State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > North-dakota > T65 > T65c01

Download pdf
Loading PDF...


TITLE 65WORKFORCE SAFETY AND INSURANCECHAPTER 65-01GENERAL PROVISIONS65-01-01. Purposes of workforce safety and insurance law - Police power. Thestate of North Dakota, exercising its police and sovereign powers, declares that the prosperity of<br>the state depends in a large measure upon the well-being of its wageworkers, and, hence, for<br>workers injured in hazardous employments, and for their families and dependents, sure and<br>certain relief is hereby provided regardless of questions of fault and to the exclusion of every<br>other remedy, proceeding, or compensation, except as otherwise provided in this title, and to that<br>end, all civil actions and civil claims for relief for those personal injuries and all jurisdiction of the<br>courts of the state over those causes are abolished except as is otherwise provided in this title. A<br>civil action or civil claim arising under this title, which is subject to judicial review, must be<br>reviewed solely on the merits of the action or claim. This title may not be construed liberally on<br>behalf of any party to the action or claim.65-01-01.1. Civil liability for intentional injuries. The sole exception to an employer'simmunity from civil liability under this title, except as provided in chapter 65-09, is an action for an<br>injury to an employee caused by an employer's intentional act done with the conscious purpose<br>of inflicting the injury.65-01-02. Definitions. In this title:1.&quot;Acute care&quot; means a short course of intensive diagnostic and therapeutic services<br>provided immediately following a work injury with a rapid onset of pronounced<br>symptoms.2.&quot;Adopted&quot; or &quot;adoption&quot; refers only to a legal adoption effected prior to the time of<br>the injury.3.&quot;Artificial members&quot; includes a device that is a substitute for a natural part, organ,<br>limb, or other part of the body. The term includes a prescriptive device that is an aid<br>for a natural part, organ, limb, or other part of the body if the damage to the<br>prescriptive device is accompanied by an injury to the body. A prescriptive device<br>includes prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, dental braces, and orthopedic<br>braces.4.&quot;Artificial replacements&quot; means mechanical aids, including braces, belts, casts, or<br>crutches as may be reasonable and necessary due to compensable injury.5.&quot;Average weekly wage&quot; means the weekly wages the employee was receiving from<br>all employments for which coverage is required or otherwise secured at the date of<br>first disability. The average weekly wage determined under this subsection must be<br>rounded to the nearest dollar. If the employee's wages are not fixed by the week,<br>they must be determined by using the first applicable formula from the schedule<br>below:a.For seasonal employment, during the first consecutive days of disability up to<br>twenty-eight days the average weekly wage is calculated pursuant to the first<br>applicable formula in subdivisions b through g, and after that are calculated as<br>one-fiftieth of the total wages from all occupations during the twelve months<br>preceding the date of first disability or during the tax year preceding the date of<br>first disability, or an average of the three tax years preceding the date of first<br>disability, whichever is highest and for which accurate, reliable, and complete<br>records are readily available.Page No. 1b.The &quot;average weekly wage&quot; of a self-employed employer is determined by the<br>following formula: one fifty-second of the average annual net self-employed<br>earnings reported the three preceding tax years or preceding fifty-two weeks<br>whichever is higher if accurate, reliable, and complete records for those<br>fifty-two weeks are readily available.c.Hourly or daily rate multiplied by number of hours or days worked per<br>seven-day week.d.Monthly rate multiplied by twelve months and divided by fifty-two weeks.e.Biweekly rate divided by two.f.The usual wage paid other employees engaged in similar occupations.g.A wage reasonably and fairly approximating the weekly wage lost by the<br>claimant during the period of disability.6.&quot;Average weekly wage in the state&quot; means the determination made of the average<br>weekly wage in the state by job service North Dakota on or before July first of each<br>year, computed to the next highest dollar.7.&quot;Board&quot; means the workforce safety and insurance board of directors.8.&quot;Brother&quot; and &quot;sister&quot; include a stepbrother and a stepsister, a half brother and a half<br>sister, and a brother and sister by adoption. The terms do not include a married<br>brother or sister unless that person actually is dependent.9.&quot;Child&quot;, for determining eligibility for benefits under chapter 65-05, means a<br>legitimate child, a stepchild, adopted child, posthumous child, foster child, and<br>acknowledged illegitimate child who is under eighteen years of age and resides with<br>the employee; or is under eighteen years of age and does not reside with the<br>employee but a duty of support is substantiated by an appropriate court order; or is<br>between eighteen and twenty-two years of age and enrolled as a full-time student in<br>any accredited educational institution and dependent upon the employee for support;<br>or is eighteen years of age or over and is physically or mentally incapable of<br>self-support and is actually dependent upon the employee for support. A child does<br>not include a married child unless actually dependent on the employee as shown on<br>the preceding year's income tax returns.10.&quot;Compensable injury&quot; means an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of<br>hazardous employment which must be established by medical evidence supported<br>by objective medical findings.a.The term includes:(1)Disease caused by a hazard to which an employee is subjected in the<br>course of employment. The disease must be incidental to the character<br>of the business and not independent of the relation of employer and<br>employee. Disease includes effects from radiation.(2)An injury to artificial members.(3)Injuries due to heart attack or other heart-related disease, stroke, and<br>physical injury caused by mental stimulus, but only when caused by the<br>employee's employment with reasonable medical certainty, and only<br>when it is determined with reasonable medical certainty that unusual<br>stress is at least fifty percent of the cause of the injury or disease as<br>compared with all other contributing causes combined. Unusual stressPage No. 2means stress greater than the highest level of stress normally<br>experienced or anticipated in that position or line of work.(4)Injuries arising out of employer-required or supplied travel to and from a<br>remote jobsite or activities performed at the direction or under the control<br>of the employer.(5)An injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an<br>employee because of the employee's employment.(6)A mental or psychological condition caused by a physical injury, but only<br>when the physical injury is determined with reasonable medical certainty<br>to be at least fifty percent of the cause of the condition as compared with<br>all other contributing causes combined, and only when the condition did<br>not preexist the work injury.b.The term does not include:(1)Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public outside of<br>employment is exposed or preventive treatment for communicable<br>diseases, except that the organization may pay for preventive treatment<br>for a health care provider as defined in section 23-07.5-01, firefighter,<br>peace officer, correctional officer, court officer, law enforcement officer,<br>emergency medical technician, or an individual trained and authorized by<br>law or rule to render emergency medical assistance or treatment who is<br>exposed to a bloodborne pathogen as defined in section 23-07.5-01<br>occurring in the course of employment and for exposure to rabies<br>occurring in the course of employment.(2)A willfully self-inflicted injury, including suicide or attempted suicide, or an<br>injury caused by the employee's willful intention to injure or kill another.(3)Any injury caused by the use of intoxicants or the illegal use of controlled<br>substances.(4)An injury that arises out of an altercation in which the injured employee is<br>an aggressor.This paragraph does not apply to public safetyemployees, including law enforcement officers or private security<br>personnel who are required to engage in altercations as part of their job<br>duties if the altercation arises out of the performance of those job duties.(5)An injury that arises out of an illegal act committed by the injured<br>employee.(6)An injury that arises out of an employee's voluntary nonpaid participation<br>in any recreational activity, including athletic events, parties, and picnics,<br>even though the employer pays some or all of the cost of the activity.(7)Injuries attributable to a preexisting injury, disease, or other condition,<br>including when the employment acts as a trigger to produce symptoms in<br>the preexisting injury, disease, or other condition unless the employment<br>substantially accelerates its progression or substantially worsens its<br>severity.(8)A nonemployment injury that, although acting upon a prior compensable<br>injury, is an independent intervening cause of injury.Page No. 3(9)A latent or asymptomatic degenerative condition, caused in substantial<br>part by employment duties, which is triggered or made active by a<br>subsequent injury.(10)A mental injury arising from mental stimulus.11.&quot;Date of first disability&quot; means the first date the employee was unable to work<br>because of a compensable injury.12.&quot;Date of maximum medical improvement&quot; or &quot;date of maximum medical recovery&quot;<br>means the date after which further recovery from, or lasting improvement to, an<br>injury or disease can no longer reasonably be anticipated based upon reasonable<br>medical probability.13.&quot;Director&quot; means the director of the organization.14.&quot;Disability&quot; means loss of earnings capacity and may be permanent total, temporary<br>total, or partial.15.&quot;Doctor&quot; means doctor of medicine or osteopathy, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist,<br>podiatrist, or psychologist acting within the scope of the doctor's license.16.&quot;Employee&quot; means a person who performs hazardous employment for another for<br>remuneration unless the person is an independent contractor under the common-law<br>test.a.The term includes:(1)All elective and appointed officials of this state and its political<br>subdivisions,includingmunicipalcorporationsandincludingthemembers of the legislative assembly, all elective officials of the several<br>counties of this state, and all elective peace officers of any city.(2)Aliens.(3)County general assistance workers, except those who are engaged in<br>repaying to counties moneys that the counties have been compelled by<br>statute to expend for county general assistance.(4)Minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed; a minor is deemed<br>sui juris for the purposes of this title, and no other person has any claim<br>for relief or right to claim workforce safety and insurance benefits for any<br>injury to a minor worker, but in the event of the award of a lump sum of<br>benefits to a minor employee, the lump sum may be paid only to the<br>legally appointed guardian of the minor.b.The term does not include:(1)Any person whose employment is both casual and not in the course of<br>the trade, business, profession, or occupation of that person's employer.(2)Any person who is engaged in an illegal enterprise or occupation.(3)The spouse of an employer or a child under the age of twenty-two of an<br>employer. For purposes of this paragraph and section 65-07-01, &quot;child&quot;<br>means any legitimate child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, or<br>acknowledged illegitimate child.Page No. 4(4)Any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, provided the person<br>meets the following three requirements:(a)The salesperson or broker must be a licensed real estate agent<br>under section 43-23-05.(b)Substantially all of the salesperson's or broker's remuneration for<br>the services performed as a real estate agent must be directly<br>related to sales or other efforts rather than to the number of hours<br>worked.(c)A written agreement must exist between the salesperson or broker<br>and the person or firm for whom the salesperson or broker works,<br>which agreement must provide that the salesperson or broker will<br>not be treated as an employee but rather as an independent<br>contractor.(5)The members of the board of directors of a business corporation who are<br>not employed in any capacity by the corporation other than as members<br>of the board of directors.(6)Any individual delivering newspapers or shopping news, if substantially<br>all of the individual's remuneration is directly related to sales or other<br>efforts rather than to the number of hours worked and a written<br>agreement exists between the individual and the publisher of the<br>newspaper or shopping news which states that the individual is an<br>independent contractor.(7)An employer.c.Persons employed by a subcontractor, or by an independent contractor<br>operating under an agreement with the general contractor, for the purpose of<br>this chapter are deemed to be employees of the general contractor who is liable<br>and responsible for the payments of premium for the coverage of these<br>employees until the subcontractor or independent contractor has secured the<br>necessary coverage and paid the premium for the coverage. This subdivision<br>does not impose any liability upon a general contractor other than liability to the<br>organization for the payment of premiums which are not paid by a<br>subcontractor or independent contractor.17.