West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 85 - Workers' Compensation › Title 85 - PROCEDURAL RULE WORKERS' COMPENSATION RULES OF THE WEST VIRGINIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER › Series 85-11 - Employer Default, Enforcement, Collections and Related Matters › Section 85-11-11 - Payment Agreements

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
11.1. Any
				default employer may, at the discretion of the Commissioner, make application,
				on a form provided by the Commissioner, to enter into a payment agreement with
				the Commissioner which provides for payment of the debt owed to the
				Commissioner in installments.
11.2.
				As a prerequisite to entering into a payment agreement, a default employer as
				described in subsection 11.1 of this section may be required to make a good
				faith payment of ten percent (10%) of the total current outstanding liability
				owed or in such other amount as the Commissioner determines will ensure that
				the employer maintains West Virginia workers' compensation coverage and pay off
				its outstanding debt under the agreement.
11.3. A default employer as described in
				subsection 11.1 of this section who enters into a payment agreement and also
				provides the Commissioner with a current certificate of workers' compensation
				insurance shall be removed from the Default List.
11.4. The Commissioner may then delay or
				continue further pursuit of that remedial action if, in the Commissioner's sole
				discretion, delaying or continuing such action will lead to the employer
				maintaining West Virginia workers' compensation coverage and paying off its
				debt owed under the agreement.
11.5. Permitting an employer to enter into a
				payment agreement is discretionary with the Commissioner. Such discretion shall
				be exercised with regard to the best interests of the Old Fund, Uninsured
				Employers' Fund and/or the self-insured community, as applicable.
11.6. The Commissioner may permit the payment
				of all amounts due to the Old Fund, Uninsured Employers' Fund, or owed pursuant
				to liabilities accrued by the employer while the employer was self-insured, or
				any combination thereof, upon the terms stated in a payment agreement. The
				Commissioner shall additionally have sole discretion in prescribing the terms
				and length of an agreement under this section, taking into consideration the
				best interests of the Old Fund, Uninsured Employers' Fund and/or the
				self-insured community, as applicable.
11.7. Pursuant to W. Va. Code §
									33-2-22(e),
				the Commissioner shall have authority to waive or reduce any amount owed to the
				Old Fund and/or Uninsured Employers' Fund. In all cases when the Commissioner
				agrees to waive or reduce amounts owed to the Old Fund and/or Uninsured
				Employers' Fund as described in this subsection, such decision shall be made
				consistent with the best interests of the Old Fund and/or Uninsured Employers'
				Fund, as applicable. Any amount waived or reduced under this section shall be
				noted in any payment agreement entered into pursuant to this section.
11.8. Any employer that misses a payment will
				be provided notice by the Commissioner of a right to cure the missed payment
				within twenty (20) days of the employer's receipt of such notice. If after the
				expiration of the right to cure period no payment is received, the payment
				agreement becomes null and void and the employer shall be placed on the Default
				List and be deemed to owe the original amount, minus any credits for amounts
				actually paid under the agreement prior to default on the agreement. If it is
				found to be consistent with the best interests of the Old Fund, Uninsured
				Employers' Fund and/or the self-insured community, as applicable, the
				Commissioner may, within his or her sole discretion, provide the employer more
				than twenty (20) days to cure the missed payment. Such additional notice may be
				provided either in the original notice of a right to cure or by way of an
				informal verbal agreement, to permit the employer some additional time to cure
				the missed payment.
11.9. The
				interest rate agreed to in a payment agreement shall not change over the term
				of the agreement.
11.10. Except as
				expressly provided in this section, nothing in this section shall limit the
				Commissioner from pursuing any other type of collection or enforcement method
				under chapter twenty-three of the West Virginia Code or the rules promulgated
				thereunder.