PRINTER'S NO. 1873
No. 1530 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY BURNS, OCTOBER 3, 1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, OCTOBER 3, 1983
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), entitled, as
2 amended, "An act defining the liability of an employer to pay
3 damages for injuries received by an employe in the course of
4 employment; establishing an elective schedule of
5 compensation; providing procedure for the determination of
6 liability and compensation thereunder; and prescribing
7 penalties," exempting the Commonwealth and its political
8 subdivisions from the requirement that coverage be provided
9 by the fund or an insurance company; and making editorial
10 changes.
11 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12 hereby enacts as follows:
13 Section 1. Section 305 of the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736,
14 No.338), known as The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act,
15 reenacted and amended June 21, 1939 (P.L.520, No.281) and
16 amended December 5, 1974 (P.L.782, No.263) and repealed in part
17 April 28, 1978 (P.L.202, No.53), is amended to read:
18 Section 305. Every employer liable under this act to pay
19 compensation except the Commonwealth and its political
20 subdivisions shall insure the payment of compensation in the
21 State Workmen's Insurance Fund, or in any insurance company, or
1 mutual association or company, authorized to insure such
2 liability in this Commonwealth, unless such employer shall be
3 exempted by the department from such insurance or unless the
4 employer is the Commonwealth or one of its political
5 subdivisions in which case it shall be automatically exempted.
6 Such insurer shall assume the employer's liability hereunder and
7 shall be entitled to all of the employer's immunities and
8 protection hereunder except, that whenever any employer shall
9 have purchased insurance to provide benefits under this act to
10 persons engaged in domestic service, neither the employer nor
11 the insurer may invoke the provisions of section 321 as a
12 defense. An employer desiring to be exempt from insuring the
13 whole or any part of his liability for compensation shall make
14 application to the department, showing his financial ability to
15 pay such compensation, whereupon the department, if satisfied of
16 the applicant's financial ability, shall, upon the payment of a
17 fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00), issue to the applicant a
18 permit authorizing such exemption. The department shall
19 establish a period of twelve (12) calendar months, to begin and
20 end at such times as the department shall prescribe, which shall
21 be known as the annual exemption period. Unless previously
22 revoked, all permits issued under this section shall expire and
23 terminate on the last day of the annual exemption period for
24 which they were issued. Permits issued under this act shall be
25 renewed upon the filing of an application, and the payment of a
26 renewal fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00). The department
27 may, from time to time, require further statements of the
28 financial ability of such employer, and, if at any time such
29 employer appear no longer able to pay compensation, shall revoke
30 its permit granting exemption, in which case the employer shall
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1 immediately subscribe to the State Workmen's Insurance Fund, or
2 insure his liability in any insurance company or mutual
3 association or company, as aforesaid.
4 Any employer who fails to comply with the provisions of this
5 section for every such failure, shall, upon summary conviction
6 before any official of competent jurisdiction, be sentenced to
7 pay a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more
8 than two thousand dollars ($2,000), and costs of prosecution, or
9 imprisonment for a period of not more than one (1) year, or
10 both. Every day's violation shall constitute a separate offense.
11 It shall be the duty of the department to enforce the provisions
12 of this section; and it shall investigate all violations that
13 are brought to its notice and shall institute prosecutions for
14 violations thereof. All fines recovered under the provisions of
15 this section shall be paid to the department, and by it paid
16 into the State Treasury.
17 In any proceeding against an employer under this section, a
18 certificate of non-insurance issued by the official Workmen's
19 Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau and a certificate of
20 the department showing that the defendant has not been exempted
21 from obtaining insurance under this section, shall be prima
22 facie evidence of the facts therein stated.
23 When any employer fails to secure the payment of compensation
24 under this act as provided in sections 305 and 305.2, the
25 injured employe or his dependents may proceed either under this
26 act or in a suit for damages at law as provided by article II.
27 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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