&quot;Employer&quot; means a person who engages or received the services of another for<br>remuneration unless the person performing the services is an independent<br>contractor under the common-law test. The term includes:a.The state and all political subdivisions thereof.b.All public and quasi-public corporations in this state.c.Every person, partnership, limited liability company, association, and private<br>corporation, including a public service corporation.d.The legal representative of any deceased employer.e.The receiver or trustee of any person, partnership, limited liability company,<br>association, or corporation having one or more employees as herein defined.f.The president, vice presidents, secretary, or treasurer of a business<br>corporation, but not members of the board of directors of a business<br>corporation who are not also officers of the corporation.Page No. 5g.The managers of a limited liability company.h.The president, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, or board of directors of an<br>association or cooperative organized under chapter 6-06, 10-12, 10-13, 10-15,<br>36-08, or 49-21.i.The clerk, assessor, treasurer, or any member of the board of supervisors of an<br>organized township, if the person is not employed by the township in any other<br>capacity.j.A multidistrict special education unit.k.An area career and technology center.l.A regional education association.18.&quot;Fee schedule&quot; means the payment formulas established in the organization<br>publication entitled &quot;Medical and Hospital Fees&quot;.19.&quot;Fund&quot; means the workforce safety and insurance fund.20.&quot;Hazardous employment&quot; means any employment in which one or more employees<br>are employed regularly in the same business or in or about the establishment<br>except:a.Agricultural or domestic service.b.Any employment of a common carrier by railroad.c.Any employment for the transportation of property or persons by nonresidents,<br>where, in such transportation, the highways are not traveled more than seven<br>miles [11.27 kilometers] and return over the same route within the state of<br>North Dakota.d.All members of the clergy and employees of religious organizations engaged in<br>the operation, maintenance, and conduct of the place of worship.21.&quot;Health care provider&quot; means a doctor or any recognized practitioner providing<br>skilled services pursuant to the prescription of, or under the supervision or direction<br>of, a doctor.22.&quot;Organization&quot; means workforce safety and insurance, or the director, or any<br>department head, assistant, or employee of workforce safety and insurance<br>designated by the director, to act within the course and scope of that person's<br>employment in administering the policies, powers, and duties of this title.23.&quot;Parent&quot; includes a stepparent and a parent by adoption.24.&quot;Permanent impairment&quot; means the loss of or loss of use of a member of the body<br>existing after the date of maximum medical improvement and includes disfigurement<br>resulting from an injury.25.&quot;Permanent total disability&quot; means disability that is the direct result of a<br>compensable injury that prevents an employee from performing any work and<br>results from any one of the following conditions:a.Total and permanent loss of sight of both eyes;b.Loss of both legs or loss of both feet at or above the ankle;Page No. 6c.Loss of both arms or loss of both hands at or above the wrist;d.Loss of any two of the members or faculties in subdivision a, b, or c;e.Permanent and complete paralysis of both legs or both arms or of one leg and<br>one arm;f.Third-degree burns that cover at least forty percent of the body and require<br>grafting;g.A medically documented traumatic brain injury affecting cognitive and mental<br>functioning which renders an employee unable to provide self-care and requires<br>supervision or assistance with a majority of the activities of daily living; orh.A compensable injury that results in a permanent partial impairment rating of<br>the whole body of at least twenty-five percent pursuant to section 65-05-12.2.If the employee has not reached maximum medical improvement within one<br>hundred four weeks, the employee may receive a permanent partial impairment<br>rating if a rating will assist the organization in assessing the employee's capabilities.<br>Entitlement to a rating is solely within the discretion of the organization.26.&quot;Rehabilitation services&quot; means nonmedical services reasonably necessary to<br>restore a disabled employee to substantial gainful employment as defined by section<br>65-05.1-01 as near as possible.The term may include vocational evaluation,counseling, education, workplace modification, vocational retraining including<br>training for alternative employment with the same employer, and job placement<br>assistance.27.&quot;Seasonal employment&quot; includes occupations that are not permanent or that do not<br>customarily operate throughout the entire year.Seasonal employment isdetermined by what is customary with respect to the employer at the time of injury.28.&quot;Spouse&quot; includes only the decedent's husband or wife who was living with the<br>decedent or was dependent upon the decedent for support at the time of injury.29.&quot;Temporary total disability&quot; means disability that results in the inability of an<br>employee to earn wages as a result of a compensable injury for which disability<br>benefits may not exceed a cumulative total of one hundred four weeks or the date<br>the employee reaches maximum medical improvement or maximum medical<br>recovery, whichever occurs first.30.&quot;Utilization review&quot; means the initial and continuing evaluation of appropriateness in<br>terms of both the level and the quality of health care and health services provided a<br>patient, based on medically accepted standards.The evaluation must beaccomplished by means of a system that identifies the utilization of medical<br>services, based on medically accepted standards, and which refers instances of<br>possible inappropriate utilization to the organization to obtain opinions and<br>recommendations of expert medical consultants to review individual cases for which<br>administrative action may be deemed necessary.31.&quot;Wages&quot; means an employee's remuneration from all employment reportable to the<br>internal revenue service as earned income for federal income tax purposes. For<br>purposes of chapter 65-04, &quot;wages&quot; means all gross earnings of all employees. The<br>term includes all pretax deductions for amounts allocated by the employee for<br>deferred compensation, medical reimbursement, retirement, or any similar program,<br>but may not include dismissal or severance pay.65-01-03. Individual performing service for remuneration presumed an employee.Page No. 71.Each individual who performs services for another for remuneration is presumed to<br>be an employee of the person for which the services are performed, unless it is<br>proven that the individual is an independent contractor under the common-law test.<br>The person that asserts that an individual is an independent contractor under the<br>common-law test, rather than an employee, has the burden of proving that fact.2.In the case of commercial motor vehicles whose gross vehicle weight rating is more<br>than twenty-six thousand pounds [11793.40 kilograms], with an individual operating<br>a licensed truck or licensed tractor for a motor carrier of property, the presumption in<br>subsection 1 is successfully rebutted if all of the following factors are present:a.The individual owns, leases, or enters a purchase agreement to purchase a<br>truck or tractor. The lease or purchase agreement must represent reasonably<br>the value of the lease or purchase of the truck or tractor.The lease orpurchase agreement may be with the carrier of property. An unreasonable<br>lease or purchase agreement with a third party, unaffiliated with the carrier,<br>does not affect this factor.b.The individual is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the truck or<br>tractor.c.The individual bears the principal burden of operating costs, including fuel,<br>supplies, vehicle insurance, and personal expenses.d.The individual is responsible for supplying the necessary personal services to<br>operate the truck or tractor.e.Income taxes are not withheld from the individual's compensation.f.The individual generally determines the details and means of performing the<br>services, in conformance with statutory or regulatory requirements, operating<br>procedures of the carrier, and specifications of the shipper.g.The individual enters a written agreement with the motor carrier outlining the<br>nature of the relationship.65-01-04. Computation of weekly wages in compensation matters. Repealed byS.L. 1969, ch. 558, <meta property="og:url" content="https://statutes.laws.com/test/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Statutes" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2019-12-27T23:25:16+00:00" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <h2>State Codes and Statutes</h2> <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/'>Statutes</a> > <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota'>North-dakota</a> > <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota/t65'>T65</a> > <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota/t65/t65c01'>T65c01</a><br><br><a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/2009/t65/pdf/t65c01.pdf">Download pdf</a><br><div id="embed_document" style="width:625px; height:815px; text-align:center;">Loading PDF...</div><script type="text/javascript"> var pdf_url = 'https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/2009/t65/pdf/t65c01.pdf'; $(document).ready(function() { var embedwindow = $("#embed_document"); if ($.browser.msie){ embedwindow.html('<embed src="'+pdf_url+'" width="100%" height="100%"></embed>'); } else { embedwindow.html('<iframe style="width:100%; height:100%;" src="https://docs.google.com/gview?url='+window.escape(pdf_url)+'&embedded=true" frameborder="0"></iframe>'); } });</script><br><br><noframes>TITLE 65WORKFORCE SAFETY AND INSURANCECHAPTER 65-01GENERAL PROVISIONS65-01-01. Purposes of workforce safety and insurance law - Police power. Thestate of North Dakota, exercising its police and sovereign powers, declares that the prosperity of<br>the state depends in a large measure upon the well-being of its wageworkers, and, hence, for<br>workers injured in hazardous employments, and for their families and dependents, sure and<br>certain relief is hereby provided regardless of questions of fault and to the exclusion of every<br>other remedy, proceeding, or compensation, except as otherwise provided in this title, and to that<br>end, all civil actions and civil claims for relief for those personal injuries and all jurisdiction of the<br>courts of the state over those causes are abolished except as is otherwise provided in this title. A<br>civil action or civil claim arising under this title, which is subject to judicial review, must be<br>reviewed solely on the merits of the action or claim. This title may not be construed liberally on<br>behalf of any party to the action or claim.65-01-01.1. Civil liability for intentional injuries. The sole exception to an employer'simmunity from civil liability under this title, except as provided in chapter 65-09, is an action for an<br>injury to an employee caused by an employer's intentional act done with the conscious purpose<br>of inflicting the injury.65-01-02. Definitions. In this title:1.&quot;Acute care&quot; means a short course of intensive diagnostic and therapeutic services<br>provided immediately following a work injury with a rapid onset of pronounced<br>symptoms.2.&quot;Adopted&quot; or &quot;adoption&quot; refers only to a legal adoption effected prior to the time of<br>the injury.3.&quot;Artificial members&quot; includes a device that is a substitute for a natural part, organ,<br>limb, or other part of the body. The term includes a prescriptive device that is an aid<br>for a natural part, organ, limb, or other part of the body if the damage to the<br>prescriptive device is accompanied by an injury to the body. A prescriptive device<br>includes prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, dental braces, and orthopedic<br>braces.4.&quot;Artificial replacements&quot; means mechanical aids, including braces, belts, casts, or<br>crutches as may be reasonable and necessary due to compensable injury.5.&quot;Average weekly wage&quot; means the weekly wages the employee was receiving from<br>all employments for which coverage is required or otherwise secured at the date of<br>first disability. The average weekly wage determined under this subsection must be<br>rounded to the nearest dollar. If the employee's wages are not fixed by the week,<br>they must be determined by using the first applicable formula from the schedule<br>below:a.For seasonal employment, during the first consecutive days of disability up to<br>twenty-eight days the average weekly wage is calculated pursuant to the first<br>applicable formula in subdivisions b through g, and after that are calculated as<br>one-fiftieth of the total wages from all occupations during the twelve months<br>preceding the date of first disability or during the tax year preceding the date of<br>first disability, or an average of the three tax years preceding the date of first<br>disability, whichever is highest and for which accurate, reliable, and complete<br>records are readily available.Page No. 1b.The &quot;average weekly wage&quot; of a self-employed employer is determined by the<br>following formula: one fifty-second of the average annual net self-employed<br>earnings reported the three preceding tax years or preceding fifty-two weeks<br>whichever is higher if accurate, reliable, and complete records for those<br>fifty-two weeks are readily available.c.Hourly or daily rate multiplied by number of hours or days worked per<br>seven-day week.d.Monthly rate multiplied by twelve months and divided by fifty-two weeks.e.Biweekly rate divided by two.f.The usual wage paid other employees engaged in similar occupations.g.A wage reasonably and fairly approximating the weekly wage lost by the<br>claimant during the period of disability.6.