(a)(1) Where an employee has suffered a compensable injury which disables him from performing his customary or most recent work, his employer at the time of such injury shall transfer him to full-time work suitable to his physical condition where such work is available, during the time that the employee is subjected to medical treatment or rehabilitation or both and until such treatment is discontinued on the advice of the physician conducting the same or of the therapist in charge of the rehabilitation program or until the employee has reached the maximum level of rehabilitation for such worker in the judgment of the commissioner under all of the circumstances, whichever period is the longest. (2) The commissioner shall conduct a hearing upon the request of an employee who claims his employer has not transferred him to such available suitable work. Whenever the commissioner finds that the employee is so disabled, and that the employer has failed to transfer the employee to such available suitable work, he shall order the employer to transfer the employee to such work.

(b) The commissioner shall conduct a hearing upon the request of an employee claiming to be unable to perform his customary or most recent work because of physical incapacity resulting from an injury or disease. Whenever the commissioner finds that the employee has such a physical incapacity, he shall order that the injured worker be removed from work detrimental to his health or which cannot be performed by a person so disabled and be assigned to other suitable full-time work in the employer's establishment, if available; provided the exercise of this authority shall not conflict with any provision of a collective bargaining agreement between such employer and a labor organization which is the collective bargaining representative of the unit of which the injured worker is a part.

(c) Whenever the commissioner finds that an employer has failed to comply with the transfer requirements of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, or has failed to comply with any transfer order issued by him pursuant to this section, he may assess a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars against the employer. Any appeal of a penalty assessed pursuant to this subsection shall be taken in accordance with the provisions of section 31-301. Any penalties collected under the provisions of this subsection shall be paid over to the Second Injury Fund or its successor.

(1959, P.A. 580, S. 10; 1961, P.A. 491, S. 36; 1967, P.A. 842, S. 26; P.A. 79-376, S. 78; P.A. 83-65; P.A. 86-166; P.A. 91-207, S. 5, 9.)

History: 1961 act replaced previous provisions entirely; 1967 act increased weekly payments for rehabilitation treatments from $15 to $40 and added Subsec. (b) re reassignment of employees to different work positions; P.A. 79-376 specified that employee be transferred or reassigned to “full-time” suitable work in Subsecs. (a) and (b) and substituted “worker” and “workers' compensation” for “workman” and “workmen's compensation”; P.A. 83-65 amended Subsec. (a) to remove the provisions for compensation of $40 per week for rehabilitation treatments and to remove the requirement that the commissioners establish rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section and compile a list of available in-state rehabilitation facilities; P.A. 86-166 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to specifically provide that the commissioner shall conduct a hearing to determine if a job transfer or assignment is necessary, and to issue an order for the employer to do so and added Subsec. (c), establishing a civil penalty for employers who fail to comply with the transfer requirements; P.A. 91-207 made a technical change to fund's name in Subsec. (c).

Cited. 16 CA 437; 24 CA 362.