OIEC Announces New General Employer and First Responder Notices
The Office of Injured Employee Counsel has updated an existing notice that requires employers to advise their employees of the existence of OIEC services. The agency has also created a notice designed to advise employers of first responders of the existence of the agency’s first responder liaison.
The general notice can be accessed here.
The first responder notice can be accessed here.
OIEC’s explanation of each notice is included below.
General Notices
All employers participating in the Texas workers’ compensation system must post a notice of the Office of Injured Employee Counsel’s Ombudsman Program. Changes were made to the wording of the existing notice (effective June 2013). Rule 276.5(c) includes information about the Ombudsman Program notice. It was amended and became effective in April 2018.
The Ombudsman Program notice must be posted in the personnel office and in the workplace where each employee will regularly see the notice. It must be in English, Spanish, and any other language that is common to the employer’s employees.
Go to www.oiec.texas.gov//resources/employernotice.html for the notice’s required text, print requirements, and printable poster versions. Employers should replace the notice as soon as possible. If the notice is currently part of an all-in-one labor law poster, it can be replaced when the employer receives the annual update.
First Responder Liaison Notices
In September 2017, HB 2082 went into effect creating a first responder liaison at the Office of Injured Employee Counsel. To implement HB 2082, OIEC has adopted Rule 276.5(d) which includes information about the agency’s first responder liaison notice.
An employer that employs first responders or that supervises volunteer first responders must post this notice, which became effective in April 2018. “First responder” has the meaning assigned by Texas Labor Code §504.055. The first responder liaison notice must be posted in the personnel office and in the workplace where each employee will regularly see the notice. It must be in English, Spanish, and any other language that is common to the employer’s employees. OIEC provides notices to employers free of charge.
Go to www.oiec.texas.gov//resources/employernotice.html for the notice’s required text, print requirements, and printable poster versions.
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