&quot;Average weekly wage in the state&quot; means the determination made of the average<br>weekly wage in the state by job service North Dakota on or before July first of each<br>year, computed to the next highest dollar.7.&quot;Board&quot; means the workforce safety and insurance board of directors.8.&quot;Brother&quot; and &quot;sister&quot; include a stepbrother and a stepsister, a half brother and a half<br>sister, and a brother and sister by adoption. The terms do not include a married<br>brother or sister unless that person actually is dependent.9.&quot;Child&quot;, for determining eligibility for benefits under chapter 65-05, means a<br>legitimate child, a stepchild, adopted child, posthumous child, foster child, and<br>acknowledged illegitimate child who is under eighteen years of age and resides with<br>the employee; or is under eighteen years of age and does not reside with the<br>employee but a duty of support is substantiated by an appropriate court order; or is<br>between eighteen and twenty-two years of age and enrolled as a full-time student in<br>any accredited educational institution and dependent upon the employee for support;<br>or is eighteen years of age or over and is physically or mentally incapable of<br>self-support and is actually dependent upon the employee for support. A child does<br>not include a married child unless actually dependent on the employee as shown on<br>the preceding year's income tax returns.10.&quot;Compensable injury&quot; means an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of<br>hazardous employment which must be established by medical evidence supported<br>by objective medical findings.a.The term includes:(1)Disease caused by a hazard to which an employee is subjected in the<br>course of employment. The disease must be incidental to the character<br>of the business and not independent of the relation of employer and<br>employee. Disease includes effects from radiation.(2)An injury to artificial members.(3)Injuries due to heart attack or other heart-related disease, stroke, and<br>physical injury caused by mental stimulus, but only when caused by the<br>employee's employment with reasonable medical certainty, and only<br>when it is determined with reasonable medical certainty that unusual<br>stress is at least fifty percent of the cause of the injury or disease as<br>compared with all other contributing causes combined. Unusual stressPage No. 2means stress greater than the highest level of stress normally<br>experienced or anticipated in that position or line of work.(4)Injuries arising out of employer-required or supplied travel to and from a<br>remote jobsite or activities performed at the direction or under the control<br>of the employer.(5)An injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an<br>employee because of the employee's employment.(6)A mental or psychological condition caused by a physical injury, but only<br>when the physical injury is determined with reasonable medical certainty<br>to be at least fifty percent of the cause of the condition as compared with<br>all other contributing causes combined, and only when the condition did<br>not preexist the work injury.b.The term does not include:(1)Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public outside of<br>employment is exposed or preventive treatment for communicable<br>diseases, except that the organization may pay for preventive treatment<br>for a health care provider as defined in section 23-07.5-01, firefighter,<br>peace officer, correctional officer, court officer, law enforcement officer,<br>emergency medical technician, or an individual trained and authorized by<br>law or rule to render emergency medical assistance or treatment who is<br>exposed to a bloodborne pathogen as defined in section 23-07.5-01<br>occurring in the course of employment and for exposure to rabies<br>occurring in the course of employment.(2)A willfully self-inflicted injury, including suicide or attempted suicide, or an<br>injury caused by the employee's willful intention to injure or kill another.(3)Any injury caused by the use of intoxicants or the illegal use of controlled<br>substances.(4)An injury that arises out of an altercation in which the injured employee is<br>an aggressor.This paragraph does not apply to public safetyemployees, including law enforcement officers or private security<br>personnel who are required to engage in altercations as part of their job<br>duties if the altercation arises out of the performance of those job duties.(5)An injury that arises out of an illegal act committed by the injured<br>employee.(6)An injury that arises out of an employee's voluntary nonpaid participation<br>in any recreational activity, including athletic events, parties, and picnics,<br>even though the employer pays some or all of the cost of the activity.(7)Injuries attributable to a preexisting injury, disease, or other condition,<br>including when the employment acts as a trigger to produce symptoms in<br>the preexisting injury, disease, or other condition unless the employment<br>substantially accelerates its progression or substantially worsens its<br>severity.(8)A nonemployment injury that, although acting upon a prior compensable<br>injury, is an independent intervening cause of injury.Page No. 3(9)A latent or asymptomatic degenerative condition, caused in substantial<br>part by employment duties, which is triggered or made active by a<br>subsequent injury.(10)A mental injury arising from mental stimulus.11.&quot;Date of first disability&quot; means the first date the employee was unable to work<br>because of a compensable injury.12.&quot;Date of maximum medical improvement&quot; or &quot;date of maximum medical recovery&quot;<br>means the date after which further recovery from, or lasting improvement to, an<br>injury or disease can no longer reasonably be anticipated based upon reasonable<br>medical probability.13.&quot;Director&quot; means the director of the organization.14.&quot;Disability&quot; means loss of earnings capacity and may be permanent total, temporary<br>total, or partial.15.&quot;Doctor&quot; means doctor of medicine or osteopathy, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist,<br>podiatrist, or psychologist acting within the scope of the doctor's license.16.&quot;Employee&quot; means a person who performs hazardous employment for another for<br>remuneration unless the person is an independent contractor under the common-law<br>test.a.The term includes:(1)All elective and appointed officials of this state and its political<br>subdivisions,includingmunicipalcorporationsandincludingthemembers of the legislative assembly, all elective officials of the several<br>counties of this state, and all elective peace officers of any city.(2)Aliens.(3)County general assistance workers, except those who are engaged in<br>repaying to counties moneys that the counties have been compelled by<br>statute to expend for county general assistance.(4)Minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed; a minor is deemed<br>sui juris for the purposes of this title, and no other person has any claim<br>for relief or right to claim workforce safety and insurance benefits for any<br>injury to a minor worker, but in the event of the award of a lump sum of<br>benefits to a minor employee, the lump sum may be paid only to the<br>legally appointed guardian of the minor.b.The term does not include:(1)Any person whose employment is both casual and not in the course of<br>the trade, business, profession, or occupation of that person's employer.(2)Any person who is engaged in an illegal enterprise or occupation.(3)The spouse of an employer or a child under the age of twenty-two of an<br>employer. For purposes of this paragraph and section 65-07-01, &quot;child&quot;<br>means any legitimate child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, or<br>acknowledged illegitimate child.Page No. 4(4)Any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, provided the person<br>meets the following three requirements:(a)The salesperson or broker must be a licensed real estate agent<br>under section 43-23-05.(b)Substantially all of the salesperson's or broker's remuneration for<br>the services performed as a real estate agent must be directly<br>related to sales or other efforts rather than to the number of hours<br>worked.(c)A written agreement must exist between the salesperson or broker<br>and the person or firm for whom the salesperson or broker works,<br>which agreement must provide that the salesperson or broker will<br>not be treated as an employee but rather as an independent<br>contractor.(5)The members of the board of directors of a business corporation who are<br>not employed in any capacity by the corporation other than as members<br>of the board of directors.(6)Any individual delivering newspapers or shopping news, if substantially<br>all of the individual's remuneration is directly related to sales or other<br>efforts rather than to the number of hours worked and a written<br>agreement exists between the individual and the publisher of the<br>newspaper or shopping news which states that the individual is an<br>independent contractor.(7)An employer.c.Persons employed by a subcontractor, or by an independent contractor<br>operating under an agreement with the general contractor, for the purpose of<br>this chapter are deemed to be employees of the general contractor who is liable<br>and responsible for the payments of premium for the coverage of these<br>employees until the subcontractor or independent contractor has secured the<br>necessary coverage and paid the premium for the coverage. This subdivision<br>does not impose any liability upon a general contractor other than liability to the<br>organization for the payment of premiums which are not paid by a<br>subcontractor or independent contractor.17.&quot;Employer&quot; means a person who engages or received the services of another for<br>remuneration unless the person performing the services is an independent<br>contractor under the common-law test. The term includes:a.The state and all political subdivisions thereof.b.All public and quasi-public corporations in this state.c.Every person, partnership, limited liability company, association, and private<br>corporation, including a public service corporation.d.The legal representative of any deceased employer.e.The receiver or trustee of any person, partnership, limited liability company,<br>association, or corporation having one or more employees as herein defined.f.The president, vice presidents, secretary, or treasurer of a business<br>corporation, but not members of the board of directors of a business<br>corporation who are not also officers of the corporation.Page No. 5g.The managers of a limited liability company.h.The president, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, or board of directors of an<br>association or cooperative organized under chapter 6-06, 10-12, 10-13, 10-15,<br>36-08, or 49-21.i.The clerk, assessor, treasurer, or any member of the board of supervisors of an<br>organized township, if the person is not employed by the township in any other<br>capacity.j.A multidistrict special education unit.k.An area career and technology center.l.A regional education association.18.&quot;Fee schedule&quot; means the payment formulas established in the organization<br>publication entitled &quot;Medical and Hospital Fees&quot;.19.&quot;Fund&quot; means the workforce safety and insurance fund.20.&quot;Hazardous employment&quot; means any employment in which one or more employees<br>are employed regularly in the same business or in or about the establishment<br>except:a.Agricultural or domestic service.b.Any employment of a common carrier by railroad.c.Any employment for the transportation of property or persons by nonresidents,<br>where, in such transportation, the highways are not traveled more than seven<br>miles [11.27 kilometers] and return over the same route within the state of<br>North Dakota.d.All members of the clergy and employees of religious organizations engaged in<br>the operation, maintenance, and conduct of the place of worship.21.&quot;Health care provider&quot; means a doctor or any recognized practitioner providing<br>skilled services pursuant to the prescription of, or under the supervision or direction<br>of, a doctor.22.&quot;Organization&quot; means workforce safety and insurance, or the director, or any<br>department head, assistant, or employee of workforce safety and insurance<br>designated by the director, to act within the course and scope of that person's<br>employment in administering the policies, powers, and duties of this title.23.&quot;Parent&quot; includes a stepparent and a parent by adoption.24.&quot;Permanent impairment&quot; means the loss of or loss of use of a member of the body<br>existing after the date of maximum medical improvement and includes disfigurement<br>resulting from an injury.25.