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Committee adopts hybrid amendment and advances bill changing hearings-officer qualifications at labor department
Summary
The committee adopted a hybrid amendment to SB 569 that removes a strict workers'‑compensation experience requirement for hearings officers while giving hiring preference to licensed attorneys; the committee voted 16–0 to report the bill 'ought to pass' with the amendment after Department of Labor testimony.
The House Executive Departments and Administration Committee unanimously adopted a hybrid amendment to Senate Bill 569 and voted to report the bill "ought to pass" as amended, changing how hearings officers at the Department of Labor are qualified and hired.
Ken Merrifield, commissioner of the Department of Labor, told the committee that appeals from hearing officers in workers' compensation cases go to the compensation appeals board and then to the state Supreme Court, providing a review path. He said recruitment for hearings officers can be difficult if statute requires barred attorneys, and that the department "can live with" amendment 12‑59. "We're not always able to find someone who has passed the bar to provide the service," Merrifield said, noting that the department currently prefers barred attorneys but does not always find them.
Under the hybrid amendment the committee adopted, hearing officers would be required to be attorneys in good standing and qualified by education and experience in administrative adjudicatory hearings and application of law to facts, but the text removes a strict requirement that candidates have workers' compensation experience and provides hiring preference to those with bar admission or relevant administrative experience. One draft had required graduation from an accredited law school and another had given the commissioner hiring preference; the hybrid blends those approaches and gives the Department of Labor flexibility to recruit qualified candidates without unduly extending vacancy durations.
Committee members said the change is intended to reduce long vacancies and ensure hearings are conducted in a timely manner while preserving appeal rights. The clerk recorded the committee's adoption of the hybrid amendment and the bill passed out of committee "ought to pass" as amended by a 16–0 vote. The chair asked the member who moved the measure to file the committee report.
What happens next: The amended SB 569 will be reported out of committee and placed on the House calendar; implementation details (appeals process, hiring practice) remain subject to departmental procedures and any later statutory refinements.
