HB 405 Summary

• Eliminates the five-employee threshold requirement for workers' compensation coverage, lowering it to one or more employees, and removes exemptions for domestic servants, farmers, and farm labor.

• Eliminates waiting periods for medical benefits so employees can receive medical treatment immediately upon injury.

• Revises permanent total disability compensation to provide lifetime payments adjusted for cost of living and earning potential, rather than a fixed 450-week maximum.

• Extends the appeal deadline for workers' compensation commission decisions from 20 days to two years for initial appeals and from 30 days to two years for Supreme Court appeals.

• Requires the State of Mississippi to provide compensation to injured employees when employers illegally fail to maintain workers' compensation insurance and seek subrogation against the employer.