&quot;Permanent total disability&quot; means disability that is the direct result of a<br>compensable injury that prevents an employee from performing any work and<br>results from any one of the following conditions:a.Total and permanent loss of sight of both eyes;b.Loss of both legs or loss of both feet at or above the ankle;Page No. 6c.Loss of both arms or loss of both hands at or above the wrist;d.Loss of any two of the members or faculties in subdivision a, b, or c;e.Permanent and complete paralysis of both legs or both arms or of one leg and<br>one arm;f.Third-degree burns that cover at least forty percent of the body and require<br>grafting;g.A medically documented traumatic brain injury affecting cognitive and mental<br>functioning which renders an employee unable to provide self-care and requires<br>supervision or assistance with a majority of the activities of daily living; orh.A compensable injury that results in a permanent partial impairment rating of<br>the whole body of at least twenty-five percent pursuant to section 65-05-12.2.If the employee has not reached maximum medical improvement within one<br>hundred four weeks, the employee may receive a permanent partial impairment<br>rating if a rating will assist the organization in assessing the employee's capabilities.<br>Entitlement to a rating is solely within the discretion of the organization.26.&quot;Rehabilitation services&quot; means nonmedical services reasonably necessary to<br>restore a disabled employee to substantial gainful employment as defined by section<br>65-05.1-01 as near as possible.The term may include vocational evaluation,counseling, education, workplace modification, vocational retraining including<br>training for alternative employment with the same employer, and job placement<br>assistance.27.&quot;Seasonal employment&quot; includes occupations that are not permanent or that do not<br>customarily operate throughout the entire year.Seasonal employment isdetermined by what is customary with respect to the employer at the time of injury.28.&quot;Spouse&quot; includes only the decedent's husband or wife who was living with the<br>decedent or was dependent upon the decedent for support at the time of injury.29.&quot;Temporary total disability&quot; means disability that results in the inability of an<br>employee to earn wages as a result of a compensable injury for which disability<br>benefits may not exceed a cumulative total of one hundred four weeks or the date<br>the employee reaches maximum medical improvement or maximum medical<br>recovery, whichever occurs first.30.&quot;Utilization review&quot; means the initial and continuing evaluation of appropriateness in<br>terms of both the level and the quality of health care and health services provided a<br>patient, based on medically accepted standards.The evaluation must beaccomplished by means of a system that identifies the utilization of medical<br>services, based on medically accepted standards, and which refers instances of<br>possible inappropriate utilization to the organization to obtain opinions and<br>recommendations of expert medical consultants to review individual cases for which<br>administrative action may be deemed necessary.31.&quot;Wages&quot; means an employee's remuneration from all employment reportable to the<br>internal revenue service as earned income for federal income tax purposes. For<br>purposes of chapter 65-04, &quot;wages&quot; means all gross earnings of all employees. The<br>term includes all pretax deductions for amounts allocated by the employee for<br>deferred compensation, medical reimbursement, retirement, or any similar program,<br>but may not include dismissal or severance pay.65-01-03. Individual performing service for remuneration presumed an employee.Page No. 71.Each individual who performs services for another for remuneration is presumed to<br>be an employee of the person for which the services are performed, unless it is<br>proven that the individual is an independent contractor under the common-law test.<br>The person that asserts that an individual is an independent contractor under the<br>common-law test, rather than an employee, has the burden of proving that fact.2.In the case of commercial motor vehicles whose gross vehicle weight rating is more<br>than twenty-six thousand pounds [11793.40 kilograms], with an individual operating<br>a licensed truck or licensed tractor for a motor carrier of property, the presumption in<br>subsection 1 is successfully rebutted if all of the following factors are present:a.The individual owns, leases, or enters a purchase agreement to purchase a<br>truck or tractor. The lease or purchase agreement must represent reasonably<br>the value of the lease or purchase of the truck or tractor.The lease orpurchase agreement may be with the carrier of property. An unreasonable<br>lease or purchase agreement with a third party, unaffiliated with the carrier,<br>does not affect this factor.b.The individual is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the truck or<br>tractor.c.The individual bears the principal burden of operating costs, including fuel,<br>supplies, vehicle insurance, and personal expenses.d.The individual is responsible for supplying the necessary personal services to<br>operate the truck or tractor.e.Income taxes are not withheld from the individual's compensation.f.The individual generally determines the details and means of performing the<br>services, in conformance with statutory or regulatory requirements, operating<br>procedures of the carrier, and specifications of the shipper.g.The individual enters a written agreement with the motor carrier outlining the<br>nature of the relationship.65-01-04. Computation of weekly wages in compensation matters. Repealed byS.L. 1969, ch. 558, <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://statutes.laws.com/test/","url":"https://statutes.laws.com/test/","name":"State Codes and Statutes - Statutes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://statutes.laws.com/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-10T03:31:37+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-27T23:25:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://statutes.laws.com/test/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://statutes.laws.com/test/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://statutes.laws.com/test/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://statutes.laws.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"State Codes and Statutes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://statutes.laws.com/#website","url":"https://statutes.laws.com/","name":"Statutes","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://statutes.laws.com/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}</script> <!-- / Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//fonts.googleapis.com' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Statutes &raquo; Feed" href="https://statutes.laws.com/feed/" /> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/statutes.laws.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(i,n){var o,s,e;function c(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function p(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data),r=(e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0),new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data));return t.every(function(e,t){return e===r[t]})}function u(e,t,n){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3","\ud83c\uddfa\u200b\ud83c\uddf3")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!n(e,"\ud83e\udef1\ud83c\udffb\u200d\ud83e\udef2\ud83c\udfff","\ud83e\udef1\ud83c\udffb\u200b\ud83e\udef2\ud83c\udfff")}return!1}function f(e,t,n){var r="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):i.createElement("canvas"),a=r.getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(a.textBaseline="top",a.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(function(e){o[e]=t(a,e,n)}),o}function t(e){var t=i.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,i.head.appendChild(t)}"undefined"!=typeof Promise&&(o="wpEmojiSettingsSupports",s=["flag","emoji"],n.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},e=new Promise(function(e){i.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,{once:!0})}),new Promise(function(t){var n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(s),u.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"}),a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=function(e){c(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}c(n=f(s,u,p))}t(n)}).then(function(e){for(var t in e)n.supports[t]=e[t],n.supports.everything=n.supports.everything&&n.supports[t],"flag"!==t&&(n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&n.supports[t]);n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!n.supports.flag,n.DOMReady=!1,n.readyCallback=function(){n.DOMReady=!0}}).then(function(){return e}).then(function(){var e;n.supports.everything||(n.readyCallback(),(e=n.source||{}).concatemoji?t(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(t(e.twemoji),t(e.wpemoji)))}))}((window,document),window._wpemojiSettings); /* ]]> */ </script> <style id='wp-emoji-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 0.07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='wp-block-library-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/style.min.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> body{--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-flow > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-constrained > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > :where(:not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.alignfull)){max-width: var(--wp--style--global--content-size);margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignwide{max-width: var(--wp--style--global--wide-size);}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}body .is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}body .is-layout-flex > *{margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}body .is-layout-grid > *{margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} .wp-block-navigation a:where(:not(.wp-element-button)){color: inherit;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} .wp-block-pullquote{font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='contact-form-7-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/css/styles.css?ver=5.8.7' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='redux-extendify-styles-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/redux-framework/redux-core/assets/css/extendify-utilities.css?ver=4.4.13' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='google-fonts-2-css' href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Titillium+Web&#038;subset=latin&#038;ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='reset-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/reset.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='font-awesome-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/elementor/assets/lib/font-awesome/css/font-awesome.min.css?ver=4.7.0' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='main-stylesheet-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/main-stylesheet.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='shortcode-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/shortcode.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='lightbox-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/lightbox.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='dat-menu-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/dat-menu.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='responsive-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/responsive.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <!--[if lt IE 8]> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ie-only-styles-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/css/ie-ancient.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <![endif]--> <link rel='stylesheet' id='dynamic-css-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=ot_dynamic_css&#038;ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='style-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/style.css?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='elementor-icons-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/elementor/assets/lib/eicons/css/elementor-icons.min.css?ver=5.23.0' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='elementor-frontend-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/elementor/assets/css/frontend-lite.min.css?ver=3.17.3' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='swiper-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/elementor/assets/lib/swiper/css/swiper.min.css?ver=5.3.6' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='elementor-post-248-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/elementor/css/post-248.css?ver=1699721364' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='elementor-pro-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/elementor-pro/assets/css/frontend-lite.min.css?ver=3.16.2' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='elementor-global-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/elementor/css/global.css?ver=1699721365' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='toc-screen-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/table-of-contents-plus/screen.min.css?ver=2309' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='google-fonts-1-css' href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto%3A100%2C100italic%2C200%2C200italic%2C300%2C300italic%2C400%2C400italic%2C500%2C500italic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic%2C900%2C900italic%7CRoboto+Slab%3A100%2C100italic%2C200%2C200italic%2C300%2C300italic%2C400%2C400italic%2C500%2C500italic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic%2C900%2C900italic&#038;display=auto&#038;ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com/" crossorigin><script type="text/javascript" id="jquery-core-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var ot = {"THEME_NAME":"legatus","adminUrl":"https:\/\/statutes.laws.