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House bill would end post'Rainey job-analysis delays when doctors clear injured workers
Summary
House Bill 197 would clarify that a treating physician's release to full duty allows return to work without a separate job analysis; sponsors and State Fund argued the 2021 Rainey decision added months of delay and administrative cost, and a negotiated 14'day-notice amendment secured conditional support from labor and industry.
The Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee considered House Bill 197, sponsored by Representative Nick Castro, which would clarify that when a treating physician releases an injured worker to full duty, the worker may return to work without a separate vocational job analysis in most cases.
Representative Castro told the panel that a recent workers' compensation court decision (Rainey, 2021) has produced administrative delays and extra cost for simple full-duty releases. Nick Mazanek of Montana State…
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