WHO INVESTIGATES WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS IN ALASKA?

After sustaining an injury on the job, most employees in Alaska will seek workers’ compensation. When it comes to workers’ compensation, it is crucial that employers and insurers deliver coverages in a fair and impartial way. The benefits to injured workers must have a predictable delivery and be at a reasonable cost. What happens if an employer or injured worker commits fraud?

According to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, a Special Investigations Unit investigates any allegations of fraud. Workers’ compensation fraud may include the following:

• Misleading acts or statements to obtain benefits

• Misleading acts or statements to evade workers’ compensation premium payments

• Lapses in coverage by the employer

It is up to this unit to enforce the rules regarding workers’ compensation. In Alaska, employers must carry workers’ compensation coverage. This unit will investigate uninsured employers. Following the investigation, the employer may have to deal with penalties. For instance, employers may have to pay fines up to $1,000 per employee for each day that the company remains uninsured. In addition, if he or she violated stop work orders, he or she will have to pay a mandatory $1,000 a day.

In addition to investigations for fraud, medical services also undergo investigation. It is up to the Medical Services Review Committee with the help from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers’ Compensation Board to look into the medical costs to determine the employee’s benefits.

None of the above information on workers’ compensation investigations is to be used as legal advice. All of this information is for educational purposes only.