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","gallery_id":"","galleryCat":"","imageUrl":"https:\/\/statutes.laws.com\/wp-content\/themes\/legatus\/images\/","cssUrl":"https:\/\/statutes.laws.com\/wp-content\/themes\/legatus\/css\/","themeUrl":"https:\/\/statutes.laws.com\/wp-content\/themes\/legatus"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1" id="jquery-core-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.4.1" id="jquery-migrate-js"></script> <script></script><link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-json/" /><link rel="alternate" type="application/json" href="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/19" /><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://statutes.laws.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://statutes.laws.com/?p=19' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatutes.laws.com%2Ftest%2F" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/xml+oembed" href="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatutes.laws.com%2Ftest%2F&#038;format=xml" /> <meta name="generator" content="Redux 4.4.13" /><script type="text/javascript"> (function(url){ if(/(?:Chrome\/26\.0\.1410\.63 Safari\/537\.31|WordfenceTestMonBot)/.test(navigator.userAgent)){ return; } var addEvent = function(evt, handler) { if (window.addEventListener) { document.addEventListener(evt, handler, false); } else if (window.attachEvent) { document.attachEvent('on' + evt, handler); } }; var removeEvent = function(evt, handler) { if (window.removeEventListener) { document.removeEventListener(evt, handler, false); } else if (window.detachEvent) { document.detachEvent('on' + evt, handler); } }; var evts = 'contextmenu dblclick drag dragend dragenter dragleave dragover dragstart drop keydown keypress keyup mousedown mousemove mouseout mouseover mouseup mousewheel scroll'.split(' '); var logHuman = function() { if (window.wfLogHumanRan) { return; } window.wfLogHumanRan = true; var wfscr = document.createElement('script'); wfscr.type = 'text/javascript'; wfscr.async = true; wfscr.src = url + '&r=' + Math.random(); (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(wfscr); for (var i = 0; i < evts.length; i++) { removeEvent(evts[i], logHuman); } }; for (var i = 0; i < evts.length; i++) { addEvent(evts[i], logHuman); } })('//statutes.laws.com/?wordfence_lh=1&hid=81302145E784B12742BC391BDA282639'); </script><meta name="generator" content="Elementor 3.17.3; features: e_dom_optimization, e_optimized_assets_loading, e_optimized_css_loading, additional_custom_breakpoints; settings: css_print_method-external, google_font-enabled, font_display-auto"> <meta name="generator" content="Powered by WPBakery Page Builder - drag and drop page builder for WordPress."/> <meta name="generator" content="Powered by Slider Revolution 6.6.11 - responsive, Mobile-Friendly Slider Plugin for WordPress with comfortable drag and drop interface." /> <!-- Clicky Web Analytics - https://clicky.com, WordPress Plugin by Yoast - https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/clicky/ --><script type='text/javascript'> function clicky_gc(name) { var ca = document.cookie.split(';'); for (var i in ca) { if (ca[i].indexOf(name + '=') != -1) { return decodeURIComponent(ca[i].split('=')[1]); } } return ''; } var username_check = clicky_gc('"comment_author_d2f3dac10cedf763d31d1d5e708a3685"'); if (username_check) var clicky_custom_session = {username: username_check}; </script> <script> var clicky_site_ids = clicky_site_ids || []; clicky_site_ids.push("100851447"); </script> <script async src="//static.getclicky.com/js"></script><script>function setREVStartSize(e){ //window.requestAnimationFrame(function() { window.RSIW = window.RSIW===undefined ? window.innerWidth : window.RSIW; window.RSIH = window.RSIH===undefined ? window.innerHeight : window.RSIH; try { var pw = document.getElementById(e.c).parentNode.offsetWidth, newh; pw = pw===0 || isNaN(pw) || (e.l=="fullwidth" || e.layout=="fullwidth") ? window.RSIW : pw; e.tabw = e.tabw===undefined ? 0 : parseInt(e.tabw); e.thumbw = e.thumbw===undefined ? 0 : parseInt(e.thumbw); e.tabh = e.tabh===undefined ? 0 : parseInt(e.tabh); e.thumbh = e.thumbh===undefined ? 0 : parseInt(e.thumbh); e.tabhide = e.tabhide===undefined ? 0 : parseInt(e.tabhide); e.thumbhide = e.thumbhide===undefined ? 0 : parseInt(e.thumbhide); e.mh = e.mh===undefined || e.mh=="" || e.mh==="auto" ? 0 : parseInt(e.mh,0); if(e.layout==="fullscreen" || e.l==="fullscreen") newh = Math.max(e.mh,window.RSIH); else{ e.gw = Array.isArray(e.gw) ? e.gw : [e.gw]; for (var i in e.rl) if (e.gw[i]===undefined || e.gw[i]===0) e.gw[i] = e.gw[i-1]; e.gh = e.el===undefined || e.el==="" || (Array.isArray(e.el) && e.el.length==0)? e.gh : e.el; e.gh = Array.isArray(e.gh) ? e.gh : [e.gh]; for (var i in e.rl) if (e.gh[i]===undefined || e.gh[i]===0) e.gh[i] = e.gh[i-1]; var nl = new Array(e.rl.length), ix = 0, sl; e.tabw = e.tabhide>=pw ? 0 : e.tabw; e.thumbw = e.thumbhide>=pw ? 0 : e.thumbw; e.tabh = e.tabhide>=pw ? 0 : e.tabh; e.thumbh = e.thumbhide>=pw ? 0 : e.thumbh; for (var i in e.rl) nl[i] = e.rl[i]<window.RSIW ? 0 : e.rl[i]; sl = nl[0]; for (var i in nl) if (sl>nl[i] && nl[i]>0) { sl = nl[i]; ix=i;} var m = pw>(e.gw[ix]+e.tabw+e.thumbw) ? 1 : (pw-(e.tabw+e.thumbw)) / (e.gw[ix]); newh = (e.gh[ix] * m) + (e.tabh + e.thumbh); } var el = document.getElementById(e.c); if (el!==null && el) el.style.height = newh+"px"; el = document.getElementById(e.c+"_wrapper"); if (el!==null && el) { el.style.height = newh+"px"; el.style.display = "block"; } } catch(e){ console.log("Failure at Presize of Slider:" + e) } //}); };</script> <noscript><style> .wpb_animate_when_almost_visible { opacity: 1; }</style></noscript> <style> body { background: none !important; } </style> <!-- END head --> </head> <!-- BEGIN body --> <body class="page-template-default page page-id-19 wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.5 vc_responsive elementor-default elementor-kit-248 elementor-page elementor-page-19"> <!-- BEGIN .boxed --> <div class="boxed"> <!-- BEGIN .header --> <div class="header"> <!-- BEGIN .header-very-top --> <div class="header-very-top"> <!-- BEGIN .wrapper --> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="left"> <ul class="ot-menu very-top-menu load-responsive" rel="Top Menu"><li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com" class="icon-text"><i class="fa fa-home"></i></a></li><li id="menu-item-154" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-1 single"><a href="https://www.laws.com/">Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-155" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-2 single"><a href="https://lawyer.laws.com/">Lawyers</a></li> <li id="menu-item-156" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-3 single"><a href="https://find.laws.com/">Find Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-157" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-4 single"><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/">Legal Forms</a></li> <li id="menu-item-158" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-5 single"><a href="https://state-laws.laws.com/">State Laws</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="clear-float"></div> </div> <div class="double-split"></div> <!-- END .header-very-top --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .header-middle --> <div class="header-middle"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="banner"> <div class="banner-block"> </div> </div> <div class="clear-float"></div> </div> <!-- END .header-middle --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .header-menu --> <div class="header-menu thisisfixed"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="logo-image"> <!--<h1></h1>--> <a href="https://statutes.laws.com"><img class="logo" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/images/logo.png" alt="Statutes" /></a> </div> <ul class="menu main-menu" ><li id="menu-item-148" class="normal-drop no-description menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-1" style="background:#264C84; color:#264C84; "><a href="https://www.laws.com/">Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-149" class="normal-drop no-description menu_red menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-2"><a href="https://lawyer.laws.com/">Lawyers</a></li> <li id="menu-item-150" class="normal-drop no-description menu_green menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-3"><a href="https://find.laws.com/">Find Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-152" class="normal-drop no-description menu_boldred menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-4"><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/">Legal Forms</a></li> <li id="menu-item-151" class="normal-drop no-description menu_blue menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom custom-class-5"><a href="https://state-laws.laws.com/">State Laws</a></li> </ul> <div class="clear-float"></div> </div> <!-- END .header-menu --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .header-undermenu --> <div class="header-undermenu"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="clear-float"></div> </div> <!-- END .header-undermenu --> </div> <!-- Begin add search bar --> <br /> <div class="wrapper"> <!-- add search bar - Peter - May 2015 --> <style> .input-txt-bigger{background:url(https://laws.com/uploads/input-txt-bigger.jpg) no-repeat;width:100%;height:30px;color:#5a8bb7;padding:0px 10px;padding:6px 10px\9;float:left;border:0px;font-size:16px} .input-btn{background:url(https://laws.com/uploads/input-btn-blue.png) no-repeat;width:100%;height:30px;color:#fff;font-weight:bold;margin-left:10px;text-align:center;float:left;border:0px;cursor:pointer} </style> <form action="https://laws.com/searchresults" method="get"> <input type="text" id="qucik-key" name="sname" value="Search Laws" onfocus="if(this.value=='Search Laws' || this.value=='') this.value='';" onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='Search Laws';" class="input-txt-bigger" style="background:none;border:2px solid #1661B2;width:75%;height:55px;font-size:30px;font-weight:bold" /> <input type="submit" class="input-btn" value="SEARCH" style="width:167px;height:55px;font-size:20px;background:url(https://laws.com/uploads/input-btn-blue-big.png) no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent" /> </form> <!-- End add search bar - Peter - May 2015 --> </div> <div style="height: 70px;"></div> <!-- Begin add search bar --> <!-- END .header --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .content --> <div class="content"> <!-- BEGIN .wrapper --> <div class="wrapper"> <!-- BEGIN .main-content-left --> <div class="main-content-left"> <div class="social-icons-float"> <span class="soc-header">Share</span> <span class="social-icon"> <span class="social-count"><span class="count">0</span><span class="social-arrow">&nbsp;</span></span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://statutes.laws.com/test/" data-url="https://statutes.laws.com/test/" class="social-button ot-share" style="background:#495fbd;"><i class="fa fa-facebook"></i><font>Share</font></a> </span> <span class="social-icon"> <span class="social-count"><span class="count">0</span><span class="social-arrow">&nbsp;</span></span> <a href="#" data-hashtags="" data-url="https://statutes.laws.com/test/" data-via="" data-text="State Codes and Statutes" class="social-button ot-tweet" style="background:#43bedd;"><i class="fa fa-twitter"></i><font>Tweet</font></a> </span> <span class="social-icon"> <span class="social-count">0<span class="social-arrow">&nbsp;</span></span> <a href="https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://statutes.laws.com/test/" class="social-button ot-pluss" style="background:#df6149;"><i class="fa fa-google-plus"></i><font>+1</font></a> </span> <span class="social-icon"> <span class="social-count"><span class="count">0</span><span class="social-arrow">&nbsp;</span></span> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://statutes.laws.com/test/&title=State Codes and Statutes" class="social-button ot-link" style="background:#264c84;" data-url="https://statutes.laws.com/test/"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i><font>Share</font></a> </span> </div> <!-- 27.04.15 - BEGIN box search --> <!-- Adding the ads for legal-forms - Peter - 27-4-2015 --> <!-- End Adding the ads for legal-forms - Peter - 27-4-2015 --> <!-- 27.04.15 - END box search --> <div style="clear:both;"></div> <div class="content-article-title"> <h2>State Codes and Statutes</h2> <div class="right-title-side"> <br/> <a href="https://statutes.laws.com"><i class="fa fa-angle-left"></i>Back To Homepage</a> </div> </div> <div class="main-article-content"> <!-- BEGIN .shortcode-content --> <div class="shortcode-content"> <h2>State Codes and Statutes</h2> <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/'>Statutes</a> > <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota'>North-dakota</a> > <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota/t65'>T65</a> > <a href='https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota/t65/t65c01'>T65c01</a><br><br><a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/2009/t65/pdf/t65c01.pdf">Download pdf</a><br><div id="embed_document" style="width:625px; height:815px; text-align:center;">Loading PDF...