until the employee has declined three offers of employment at a paygrade substantially similar to that of his or her position upon termination of the former Workers Compensation Commission, or until he or she is reemployed by the executive branch of state government, whichever occurs earlier.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation › Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company › §23-2C-15. Mandatory Coverage; Changing of Coverage

(a) An employer may elect to purchase workers compensation insurance from another a private carrier licensed and otherwise authorized to transact workers compensation insurance in this state or (3) self-insure its obligations if it satisfies all requirements of this code to so self-insure and is permitted to do so. Private carriers are permitted to sell workers compensation insurance through licensed agents in the state. To the extent that a private carrier markets workers compensation insurance through a licensed agent, it is subject to all applicable provisions of Chapter 33 of this code.
(b) Every employer shall continuously post a notice upon its premises in a conspicuous place identifying its workers compensation insurer. The notice must include the name, business address, and telephone number of the insurer and of the person to contact with questions about a claim.
(c) Any rule promulgated by the Industrial Council empowering agencies of this state to revoke or refuse to grant, issue, or renew any contract, license, permit, certificate, or other authority to conduct a trade, profession, or business to or with any employer whose account is in default with regard to any liability under this chapter shall be fully enforceable by the Insurance Commissioner against the employer.
(d) Private carriers may cancel a policy upon the issuance of 30 days written advance notice to the policyholder and may refuse to renew a policy upon the issuance of 60 days written advance notice to the policyholder:
Provided
, That cancellation of the policy by the carrier for failure of consideration to be paid by the policyholder or for refusal to comply with a premium audit is effective after 10 days advance written notice of cancellation to the policyholder.
(e) Every private carrier shall notify the Insurance Commissioner as follows: (1) Of the issuance or renewal of insurance coverage, within 30 days of: (A) The effective date of coverage; or (B) the private carriers receipt of notice of the employers operations in this state, whichever is later; (2) of a termination of coverage by the private carrier due to refusal to renew or cancellation, at least 10 days prior to the effective date of the termination; and (3) of a termination of coverage by an employer, within 10 days of the private carriers receipt of the employers request for such termination; the notifications shall be on forms developed or in a manner prescribed by the Insurance Commissioner.
(f) For the purposes of 23-2C-15(d) and (e) of this code, the transfer of a policyholder between insurance companies within the same group is not considered a cancellation or refusal to renew a workers compensation insurance policy.