CHAPTER 386
WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW
Part I. General Provisions
Section
386-1 Definitions
386-2 Definitions relating to family relationships
386-3 Injuries covered
386-3.5 Negotiation for benefit coverage
386-4 Voluntary coverage
386-5 Exclusiveness of right to compensation; exception
386-6 Territorial applicability
386-7 Interstate and foreign commerce and maritime
employment
386-8 Liability of third person
386-8.5 Limits of third party liability
386-9 Contracting out forbidden
386-10 Out of state employers
Part II. Compensation
A. Medical and Rehabilitation Benefits
386-21 Medical care, services, and supplies
386-21.1 Medical care, services, and supplies for controverted
claims
386-21.2 Treatment plans
386-21.5 Publication of fees by prepaid health care plan
contractors
386-21.7 Prescription drugs; pharmaceuticals
386-21.9 Medical care, services, and supplies for firefighters
suffering from cancer
386-22 Artificial member and other aids
386-23 Services of attendant
386-23.5 Services of attendant, allowance adjustments
386-23.6 Weekly benefit adjustments for recipients of services
of attendants
386-24 Medical rehabilitation
386-25 Vocational rehabilitation
386-26 Guidelines on frequency of treatment and reasonable
utilization of health care and services
386-27 Qualification and duties of health care providers
386-28 Opioid therapy; qualifying injured employees; informed
consent process
386-29 Qualifying injured employees; initial concurrent
prescriptions; opioids and benzodiazepines
B. Income and Indemnity Benefits
1. Disability
386-31 Total disability
386-32 Partial disability
386-33 Subsequent injuries that would increase disability
386-34 Payment after death
386-35 Benefit adjustment
2. Death
386-41 Entitlement to and rate of compensation
386-42 Dependents
386-43 Duration of dependents' weekly benefits
386-44 Effect of erroneous payment; insanity of beneficiary
3. Provisions Common to Benefits for
Disability and Death
386-51 Computation of average weekly wages
386-51.5 Limited liability in concurrent employment
386-52 Credit for voluntary payments and supplies in kind
386-53 Nonweekly periodic payments
386-54 Commutation of periodic payments
386-55 Trustee in case of lump sum payments
386-56 Payment from the special compensation fund in case of
default
386-57 Legal status of right to compensation and compensation
payments
Part III. Administration
386-71 Duties and powers of the director in general
386-71.5 Rehabilitation unit
386-71.6 Workers' compensation benefits facilitator unit
386-72 Rulemaking powers
386-73 Original jurisdiction over controversies
386-73.5 Proceedings to determine employment and coverage
386-74 to 77 Repealed
386-78 Compromise
386-79 Medical examination by employer's physician
386-80 Examination by impartial physician
386-81 Notice of injury; waiver
386-82 Claim for compensation; limitation of time
386-83 When claim within specified time is unnecessary or
waived
386-84 Limitation of time with respect to minors and mentally
incompetent
386-85 Presumptions
386-86 Proceedings upon claim; hearings
386-87 Appeals to appellate board
386-87.1 Standing to intervene in appeals
386-88 Judicial review
386-89 Reopening of cases; continuing jurisdiction of
director
386-90 Conforming prior decisions on appeal
386-91 Enforcement of decisions awarding compensation;
judgment rendered thereon
386-92 Default in payments of compensation, penalty
386-93 Costs
386-94 Attorneys, physicians, other health care providers,
and other fees
386-95 Reports of injuries, other reports, penalty
386-96 Reports of physicians, surgeons, and hospitals
386-97 Inspections
386-97.5 Penalties
386-98 Fraud violations and penalties
386-99 Posting of information
386-100 Deductible option for medical benefits in insurance
policy
Part IV. Security for Compensation; Employment
Rights of Injured Employees; Funds
A. Security for Compensation
386-121 Security for payment of compensation; misdemeanor
386-122 Notice of insurance
386-123 Failure to give security for compensation; penalty;
injunction
386-124 The insurance contract
386-124.5 Insurer's requirements; failure to maintain claims
service office; penalty; injunction
386-125 Knowledge of employer imputed to insurance carrier
386-126 Insolvency of employer not to release insurance
carrier
386-127 Cancellation of insurance contracts
386-128 Insurance by the State, counties, and municipalities
386-129 Employees not to pay for insurance; penalty
B. Employment Rights of Injured Employees
386-141 Repealed
386-142 Employment rights of injured employees
C. Special Compensation Fund
386-151 Special compensation fund established and maintained
386-152 Levy and charges to finance special compensation fund
386-153 Levy on insurers of employers insured under section
386-121(a)(1)
386-154 Charge against employers not insured under section
386-121(a)(1)
386-154.5 Special assessments
386-155 Expenses
Part V. Applicability to Hawaii Guard, Volunteer
Personnel and Public Board Members
A. Hawaii Guard
386-161 Who entitled to compensation
386-162 Terms defined
386-163 Administration
386-164 Appropriation
B. Volunteer Personnel
386-171 Volunteer personnel, medical, etc., expenses
386-172 Administration and procedure
386-173 Time for giving notice, etc.