</div><script type="text/javascript"> var pdf_url = 'https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/2009/t65/pdf/t65c01.pdf'; $(document).ready(function() { var embedwindow = $("#embed_document"); if ($.browser.msie){ embedwindow.html('<embed src="'+pdf_url+'" width="100%" height="100%"></embed>'); } else { embedwindow.html('<iframe style="width:100%; height:100%;" src="https://docs.google.com/gview?url='+window.escape(pdf_url)+'&embedded=true" frameborder="0"></iframe>'); } });</script><br><br><noframes>TITLE 65WORKFORCE SAFETY AND INSURANCECHAPTER 65-01GENERAL PROVISIONS65-01-01. Purposes of workforce safety and insurance law - Police power. Thestate of North Dakota, exercising its police and sovereign powers, declares that the prosperity of<br>the state depends in a large measure upon the well-being of its wageworkers, and, hence, for<br>workers injured in hazardous employments, and for their families and dependents, sure and<br>certain relief is hereby provided regardless of questions of fault and to the exclusion of every<br>other remedy, proceeding, or compensation, except as otherwise provided in this title, and to that<br>end, all civil actions and civil claims for relief for those personal injuries and all jurisdiction of the<br>courts of the state over those causes are abolished except as is otherwise provided in this title. A<br>civil action or civil claim arising under this title, which is subject to judicial review, must be<br>reviewed solely on the merits of the action or claim. This title may not be construed liberally on<br>behalf of any party to the action or claim.65-01-01.1. Civil liability for intentional injuries. The sole exception to an employer'simmunity from civil liability under this title, except as provided in chapter 65-09, is an action for an<br>injury to an employee caused by an employer's intentional act done with the conscious purpose<br>of inflicting the injury.65-01-02. Definitions. In this title:1.&quot;Acute care&quot; means a short course of intensive diagnostic and therapeutic services<br>provided immediately following a work injury with a rapid onset of pronounced<br>symptoms.2.&quot;Adopted&quot; or &quot;adoption&quot; refers only to a legal adoption effected prior to the time of<br>the injury.3.&quot;Artificial members&quot; includes a device that is a substitute for a natural part, organ,<br>limb, or other part of the body. The term includes a prescriptive device that is an aid<br>for a natural part, organ, limb, or other part of the body if the damage to the<br>prescriptive device is accompanied by an injury to the body. A prescriptive device<br>includes prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, dental braces, and orthopedic<br>braces.4.&quot;Artificial replacements&quot; means mechanical aids, including braces, belts, casts, or<br>crutches as may be reasonable and necessary due to compensable injury.5.&quot;Average weekly wage&quot; means the weekly wages the employee was receiving from<br>all employments for which coverage is required or otherwise secured at the date of<br>first disability. The average weekly wage determined under this subsection must be<br>rounded to the nearest dollar. If the employee's wages are not fixed by the week,<br>they must be determined by using the first applicable formula from the schedule<br>below:a.For seasonal employment, during the first consecutive days of disability up to<br>twenty-eight days the average weekly wage is calculated pursuant to the first<br>applicable formula in subdivisions b through g, and after that are calculated as<br>one-fiftieth of the total wages from all occupations during the twelve months<br>preceding the date of first disability or during the tax year preceding the date of<br>first disability, or an average of the three tax years preceding the date of first<br>disability, whichever is highest and for which accurate, reliable, and complete<br>records are readily available.Page No. 1b.The &quot;average weekly wage&quot; of a self-employed employer is determined by the<br>following formula: one fifty-second of the average annual net self-employed<br>earnings reported the three preceding tax years or preceding fifty-two weeks<br>whichever is higher if accurate, reliable, and complete records for those<br>fifty-two weeks are readily available.c.Hourly or daily rate multiplied by number of hours or days worked per<br>seven-day week.d.Monthly rate multiplied by twelve months and divided by fifty-two weeks.e.Biweekly rate divided by two.f.The usual wage paid other employees engaged in similar occupations.g.A wage reasonably and fairly approximating the weekly wage lost by the<br>claimant during the period of disability.6.&quot;Average weekly wage in the state&quot; means the determination made of the average<br>weekly wage in the state by job service North Dakota on or before July first of each<br>year, computed to the next highest dollar.7.&quot;Board&quot; means the workforce safety and insurance board of directors.8.&quot;Brother&quot; and &quot;sister&quot; include a stepbrother and a stepsister, a half brother and a half<br>sister, and a brother and sister by adoption. The terms do not include a married<br>brother or sister unless that person actually is dependent.9.&quot;Child&quot;, for determining eligibility for benefits under chapter 65-05, means a<br>legitimate child, a stepchild, adopted child, posthumous child, foster child, and<br>acknowledged illegitimate child who is under eighteen years of age and resides with<br>the employee; or is under eighteen years of age and does not reside with the<br>employee but a duty of support is substantiated by an appropriate court order; or is<br>between eighteen and twenty-two years of age and enrolled as a full-time student in<br>any accredited educational institution and dependent upon the employee for support;<br>or is eighteen years of age or over and is physically or mentally incapable of<br>self-support and is actually dependent upon the employee for support. A child does<br>not include a married child unless actually dependent on the employee as shown on<br>the preceding year's income tax returns.10.&quot;Compensable injury&quot; means an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of<br>hazardous employment which must be established by medical evidence supported<br>by objective medical findings.a.The term includes:(1)Disease caused by a hazard to which an employee is subjected in the<br>course of employment. The disease must be incidental to the character<br>of the business and not independent of the relation of employer and<br>employee. Disease includes effects from radiation.(2)An injury to artificial members.(3)Injuries due to heart attack or other heart-related disease, stroke, and<br>physical injury caused by mental stimulus, but only when caused by the<br>employee's employment with reasonable medical certainty, and only<br>when it is determined with reasonable medical certainty that unusual<br>stress is at least fifty percent of the cause of the injury or disease as<br>compared with all other contributing causes combined. Unusual stressPage No. 2means stress greater than the highest level of stress normally<br>experienced or anticipated in that position or line of work.(4)Injuries arising out of employer-required or supplied travel to and from a<br>remote jobsite or activities performed at the direction or under the control<br>of the employer.(5)An injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an<br>employee because of the employee's employment.(6)A mental or psychological condition caused by a physical injury, but only<br>when the physical injury is determined with reasonable medical certainty<br>to be at least fifty percent of the cause of the condition as compared with<br>all other contributing causes combined, and only when the condition did<br>not preexist the work injury.b.The term does not include:(1)Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public outside of<br>employment is exposed or preventive treatment for communicable<br>diseases, except that the organization may pay for preventive treatment<br>for a health care provider as defined in section 23-07.5-01, firefighter,<br>peace officer, correctional officer, court officer, law enforcement officer,<br>emergency medical technician, or an individual trained and authorized by<br>law or rule to render emergency medical assistance or treatment who is<br>exposed to a bloodborne pathogen as defined in section 23-07.5-01<br>occurring in the course of employment and for exposure to rabies<br>occurring in the course of employment.(2)A willfully self-inflicted injury, including suicide or attempted suicide, or an<br>injury caused by the employee's willful intention to injure or kill another.(3)Any injury caused by the use of intoxicants or the illegal use of controlled<br>substances.(4)An injury that arises out of an altercation in which the injured employee is<br>an aggressor.This paragraph does not apply to public safetyemployees, including law enforcement officers or private security<br>personnel who are required to engage in altercations as part of their job<br>duties if the altercation arises out of the performance of those job duties.(5)An injury that arises out of an illegal act committed by the injured<br>employee.(6)An injury that arises out of an employee's voluntary nonpaid participation<br>in any recreational activity, including athletic events, parties, and picnics,<br>even though the employer pays some or all of the cost of the activity.(7)Injuries attributable to a preexisting injury, disease, or other condition,<br>including when the employment acts as a trigger to produce symptoms in<br>the preexisting injury, disease, or other condition unless the employment<br>substantially accelerates its progression or substantially worsens its<br>severity.(8)A nonemployment injury that, although acting upon a prior compensable<br>injury, is an independent intervening cause of injury.Page No. 3(9)A latent or asymptomatic degenerative condition, caused in substantial<br>part by employment duties, which is triggered or made active by a<br>subsequent injury.(10)A mental injury arising from mental stimulus.11.&quot;Date of first disability&quot; means the first date the employee was unable to work<br>because of a compensable injury.12.&quot;Date of maximum medical improvement&quot; or &quot;date of maximum medical recovery&quot;<br>means the date after which further recovery from, or lasting improvement to, an<br>injury or disease can no longer reasonably be anticipated based upon reasonable<br>medical probability.13.&quot;Director&quot; means the director of the organization.14.&quot;Disability&quot; means loss of earnings capacity and may be permanent total, temporary<br>total, or partial.15.&quot;Doctor&quot; means doctor of medicine or osteopathy, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist,<br>podiatrist, or psychologist acting within the scope of the doctor's license.16.&quot;Employee&quot; means a person who performs hazardous employment for another for<br>remuneration unless the person is an independent contractor under the common-law<br>test.a.The term includes:(1)All elective and appointed officials of this state and its political<br>subdivisions,includingmunicipalcorporationsandincludingthemembers of the legislative assembly, all elective officials of the several<br>counties of this state, and all elective peace officers of any city.(2)Aliens.(3)County general assistance workers, except those who are engaged in<br>repaying to counties moneys that the counties have been compelled by<br>statute to expend for county general assistance.(4)Minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed; a minor is deemed<br>sui juris for the purposes of this title, and no other person has any claim<br>for relief or right to claim workforce safety and insurance benefits for any<br>injury to a minor worker, but in the event of the award of a lump sum of<br>benefits to a minor employee, the lump sum may be paid only to the<br>legally appointed guardian of the minor.b.The term does not include:(1)Any person whose employment is both casual and not in the course of<br>the trade, business, profession, or occupation of that person's employer.(2)Any person who is engaged in an illegal enterprise or occupation.(3)The spouse of an employer or a child under the age of twenty-two of an<br>employer. For purposes of this paragraph and section 65-07-01, &quot;child&quot;<br>means any legitimate child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, or<br>acknowledged illegitimate child.Page No. 4(4)Any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, provided the person<br>meets the following three requirements:(a)The salesperson or broker must be a licensed real estate agent<br>under section 43-23-05.(b)Substantially all of the salesperson's or broker's remuneration for<br>the services performed as a real estate agent must be directly<br>related to sales or other efforts rather than to the number of hours<br>worked.(c)A written agreement must exist between the salesperson or broker<br>and the person or firm for whom the salesperson or broker works,<br>which agreement must provide that the salesperson or broker will<br>not be treated as an employee but rather as an independent<br>contractor.(5)The members of the board of directors of a business corporation who are<br>not employed in any capacity by the corporation other than as members<br>of the board of directors.(6)Any individual delivering newspapers or shopping news, if substantially<br>all of the individual's remuneration is directly related to sales or other<br>efforts rather than to the number of hours worked and a written<br>agreement exists between the individual and the publisher of the<br>newspaper or shopping news which states that the individual is an<br>independent contractor.(7)An employer.c.Persons employed by a subcontractor, or by an independent contractor<br>operating under an agreement with the general contractor, for the purpose of<br>this chapter are deemed to be employees of the general contractor who is liable<br>and responsible for the payments of premium for the coverage of these<br>employees until the subcontractor or independent contractor has secured the<br>necessary coverage and paid the premium for the coverage. This subdivision<br>does not impose any liability upon a general contractor other than liability to the<br>organization for the payment of premiums which are not paid by a<br>subcontractor or independent contractor.17.