CHAPTER 622
H.P. 1572 - L.D. 2077
An Act to Require Logging Contractors to Notify Landowners and Employees of the Cancellation of Workers' Compensation Insurance Coverage
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §401, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A. Cancellation notice requirements. Any person engaged in harvesting forest products not exempt under subsection 1 shall provide within 3 business days of the cancellation written notification to the landowner to whom the person is under contract of a cancellation of that person's workers' compensation insurance policy. That person shall provide identical notice to any employee who was covered by the canceled workers' compensation insurance policy. A person engaged in harvesting forest products not exempt under subsection 1 who is found in noncompliance with these notification requirements is liable for a civil forfeiture of not less than $50 nor more than $100 for each day of noncompliance.
Sec. 2. Development of plans to improve enforcement and reduce accidents. The Department of Labor shall convene an interagency working group with representatives of the department and the Workers' Compensation Board, which shall:
1. Review current policies and activities to enforce workers' compensation coverage requirements in the forest products harvesting industry, including review of practices in policy cancellations;
2. Identify ways to enhance efforts to enforce the workers' compensation coverage requirement in the forest products harvesting industry, identify the agency responsible for enforcement activity and determine the staff and other resources needed to enhance enforcement;
3. Review available data on the types and causes of accidents in the forest products harvesting industry and identify ways to prevent such accidents and if data is unavailable or incomplete, identify ways to improve data collection;
4. Work with the forest products harvesting industry to create incentive-based systems to enhance efforts to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents in the industry;
5. Consider how enforcement efforts and accident prevention in the forest products harvesting industry may be extended to enforcement and safety in other industries and work places; and
6. Report its findings, recommendations and implementing legislation regarding enforcement, accident prevention and other issues to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture, conservation and forestry matters by January 15, 2003. Each of the 2 joint standing committees may report out legislation based upon the report to the First Regular Session of the 121st Legislature.
Effective July 25, 2002, unless otherwise indicated.
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