386-174 Appropriation
C. Public Board Members, Reserve Police Officers,
Police Chaplains, Volunteer Firefighters,
Volunteer Boating Enforcement Officers, Volunteer
Conservation and Resources Enforcement Officers,
and Reserve Public Safety Law Enforcement Officers
386-181 Generally
Part VI. Self-Insurance Groups
386-191 Scope
386-192 Definitions
386-193 Authority to act as workers' compensation
self-insurance group
386-194 Qualifications for initial approval and continued
authority to act as a workers' compensation
self-insurance group
386-195 Certificate of approval; termination
386-196 Examinations
386-197 Board of trustees; membership, powers, duties, and
prohibitions
386-198 Group membership; termination, liability
386-199 Service companies
386-200 Licensing of producer
386-201 Financial statements and other reports
386-202 Misrepresentation prohibited
386-203 Investments
386-204 Rates and reporting of rates
386-205 Refunds
386-206 Premium payment; reserves
386-207 Deficits and insolvencies
386-208 Guaranty mechanism
386-209 Monetary penalties
386-210 Cease and desist orders
386-211 Revocation of certificate of approval
386-212 Notice and hearing
386-213 Rules
386-214 Severability
Note
Chapter heading amended by L 1975, c 41, §1.
This chapter is based on L 1963, c 116, which completely revised and reenacted this chapter. See also L 1975, c 41, §1.
For prior legislative history see: Chapter 97 in RLH 1955, vol 1; L 1957, cc 55, 78, 80, 81, 133, 134, 214, 215, and 216; L 1959, cc 48, 78, 185, 240, and 241; L 1961, cc 3, 5, 99, 115, and 152.
Cross References
Hawaii employers' mutual insurance company, see §§431:14A-101 to 431:14A-119.
Leave sharing program, see §78-26.
Workers' compensation closed claims study by auditor; submission to 2018 legislature. L 2016, c 188.
Attorney General Opinions
Absent explicit inclusion, hanai children were not entitled to statutory benefits under workers' compensation laws. Att. Gen. Op. 93-1.
Neither the disability compensation division (DCD) nor the labor and industrial relations appeals board (LIRAB) is an "entity" for purposes of chapter 323C when it reviews, evaluates, and decides on claims for workers’ compensation; some provisions of chapter 323C apply to each in its adjudicatory capacity because the DCD and the LIRAB receive protected health information when they process workers’ compensation claims. Att. Gen. Op. 2000-2.
Law Journals and Reviews
Commentary on Selected Employment and Labor Law Decisions Under the Lum Court. 14 UH L. Rev. 423 (1992).
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Remedies Available to Victims in Hawai`i. 15 UH L. Rev. 453 (1993).
Hawai`i's Workers' Compensation Scheme: An Employer's License to Kill? 29 UH L. Rev. 211 (2006).
One-Sided Bargain? Assessing the Fairness of Hawai`i's Workers' Compensation Law. 31 UH L. Rev. 553 (2009).
The Jones Act Fish Farmer. 33 UH L. Rev. 223 (2010).
Case Notes
Exclusive remedy for assault and battery suffered during work. 634 F. Supp. 684 (1986).
Plaintiff failed to exhaust the administrative remedies provided to plaintiff by this chapter; prior to filing a separate suit for bad faith denial of benefits or payments, plaintiff must first exhaust all available administrative remedies before the department of labor and industrial relations, disability compensation division. 28 F. Supp. 2d 588 (1997).
This chapter does not bar claims based on the intentional conduct of an employer or employee because such claims are not based on "accidents" related to employment; plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim not barred by this chapter. 721 F. Supp. 2d 947 (2010).
Workers' compensation law is constitutional. 71 H. 358, 791 P.2d 1257 (1990).
Appeals board correctly determined that consequent medical expenses attributable to claimant's non-industrial motor vehicle accident were not covered by this chapter. 77 H. 152, 883 P.2d 73 (1994).
Claimant not precluded by exclusivity provision of §386-5 from seeking common law tort remedies against employer's insurer where injuries allegedly caused by insurer's denial of medical benefits and disability payments not "work injuries" within scope of this chapter. 83 H. 457, 927 P.2d 858 (1996).