Proposed bill would limit safety requests for workers’ compensation ratings

The proposed text bars certain requests for an employer’s workers’ compensation rating to judge safety. It covers requests to judge a person’s employment safety record and requests for contractor or supplier safety records on construction projects in Wyoming, whether or not they are based in the state. The prohibition has exceptions for litigation and division actions related to running the workers’ compensation system. The text sets July 1, 2026, as the proposed effective date. It says the act would not impair experience-rating contracts or agreements made before that date.

The proposed text directs the division to decide whether an injury counts against an employer’s experience rating and allows limited requests to reconsider that decision. These procedures concern whether an employee’s injury counts against the employer’s workers’ compensation experience rating. A decision that a third party primarily caused the injury means the injury does not count against the employer’s account. Employers bear the burden of proof in an action they bring, and the division’s decision about cause is for rating purposes only and cannot be used in civil litigation about the injury. An employer may seek a new decision only if no hearing request was filed within 15 days, later information shows a third party primarily caused the injury, and the request is made within one year of the original decision. The employer must be current on required premium payments. The division must decide within 15 days after an injury report, or within 45 days after requesting more information if it receives that information on time.