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Workers' compensation bill would require lump-sum PPD payments when award becomes final or worker waives reconsideration
Summary
House Bill 2802A would change the treatment of permanent partial disability (PPD) awards by requiring insurers to make lump-sum payments when a worker requests one and the award becomes final by operation of law or the worker waives reconsideration; the bill also clarifies when lump sums are not required.
Chair Taylor opened the public hearing on House Bill 2802A. Whitney told the committee the measure, carried by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), requires insurers to make lump-sum payments of permanent partial disability (PPD) awards in certain circumstances and clarifies exceptions.
Matt West, administrator of the Workers’ Compensation Division, described the statutory issue the bill addresses, noting that changes made in 2007 altered the administrative pathway for lump-sum requests so that workers now request lump sums from carriers rather than the division. West said a 2023 Court of Appeals decision concluded that even if a worker waives the right to appeal an award, the award may not be final by operation of law under current text, creating a delay of up to 60 days for some workers to access lump sums.
“House Bill 2802 ensures that workers who waive their right to request reconsideration of the notice of closure can get the full amount of their award sooner,” West said, summarizing that the bill requires lump-sum payment upon worker request if the worker waives reconsideration, and preserves existing grounds for denial (e.g., a timely carrier request for reconsideration, a stay due to hearing request, or when the worker is in vocational training).
West told the committee the Workers’ Compensation Management-Labor Advisory Committee voted to support HB 2802 on Feb. 27 and that the change is intended to correct an oversight in ORS 656.230 related to lump-sum payments.
Chair Taylor closed the public hearing and said she intended to schedule a work session for the following Tuesday; no committee vote was taken at the hearing.
Ending: The bill seeks to ensure timely lump-sum payments when a worker waives reconsideration, correcting a statutory interpretation produced by a recent appellate decision; a work session was planned and no committee vote was recorded at the hearing.