&quot;Employer&quot; means a person who engages or received the services of another for<br>remuneration unless the person performing the services is an independent<br>contractor under the common-law test. The term includes:a.The state and all political subdivisions thereof.b.All public and quasi-public corporations in this state.c.Every person, partnership, limited liability company, association, and private<br>corporation, including a public service corporation.d.The legal representative of any deceased employer.e.The receiver or trustee of any person, partnership, limited liability company,<br>association, or corporation having one or more employees as herein defined.f.The president, vice presidents, secretary, or treasurer of a business<br>corporation, but not members of the board of directors of a business<br>corporation who are not also officers of the corporation.Page No. 5g.The managers of a limited liability company.h.The president, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, or board of directors of an<br>association or cooperative organized under chapter 6-06, 10-12, 10-13, 10-15,<br>36-08, or 49-21.i.The clerk, assessor, treasurer, or any member of the board of supervisors of an<br>organized township, if the person is not employed by the township in any other<br>capacity.j.A multidistrict special education unit.k.An area career and technology center.l.A regional education association.18.&quot;Fee schedule&quot; means the payment formulas established in the organization<br>publication entitled &quot;Medical and Hospital Fees&quot;.19.&quot;Fund&quot; means the workforce safety and insurance fund.20.&quot;Hazardous employment&quot; means any employment in which one or more employees<br>are employed regularly in the same business or in or about the establishment<br>except:a.Agricultural or domestic service.b.Any employment of a common carrier by railroad.c.Any employment for the transportation of property or persons by nonresidents,<br>where, in such transportation, the highways are not traveled more than seven<br>miles [11.27 kilometers] and return over the same route within the state of<br>North Dakota.d.All members of the clergy and employees of religious organizations engaged in<br>the operation, maintenance, and conduct of the place of worship.21.&quot;Health care provider&quot; means a doctor or any recognized practitioner providing<br>skilled services pursuant to the prescription of, or under the supervision or direction<br>of, a doctor.22.&quot;Organization&quot; means workforce safety and insurance, or the director, or any<br>department head, assistant, or employee of workforce safety and insurance<br>designated by the director, to act within the course and scope of that person's<br>employment in administering the policies, powers, and duties of this title.23.&quot;Parent&quot; includes a stepparent and a parent by adoption.24.&quot;Permanent impairment&quot; means the loss of or loss of use of a member of the body<br>existing after the date of maximum medical improvement and includes disfigurement<br>resulting from an injury.25.&quot;Permanent total disability&quot; means disability that is the direct result of a<br>compensable injury that prevents an employee from performing any work and<br>results from any one of the following conditions:a.Total and permanent loss of sight of both eyes;b.Loss of both legs or loss of both feet at or above the ankle;Page No. 6c.Loss of both arms or loss of both hands at or above the wrist;d.Loss of any two of the members or faculties in subdivision a, b, or c;e.Permanent and complete paralysis of both legs or both arms or of one leg and<br>one arm;f.Third-degree burns that cover at least forty percent of the body and require<br>grafting;g.A medically documented traumatic brain injury affecting cognitive and mental<br>functioning which renders an employee unable to provide self-care and requires<br>supervision or assistance with a majority of the activities of daily living; orh.A compensable injury that results in a permanent partial impairment rating of<br>the whole body of at least twenty-five percent pursuant to section 65-05-12.2.If the employee has not reached maximum medical improvement within one<br>hundred four weeks, the employee may receive a permanent partial impairment<br>rating if a rating will assist the organization in assessing the employee's capabilities.<br>Entitlement to a rating is solely within the discretion of the organization.26.&quot;Rehabilitation services&quot; means nonmedical services reasonably necessary to<br>restore a disabled employee to substantial gainful employment as defined by section<br>65-05.1-01 as near as possible.The term may include vocational evaluation,counseling, education, workplace modification, vocational retraining including<br>training for alternative employment with the same employer, and job placement<br>assistance.27.&quot;Seasonal employment&quot; includes occupations that are not permanent or that do not<br>customarily operate throughout the entire year.Seasonal employment isdetermined by what is customary with respect to the employer at the time of injury.28.&quot;Spouse&quot; includes only the decedent's husband or wife who was living with the<br>decedent or was dependent upon the decedent for support at the time of injury.29.&quot;Temporary total disability&quot; means disability that results in the inability of an<br>employee to earn wages as a result of a compensable injury for which disability<br>benefits may not exceed a cumulative total of one hundred four weeks or the date<br>the employee reaches maximum medical improvement or maximum medical<br>recovery, whichever occurs first.30.&quot;Utilization review&quot; means the initial and continuing evaluation of appropriateness in<br>terms of both the level and the quality of health care and health services provided a<br>patient, based on medically accepted standards.The evaluation must beaccomplished by means of a system that identifies the utilization of medical<br>services, based on medically accepted standards, and which refers instances of<br>possible inappropriate utilization to the organization to obtain opinions and<br>recommendations of expert medical consultants to review individual cases for which<br>administrative action may be deemed necessary.31.&quot;Wages&quot; means an employee's remuneration from all employment reportable to the<br>internal revenue service as earned income for federal income tax purposes. For<br>purposes of chapter 65-04, &quot;wages&quot; means all gross earnings of all employees. The<br>term includes all pretax deductions for amounts allocated by the employee for<br>deferred compensation, medical reimbursement, retirement, or any similar program,<br>but may not include dismissal or severance pay.65-01-03. Individual performing service for remuneration presumed an employee.Page No. 71.Each individual who performs services for another for remuneration is presumed to<br>be an employee of the person for which the services are performed, unless it is<br>proven that the individual is an independent contractor under the common-law test.<br>The person that asserts that an individual is an independent contractor under the<br>common-law test, rather than an employee, has the burden of proving that fact.2.In the case of commercial motor vehicles whose gross vehicle weight rating is more<br>than twenty-six thousand pounds [11793.40 kilograms], with an individual operating<br>a licensed truck or licensed tractor for a motor carrier of property, the presumption in<br>subsection 1 is successfully rebutted if all of the following factors are present:a.The individual owns, leases, or enters a purchase agreement to purchase a<br>truck or tractor. The lease or purchase agreement must represent reasonably<br>the value of the lease or purchase of the truck or tractor.The lease orpurchase agreement may be with the carrier of property. An unreasonable<br>lease or purchase agreement with a third party, unaffiliated with the carrier,<br>does not affect this factor.b.The individual is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the truck or<br>tractor.c.The individual bears the principal burden of operating costs, including fuel,<br>supplies, vehicle insurance, and personal expenses.d.The individual is responsible for supplying the necessary personal services to<br>operate the truck or tractor.e.Income taxes are not withheld from the individual's compensation.f.The individual generally determines the details and means of performing the<br>services, in conformance with statutory or regulatory requirements, operating<br>procedures of the carrier, and specifications of the shipper.g.The individual enters a written agreement with the motor carrier outlining the<br>nature of the relationship.65-01-04. Computation of weekly wages in compensation matters. Repealed byS.L. 1969, ch. 558, <!-- END .shortcode-content --> </div> </div> <!-- END .main-content-left --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .main-content-right --> <div class="main-content-right"> <!-- BEGIN .main-nosplit --> <div class="main-nosplit"> <!--<div class="widget-0 first panel"> <h3>Advertising</h3> <script type="text/javascript"> /* var rkbspt = document.createElement('script'); rkbspt.type = 'text/javascript'; rkbspt.src = 'https://c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/getads.js'; var rkbscpt = document.querySelector('.widget-0.panel').appendChild(rkbspt); rkbscpt.onload = function(){ aax_getad_mpb({ "slot_uuid":"557c365d-8984-4710-a63b-62d1baabc10e" }); }; */ </script> <script id="mNCC" language="javascript"> medianet_width = "336"; medianet_height = "280"; medianet_crid = "436333511"; medianet_versionId = "3111299"; </script> <script src="//contextual.media.net/nmedianet.js?cid=8CUC4DD64"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var e9 = new Object(); e9.size = "300x250"; e9.noAd = 1; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//tags.expo9.exponential.com/tags/Lawscom/BTF/tags.js"></script> </div>--> <div class="widget_text widget-1 first panel"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><script type="text/javascript"><!-- e9 = new Object(); e9.size = "300x250,300x600"; e9.noAd = 1; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//tags.expo9.exponential.com/tags/Lawscom/ROS/tags.js"></script></div></div><div class="widget-2 panel"><div class="menu-top-menu-container"><ul id="menu-top-menu-1" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-154" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-154 custom-class-1"><a href="https://www.laws.com/">Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-155" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-155 custom-class-2"><a href="https://lawyer.laws.com/">Lawyers</a></li> <li id="menu-item-156" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-156 custom-class-3"><a href="https://find.laws.com/">Find Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-157" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-157 custom-class-4"><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/">Legal Forms</a></li> <li id="menu-item-158" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-158 custom-class-5"><a href="https://state-laws.laws.com/">State Laws</a></li> </ul></div></div><div class="widget_text widget-3 panel"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><script type="text/javascript"><!-- e9 = new Object(); e9.size = "300x250,300x600"; e9.noAd = 1; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//tags.expo9.exponential.com/tags/Lawscom/ROS/tags.js"></script></div></div><div class="widget_text widget-4 last panel"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><script type="text/javascript"><!-- e9 = new Object(); e9.size = "300x250,300x600"; e9.noAd = 1; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//tags.expo9.exponential.com/tags/Lawscom/ROS/tags.js"></script></div></div> <!-- END .main-nosplit --> </div> <!-- END .main-content-right --> </div> <div class="clear-float"></div> <!-- END .wrapper --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .content --> </div> <!-- BEGIN .footer --> <div class="footer"> <!-- BEGIN .wrapper --> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="banner-block"> <!-- <a href="http://www.orange-themes.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/images/banner-468x60.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a>--> </div> <!-- Disable breaking news slider - Peter - 7 Apr 2015 --> <!