DWC Proposes Rules on Interrogatories and Revised Form on Record Checks
The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation has published two initiatives designed to revise form interrogatories used in contested case hearings and to revise the form used by parties to request record checks and confidential claim information.
Proposed Revisions to Form Interrogatories
The Division is accepting public comments on proposed amendments to Rules 142.13 and 142.19. The amendments update the standard form interrogatories used in connection with contested case hearings by increasing the time for parties to respond to the questions and by changing the questions that a party may ask using the interrogatories.
The proposed rules will be published in the December 18, 2020, issue of the Texas Register and will be available at www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml once published. The Division will also post a copy of the proposed rules and the revised interrogatories on the TDI website at www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/rules/2020rules.html.
Proposed Revisions to Form 153
The Division is also accepting public comments on a proposed revised form: DWC Form-153, Request for Record Check or Copies of Confidential Claim Information.
The revised form allows authorized requesters to ask DWC to check if an employee has a workers’ compensation claim or ask for copies of confidential claim information. The form also increases the use of technology by allowing requesters to submit the form electronically and receive electronic copies of records through GovQA, DWC’s open records portal. There is no charge for copies of records provided in an electronic format. DWC will charge for paper copies according to the regular schedule of fees for open records requests.
Requesters will no longer be required to notarize the form, but requesters must continue to certify that they are eligible to receive the records. The $15 fee for record checks will be discontinued. DWC will no longer use DWC Form-155, Request for Record Check when the revised DWC Form-153, Request for Record Check or Copies of Confidential Claim Information is implemented.
The proposed form is available on the TDI website at: www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/rules/drafts.html.
Comment Procedure and Deadlines
Interested parties may submit written comments on the proposed rules or on the proposed form to: RuleComments@tdi.texas.gov, or may mail or deliver comments to:
Cynthia Guillen
DWC Legal Services, MS-4D
Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation
7551 Metro Center Drive, Suite 100
Austin, Texas 78744-1645
The deadline to submit comments on the proposed interrogatories is 5 p.m., Central time, on January 19, 2021. The deadline to submit comments on the proposed form is 5 p.m., Central time, on December 18, 2020.
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