Labor Law Center Blog » Blog Archive » Montana Worker?s Compensation Law

Montana Worker?s Compensation Law

July 28th, 2006 Posted by Lindsay

I’m aware of some unique items in the Worker’s Compensation plan in Montana, and I thought those were worth repeating. Even if you are familiar with Worker’s Compensation (some people call it “workman’s comp”) you may not know exactly how the process works.

Worker’s Compensation is a system of insurance premiums paid by employers and benefits that are received by qualified employees. The State of Montana works hard to handle worker’s compensation claims quickly. Their office of Employment Relations promises to process orders for worker’s compensation and claimants within 14 days. They’re also working to create an Internet service so that employees can simply log onto the website and apply for worker’s compensation. In my opinion, this will greatly reduce their paperwork flow, plus it will speed up the application process for everyone who applies.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that Montana’s Workers Compensation Regulation Bureau is creating a website where all known medical treatments that are recommended by the professional licensing board of practitioners will be posted within ten days. This will help consumers, employees, insurance companies, and all agencies that are involved in a worker’s compensation claim to understand the appropriateness of medical treatment the employee may be receiving. Decisions can be made more easily because everyone will have access to the same information.

In January 2006, the Worker’s Compensation First Report of Injury form was revised. If you are an employer, I’m sure you want to get the updated version of the form for your files. Another change that happened in May 2005 should be noted. That is as a result of SB108, independent contractors can file a form for an exemption and waive their right to worker’s compensation. The fee for this waiver has been raised to $125, and documentation is required to show that the person is in a business.