-- BEGIN .footer-content --> <div class="footer-content"> <div class="footer-menu"> <ul class="load-responsive" rel="Footer Menu"><li id="menu-item-148" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-148 custom-class-1"><a href="https://www.laws.com/">Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-149" class="menu_red menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-149 custom-class-2"><a href="https://lawyer.laws.com/">Lawyers</a></li> <li id="menu-item-150" class="menu_green menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-150 custom-class-3"><a href="https://find.laws.com/">Find Laws</a></li> <li id="menu-item-152" class="menu_boldred menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-152 custom-class-4"><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/">Legal Forms</a></li> <li id="menu-item-151" class="menu_blue menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-151 custom-class-5"><a href="https://state-laws.laws.com/">State Laws</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="left"> <ul> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/alabama-forms">Alabama Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/alaska-forms">Alaska Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/arizona-forms">Arizona Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/arkansas-forms">Arkansas Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/california-forms">California Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/colorado-forms">Colorado Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/connecticut-forms">Connecticut Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/district-of-columbia-forms">District Of Columbia Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/delaware-forms">Delaware Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/florida-forms">Florida Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/georgia-forms">Georgia Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/idaho-forms">Idaho Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/hawaii-forms">Hawaii Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/illinois-forms">Illinois Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/indiana-forms">Indiana Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/iowa-forms">Iowa Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/kansas-forms">Kansas Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/kentucky-forms">Kentucky Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/louisiana-forms">Louisiana Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/maine-forms">Maine Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/maryland-forms">Maryland Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/massachusetts-forms">Massachusetts Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/michigan-forms">Michigan Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/minnesota-forms">Minnesota Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/mississippi-forms">Mississippi Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/missouri-forms">Missouri Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/montana-forms">Montana Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/nebraska-forms">Nebraska Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/nevada-forms">Nevada Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/new-hampshire-forms">New Hampshire Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/new-jersey-forms">New Jersey Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/new-mexico-forms">New Mexico Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/new-york-forms">New York Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/north-carolina-forms">North Carolina Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/north-dakota-forms">North Dakota Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/ohio-forms">Ohio Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/oklahoma-forms">Oklahoma Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/oregon-forms">Oregon Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/pennsylvania-forms">Pennsylvania Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/rhode-island-forms">Rhode Island Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/south-carolina-forms">South Carolina Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/south-dakota-forms">South Dakota Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/tennessee-forms">Tennessee Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/texas-forms">Texas Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/utah-forms">Utah Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/vermont-forms">Vermont Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/virginia-forms">Virginia Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/washington-forms">Washington Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/west-virginia-forms">West Virginia Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/wisconsin-forms">Wisconsin Forms</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal-forms.laws.com/wyoming-forms">Wyoming Forms</a></li> </ul> <div> <ul> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/alabama">Alabama Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/alaska">Alaska Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/arizona">Arizona Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/arkansas">Arkansas Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/california">California Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/connecticut">Connecticut Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/delaware">Delaware Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/district-of-columbia">District of Columbia Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/florida">Florida Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/georgia">Georgia Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/hawaii">Hawaii Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/idaho">Idaho Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/illinois">Illinois Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/indiana">Indiana Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/iowa">Iowa Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/kansas">Kansas Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/kentucky">Kentucky Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/louisiana">Louisiana Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/maine">Maine Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/maryland">Maryland Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/massachusetts">Massachusetts Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/michigan">Michigan Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/minnesota">Minnesota Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/mississippi">Mississippi Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/missouri">Missouri Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/montana">Montana Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/nebraska">Nebraska Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/nevada">Nevada Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/new-hampshire">New Hampshire Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/new-jersey">New Jersey Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/new-mexico">New Mexico Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/new-york">New York Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/north-carolina">North Carolina Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/north-dakota">North Dakota Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/ohio">Ohio Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/oklahoma">Oklahoma Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/oregon">Oregon Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/pennsylvania">Pennsylvania Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/rhode-island">Rhode Island Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/south-carolina">South Carolina Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/south-dakota">South Dakota Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/tennessee">Tennessee Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/texas">Texas Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/utah">Utah Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/vermont">Vermont Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/washington">Washington Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/west-virginia">West Virginia Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/wisconsin">Wisconsin Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> <li><a href="https://statutes.laws.com/wyoming">Wyoming Codes &amp; Statutes</a></li> </ul> </div> <div> </div> </center><br> <div class="footer-menu"> <ul class="load-responsive" rel="Footer Menu"><li id="menu-item-34164" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34164"><a href="https://www.laws.com/category/about">Contact Us</a></li> <li id="menu-item-34165" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34165"><a href="https://marketing.laws.com">Lawyer Marketing</a></li> <li id="menu-item-34166" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34166"><a href="https://advertising.laws.com/">Advertise on Laws.com</a></li> <li id="menu-item-34167" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34167"><a href="https://www.laws.com/category/AboutUs">About Us</a></li> <li id="menu-item-34168" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34168"><a href="https://www.laws.com/category/TermsOfUse">Terms of Use</a></li> <li id="menu-item-34169" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34169"><a href="https://www.laws.com/category/PrivacyPolicy">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li id="menu-item-34170" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-34170"><a href="https://www.laws.com/category/AdvertisingPolicy">Advertising Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> <strong>Disclaimer</strong> <br>There is no confidential attorney-client relationship formed by using Laws.com website and information provided on this site is not legal advice. For legal advice, please contact your attorney. Attorneys listed on this website are not referred or endorsed by this website. By using Laws.com you agree to Laws.com Terms Of Use.<br> Copyright © 2017 Laws.com | All rights reserved </div> <!--<div class="right">Designed by <a href="https://laws.com" target="_blank">Laws.com</a></div>--> <div class="clear-float"></div> <!-- END .footer-content --> </div> <!-- END .wrapper --> </div> <!-- END .footer --> </div> <!-- END .boxed --> </div> <div class="lightbox"> <div class="lightcontent-loading"> <h2 class="light-title">Loading..</h2> <a href="#" onclick="javascript:lightboxclose();" class="light-close"><i class="fa fa-times"></i>Close Window</a> <div class="loading-box"> <h3>Loading, Please Wait!</h3> <span>This may take a second or two.</span> <span class="loading-image"><img src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/images/loading.gif" title="" alt="" /></span> </div> </div> <div class="lightcontent"></div> </div> <script> window.RS_MODULES = window.RS_MODULES || {}; window.RS_MODULES.modules = window.RS_MODULES.modules || {}; window.RS_MODULES.waiting = window.RS_MODULES.waiting || []; window.RS_MODULES.defered = true; window.RS_MODULES.moduleWaiting = window.RS_MODULES.moduleWaiting || {}; window.RS_MODULES.type = 'compiled'; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var relevanssi_rt_regex = /(&|\?)_(rt|rt_nonce)=(\w+)/g var newUrl = window.location.search.replace(relevanssi_rt_regex, '') history.replaceState(null, null, window.location.pathname + newUrl + window.location.hash) </script> <link rel='stylesheet' id='rs-plugin-settings-css' href='https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/css/rs6.css?ver=6.6.11' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='rs-plugin-settings-inline-css' type='text/css'> #rs-demo-id {} </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/swv/js/index.js?ver=5.8.7" id="swv-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="contact-form-7-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var wpcf7 = {"api":{"root":"https:\/\/statutes.laws.com\/wp-json\/","namespace":"contact-form-7\/v1"},"cached":"1"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/js/index.js?ver=5.8.7" id="contact-form-7-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="wpil-frontend-script-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var wpilFrontend = {"ajaxUrl":"\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","postId":"19","postType":"post","openInternalInNewTab":"1","openExternalInNewTab":"1","disableClicks":"0","openLinksWithJS":"0","trackAllElementClicks":"0","clicksI18n":{"imageNoText":"Image in link: No Text","imageText":"Image Title: ","noText":"No Anchor Text Found"}}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/link-whisper-premium/js/frontend.min.js?ver=1708797351" id="wpil-frontend-script-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/js/rbtools.min.js?ver=6.6.11" defer async id="tp-tools-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/js/rs6.min.js?ver=6.6.11" defer async id="revmin-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/ui/effect.min.js?ver=1.13.2" id="jquery-effects-core-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/ui/effect-slide.min.js?ver=1.13.2" id="jquery-effects-slide-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/admin/jquery.c00kie.js?ver=1.0" id="cookies-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/jquery.floating_popup.1.3.min.js?ver=1.0" id="banner-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/theme-scripts.js?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014" id="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/-scripts-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/jquery.event.move.js?ver=1.3.1" id="move-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/jquery.event.swipe.js?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014" id="swipe-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/js_composer/assets/lib/bower/isotope/dist/isotope.pkgd.min.js?ver=7.5" id="isotope-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/js/imagesloaded.min.js?ver=5.0.0" id="imagesloaded-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-includes/js/masonry.min.js?ver=4.2.2" id="masonry-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/jquery.infinitescroll.min.js?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014" id="infinitescroll-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/lightbox.js?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014" id="lightbox-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/iscroll.js?ver=e9ae2245a59484c8e270e38ea5c9a014" id="iscroll-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/ot_gallery.js?ver=1.0" id="ot-gallery-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/scripts.js?ver=1.0" id="ot-scripts-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/themes/legatus/js/legatus.js?ver=1.0.0" id="scripts-wp-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="toc-front-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var tocplus = {"visibility_show":"show","visibility_hide":"hide","width":"Auto"}; var tocplus = {"visibility_show":"show","visibility_hide":"hide","width":"Auto"}; var tocplus = {"visibility_show":"show","visibility_hide":"hide","width":"Auto"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://statutes.laws.com/wp-content/plugins/table-of-contents-plus/front.min.js?ver=2309" id="toc-front-js"></script> <script></script> <!-- END body --> </body> <!-- END html --> </html>