Confidential Communications Bill Passes Committee by 4-3 vote
A bill designed to protect the ability of employers, carriers and defense counsel to confidentially discuss claims passed the House Business & Industry Committee by a vote of 4-3 on April 23, 2015. The original language in HB 678 by Rep. Kenneth Sheets (R-Dallas) was modified following an earlier committee hearing and the language of the committee substitute now moves on to the House Calendars Committee where the bill will be scheduled for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
The bill was filed in response to the Texas Supreme Court’s holding in In re XL Specialty Ins. Co., 373 S.W.3d 46 (Tex. 2012), which held that communications between the carrier’s attorney regarding a contested case hearing and the commercially insured employer were not protected from disclosure to the injured worker.
A similar bill, HB 1468 by Rep. Sheets, passed the House in 2013, but failed to secure Senate passage.
The 2015 regular session of the Texas Legislature adjourns June 1, 2015.
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