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HB2042
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
2042
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to workers' compensation
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds there is a need for greater oversight in the
enforcement of the workers' compensation chapter.
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Currently,
self-insured employers or
insurance carriers are subject to penalties for default in payment.
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However, some compensation claims go unpaid
for long periods of time before the default is noticed and enforced.
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The minor penalty does nothing to discourage
bad practices from employers and insurance carriers that repeatedly escape
repercussions.
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Therefore, the purpose of
this Act is to require an audit of all active workers' compensation claims when
an employer or insurance carrier defaults in payment to identify other
potentially unpaid compensation claims.
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SECTION
2
.
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Section 386-92,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
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�386-92
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Default in payments of
compensation, penalty
, audit
.
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(a)
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If any compensation
payable under the terms of a final decision or judgment is not paid by a
self-insured employer or an insurance carrier within thirty-one days after it
becomes due, as provided by the final decision or judgment, or if any temporary
total disability benefits are not paid by the employer or carrier within ten
days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, after the employer or
carrier has been notified of the disability, and where the right to benefits
are not controverted in the employer's initial report of industrial injury or
where temporary total disability benefits are terminated in violation of
section 386-31, there shall be added to the unpaid compensation an amount equal
to twenty per cent thereof payable at the same time as, but in addition to, the
compensation, unless the nonpayment is excused by the director after a showing
by the employer or insurance carrier that the payment of the compensation could
not be made on the date prescribed therefor owing to the conditions over which
the employer or carrier had no control.
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(b)
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If a self-insured employer or an insurance
carrier defaults in payment and becomes subject to the penalty in subsection
(a), the director shall audit the self-insured employer or insurance carrier
regarding all active claims under this chapter to identify any other instances
of unpaid compensation.
"
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SECTION 3.
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New statutory material is underscored.
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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Workers'
Compensation; Default; Penalties; Audit
Description:
Requires
an audit for a
self-insured employer or an insurance carrier that
defaults in workers' compensation payments to identify other instances of
unpaid compensation claims.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.